BMW i8
Nameplate overview. Specifications and evidence are scoped to individual model years and configurations.
Research coverage
5 model years with exact configuration records. Latest available year: 2020, with 2 listed configurations.
Coverage may be partial. A nameplate does not have one shared engine, price, safety result or recall status across these years.
General nameplate overview
Unscoped catalog background, not specifications for a particular year or trim. Review status is unknown except for the assertions cited below.
The BMW i8 was the halo car of BMW's i sub-brand: a plug-in hybrid sports car with a carbon-fibre-reinforced-plastic passenger cell, an aluminium chassis and butterfly doors, sold in the U.S. from the 2014 through 2020 model years. A 1.5-liter turbocharged three-cylinder drives the rear wheels while an electric motor drives the fronts, making it all-wheel drive without a propshaft, and the whole car weighs about 3,455 lb — extraordinarily light for its performance.
U.S. cars launched with 357 hp combined and a 7.1 kWh battery. For 2019 BMW enlarged the pack to 11.6 kWh, raised combined output to 369 hp, and added an open-top i8 Roadster alongside the coupe; the Roadster trades the small rear seats for a two-seat cabin and a fabric roof that stows in 15 seconds. Both use a six-speed automatic on the combustion axle and a two-speed unit on the electric axle.
2020 configuration links
Related comparisons and research
Sources and review status
Source records apply only to the assertions and scopes listed below, not the entire vehicle record. Assertion review dates are not page-update dates or evidence of current prices.
Review status: Unknown. No applicable assertion source is recorded for this scope.