BMW Keen to Build a Hybrid Supercar

While the BMW i8 is a rather stunning looking car, it’s no supercar.

It’s three-cylinder gasoline engine and electric motors produce a rather modest 369 horsepower. A proper supercar from the German brand could come in the near future, though, according to one BMW executive.

Klaus Fröhlich, the automaker’s R&D chief, told Drive.com.au in a Wednesday report that he wants to see BMW build a hybrid supercar. It’s unclear if he envisions the supercar as a replacement for the current i8 or perhaps a separate car, though. What is clear is Fröhlich’s wishes to use the i8’s aluminum and carbon platform for his (for now hypothetical) supercar. He called such a car his “personal wish.”

“I think there is a next window of opportunity whenever we have the life cycle for i8,” he said. “I’m working very hard to make it happen.”

SEE ALSO: BMW May Not Make Next Generation i3, i8 Models

Fröhlich added any supercar project would house an internal-combustion engine, but not a three-cylinder mill like the i8. Instead, a four-cylinder or six-cylinder engine would be more suitable for the car. Don’t expect a large displacement V8 or anything of the like from a potential BMW supercar. Electric motors would provide additional power and give the car an all-wheel drive, the executive added.

As for power, Fröhlich said 600 hp is something very doable for the company and such a car wouldn’t weigh over two tons to keep a favorable power-to-weight ratio.

While he didn’t confirm a hybrid supercar is absolutely heading to production, he said such a car could arrive for 2021. Its arrival would also justify previous rumors from earlier this decade about an i9 supercar. The project was initially rumored to celebrate BMW’s 100th birthday in 2016.

[Source: Drive.com.au]

A version of this story originally appeared on Hybrid Cars.