BMW i8

BMW is leaning toward making its next-generation i8 sports car an all-electric model, according to a new report.

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The BMW i8 has been some kind of a black sheep in the German automaker ‘i’ brand. When BMW launched the i3, we thought that they would make ‘BMW i’ an all-electric brand, but they instead followed up with the BMW i8 as a plug-in hybrid.

It was disappointing, but to be fair to BMW, it is still the “most electric” roadster/coupé on the market years later and they give it an upgrade this year with a little more battery capacity and a convertible version.

So we decided to give it a shot. Here’s our review:
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BMW has just released pricing for the new BMW i8 Roadster, which goes into production next month, according to BMWBLOG.  The starting price will be $163,300, putting it in position as the most expensive BMW available in the US.

The BMW i8 coupe has also been updated, and will set you back $4,100 more than last year’s model, with a base price of $147,500.  BMW is taking orders now at your local dealership and cars should be hitting dealerships in April or May.

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BMW made the plug-in hybrid i8 sports coupe part of its electric ‘i’ brand despite the fact that it is barely an electric vehicle with only about 15 miles of range.

At the Los Angeles Auto Show today, the German automaker is unveiling an updated version of the vehicle with a slightly bigger battery pack for more range and a new roadster version to go with the coupe.

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BMW is about to unveil its new roadster version of its BMW i8 plug-in hybrid and today it released new teaser images of the vehicle and preliminary energy consumption figures.
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BMW is planning a new roadster version of its BMW i8 plug-in hybrid next year and today it released the first teaser images of the vehicle.
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While automakers like Renault and Mercedes are unveiling new battery pack options and brand new electric vehicle models at the 2016 Paris Motor, BMW is unveiling a new color option for its lineup of electric cars.

It’s kind of disappointing, but to be honest, I find the new paint job to be so stunning that I almost forgive them for not having anything else new on the EV front for the Paris Motor Show.
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After unveiling its ‘Vision NEXT100’ plan, BMW was reportedly “putting electric vehicles on the back burner” in order to focus on self-driving. The company only officially announced a new BMW i8 in 2018, hopefully all-electric this time, and its iNEXT all-electric and autonomous car in 2021. The iNEXT will be based on a concept unveiled earlier this year.

Now a new report on the German automaker’s updated electric vehicle timeline claims to give more insights into vehicle releases over the next 5-6 years, and it is just as disappointing as BMW’s official timeline.
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Earlier this month, we reported on how BMW is putting electric vehicles on the ‘back burner’ to focus ‘i’ brand on self-driving cars. The German automakers announced its plan for electric vehicles and it looks like we shouldn’t expect much until at least the turn of the decade.

But now hope for BMW’s EV programs comes in the form of a new report claiming that the company is currently working on an all-electric version of the BMW i8, which is only offered as a plug-in hybrid with very limited electric range at the moment.
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In a not so surprising but disappointing report for EV enthusiasts today, we learn that BMW is putting its electric vehicle programs on the “back burner” in order to focus its ‘i’ brand, under which the German automaker has been releasing its electric vehicles, on self-driving cars instead.

The company reportedly will not release a new all-electric vehicle until 2021.
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Several executives in BMW’s electric vehicle leadership, including 20-year BMW veteran Carsten Breitfeld who reportedly developed the i8, left the German automaker to join a Chinese EV startup, according to a new WSJ report.

The startup in question is Future Mobility Corp, a newly formed EV company backed by Tencent Holdings.

Tencent is an important holding company in China with significant investments in several of the country’s biggest internet, video game and social media companies.
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The BMW i8 is arguably not a great electric vehicle since it’s quite frankly barely electric, but in my opinion it is a beautiful car and the German automaker often uses it to unveil new design features and to show case some interesting technology. Considering BMW is quite committed to all-electric vehicles with a new i3 battery pack coming and a rumored all-electric SUV, I like to keep up with what they are unveiling, and today we learn of a new special edition “Protonic Red” BMW i8 to be unveiled in Geneva.
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Car Magazine claims to have unveiled BMW’s long-rumoured third “i” electric vehicle; the BMW i6 – the magazine published the rendering of the vehicle featured above. The report is somewhat odd and it should be taken with a grain of salt in my opinion.
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After the mirrorless BMW i8, the German automaker unveiled an updated version of its i8 spyder at CES in Las Vegas, but the company has yet to offer any production timeline.
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BMW unveils a new version of its plug-in hybrid i8 with cameras instead of mirrors at CES in Las Vegas today. Back in 2012, Tesla unveiled an alpha prototype of the Model X without any side mirrors and announced that it will try to change regulation in order to make the technology legal.
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Over a year after the first deliveries of the plug-in hybrid BMW i8, the open-top version is still not available even though the option was unveiled in 2012 – prior to the release of the production version.

But now BMW CEO Harald Krüger reiterated the company’s commitment to the feature and said the company is working on a production version.
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BMW debuted the i8 with ‘Laser Lights’ in the U.S. at the 2015 LA Auto Show last week. The ‘Laser Light’ option was available in Europe since the introduction of the i8 in 2014, but the FDA has been stalling the feature the in the U.S. until now.
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Jim Chanos is a famed billionaire hedge fund manager known for short selling companies. He is also a regular market commentator for CNBC and Bloomberg. Chanos recently disclosed having a short position on solar installer SolarCity (SCTY) and although he refused to disclose his position on Tesla Motors (TSLA), he doesn’t have good things to say about the company.

During an interview with Bloomberg on Monday morning, Chanos explained why he thinks both companies are overvalued, but the “facts” he used to support his opinion are misleading.
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In an interview at the Frankfurt Motor Show, BMW’s sales chief Ian Robertson revealed that the company is in the “final stages of consideration” to introduce new all-electric vehicles by expanding its “i” lineup.

Currently BMW only sells the i3 and the i8 under its electric “i” brand, but the German automaker is evaluating a “number of options” to take advantage of the new platform introduced in 2013.
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Where to begin? Top Gear, which is famous for sabotaging its Tesla Roadster review so badly it got sent to court, got its hands on a BMW i8 which is barely an electric car to begin with. It has about a 20 mile range on electric alone and electric horsepower similar to a Toyota Prius.

Our hero, the aging Clarkson, pulls up to an Electric charger and then begins fumbling with cables like he’s just come directly from the stone age. He then feigns a frustrated “stupid” scream. When he finally is able to plug in the female to the male charger cable he has difficulty getting the charger to turn on. Then when he gets back to the car, he realizes his battery, like his moral character is empty.

Good thing he has gas. A lot of it.