It's going to be just one of 12 all-electric cars BMW is planning to release by 2025, and this week the German luxury automaker outlined that a new electric and autonomous SUV concept will be unveiled this year, the iNEXT, while also noting that an S version of the new i8 seen at the Detroit motor show was under consideration.
This new fully electric iNEXT model is set to launch in 2021: it will debut BMW's new vehicle architecture, and it will take the form of an SUV of a similar size to the current X5 when it's finally launched shortly after the i5.
"I can promise you that this year you will see something and touch something – you need to let people experience what is coming," BMW i Product Management head Alexander Kotouc told Auto Express. "It's groundbreaking; the iNEXT will be more of the shape and size of an X5. It will have a completely different interior and be able to seat five people."
In the meantime, it appears possible a new, more powerful 'S' version of the i8 could be in the pipeline ahead of the i5 and the iNEXT.
Ever since the launch of the i8 there's been a groundswell of opinion that says it should have been a more powerful model to suit the way it looks, and Kotouc admitted, "Yes, there is customer demand for a more powerful version but it needs to make sense for our brand." He then added. "You could put a V12 in there and it would be incredibly powerful but would it still be a BMW i car? We need to find the perfect balance."
The recently updated i8 coupe features a hybrid powertrain made up of a 1.5-litre three-cylinder engine and an 11.6 kWh electric motor. The total power is claimed to be 369 bhp, which should get the i8 from 0-100kph in 4.4 seconds. A more powerful i8s version, along the lines of the recently launched i3s performance flagship for the i3 range, could send the stunning coupe into truly serious supercar territory.
