We recently spoke with Andreas Bovensiepen, owner of ALPINA, about how the ALPINA BMW i8 almost happened and why it didn't. The BMW i8 was discontinued in June 2020 after a little more than six years in production. By dropping the i8 project, Alpina missed on offering its first hybrid or electrified vehicle.
Eighteen months ago, it was revealed that Alpina had developed a powerful variant of the BMW i8 but never went ahead with producing and selling it. Now we know why. Whereas the i8 leaves the.
Alpina once created a BMW i8 with a four cylinder engine and were able to get an additional 100 horsepower. But critics might have changed their tune if they'd had the chance to drive the four cylinder, 460 horsepower BMW i8 that BMW's right. In production since 2014 in Leipzig, the i8 was a first for BMW.
Facelifted in 2018 and joined by the i8 Spyder, the plug-in hybrid sports car could've had a four. Alpina's prototype BMW i8 also ran with wider front tires and more camber than stock, in an attempt to dial out some of the production car's tendency for understeer, and that meant incorporating. A year and a half ago, Alpina devised a complex performance upgrade plan for the BMW i8 hybrid coupe, but ditched it before production.
Read on to find out why. In case you forgot, the opulent Bavarian two-door ride ships with a rather tame 1.5-liter three-cylinder turbocharged engine under the hood, assisted by electric motors. Uncover the story of the ALPINA i8 prototype, a secret 460 horsepower project that redefines the hybrid supercar segment.
In June 2020, the BMW i8's manufacture came to an end after a little over six years. Alpina lost the opportunity to produce its first hybrid or electric vehicle by abandoning the i8 project. BMW doesn't intend to create a precursor, but it will soon broaden its selection of hybrid vehicles, opening the door for Alpina to someday enter this market.
Since 1965, Alpina has been in business.
