Keep in mind the Imaginative and prescient M Subsequent? It’s the attractive idea pictured above. BMW unveiled this sports activities automotive 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 reducing room flooring. Quick ahead to 2024, and BMW is now showcasing the deserted challenge.

Design boss Domagoj Dukec lately shared photos of what was internally often known as the “I16” sports activities automotive on his private Instagram account. We briefly lined this thrilling coupe initially of the yr in anticipation of the launch of “BMW Behind The Scenes” – a complete three-book assortment by automotive writer Steve Saxty.

The BMW I16 would’ve been a manufacturing model of the Imaginative and prescient M Subsequent. Dukec says the automotive was developed inside 12 months for the reason that idea was formally revealed. He goes on to say it might’ve used the i8’s composite construction to hurry up growth fairly than having to start out from scratch. As a few of you’ll recall, the idea automotive had a turbocharged four-cylinder engine (as an alternative 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 keeping with Dukec’s Instagram put up: “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 possible referring to the coronavirus pandemic that compelled the corporate to be extra cautious with budgets and prioritize different tasks.

A number of studies from 2020 acknowledged the automotive was axed on account of prohibitive growth prices. As an alternative of a devoted supercar, the vastly controversial XM bought the inexperienced gentle for manufacturing as a plug-in hybrid SUV based mostly on the CLAR platform. The remainder is historical past…

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

Supply: Domagoj Dukec / Instagram