BMW i8 roadster

BMW’s brilliantly futuristic i8 gets a midlife refresh, including an option we’ve been crying out for – a removable roof

BMW has – at last – shown of the i8 roadster. Its development has been lengthy and its teaser campaign a bit drawn out, but the production version is here. Unveiled at the LA motor show, its styling isn’t in the least bit surprising, but you probably don’t want it to be.

It’s been revealed alongside an updated BMW i8 coupe, whose midlife facelift neatly arrives. The good news is it brings more of everything: improved battery tech means more energy, so the motor now produces 143bhp, up 12bhp, taking the car’s total petrol and electric output to 374bhp.

The roadster is very similar to the coupe, using the same CFRP core, whose rigid structure has maximised the size of the roof opening and negated the need for lots of extra strengthening. So the roadster weighs just 60kg more than standard, at 1,595kg, while it retains the bold dihedral doors, albeit frameless versions.

Its roof is a folding fabric item that whirs back or forth in “almost silent hush”. Opening/closing takes 16secs and can be done at up to 31mph. It folds in a Z-shape and is stored vertically. Some of the mechanism’s shapes have only been possible via 3D printing, we’re told, while the miniscule rear seats have been traded for more luggage space.

Beneath all of that is the same AWD set-up as before. So the 1.5-litre petrol engine powers the rear wheels and the electric motor operates the front axle, though it’s all been tuned so that the motor operates in more scenarios and the engine sits docile as often as possible.

You can twiddle through the various driving modes for ultimate speed, of course, which frees up 0–62mph in 4.6secs in the roadster (4.4secs in the coupe) and a 155mph top speed (for both).

Figures more realistic than the claimed economy, which approaches 150mpg, while average CO emissions are as low as 42g/km. In reality, expect something below 50mpg, but more time as an EV should help cut your fuel bills if you’re light of foot.

The updated i8 coupe’s price is around fve per cent higher than before, at £112,730. The roadster adds precisely £12k more, starting at £124,730. You do get a fair pile of kit for that, mind, with laser headlights and a pedestrian warning buzzer the key options.

Yep, it’s up to the buyer if they want to keep passers-by safe below 18mph…