The new model will be called the BMW i8 Roadster and we’ll see it sans the crocodile skin camouflage livery just in time for the 2017 Frankfurt motor show this September.

The car isn’t expected to go on sale until 2018, however, as BMW CEO Harold Krueger announced when he confirmed the Roadster back in October 2016.

Expect a little extra power from the turbocharged triple – which already outputs 231hp, from just 1.5 litres don’t forget – and a lot of extra plug-in potential from the electric motor and battery pack.

Most recent mid-life electric vehicle updates have seen a 50% increase in driving range.

BMW is likely to sacrifice some of that capability for additional performance from a more powerful motor, but you will still be able to go further between filling stations and charge points.

BMW’s engineers have made no secret of the challenges involved in loping the top off the i8’s complex carbon structure. So what do we know about the resulting roof.

The buttresses behind the cabin appear to be narrower and further apart than they have been in the concepts. They’re also bridged by some kind of wind block.

The arrangement reminds us of both the McLaren 650S Spider and the Ferrari 488 Spider, which suggests the i8 Roadster may have some kind of folding hardtop tucked away in there.

However, a folding fabric roof like that employed by the Lamborghini Huracan Spyder would probably be more compact.

So far our sources have only been able to confirm that it does have a folding roof. So buyers won’t have to panic like original Porsche Boxster Spyder owners should the weather suddenly change.