Part of supercar that’s being built in Warks
BMW has taken the wraps off its new i8 Roadster - the open top version of its petrol-electric hybrid supercar.
And a key part of it is being manufactured in Warwickshire.
At the heart of the i8 Roadster is a three-cylinder 1.5litre engine, which is combined with an electric motor to deliver veritable supercar performance.
The engine, which is only produced at BMW’s engine plant at Hams Hall near Coleshill, features BMW TwinPower Turbo technology and a hybrid electric motor to deliver an advanced plug-in hybrid drive system.
The combination offers sports car performance qualities with the sort of fuel economy and emissions more often associated with small cars.
Add in the i8’s breathtaking looks and you have a vehicle that is increasingly being dubbed “the thinking man’s supercar”.
The i8 Roadster has a zero emission range of up to 33 miles running purely on electricity.
Combined, the two power sources give the i8 Roadster a total output of 374hp which is good enough to accelerate from 0 to 60 in 4.6 seconds just shy of the 4.4 seconds of the Coupe.
Both models have a top speed restricted to 155mph and the official fuel return for the Roadster is rated at 141.2mpg with emissions of 46g/km.
In real world driving BMW says the car should be capable of averaging around 40 to the gallon or up to mid-50s on a commute - a figure the car maker claims is 50 per cent better than most other supercars.
A multi-mode drive pattern allows the car to be switched into a pure EV mode at speeds of up to 75mph with the petrol engine cutting in only under harsh acceleration or when the battery is nearing empty.
Recharging can be done in under three hours from a BMW wallbox or in some four-and-a-half hours from a domestic supply.
Priced from £124,735 the petrol-electric hybrid sports car is around £12,000 more than the i8 Coupe which was launched in 2014.
Fabric roof can be opened on the goThe i8 Roadster comes with a fabric roof which can be opened and closed at speeds of up to 31mph and at 15 seconds for the process is the fastest retractable hood in the BMW range.
As well as a fabric roof, which stows in a perpendicular position in the rear when open leaving an extra 100 litres of space between the roof box and the seats, it has an 88-litre boot with more cargo space available under the bonnet.
The Roadster retains dihedral doors which open forwards and upwards while airflow has been altered at the front of the car to help maintain cabin temperature when travelling with the roof open.
Other features carried forward from the Coupe to the Roadster include the availability of BMW’s laser headlights with a beam range of up to 600 metres - double that of the standard LED lamps - and an acoustic warning system which alerts pedestrians when the vehicle is being driven at low speeds in electric mode.
When BMW recently announced the engines of the i8 Roadster would be made at Hams Hall it was a huge vote of confidence in both the plant and the region’s automotive sector.
The announcement was particularly good news for more than 1,000 people whose jobs are supported by the factory.
Hams Hall’s part in BMW’s electrified strategyThe plant has already been producing engines for the i8 Coupe - the world’s best-selling hybrid sports car.
“It’s fantastic that our plant is able to play a part in BMW Group’s electrified strategy,” said Hams Hall plant director, Bernd Gress.
“We are proud to have already contributed to the highly successful BMW i8 Coupe, as well as supplying engines for two other BMW and MINI hybrid models. Now, we look forward to being a part of the BMW i8 Roadster story, too.”
Hand-built by a small team of the Hams Hall plant’s engine technicians, the combustion engines for the i8 are assembled on a dedicated facility, recently expanded and enhanced to increase production capability for further high-spec engines.
The Hams Hall plant has a successful history manufacturing small, fuel-efficient, low emission petrol engines, producing more than 4.5million engines since it opened in 2001.
The plant directly supports the jobs of more than 1,000 local people.