The BMW i8 Spyder has been baking in BMW’s oven for quite some time now, and if a recent report from Motoring Australia proves to be true, it could stay there for the foreseeable feature. According to the said report, BMW is putting the development of the i8 Spyder on the back burner for the time being. As such, don’t expect the car to hit dealerships until late 2017 or even in 2018.
No specific details were offered on why the i8 Spyder would be delayed, but there does seem to be no rush from BMW to get the sports car on the road. For the time being, it appears that BMW will instead focus on another i model, the BMW i5, in response to the continued growth of rival Tesla.
So, the i5 will likely be the next i model that BMW launches, leaving the company enough time to continue working on the i8 Spyder. Changes will likely be made from the initial concept that was first teased at the 2014 and again with the i Vision Future Interaction concept that debuted at the Consumer Electronics Show a few weeks earlier.
The plug-in hybrid powertrain is expected to remain the same as the one that’s powering the i8 coupe, although BMW could still tweak the system to give the i8 Spyder more power. Changes could come with the construction of the car’s body, even though BMW has insisted that the i8’s carbon fiber structure would be strong enough to accommodate the loss of torsional rigidity that a roof provides. Still, this delay could just be BMW’s way of going back to the drawing board to make the necessary changes in the i8 Spyder’s structure.
Only time will tell if any changes are made to the car. For now, don’t expect to see the BMW i8 Spyder anytime soon. That much appears to be a certainty.
Continue after the jump to read the full story.
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