Photo: Gabura Racing Technologies
Let’s face it, the thought crossed your mind the moment you first saw the BMW i8 and also read its spec sheet. Yeah, that 4.4-second 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) sprint time is impressive, but you can’t help but feel that beautiful bodywork is going to waste without a proper engine underneath it.
True story: people would see the BMW i8 and after they had finished picking up their jaws off the floor, they would ask: “what engine does it have?” After the inevitable “1.5-liter, three-cylinders” answer came, they would storm off convinced you were a wise-ass. You’d yell “but it’s a hybrid, it’s really fast,” but it would all be too late. That man left disappointed, and it was you together with the BMW i8 who did that.
Gabura Racing Technologies, a German tuner specializing in racing transmissions but not shying away from anything that makes cars go faster, decided too many people had walked away disappointed from a BMW i8. That needed to change.
The Munich-based company - what a coincidence, right? - took a BMW i8, stripped it down to a hollow shell, took a 4.4-liter V8 engine from an M6, and put the two together. There are two things you should know here: first, the M6 engine, which is good for 560 hp in its natural state, has been reportedly tuned by Alpina to deliver at least 200 hp more; second - and this is quite surprising - the engine sits up front.
To balance things off a little, Gabura Racing Technologies is likely to fit a six-speed sequential gearbox at the rear, which should really be the least of the tuner’s problems as it’s right up Gabura’s alley.
It’s not like the original BMW i8 wasn’t a superb car - it was the first to prove that a proper sports car can actually sip discreet quantities of fuel in the real world as well, as opposed to only on paper. But it wasn’t a supercar. And since that’s not a problem in itself, it was made so by the fact that the i8 looked like one.
With a close to 800 hp V8 engine and a racing transmission, this new V8 should offer the kind of raw power (and, most of all, sound) everyone expects from a car with i8’s looks. The only thing we’re worried about is weight distribution, but it seems complicated so we’ll let Gabura figure that one out by itself. The project is still ongoing, so expect full details when it’s completed. Until then, you can follow them on Facebook.
Gabura Racing Technologies, a German tuner specializing in racing transmissions but not shying away from anything that makes cars go faster, decided too many people had walked away disappointed from a BMW i8. That needed to change.
The Munich-based company - what a coincidence, right? - took a BMW i8, stripped it down to a hollow shell, took a 4.4-liter V8 engine from an M6, and put the two together. There are two things you should know here: first, the M6 engine, which is good for 560 hp in its natural state, has been reportedly tuned by Alpina to deliver at least 200 hp more; second - and this is quite surprising - the engine sits up front.
To balance things off a little, Gabura Racing Technologies is likely to fit a six-speed sequential gearbox at the rear, which should really be the least of the tuner’s problems as it’s right up Gabura’s alley.
It’s not like the original BMW i8 wasn’t a superb car - it was the first to prove that a proper sports car can actually sip discreet quantities of fuel in the real world as well, as opposed to only on paper. But it wasn’t a supercar. And since that’s not a problem in itself, it was made so by the fact that the i8 looked like one.
With a close to 800 hp V8 engine and a racing transmission, this new V8 should offer the kind of raw power (and, most of all, sound) everyone expects from a car with i8’s looks. The only thing we’re worried about is weight distribution, but it seems complicated so we’ll let Gabura figure that one out by itself. The project is still ongoing, so expect full details when it’s completed. Until then, you can follow them on Facebook.
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