- BMW planned the M1’s spiritual successor for 2022 but canceled it after 95% of the work was done.
- The automaker reportedly chose the XM over the I16, despite the supercar’s promising potential.
- The canceled model was set to feature a plug-in hybrid powertrain producing around 560 hp.
BMW had a golden opportunity to launch a spiritual successor to the iconic M1, a car that gearheads still gush over like it’s the Holy Grail of Bavarian engineering. Instead, the German brand gifted us the XM, a lumbering reminder that even automakers already drowning in crossovers can’t resist the sweet, cash-filled siren song of yet another high-margin SUV.
According to automotive author Steve Saxty, who spilled the beans to British YouTuber Joe Achilles, BMW came this close (picture two fingers millimeters apart) to actually producing the I16, a thoroughbred mid-engine sports car based on the 2019 Vision M Next concept. And then they pulled the plug.
For those keeping track of BMW’s canceled dreams, the I16 was supposed to be the natural evolution of the i8—remember that quirky plug-in hybrid coupe with scissor doors that screamed “eco-conscious but make it bougie”?
We first learned about the model in February this year, when BMW design boss Domagoj Dukec confirmed that they killed off the development of the mid-engine sports car at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Saxty, it was roughly 95% ready for production.
Read: BMW I16 Is The Secret i8 Replacement That Was Cancelled
The idea of the I16 was to take the basics of the i8, give it a sexy new shape, and lots of extra power. Saxty said that in addition to BMW completing the exterior design of the car, they finalized the body engineering and the interior – although no photos of it have been released.
While the i8 launched with an advanced yet fairly uninspired three-cylinder plug-in hybrid engine producing 369 hp, BMW planned to equip the I16 with a four-cylinder hybrid engine producing 560 hp. That would have given it enough grunt to outperform the BMW M4.
But in the end, BMW’s bosses ultimately decided to scrap the project. According to Saxty, the German carmaker had to choose between the I16 and the XM. He adds that “wherever your head is on XM, there’s value in the market in high-end, expensive SUVs.”
Plus, pricing the I16 would have been tricky. Despite the small-capacity four-cylinder, the flagship sports car could’ve cost twice as much as a BMW M8. And with six- and eight-cylinder sports cars already in the company’s lineup, there likely wouldn’t have been enough demand for a more expensive sporty model with fewer cylinders.
While it’s a crying shame the world got the XM instead of a new mid-engined, plug-in hybrid sports car, BMW is working on some compelling new models, including an M version of the all-electric Neue Klasse-based i3 set to hit the market with four electric motors and upwards of 1,000 hp.
H/T to The Drive