Keep in mind the Imaginative and prescient M Subsequent? It’s the attractive idea pictured above. BMW unveiled this sports activities automobile in mid-2019, envisioning it as a possible rebirth of the enduring M1 supercar. The plug-in hybrid efficiency automobile might have been a superb follow-up to the i8. Nevertheless, it was sadly left on the proverbial chopping room ground. Quick ahead to 2024, and BMW is now showcasing the deserted challenge.

Design boss Domagoj Dukec just lately shared pictures of what was internally referred to as the “I16” sports activities automobile on his private Instagram account. We briefly coated this thrilling coupe at the start of the yr in anticipation of the launch of “BMW Behind The Scenes” – a complete three-book assortment by automotive creator Steve Saxty.

The BMW I16 would’ve been a manufacturing model of the Imaginative and prescient M Subsequent. Dukec says the automobile was developed inside 12 months because the idea was formally revealed. He goes on to say it will’ve used the i8’s composite construction to hurry up improvement moderately than having to start out from scratch. As a few of you’ll recall, the idea automobile had a turbocharged four-cylinder engine (as a substitute of the i8’s three-cylinder unit) working with an electrical motor. The PHEV setup delivered a mixed output of 600 horsepower channeled to an all-wheel-drive system.

When the M Imaginative and prescient Subsequent celebrated its premiere, BMW touted a 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) dash in three seconds and a most velocity of 186 mph (300 km/h). The unspecified battery pack gave it a pure electrical vary of 62 miles (100 kilometers). The wedge-shaped supercar had staggered wheels (21 inches entrance, 22 inches rear) and rear louvers akin to the legendary M1.

Okay, however why didn’t BMW’s higher-ups from Munich approve the I18? In accordance with Dukec’s Instagram submit: “However historical past was to not be made. Whereas we pushed, the world modified in 2020. And so, work on the challenge sadly needed to be stopped.” He was seemingly referring to the coronavirus pandemic that compelled the corporate to be extra cautious with budgets and prioritize different initiatives.

A number of studies from 2020 said the automobile was axed as a consequence of prohibitive improvement prices. As a substitute of a devoted supercar, the massively controversial XM received the inexperienced mild for manufacturing as a plug-in hybrid SUV based mostly on the CLAR platform. The remaining is historical past…

Maybe we’re studying an excessive amount of into this however Dukec may need hinted that one thing fascinating is within the planning levels: “We’ll by no means cease dreaming and exploring new potentialities, and there’s at all times a brand new challenge ready across the nook.”

Supply: Domagoj Dukec / Instagram