BMW i8 Spyder playing at the Nurburgring as production Spyder nears (video)

BMW i8 Spyder playing at the Nurburgring

The long-awaited BMW i8 Spyder hybrid – the open top i8 – spotted playing at the Nurburgring as a production i8 Spyder launch finally nears.

We wonder if the arrival of the BMW i8 Spyder – the open top take on BMW’s i8 hybrid supercar – is the longest tease in motoring history.

First seen when BMW trumpeted an imminent i8 hybrid supercar in 2009 with the Vision EfficientDynamics Concept, and we all thought it would arrive as a production Spyder. But it didn’t.

In fact, the only i8 you’ve been able to buy since it actually launched in production guise in 2012 is the coupe, with the promise of a convertible version arriving now going on for four more years.

But BMW finally revealed the i8 Spyder (or i8 Roadster, i8 Convertible – whatever the call the production car) in what looks to be production guise at the CES last year, and tow months later confirmed it is going in to production.

The arrival of the production version of the i8 Spyder now looks likely to be at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, so BMW are out playing with their new hybrid convertible supercar at the Nurburgring to get it right before it arrives.

It show a convertible i8 which gets a few tweaks – tweaks the i8 Coupe will undoubtedly get – including a tweaked front end with new lights. There’s also what looks like a removable targa roof and some flying buttresses for the convertible.

As the i8 Spyder arrives we’d expect BMW to give it a bit more power than the current Coupe’s combined 363bhp – perhaps around 400bhp – which will also arrive in a facelifted i8 Coupe.

Expect more detail between now and the likely debut of the i8 Spyder at Frankfurt.