There has been a lot of talk lately about the future of the iconic BMW i8. While some magazines said it would not get a successor, our sources claim otherwise. According to our info, the i8 Roadster won’t have a second generation but the Coupe will live on. But in the mean time, a current generation BMW i8 prototype was spotted at the Nurburgring running some hot laps.

On a different topic, you probably heard about the mishaps Tesla encountered on the Green Hell recently, trying to break the record set by the Porsche Taycan. If you haven’t, long story short, their Model S broke down trying to steal Porsche’s thunder. There’s a video of the car being towed away on Youtube and while it does show the Taycan lapping the broken Tesla, twice, it also shows some valuable footage of other test cars on the track.

One of them is a beefed up BMW i8. Judging by its looks, this could very well be a BMW test car testing the next generation of plug-in hybrids.

If you look closer at this video, you might notice some seriously wide tires on this test car, suggesting there’s more than meets the eye here. As you already know, the i8 is normally wearing rather skinny tires in standard guise.

This is, therefore, most likely a mule, testing the next generation powertrain. Rumors claim it will use a bigger internal combustion engine (a four-cylinder 2.0 liter) and a new electric motor. The upcoming successor will also have polarizing looks and more performance than before.

Only time will tell how many of these rumors will be confirmed as we’re still some 5 years away from seeing the end product.