The final encore: Last BMW i8 rolls out of production

Production of the BMW i8 has officially ended with a weekend report revealing that the very last example rolled-off the Leipzig Assembly plant last week.

With Munich having announced the end of its first plug-in sports car in December last year, the BMW Blog has confirmed that the last i8, a Roadster finished in Portimao Blue, reportedly the only model ever to sport this hue, left the plant this past week as the final of exactly 20 500 units made since 2014.

“The BMW i8 is a unique vehicle that was manufactured by unique employees. The experience gained here at the Leipzig plant ensures that the BMW Group has lightweight construction expertise that is unique in the automotive industry,” Leipzig Plant Head Hans-Peter Kemser was quoted as saying.

Initially powered by the same 1.5-litre turbocharged three-cylinder engine as the Mini One, the inclusion of a 7.1 kWh lithium-ion battery pack resulted in a combined output of 266kW/570Nm and an all-electric range of 37 km.

A mid-life refresh three years into its lifecycle brought not only the Roadster, but also a 11.6 kWh battery that saw output rise to 275 kW and torque remaining unchanged. The claimed all-electric range however went up to 55 km for the coupe and 53 km for the Roadster.

Unchanged during the time was the drivertrain which consisted out of a traditional six-speed Steptronic gearbox driving the front wheels and a two-speed ‘box motivating the rears, resulting in the i8 being all-wheel-drive. Always limited to 250 km/h, the i8 would get from 0-100 km/h in 4.4 seconds with the Roadster completing the benchmark sprint in 4.6 seconds.

While set to have been replaced by a version of the Vision M NEXT concept unveiled last year by 2023, a report last month has alleged that plans had been scrapped due to costs as well as the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic.

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