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BMW to provoke McLaren with hybrid supercar?

BMW to provoke McLaren with hybrid supercar?

The model could make its debut by 2023.

BMW could return to the supercar segment after a long hiatus. The Munich-based company is considering launching a halo model that would compete in the same segment as the McLaren 570S and the Audi R8, among other mid-engined road rockets.

The yet-unnamed model is under consideration, according to British magazine Autocar. It hasn't received the green light for production yet. If it's approved for production, it would showcase the strength of BMW's research and development department by leveraging advancements in electrification and lightweight materials.

Klaus Fröhlich, BMW's head of research and development, shed insight into what form the supercar could take.

"If we have these very compact and very powerful electric driving units, if we have a carbon fiber chassis - for example, the i8's - and if we still have high-performance engines, then, if you do it cleverly, you can combine them into a real performance package," he told Autocar. He added that every engineer's dream is to make a supercar at least once in his or her career, and partial electrification could make that possible for him.

While Fröhlich stopped short of providing technical details, Autocar believes the supercar will ride on an evolution of the carbon fiber chassis found under the i8 (pictured). Its gasoline-electric hybrid powertrain will be similar, too, but it will be built around a straight-six engine instead of a three-cylinder. The powertrain could make over 700 horsepower.

It's too early to talk about styling. BMW could give the model a futuristic design a lot like the i8's, or it could incorporate styling cues that pay tribute to the M1.

BMW hasn't commented on the report, and it hasn't outlined plans to release a supercar. If the rumor is accurate, and if board members approve the project, the supercar will begin arriving in showrooms in 2023. It will serve as an indirect replacement for the i8, but BMW will limit production to maintain a high degree of exclusivity.