Gorgeous looks; best-on-the-plant technology; brilliant interior
Not quite Supercar dynamics, ‘postage stamp’ boot
In the same way as the Addams Family has Uncle Fester, BMW’s ‘i’ family also has a ‘dark side’. The ‘i’ model BMWs (the only other one so far is the i3) are all about being green, plug-in hybrid electric motoring and minimized emissions/fuel consumption…the i8 is all that but it’s also a rip-snorting, high-performance genuine Supercar.
Like the La Ferrari is the future for Maranello, the i8 is the future for Munich. And, as we’ve seen with these cars and the F1 racers, far from being a worry, plug-in hybrid cars can tick all the boxes for performance car enthusiasts.
BMW i8 Overview
BMW’s i8 pushes the boundaries of current automotive technology. It’s not cheap at $299,000 but it’s a bargain.
Yep for $299K you get a carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP), gullwing supercar with plug-in hybrid petrol-electric power, all the high-tech driver aides imaginable and astonishingly good driving dynamics. You’d need to add at least another $150K on-top of the i8’s sticker to buy a McLaren and even more for a Lamborghini.
And unlike other Supercars, the BMW i8 is actually more practical as a daily driver. In the city, driving on pure electric power it simply gets going like all electric cars with none of the baulkiness, clunking and heavy operation of say a Huracan.
BMW i8 Engine
This is the interesting bit. The BMW i8 employs a twin-turbocharged 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol engine which drives the rear wheels via a six-speed automatic transmission mated to an electric motor with a two-speed automatic transmission which drives the front wheels.
That adds to 170kW/320Nm for the petrol engine, 96kW/250Nm for the electric motor and a combined output of 276kW/570Nm.
Aided by its lightweight CFRP body and tub, the BMW i8 accelerates from zero to 100km/h in 4.4 seconds. That’s sharp enough ,but from 80km/h to 120km/h takes just 2.6 seconds and only select few high-performance cars are in that league.
And here’s the showstopper for this high-performance Supercar: combined-cycle fuel consumption scores 2.1l/100kms.
BMW i8 The Interior
You know you’re dealing with a Supercar when you try to climb (‘clamber’ might be a better word) inside. The gullwing doors and high CFRP sills means ‘elegant’ or ‘dignified’ aren’t terms you’ll be needing (hey ever tried to get into a Ferrari, Lamborghini or McLaren…it goes with the territory).
Once behind the wheel the Supercar feeling continues – you’re low, rake/reach adjustment for the steering wheel and a superb sports seat provide an ideal driving environment, the instruments (in a small curved binnacle) are just right and there’s a head-up display. In fact the instrument binnacle’s design is a work of art by itself and the gauges themselves change colour according to your selected driving mode (red in ‘Sport’ naturally).
There’s some familiar BMW looks for the air-conditioning and audio controls on the centre stack and the free-standing screen and radial control for the navigation are also exactly as we know from other models. Further left the BMW i8’s dashboard gets added complexity with multiple lines and levels ahead of the passenger and air-vents. A brilliant, contemporary look all beautifully crafted and leather-wrapped as only BMW can.
Surprisingly, behind are two tiny individual seats. The www.carshowroom.com.au juniors (ages 12 and 11) just squeezed in and were glad when the three minute trip to school mercifully ended – get the picture?
Our BMW i8 test car was fitted with the optional ‘electric’ blue seat belts. A ‘must-have’ selection as they looked great and at night blended with the stunning blue interior lighting.
BMW i8 Exterior & Styling
We’ve reviewed lots of cars over a number of years here at www.carshowroom.com.au but none has turned heads, stopped people in their tracks or prompted so many strangers and mates to ask questions as the BMW i8. One mate who has just purchased a Porsche 911 Turbo S was very sad to see a crowd at school pickup checking-out the i8 and ignoring his car!
But the BMW i8 is that sort of car. The sort of car young boys draw in their notebooks instead of listening to their teacher.
BMW fanatics say there’s a hint of the legendary M1 about the front-end of the i8 and we can see where they’re coming from. But elsewhere this is nothing like any BMW we’ve ever see.
The gullwing doors and incredibly complex aerodynamic elements around the rear three-quarters are just beautiful. And opening /closing those doors with a CFRP ‘thunk’ rather than a metallic sound previews that this is a very special high-performance car.
The BMW i8 is virtually all CFRP with enough visible in the roof and door sills to boast to your mates. Maybe it was just our test car, but some of the carbon fibre weave in the doorshells and sills looked a bit rough – not to worry, even F1 cars have some less-than-perfect-looking carbon fibre elements.
The 20-inch wheels (7.5J X 20 fronts and 8.5J X 20 rears) are a brilliant aerodynamic design and are mounted with low profile rubber (215/45 R20 fronts and 245/40 R20 rears).
Our test car was painted in the metallic blue which BMW has used for most of the i8 photography we’ve seen and we reckon it’s the most appropriate colour for this car.
BMW i8 On The Road
Of course there are two BMW i8s – the pure electric one which operates in silence and the awesomely fast Supercar with the twin-turbo petrol engine growling and driving the rear wheels in concert with the thrust of the 96kW/250Nm electric motor driving the front wheels.
Around town, often in pure electric mode, we were impressed by the quietness of the BMW i8. Given its carbon fibre tub and massive gullwing doors we wouldn’t have been surprised if there were some NVH issues – but there were none.
Even in the Melbourne CBD with its numerous tram track crossings, the i8 was ‘BMW M’ firm in the suspension, but there was no thumping or banging to detect despite the lack of an internal combustion engine to muffle things. That’s clever engineering for you.
But it was over our high-speed mountain roads test route that we fully understood what the fuss is about the BMW i8. Dial-up ‘Sport’ mode and nail the throttle and the BMW i8 is seriously Supercar brutal.
The turbo 1.5-litre gets noisy (a cleverly artificially exaggerated sound inside the cockpit) as it snaps through the gears and the combined shove in the back from it and the electric motor under full acceleration is simply astonishing. Zero to 100km/h in 4.4 seconds is impressive enough but mid-range is where the BMW i8’s two power units do their best work.
Some international testers have said the BMW i8 is a tad ‘under-tyred’ (7.5-inch fronts and 8.5-inch rears) but that was not our experience. We liked the turn-in and mid-corner ‘set’ (active damper control naturally plus that ultra-stiff carbon-fibre tub) and while there was a hint of the expected all-wheel-drive understeer at the limit (with some tyre squeeling), honestly that limit is so high unless you’re on a race track most are unlikely to ever approach it.
We liked everything about the BMW i8 over those sweeping mountain roads. But it was always the immediate and massive response in the mid-range which was addictive (for example accelerating out of corners).
More mundane things? Well all that aero work pays-off in other ways and even in pure electric mode you’ll be working hard to detect any wind noise.
And you’ll need to be closely acquainted with the reversing camera when parking because – like all sports cars – rear three-quarter visibility is restricted.
BMW i8 Issues
The BMW i8 has a boot just big enough for a shoebox. Two-up you can store overnight bags on the rear seats but that’s it. Even the bespoke luggage made for the BMW i8 by Yves Saint Laurent isn’t going to cut it for anything more than a few shirts.
BMW i8 Verdict
Beyond a shadow of doubt the BMW i8 is a brilliant car. This is BMW’s future vision and best-practice current technology all wrapped into a stunning sports car.
In the same way as the La Ferrari, BMW’s i8 pushes the boundaries of current thinking. A supercar with a 1.5-litre three-cylinder engine and fuel consumption of 2.1l/100kms? Damn right – and that’s the power of hybrid technology…well, hybrid technology pushed to the extreme.
This is about as far removed from a Toyota Prius as you can get. But this is what hybrids can offer us (think the current F1 cars).
So you’re ‘green’, a convention-breaker, early adopter, Supercar owner and enthusiast driver…all at once.
But, just like everyone who happens across the BMW i8, we just can’t get over the ‘Wow-Factor’ looks.
All things considered, $299,000 looks like a bargain.
BMW i8 The Competition
In terms of direct competitors for the BMW i8 there really is nothing. It’s too much of stretch to consider McLaren or La Ferrari and the hybrid offerings from Porsche aren’t really i8 sort of cars.
