The long-awaited BMW i8 Spyder is expected to have a longer range than the current hardtop.
A reader from BMW Blog claims to have recently attended a private unveiling of the i8 Spyder and X2 in Belgium and received some juicy details about the car. Most importantly, he learnt that the hybrid sports car’s battery capacity will be doubled, meaning it should rise from 7.1-kWh to about 14-kWh, thus greatly improving the current 23 mile (37 km) all-electric range.
Word about BMW upping the i8’s range in Spyder guise isn’t all that surprising. This is because the i8 Spyder is expected to debut alongside the facelifted i8 coupe next year and won’t simply be a droptop version of the current i8 but instead a convertible version of the facelifted i8. Consequently, the facelifted i8 coupe will most likely benefit from the same range improvements.
Previous spy shots and videos of the i8 Spyder have revealed that it will retain the butterfly doors of the coupe and ditch the rear seats to support the bulkier folding roof mechanism.
PHOTO GALLERY
