BMW’s hybrid supercar, the i8’s production is at an end, with no successor in sight. There were strong rumours of this which started to become more and more likely by the time the coronavirus hit. Now BMW have confirmed it, but are also trying to put a positive spin on it by producing the final 18 models in interesting colours.
Each of these colours were selected by the final few customers to show just how customisable these i8s were. Paintwork was done by hand and none of these colours had been featured on the bodywork of previous BMW i8 models.
With the BMW i8 out of the way, the company has no real hybrid performance flagship currently. The i8 was produced at BMW Group’s Leipzig plant.
Here’s the press release with more.
PRESS RELEASE
Austin Yellow. British Racing Green. Le Mans Blue. The last 18 BMW i8 vehicles left BMW Group Plant Leipzig today as their future owners looked on. Each car was a one-off created in close collaboration with the customer.
Manufacturing a BMW i8 is in itself a feat of modern automotive construction, owing to the vehicle concept, drive technology, and unique mix of carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) and aluminium. But the final 18 special models presented the i8 production team with particular challenges on top: each one was finished in a paintwork colour that had previously not been applied to the outer skin components of a BMW i8. Painting such a large number of exterior parts in the specified colour made production and logistics far more complex. Manufactured and painted virtually by hand by a range of suppliers and at BMW Group Plant Landshut, the challenge lay in getting the components to the production line in full premium quality. And with each part being the only one of this colour in existence and highly complex to reproduce, the utmost care and precision were required in logistics and throughout series vehicle production.
The final vehicles also have customised components in their interiors, such as Alcantara covers for seats and steering wheels, and special trim strips and fascia panels.
The customers in Plant Leipzig today – some of whom were members of the BMW i8 Club International – were on location to see their vehicles leave the factory gates and be handed over to vehicle logistics. Claus-Dieter Bachmann, President of the BMW i8 Club, described the day at the plant as a “highlight for our club members”.
