BMW i8 facelift brings more power, longer pure-EV range

BMW will give its i8 more power, a longer pure-electric range, plenty of chassis tweaks and a new wireless charging system as part of a comprehensive MY2017 upgrade to become available in Australia by 2018.

It’s not yet been revealed how much extra power the refreshed petrol-hybrid supercar gets but, according to Autocar, the BMW will use a far more powerful electric motor than the current car’s 96kW front motor.

The current car’s 170kW 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine is also believed to have had its boost turned up and, together, the new i8 is should come with around 293kW -- 10 per cent more than the current i8.

That's said to make the i8 significantly quicker than the current moel, which takes 4.4 seconds to hit 100km/h, and BMW engineers have also reportedly sped up the gear changes of the six-speed automatic.

Top speed, meanwhile, is said to still be limited to 250km/h.

The facelifted i8 will also come with a far better pure-electric range, says Autocar, which claims the i8 could benefit from a larger 10kWh lithium battery in place of the 7.1kWh cells the car was launched with.

Under the carbon-fibre skin there’s also new front and rear suspension that BMW has secretly honed on its Formula E safety cars.

The new car will also ride 15mm lower and have large ultra-light alloy wheels that are 25 per cent lighter than the wheels they replace.

For the first time owners will also benefit from a new optional wireless charging system that uses induction plates fixed on the floor instead of using a traditional plug.

BMW is expected to officially launch the revised i8, along with the production version of the i8 Spyder, at this October's at the Paris motor show.

Before then, BMW Australia -- which has sold almost 100 i8s here since late 2014 -- will release the i8 Protonic Red special-edition in September.