2018 BMW i8 Roadster teased in new video

BMW has teased us with another preview of the upcoming i8 Roadster, albeit without showing the top dropped.

In a preview video of the headless hybrid being tested inside a wind tunnel, the car is shown with a camo wrap and the convertible top left up, although it does give away some hints of how the car will look, as well as its points of difference from the hardtop.

The majority of its body lines look as though they remain unchanged from the standard car, with the rear deck lid being the notable exception.

Interestingly, it is shown that the roadster will retain the coupe’s dramatic butterfly doors.

Although there has been no word on the i8 Roadster’s drivetrain, expect it to be a tweaked version of what underpins the standard i8 – a 1.5-litre turbo triple driving the rear wheels through a six-speed automatic, and an electric motor powering the front wheels via a two-speed transmission.

In the teaser video, BMW claim fuel economy of 2.0L/100km – down one tenth of a litre from the coupe’s claimed 2.1L/100km.

While there have been some rumours of the roadster going full electric, these are just rumours with nothing yet confirmed.

With the idea of a drop-top i8 having been toyed with since the i8 Concept Spyder shown back in 2012, BMW’s confirmation of the i8 Roadster being “in its final testing phase” will be comforting to those waiting to finally see this new model properly.

When the i8 Roadster finally launches sometime in 2018, expect it to wear a $300,000-plus price tag.

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