The BMW i8 will leave the production line in April

The plug-in hybrid flagship of the Bavarian brand will leave the production line to make way for a new line of bespoke electric cars

BMW has confirmed that production of its i8 plug-in hybrid sports car will end in April, almost six years after its launch.

The rival to the Porsche 911 will leave the market as BMW shifts its focus to a new line of bespoke electric cars that includes the compact SUV iX3, the saloon i4 and the flagship iNext SUV. A new sports car, based on the Vision M Next concept shown last year, is expected to arrive within the next five years.

BMW has not yet confirmed the exact date on which production of the BMW i8 will end, but a company spokesperson has indicated that “UK customers interested in a bespoke model must have placed their order with their local dealer by the end of February”.

BMW says goodbye to its plug-in hybrid flagship

BMW dealerships have already begun offering the i8 at significantly reduced prices in the run-up to its withdrawal. Several were offering the hard-top variant for around €94,000, a discount of almost €20,000 on its starting price of around €110,000.

Initially revealed as a concept with a turbodiesel engine at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, the BMW i8 went on sale in 2014 as the high-performance flagship of BMW’s new i range of electrified vehicles, above the i3 electric hatchback.

The mid-engined 2+2 was sold with only one powertrain option throughout its production: a 1.5-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine coupled to a low-output electric motor. Performance figures remained largely unchanged, although a 2018 update increased output from 360 CV to 370 CV.

BMW’s heads of research and development confirmed to some sources last year that decisions were being made about the future of the BMW i8, and that it could be reborn as an electric rival to the second-generation Tesla Roadster and the rumoured Audi R8 e-tron.

Little is known about its transmission or design, but sources suggest it will be developed using a “road-to-race strategy” aimed at providing a “tangible link” between BMW’s involvement in Formula E and its i division. When will we learn more about the future of BMW’s new, fully sporting car? Will it be a standalone BMW model or will it belong to the Bavarian brand’s performance division, BMW M? We will have to wait a few more weeks before we finally bid farewell to one of the models that has carved out a small place for itself in automotive history. Will it resemble the Vision M Next concept we saw at the latest motor shows?