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https://www.drive.com.au/motor-news/...r-plans-119666

Mid-engined 450kW hybrid supercar on the cards

BMW looks set to unleash a 450kW-plus hybrid supercar powered by a petrol engine and electric motors.

To utilise the existing lightweight carbon architecture of the i8 sports car, the supercar could appear as early as 2021 as a flagship for the luxury brand that prides itself on driving excitement.

While stopping short of confirming the project was a done deal, the board member responsible for product development for the German car maker, Klaus Frolich, strongly hinted that a BMW supercar was in the works.

“(A) Supercar is my personal wish … I think there is a next window of opportunity whenever we have the life cycle for i8,” said Frolich at the 2018 Paris motor show. “I’m working very hard to make it happen.”

Frolich nominated the chassis of the i8, a car that utilises electric motors and a three-cylinder turbo engine, as the starting point for a BMW supercar.

“The chassis is so robust, so good and so lightweight that I would like to use it for a second generation,” he said.

“I have a wonderful carbon fibre chassis for a sports car in my portfolio - currently it’s used in the i8.

“This car was launched in (20)14, so I would like to use something like that, with much more performance, electric and conventional. Then it will be very soon in the 600 horsepower or something region and it will not have a weight of two tonnes.”

Rather than serve as a direct replacement for the i8 – a car that is brisk but not in the same league as supercars such as various Porsche 911s, the Audi R8 and Lamborghini Huracan – Frolich suggested a new supercar would be a big step up in performance.

While he ruled out big capacity V8 or V10 engines, he nominated a four- or six-cylinder as the likely candidate to power the rear wheels and provide the all-important character people expect of fast cars.

Teamed with electric motors driving the front wheels – for a high-tech all-wheel drive setup – he suggested 600 horsepower was a good target.

That translates to about 450kW – well in the reaches of many highly fancied supercars – and with the lightweight advantage of carbon fibre.

Frolich said any such car would weigh less than two tonnes, cementing a solid power-to-weight ratio.

As with so many supercar programs, the challenge lies with ensuring enough people will buy it to justify what is an enormous development project and low volume production.

Predicted small sales would then be offset against the obvious benefits of such a car as a halo across the brand.

“This market segment is so small … there is always a business case discussions about it … we have to invest in the brand, too.”