The BMW i8 first made its debut at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show, and after nearly seven years of production, the final 18 units of the plug-in hybrid sports car have left the assembly lines at the carmaker’s Leipzig plant.
These cars are bit more special, as each one was finished in a colour that was never before applied to the vehicle during its production run, including Austin Yellow. British Racing Green. Le Mans Blue and Portimao Blue. This posed a challenge in terms of production and logistics, with BMW saying it needed a large number of exterior parts to be painted by hand in the specified colour.
With each part highly complex to reproduce and being the only one of its respective colour in existence, the carmaker notes that consecutively building the cars in a one-off colour was done with utmost care throughout the process.
“The degree of customisation in these vehicles threw up some major logistical and process challenges. But our i production unit has proved yet again that nothing is impossible,” said Hans-Peter Kemser, director of BMW Group Plant Leipzig.
“Yet again, we have proved our ability to meet the highly discerning standards and personal specifications of our customers with unique solutions and unparalleled skill. For BMW i8 production to end with a finale like this is something we can all be very proud of,” he added.
Aside from the special exterior finishes, the last few i8 vehicles also have customised components in their interiors, including Alcantara covers for seats and steering wheels, along with special trim strips and fascia panels.
A good majority of the final 18 units were ordered in Roadster guise, which was unveiled in November 2017 with powertrain upgrades that were applicable to the coupe as well. Given the shorter production run of the soft-top version, the Roadster is a lot rarer than the hardtop and should command higher premium among collectors in the future.
Regardless of body style, the i8 still turns heads today with its futuristic design, which was previewed by the Vision EfficientDynamics concept that featured in Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol. With over 20,000 units sold throughout its production run (including in Malaysia), it is the world top selling plug-in electric sports car, but we must now bid goodbye to it, as no successor appears to be on the horizon.
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‘This posed a challenge in terms of production and logistics, with BMW saying it needed a large number of exterior parts to be painted by hand in the specified colour’
its 18 unit ffs.