BMW i8 S with over 500bhp planned

A BMW i8 S with over 500bhp and more aggressive looks is planned as a new halo hybrid supercar as BMW hits its 100th anniversary in 2016.

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BMW hits its 100th anniversary in 2016, and it’s long been expected that there will be a new ‘halo’ car for the BMW range to celebrate. That now looks like it’s going to be a more powerful version of the BMW i8 hybrid supercar.

Automobile Magazine is reporting that BMW are working on making the i8 properly powerful by creating a new model with over to 500bhp and likely to be called the BMW i8 S (rather than BMW M1).

The basic i8 construction will remain, but the i8S will get more – and better- carbon fibre, a more aggressive look and will lose the token rear seats of the regular i8. Also in the mix is a revised suspension setup and brakes to cope with the extra power.

What still seems to be in question is exactly what will propel the i8S.

One option seems to be a 320bhp 2.0 litre turbo four-pot powering the back wheels and a 204bhp electric motor powering the front, or alternatively a 3.0 litre  straight six with 480bhp with a 109bhp electric motor.

Whichever plug-in hybrid route BMW chooses for the i8S, it’s reckoned it will cut the 0-62mph by around a second and increase the price by around 30 per cent over the standard i8. That will mean a price of around £130k in the UK.

But with over a year until BMW enters its centenary year, there’s plenty of time for things to change.