KUALA LUMPUR: The striking supercar you see above is the BMW i16 which was designed in 2020 but never put into production. BMW's Head of Design, Domagoj Dukec has recently posted a series of sketches and renderings of the supercar on his social media handle that has been rarely seen by those outside the company. 

The BMW i16 was developed as a successor to the i8 electric sports car. It evolved from the Vision M Next show car, which was previewed in 2019 and garnered significant attention from BMW enthusiasts. 

According to the company’s design boss, the supercar incorporated classic elements fused with innovative touches, pushing the design beyond that of the M1. The BMW i16 was fully developed, both inside and out, in less than 12 months. It was supposed to launch around 2022.

So, the question arises - Why has the BMW i16 never been put into production? Well, the plans for the BMW i16 were scrapped as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which led the German car giant to forego its plans for a successor to the i8 hybrid supercar.

A brief about the BMW i8

Introduced in 2014, the BMW i8 was a flag-bearer for the new 'BMW i' range of electrified vehicles. It was discontinued in 2020 to make way for a fresh range of EVs including the iX3, iX, and i4. Over its total production run, BMW sold a total of 165 units of the car with a starting price of USD 1,48,495 (approximately equal to RM 710,414).

The i8 was powered by a plug-in hybrid setup pairing a 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo petrol engine and a front-mounted electric motor. The combined total output was rated at 356 bhp enabling the supercar to hit the century sprint in just 4.3 seconds.

BMW launched the i8 in Malaysia in 2018 with a whopping price tag of RM 1,310,800.

Also read: BMW iX2: What to expect