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BMW i16 is the unconventional i8 successor that by no means was

BMW designed a radical mid-engined hybrid supercar to succeed the i8 – however by no means put it into manufacturing. 

Kept secret for 4 years however now revealed by BMW head designer Domagoj Dukec on social media, the placing i16 may have been the M efficiency division’s second bespoke mannequin after the 1978 M1 supercar.

As it was, mentioned Dukec, “the world changed in 2020” on the onset of the Covid pandemic and “work on the project unfortunately had to be stopped”. 

M division has since launched the XM super-SUV as its second bespoke product – a dramatically totally different proposition to the supercar revealed right here. 

It’s a trustworthy evolution of the Vision M Next idea that BMW revealed in 2019, albeit with some delicate revisions aimed toward making it road-legal. 

Dukec described the i16 as having “all the style of a future classic” and famous the affect of the Giorgetto Guigiaro-designed M1 in its angular, cab-forward silhouette, vented rear arches and louvred engine lid.

The i16 was conceived to make use of the i8’s composite construction, little question in a bid to chop growth prices and thus bolster its viability as a manufacturing automobile, however it is not clear whether or not it could have used the identical plug-hybrid powertrain.

The i8 was BMW’s first PHEV, pairing a 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo petrol engine with an electrical motor on the entrance axle for a complete output of 356bhp and a 0-62mph time of 4.3sec – making it a pure rival to the Porsche 911.

A battery within the transmission tunnel gave an electric-only vary of greater than 30 miles in later automobiles. 

The i8 was produced from 2014 to 2020, being discontinued to make method for a brand new line of bespoke electrical BMW fashions together with the iX3, i4 and iX. 

The Vision M Next hinted at what an i8 successor may appear to be, however plans to provide it had been shelved over considerations about excessive R&D prices and low gross sales potential. 

However, M boss Frank van Meel hinted to Autocar in 2022 that the door wasn’t completely shut to the prospect of a brand new hybrid supercar, saying: “It’s at all times one thing we are able to take a look at. As automobile guys, we’re at all times dreaming of constructing such automobiles. It doesn’t imply we’ll make them, however we hold exploring these concepts.”

He mentioned the cancellation of the i16 did not imply BMW was “not thinking of a super-sports car,” tellingly including that he was “always trying to figure out how it would work”.

BMW

Change at the top at BMW Group Plant Landshut: Stefan Kasperowski hands over to Thomas Thym.

Landshut. Thomas Thym is set to take over as Head of BMW Group Plant Landshut on 1 December, succeeding Stefan Kasperowski. Thym, aged 52, has been at Plant Landshut since 2019 in the role of Vice President Purchasing, Quality and Production Cockpit and Door Panels. Kasperowski, after nearly four years at Landshut, will assume the leadership of high-voltage battery production at Dingolfing and Regensburg. Carolin Seidel will become the new Press Spokesperson for Plant Landshut on the same date.

“With his extensive production experience, procurement and supplier network expertise and his strong ties to Plant Landshut, Thomas Thym is well positioned to lead the facility to further success in the future,” says Joachim Post, Member of the Board of Management, Purchasing and Supplier Network at BMW AG.

Thym began his career at the BMW Group in 1997 as a project manager in vehicle assembly at Plant Regensburg. He then held positions at the MINI plant in Oxford, England and at Group headquarters in Munich. After leading the international purchasing office in India, Thym took on the strategic direction of the BMW Group’s purchasing and supplier network.

Since 2019, Thym has overseen global purchasing and the supplier network for interior components, as well as production of interior parts such as cockpits and door panels at Landshut and Wackersdorf. “I’m really looking forward to my new responsibilities and can’t wait to write the next chapter in the plant’s more than 50-year success story – together with the excellent Landshut team,” says Thym. “It’s also very important to me to showcase Plant Landshut not only as the largest employer in the region but also as an enduringly reliable local partner with a sense of social responsibility.”

Kasperowski was instrumental in driving the plant’s future direction Under Stefan Kasperowski’s leadership, the company invested around €700 million in Plant Landshut, reinforcing the importance of the BMW Group’s largest component plant worldwide. With Kasperowski at the helm, the light metal foundry – one of the most advanced of its kind – has constantly upgraded its production and logistics solutions, both in terms of efficiency and innovation, and as far as sustainability and circularity are concerned.

New Press Spokesperson at Plant Landshut Also taking on a new role on 1 December alongside Thomas Thym is Carolin Seidel, who will begin work as Press Spokesperson of the Bavarian components plant. Seidel has been at the BMW Group since 2013, focusing on hydrogen/fuel cell technology and sustainability communications in vehicle development in her previous position as Press Spokesperson. Born in Chemnitz, Seidel is excited about her new role and the parallels between her previous areas of focus and the Landshut facility. The 35-year-old is bringing with her a wealth of experience in the world of communications. She spent 2013 to 2016 at the vehicle factories and engine plant run by the BMW joint venture in Shenyang, China. She was then spokesperson for the pilot plant and main plant in Munich up to 2021. “In Carolin Seidel, we are welcoming as our new spokesperson at Plant Landshut an extremely experienced and highly skilled communicator – as far as both our products and production are concerned,” says Julian Friedrich, head of communications at the Dingolfing and Landshut plants.