LA Auto Show

All the glitz and glamour from the United States of America

Four years later, the butterfly-door coupe has morphed into a butterfly-door convertible. Thankfully, BMW's hybrid sports car of the future retains the trick gullwing doors, with frameless doors and a retractable soft-top making it the perfect car for those warm, sunny days brought on by global warming. The hybrid i8 convertible and coupe hope to slow that the phenomenon, with the 1.5-litre petrol engine and electric motor combo pushing 374bhp, good for a 0-100kmph time of 4.6s while delivering respectable fuel economy figures. The Roadster loses the rear seats of the coupe, in turn gaining 92 litres of storage space, while new designs for the 20-inch wheels cut 1kg unsprung weight from each corner.