autoevolution Users Want Powerful i8 or None at all

The fact that the flagship sportscar for BMW’s ‘i’ range will most likely be a hybrid demands a lot of attention. That’s why, we asked our readers to tell us what they think the performance package should deliver.

The numbers are in and at first glance the results don’t seem too conclusive. 32 percent of you said BMW should equip the i8 with a potent powerplant that also sets new standards in sportscar fuel efficiency. Almost as many of you, 29 percent to be more precise, believe that the Bavarians should have stuck to the current path and not risk failure with a new brand. What this tells us is that most of you want the i8 to be a modern-day incarnation of the M1 supercar from the 80s. If BMW builds anything else than a performance machine, its image could be tarnished.

Italian makes offer flamboyant cars with bulges and fins, while British built cars with presence and a bit of circumstance. But the fact of the matter is that German sportscars don’t have much in the way of a “sense of humor”. BMW is like that as well, with their advanced fuel saving technologies, plus their new-found love of diesels and four-cylinder turbocharged engines. BUT, everyone forgives them, because all that technology is hidden behind a wall of excellent handling and some sweet sounding straight-six engines.

However, even that metallic sound of a six-pot could be lost in the case of the i8, according to recent reports. The company’s sales and marketing chief Ian Robertson suggested it could be replaced with a synthetic sound box: “We think customers will accept synthetic soundtracks. You could even download different sounds. I suspect legislation will make it compulsory. Watch this space.”

22 percent of out readers believe that fuel efficiency should be the main focus of the i8, but it should also offer decent performance. It seems that this is exactly what BMW is doing, as the car is believed to target the current M3’s 0 to 100 km/h time of 4.8 seconds, while managing over 75 mpg (3.13 l/100km) on the combined run and a CO2 emissions level of about 99 grams per km. This sound like the automotive equivalent of alchemy to us, so we will have to wait and see if they really pull it off.