BMW has been pimping its slick i8 concept car for a while in a hardtop form. Recently, several new videos surfaced – depicting an open-top version of the i8 dubbed the “i8 Spyder Concept.”
There are no less than four videos of the car in action. Granted, some of them are animation, although there is no shortage of real live-action Spyder footage.
I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to electric vehicles and hybrids in EV mode – simply because the only sound comes from the tires, the wind, and in the case of the i8 transmission, whining, as the car rolls by. The videos aren’t particularly exciting mind you. Unfortunately, the driving footage is simply the car rolling around a parking garage, and the other video features live footage of the car driving across a bridge.
I am glad to see the real footage though; the car looks very cool without camouflage. The last live-action footage I saw of the i8 concept was the coupe version frolicking in the snow. It’s not clear, but we can assume that the Spyder version of the i8 uses the same powertrain as the production coupe.
Essentially, this would mean a 1.5-liter turbocharged three-cylinder gasoline engine producing 220 HP and 200 foot-pounds of torque. When combined with electric motors the car has 349 HP on tap in coupe form.
Estimated performance specs for the Coupe put 0 to 60 mph at 4.6 seconds and a combined fuel economy rating of 87 miles per gallon thanks to the hybrid powertrain, which is still presumably capable of 22 miles on electricity alone from its 7.2 kWh battery pack. Check out the videos and see the car for yourself.
