According to BMW Blog quoting its own sources at BMW and German publication Manager-Magazin, the M Next project has been thrown under the bus. Despite the lack of an official announcement from BMW, the hybrid supercar/sports car is believed to be axed.

We’ll have to wait a while for BMW’s next hybrid supercar

On one hand, the coronavirus pandemic and the drop in sales forced the Bavarians to make cuts in order to stay afloat, and on the other hand, to add insult to injury, a hybrid sports car project was always going to be a cost and volume issue right off the top, even for a big-name, financially-gifted carmaker like BMW.

You see, the i8, as revolutionary as it was, didn’t make too many waves sales-wise. This explains BMW’s reluctancy to go all in on turning the Vision M Next from a concept to a road-going vehicle. }

What’s more, if the AMG-rivaling supercar made it to production as planned, there was nothing that could guarantee its success, although we’re sure BMW would have liked to have it in its portfolio just to showcase what it can do as far as future technologies are concerned.

Ultimately, the rebirth of this project depends on how quickly the current situation is overpassed and sales get back to where they were before the corona madness.

That might take some time, though, perhaps months or even years. So before BMW affords to embark in such ambitious project, it needs to secure a stable, hefty cash flow which won’t arrive unless the business environment is stable.

Previous reports on the i8 M talked about 600 horsepower coming from a plug-in-hybrid powertrain. A turbocharged gasoline engine (larger than the 1.5-liter unit found inside the i8) would have powered the front axle, with an e-motor tasked with spinning the rear wheels.