2019 BMW i8 Roadster: It’s Here and It’s Beautiful!
The vehicle launched in 2014 by German manufacturer BMW is—according to them—the planet’s best-selling plug-in hybrid sports car. To be fair, it doesn’t really have a lot of competition! Be that as it may, the i8 has had a great deal of success since its launch. It offers a great ride, very reasonable fuel consumption and, last but not least, breathtaking looks. But that’s not all! Today at the Los Angeles Auto Show, BMW is launching its new i8 Roadster. Hooray!
Just like its sibling, the i8 coupe, the Roadster is built using the Bavarian manufacturer’s renowned LifeDrive architecture. This platform is comprised of aluminum and carbon fibre. There are, however, esthetic differences between the Roadster and the coupe, and the convertible version has only two seats as opposed to the coupe, which is a 2+2.
If you opt for the 2019 BMW i8 Roadster, you can open and close the soft top in about 15 seconds, even when cruising at 50 km/h. It is also possible to fold the top down to a very compact size and remove it completely, which creates about a hundred extra litres of trunk space.
More and more and more
BMW has announced that its eDrive technology has been considerably improved, pointing to greater power and better range. The cell capacity of the lithium-ion battery has increased from 20 to 34 Ah and the energy capacity went from 7.1 to 11.6 kWh.
This improvement means that you can travel up to 105 km/h using only electric power. In eDrive mode, the Roadster and coupe are able to travel up to 53 and 55 km respectively. In addition, both versions of the i8 now generate 369 horsepower, or 12 more than the 2017 edition.
All-wheel drive hybrid
The i8 coupe and Roadster both feature an electric engine to supply the front wheels, while the rear wheels run on their gasoline engine. When the car is in hybrid mode, the electric engine lends a hand to the combustion engine to provide the driver with acceleration when needed.
And when the navigation system is activated, intelligent energy management software analyse your trip and then distribute energy as efficiently as possible with the goal of obtaining the best fuel consumption.
Despite a few esthetic changes and improvements to the energy cells, the new i8 still has all of the qualities that made it successful. Of course, now you can drive with the wind in your hair too, and that’s a significant improvement!