First introduced four years ago, at the 2012 Beijing Auto Show, the BMW i8 Spyder will finally make it into production, as BMW announced in March.

The model will be added to the company’s portfolio of hybrid and electric vehicles sometime around 2017 (or even 2018), and it will presumably be animated by the same powertrain as its closed-top sibling. The i8 Spyder can already be seen testing, as this video captured a white variant doing its thing on the Nurburgring.

We’re expecting the same 1.5-liter petrol engine, an electric motor and a 7.1 kWh lithium-ion battery pack under its skin, good for a combined 362 PS (357 hp), and up to 530 km (330 miles) of range. It should be quite fast as well, accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in  the mid 4-seconds range – like the regular i8. That’s because weight (or structural integrity) won’t be an issue, thanks to its carbon fiber construction.

On the outside, it will most probably look just like an i8 without a roof, and although it will arrive late at the party, it will still have until 2022 or 2023 to make an impression, after which a more powerful i8 will reportedly take its place.

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