[mkoesel]

     Featured on BIMMERPOST.com

https://www.drive.com.au/motor-news/...r-plans-119666

Mid-engined 450kW hybrid supercar on the cards

BMW looks set to unleash a 450kW-plus hybrid supercar powered by a petrol engine and electric motors.

To utilise the existing lightweight carbon architecture of the i8 sports car, the supercar could appear as early as 2021 as a flagship for the luxury brand that prides itself on driving excitement.

While stopping short of confirming the project was a done deal, the board member responsible for product development for the German car maker, Klaus Frolich, strongly hinted that a BMW supercar was in the works.

“(A) Supercar is my personal wish … I think there is a next window of opportunity whenever we have the life cycle for i8,” said Frolich at the 2018 Paris motor show. “I’m working very hard to make it happen.”

Frolich nominated the chassis of the i8, a car that utilises electric motors and a three-cylinder turbo engine, as the starting point for a BMW supercar.

“The chassis is so robust, so good and so lightweight that I would like to use it for a second generation,” he said.

“I have a wonderful carbon fibre chassis for a sports car in my portfolio - currently it’s used in the i8.

“This car was launched in (20)14, so I would like to use something like that, with much more performance, electric and conventional. Then it will be very soon in the 600 horsepower or something region and it will not have a weight of two tonnes.”

Rather than serve as a direct replacement for the i8 – a car that is brisk but not in the same league as supercars such as various Porsche 911s, the Audi R8 and Lamborghini Huracan – Frolich suggested a new supercar would be a big step up in performance.

While he ruled out big capacity V8 or V10 engines, he nominated a four- or six-cylinder as the likely candidate to power the rear wheels and provide the all-important character people expect of fast cars.

Teamed with electric motors driving the front wheels – for a high-tech all-wheel drive setup – he suggested 600 horsepower was a good target.

That translates to about 450kW – well in the reaches of many highly fancied supercars – and with the lightweight advantage of carbon fibre.

Frolich said any such car would weigh less than two tonnes, cementing a solid power-to-weight ratio.

As with so many supercar programs, the challenge lies with ensuring enough people will buy it to justify what is an enormous development project and low volume production.

Predicted small sales would then be offset against the obvious benefits of such a car as a halo across the brand.

“This market segment is so small … there is always a business case discussions about it … we have to invest in the brand, too.”

[Law]

450kW translates to just a hair over 600 HP.
If this does materialize, I really hope they drop an inline-six in there.
I know BMW can make a potent inline-four cylinder if they put their mind to it but that's still (on paper) too close for comfort to the current i8 (3-cylinder).
For something that's going to be a halo for BMW, as a representation of its ethos in the performance realm, the inline-six is most appropriate since "higher end"/"big capacity" layouts like V8 and V10 engines are ruled out.

That said, this is an interesting development, and I wonder if this will fall under BMW i or BMW M.

I know previously BMW had said (when speaking of the i8) that BMW i and BMW M would not encroach on each other in an effort to keep their identities separate.

However, with the development of a hybrid supercar, the emphasis is equal on both hybrid powertrain and performance envelope so naturally one wonders the extent of involvement/cooperation of both BMW i (hybrid) and BMW M (supercar).

Interesting food for thought.

[mkoesel]

Agree that an I6 is the right choice. In fact, if the i8 had an S55 in place of the B38, it would probably be readily accepted as a performance vehicle. Or looking at it from another angle, taking the new "45e" drivetrain coming to the X5 and 7 Series, swapping in an S55 (or rather its replacement, the upcoming S58) for the (bewilderingly crippled in this application) B58 would get them to 600hp already.

The whole bit about keeping BMW i and BMW M separate never made much sense to me. Hybrid powered performance vehicles are set to become the norm over the next decade. No doubt that M division engineers have already begun collaborating with their i counterparts.

Regardless of what it is called, a follow-up to the i8 that makes use of the investment into the platform and related tech seems like a no-brainer.

[Darth One]

I'd welcome this. Set aside the compulsion to cater to non-enthusiast buyers, give the engineers a supercar R&D budget and a target (let's say...I dunno...the GT2RS?), and let's see if this company's still got it.

[No Boost]

"Less than two tonnes" is too vague. For comparison, the R8 weighs 36xx lbs with 610 bhp. If that's a possible BMW target, the weight of this supercar needs to be in the F80/82 weight range. 3900 lbs, even with electric motors, just seems too heavy.

[brad850csi]

Ughh the forums lost my post.

I'd be expecting an i8s in the next few years with a 225kw (x2 m35i spec) to 250kw inline 4 as being fairly likely as you can keep it east-west.

The B58 is a really long engine and I doubt it'd work north-south without a wheelbase extension?

S63Tu would be sweet though

[10"]

They should have made this 10-15 years ago when the M division still had some gusto.

I can't really get too excited about BMW of 2018 making a supercar like I could have if BMW of 2003 or 2008 was making one.

[440xiGCMSport2]

i8 may be a good chassis to start with but it is fugly.

[am3r1ka]

Originally Posted by 440xiGCMSport2

i8 may be a good chassis to start with but it is fugly.

Technically the Q7, Bentayga, and Cayenne all share the same chassis and looks differently. Pretty sure the design could be changed, however that car is pretty aerodynamic already.

[am3r1ka]

Bring the M1 back

[clbmw]

This is exciting but I'll believe it when I see it. The prophesied i8S didn't even materialise.

[440xiGCMSport2]

Originally Posted by am3r1ka

Technically the Q7, Bentayga, and Cayenne all share the same chassis and looks differently. Pretty sure the design could be changed, however that car is pretty aerodynamic already.

The Q7 and Bentayga look very similar in shape, while the Cayenne is different. That said they will have to make huge improvement s to the i8 design imo to make it look decent.

[duky]

Title of this thread is pretty misleading. Not so much that the company outlined it but more so that they hinted at it maybe happening...

Equivalent of a wet dream for all of us here

[am3r1ka]

Originally Posted by 440xiGCMSport2

The Q7 and Bentayga look very similar in shape, while the Cayenne is different. That said they will have to make huge improvement s to the i8 design imo to make it look decent.

If this potential cars takes after their new design language it'll definitely be a big improvement visually. But then again their i models look as though they have their own design language away from the petrol models so it would probably take elements from the ivision

[bimmer456]

BMW should abandon hybrid drivetrains and go head to head with the Tesla roadster with all electric and solid state batteries or supercapacitors.

[SUB-ZERO]

M1.....it's time.

[RPiM5]

An actual BMW supercar since the original M1, and it will not have a V10? No thanks BMW. Not that the I6 is bad engine, but if you are gonna make a supercar, it better sound like a supercar! It's not just about performance and efficiency.

Or at least develop an all new engine for this car even if it is another I6. Make it rev to at least 8,000rpm or something exotic in nature. Or even better keep the motor NA and let the electric motors do a lot of the work.

[zuschnell]

M1 please! Make it loud, obnoxious, and a dream to look at, like the original.

People will buy it. Especially if they keep power to weight ratio correct and it is competitive with the other hybrid supercars hitting the market.

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by brad850csi

The B58 is a really long engine and I doubt it'd work north-south without a wheelbase extension?

S63Tu would be sweet though

I think it could fit longitudinally. A supercar doesn't need to be a 2+2 so they can gain space by removing the back seats. Alternatively they could relocate the engine up front but that would require moving the "firewall" and other rework of the vehicle architecture so it would probably not be favored from a cost perspective.

Originally Posted by duky

Title of this thread is pretty misleading. Not so much that the company outlined it but more so that they hinted at it maybe happening...

Well, I simply used the name of the article for the name of the thread. However, I agree that it is a touch sensationalized. I will add the attribution.

[JustChris]

Very exciting!

i8 Tub almost fact
I6 S58 speculation from me

Hello Halo.

[Wolf]

Not gonna happen

[BwoodBMW]

Originally Posted by Wolf

Not gonna happen

Came here to say the same thing.
Won't happen.