BMW are rumoured to be in the early phases of designing a new supercar. Creating direct competition for the likes of McLaren. The unconfirmed car would likely combine the latest BMW technology, including electrification and weight saving materials.
What we are potentially looking at is a hybrid of the i8, BMW’s current electrified sports car, and the new 8 series.
Speaking to Autocar, Klaus Fröhlich, the BMW board member responsible for product development said “If you are an engineer, once in your life, you want to make a super-sports car… I think partial electrification will enable that.”
Fröhlich also predicted that from 2020 partially electric cars will be commonplace for both McLaren and Ferrari, “If you look at the supercars – the McLarens, the Ferraris – beyond 2020, they will be all partially electric”.
If this car does get built, where would it sit within the market? The likely answer is that BMW will target both the hybrid and conventional engine supercar markets, putting the price point at somewhere between £115,000 and £150,000.
BMW have every reason to be going after both markets if Fröhlich predictions for the power capabilities of the e-engine are correct. “If we have these very compact and very powerful electric driving units, if we have a carbon fibre chassis – for example, the i8’s – and if we still have high-performance engines, then, if you do it cleverly, you can combine them into a real performance package.”
He continued, “So if you see this e-motor in a car which can give you in milliseconds the push formerly found in a V8 engine, then you can have a very sporty feel from this power PHEV”.
The release date for this car is unknown, but if it is launched, we can expect it to be beyond 2022.