Stop! Stop whatever you are doing and admire what could, even should, be the second model in BMW’s M division! Unfortunately Covid robbed us of that and we had XM instead… What a shame!

The BMW i16 was to succeed the i8 and become the second M! but…

The least we can say is that the automotive world took a bit of a beating this weekend. Domagoy Dukec, the man who currently heads BMW’s design department, actually posted on his social networks several images of a model that is nothing short of revolutionary for the Bavarian brand, but which, unfortunately, will never see the light of day: the i16. . As the name suggests, this German supercar had to be replaced vanguard i8 the production of which ceased in 2020. The production version of the Vision M Next concept was presented in 2019 at the Munich Motor Show, the lines of this i16 also draw inspiration from the legendary M1 supercar introduced in 1978. This new car was even supposed to be the second model of the M division after this last one! Domagoy Dukec also describes the body of the i16 as “ a future classic, but with new touches that improve the design over the M1. » We cannot agree. Unfortunately, the project stalled due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019 and BMW decided to start production gigantism and the monstrous XM SUV… Obviously, this disease will harm us…

600-horsepower hybrid or 100% electric?

Domagoy Dukets also clarifies what it is The i16 was to be based on the same composite architecture as the i8 to keep production costs under control. However, the German designer does not mention the mechanics that will be hidden under his hood. Finally, faster than passengers, as its engine would be located in a central rear position, as it was in the i8. And since the latter won from the 3-cylinder plug-in hybrid with 374 hp. and 570Nm to hit 100km/h in 4.4s, the i16 should have done better. At the time of the presentation of the Vision M Next concept, BMW talked about a 4-cylinder engine connected to 2 electric motors. In general, it could develop a power of about 600 hp, that is, almost twice as much cavalry as in i8. All with a weight of only one hundred kg extra. As a result, the i16 could accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in about 3 seconds. We also speculate that BMW could decide to increase the size of its battery by 7.1kWh so that its new hybrid supercar can travel over 50km on all-electric power. To achieve the same level of performance or even better, the Bavarian manufacturer could also install a 100% electric motor on its i16. After all, Nevera has already proven that a supercar or even a hypercar can be powered by ions…

Domagoy Dukec concludes his post by clarifying that “however, we (BMW) will never stop dreaming and exploring new possibilities, and there is always a new project around the corner…” Would this mean that the i16 descendant could still see the light of day as the third BMW M model? Hope keeps us alive…

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BMW Vision M Next (2019): M1 of the future!