While there may be wilder-looking supercars, the BMW i8's intergalactic styling gives it the appearance of the car most likely to break the space-time continuum. After four years on the market, BMW has now rendered the i8 in convertible form, and the new roadster variant is an even more extroverted take on BMW's flashy supercar.
Mechanically, the roadster does not differ from the hardtop, although the i8's powertrain has been tweaked slightly for 2019. It's still a plug-in hybrid that has a mid-mounted turbocharged inline-three and an electric motor driving the rear wheels, along with a second, front-mounted motor driving the fronts.
For 2019, the lithium-ion battery has been reconfigured for more capacity, at 11.6 kWh versus 7.1 before. BMW also increased the front motor's output by 12 horsepower to 141, and the total system output has surged an equal amount, to 369 horsepower.
With a fully charged battery, the i8 is good for 18 miles of electric motoring, according to the EPA. We managed 22 miles of electric motoring at 75 mph before the gas triple fired up during our highway fuel-economy test. (After the gas engine started delivering torque, it averaged a respectable 35 mpg.)
For those willing to accept sub-supercar performance as a tradeoff for the i8's future-think green benefits, the roadster variant has it all over the coupe.
The look is even more radical, with fairings extending rearward over the engine cover, between which is a vertical rear window that powers up and down; leave it up to help combat wind buffeting.
Ducking under the i8's dihedral doors makes graceful ingress a challenge (getting out is a little easier), but they're still undeniably cool.
This car is more about making a statement that mid-engined sports cars can thrive in a future environment and look cool doing so.
Once inside, drivers will find the cabin easy to acclimate to, with BMW's iDrive infotainment system operated by the familiar clickwheel and featuring a logical menu structure.
The interior uses mostly off-the-shelf BMW elements but is extremely well finished, with rich leather.
The screen-based instrument cluster varies its appearance with the drive mode, and a welcome head-up display is standard.
In the default Comfort mode or in Eco Pro mode, the car starts out using battery power, blending in the gas engine as demand dictates but usually not until 65 mph or so. Slap the shift lever over to the left to activate Sport mode, however, and the engine runs all the time, making for quicker, more characterful acceleration and also charging the battery more quickly.
The roadster ditches the coupe's vestigial rear seats, but in their place is a useful in-cabin stowage space behind the front seats.
The trunk is located at the rear and measures a reasonable five cubic feet; a second, smaller front trunk is home to the charging cord.
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