California is well-known for its affection of low emissions vehicles and the state’s air resources board (CARB) applies their stringent automotive air quality regulations with vigour. A strange location to launch a supercar then? Not if it is the one of the most efficient and technologically advanced vehicles money can buy…
Flooring it
While cruising silently in electric mode, a snaking canyon road stretches out before the i8’s illustrious kidney grille. Decisions, decisions. The image of an armed state trooper giving us a stern warning about transgressing the law is still vivid in my mind.
Suddenly the instrument cluster changes colour from cool blue to a fiery red and the electronically enhanced sound of half a V6 internal combustion engine fills the cabin. Yes, sport mode has indeed been selected. Decision made. Mashing the accelerator to the floor, the i8 responds immediately and the internal combustion engine and electric motors working in perfect unison feels like a big elastic band firing the car towards the horizon.
Hit the brakes hard before the first tight corner followed by a sharp turn-in and early application of the go-fast pedal. The four-wheel-drive system reacts to transform maximum lateral acceleration to longitudinal thrust as the corner opens up – fun indeed. Good call.
Styling
Nothing can quite prepare you for the visual assault the first time you encounter the i8 in the flesh. Thankfully, the striking, futuristic styling of the original concept has made it to the production vehicle in largely undiluted form. Functionally curved plastic body panels are edged with the i-brand’s signature blue and given further definition by selective gloss black surfaces. It is a stunner and personifies the eco supercar of the 21st century. The Los Angeles public agreed – our car was photographed from all angles even as we drove silently through the city centre. This is clearly not a vehicle for shy people then.
Inside
Opening those elegant butterfly doors is one thing – an equivalent ingress is something else. One has to plan a careful strategy to enter without your scalp grazing the carbon-fibre door edges. Once inside you are comforted by conventional BMW design with some added i touches including appropriate LCD instrument cluster. All the mod cons expected of a vehicle in this price range are present.
The beautifully crafted, electrically adjustable seats are mounted low and feel snug. Finding a good driving position is easy with plenty of reach and rake adjustment on the steering column. All-round visibility is excellent for a car of this ilk thanks to the large glass areas surrounding the cockpit. The rear seats are generally token items but a flexible Edward Makwana (BMW PR) managed to squeeze in for part of the launch drive.
Body and chassis
The i8 is the pinnacle of BMW’s innovative i-brand and a dedicated engineering team started with a clean slate design. The body-in-white structure that forms the passenger safety cell is constructed from carbon-reinforced plastic (CRFP, similar to the i3 that I drove last year). Aluminium crash structures are bolted on at the front and rear while the body panels are produced from plastic. This weight saving techniques means the i8 only weighs 1 485 kg and the visual aerodynamic design elements reduced the coefficient of drag to a remarkable figure 0,26.
Powertrain
The electric powertrain comprises a 7,1 kWh battery pack (housed in the traditional transmission tunnel), a 96 kW and 250 N.m electric motor connected to the front wheels through a two-speed gearbox. In all-electric mode the vehicle can be driven for 37 km with speeds up to 120 km/h. An on-board charger is provided which enables the owner to recharge the battery pack from their wall socket at home.
The 1,5-litre, three-cylinder turbopetrol engine is transversely mounted in the rear of the vehicle and transmits power to the rear wheels via a six-speed automatic gearbox. It forms part of the new modular range of BMW engines but in the i8 it is tweaked (running 1,7 bar of boost) to deliver 170 kW and 320 N.m. . It is important to note that there is no physical link between the two main powertrains except the road surface under the wheels.The beefed-up starter/generator unit can start the engine, provide a boost function during acceleration or charge the battery.
Combined power output of the powertrain system is 266 kW which is good enough for a 0-100 km/h time of 4,4 seconds. More impressive is the acceleration time of 4,0 seconds for the 80–120 km/h sprint. Most impressive though is the (optimistic) NEDC fuel consumption figure of only 2,1 litres/100 km and a CO2 figure of 49 g/km. High performance still comes at a price as the extended session of flat-out canyon driving pushed the average fuel consumption to 14 litres/100 km. Achieving closer to the claimed figure is possible only when performance restraint is applied.
Driving modes
The driver can select between four drive modes, namely eDRIVE for electric only driving, ECO PRO for the most efficient control algorithms during smooth driving, COMFORT mode with intelligent use of both powertrains, and SPORT mode which runs both powertrains in parallel to extract maximum performance. The adaptable dampers and steering settings are also altered in SPORT mode.
Driving experience
The electric powertrain ensures that any accelerator input immediately translates into acceleration in both electric or dual powertrain mode. The ride, even in comfort mode, is still harsh over broken surfaces which can be partly attributed to the 195/215-section, run flat, low rolling resistance tyres. These tyres also relinquish some lateral grip performance with tyre squeal evident at the limit.
The light steering firms up in SPORT mode and provides adequate feedback which enables the driver to accurately place the vehicle on the road. The little three-cylinder engine was never going to sound like a large capacity race engine so the BMW engineers had to enhance the natural noise characteristics through the speaker system. This makes the vehicle sound raucous in the cabin but quiet outside. The gearshifts are quick by traditional automatic standards, though manual downshift requests are sometimes ignored.
Summary
The i8 is an astonishing technical achievement and provides a look into the future of sportscar engineering. It should not be compared to existing supercars as it joins two usually mutually exclusive entities; performance and environmental sustainability. Petrolheads expecting tyre-shredding M-car performance with a soundtrack to match will be disappointed. BUT, (wealthy) individuals embracing the technology will be rewarded with a spectacular design and possibly the best performance-to-fuel-consumption ratio currently available. The i8 should arrive locally in March next year.
Specifications*
Model: BMW i8
Internal combustion engine: 1,5-litre, three-cylinder, turbopetrol
Power/Torque: 170 kW/320 N.m
Electric motor: synchronous motor with integrated power electronics
Power/Torque: 96 kW/250 N.m
Combined power rating: 266 kW
Battery pack: 7,1 kWh lithium-ion
0-100 km/h: 4,4 secs
Top speed: 250 km/h
Electric range: 37 km
CO2 rating: 49 g/km
Price: R2 million est.
*According to BMW
