BMW i8 Spyder rendered

Well known automotive manipulator Theophilus Chin has revealed several renders of the upcoming BMW i8 Spyder.

BMW had revealed the 2014 i8 in production guise just last week at the recently concluded Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany and now there are reports that are already indicating a spyder version will come out sometime next year in 2014.

The rendered model will use the same internals as its fixed-roof sibling and will also maintain virtually the same design. While the i8 coupe would come with a price of approximately 135,000 USD, the spyder will kick off from around 150,000 USD.

Motivation would be provided by the same three-cylinder, 1.5-liter gasoline TwinPower Turbo engine producing 231 HP (170 kW) and 320 Nm (236 lb-ft) of torque. The conventional engine will drive the rear wheels thru a six-speed automatic transmission. On the other hand a 131 HP (96 kW) electric motor will motivate the front axle through a two-stage automatic gearbox.

As a result of this combination, the i8 Spyder will now have a combined output of 362 HP (266 kW) and 570 Nm (420 lb-ft) of torque. The coupe can accelerate to 0-62 mph in just 4.4 seconds and so the spyder version should be able to achieve the same in 4.5 or 4.6 seconds due to the added weight.