Photo: BMW
This weekend, Autocar editors were invited to BMW's testing facility in Sweden in order to see for themselves the way the new i3 and i8 feel and drive.
The new i8 sportscar will be the start of 2014, when it will be released. It's supposed to be a new kind of coupe that will offer the best of 2 worlds: economy and performance.
The interior of the i8 is in the style of a proper sportscar. You're sitting low, under the level of the carbon fibre sills with your legs out in front of you. The seats are sporty, hugging and not the most comfortable. The main attraction is the dashboard though. The instrument binnacle has an interesting feature. When driving in eco-pro mode it has a calm, blue hue whilst when driving in a more aggressive, sportive mode it turns to a racier orange.
The i8 has a curb weight of 1,480 kg due to its carbon fibre structure. Even though the i3 is all-electric, the i8 has a plug-in petrol-electric hybrid system in order to provide the needed levels of performance for a sportscar. When the system detects sub-zero temperatures it fires up the combustion engine. In better weather conditions the electric engine would have started first.
Unlikely any other sportscar, this one has only a 1.5-liter turbocharged 3-cylinder direct injection petrol engine that develops 225 HP and 300 Nm of torque. The power is then channeled to the rear wheels through a six-speed automatic gearbox with a conventional torque converter. The engine has a specific sound to it that gets deeper as RPM levels rise, tapping out at 6,500.
That's not all though. The conventional engine is helped by another, electric engine, the same found on the i3. This one sits at the front, while the 1.5-liter petrol engine sits behind the seats. With the electric engine powering the front axle the i8 becomes a 4WD car. There is also a 3rd engine, at the back. This one is acting as an alternator or a generator, depending on the car's needs.
Combining those 3 engines you get 353 HP and 550 Nm of torque. This means that the i8 has a 238 HP/ton power-to-weight ratio. The i8's time to 100 km/h is 4.6 seconds for now, but the final version of the car might be even faster.
Driving on battery power alone, the car will have an autonomy of around 35 km, not a high value (like the one of the i3) but decent enough to get you free of charge through zones that have a congestion or zero-emission tax like the ones you can find in London.
Probably the most impressive feature of the i8 is the way it shifts between power sources and how they manage to work together.
“It’s a crucial part of hybrid drivetrain development, and something we’ve put a great deal of effort in to perfecting to keep us in good stead for the future. It’s part of the reason why we decided from the outset not to engage an outside partner, but to keep all electronic development in-house, and retain the intellectual property rights for ourselves.” says Jos van As, head of chassis development for all BMW models.
Another impressive feature of the i8 is the comfort of the ride, even though it's a sportscar. The ride will be close to the 4 Series Coupe which will be released pretty soon. This was BMW's choice because the developers actually kept in mind the fact that the customers that will buy the i8 will use the car on a daily basis.
Keeping in mind that the price tag will be around €125,000 the i8 seems a worthy opponent for cars like the Carrera 4S. Not only will it offer the same amount of performance but it will be as comfortable as a 4 Series and spectacularly futuristic in terms of appearance, usage and economy.
The interior of the i8 is in the style of a proper sportscar. You're sitting low, under the level of the carbon fibre sills with your legs out in front of you. The seats are sporty, hugging and not the most comfortable. The main attraction is the dashboard though. The instrument binnacle has an interesting feature. When driving in eco-pro mode it has a calm, blue hue whilst when driving in a more aggressive, sportive mode it turns to a racier orange.
The i8 has a curb weight of 1,480 kg due to its carbon fibre structure. Even though the i3 is all-electric, the i8 has a plug-in petrol-electric hybrid system in order to provide the needed levels of performance for a sportscar. When the system detects sub-zero temperatures it fires up the combustion engine. In better weather conditions the electric engine would have started first.
Unlikely any other sportscar, this one has only a 1.5-liter turbocharged 3-cylinder direct injection petrol engine that develops 225 HP and 300 Nm of torque. The power is then channeled to the rear wheels through a six-speed automatic gearbox with a conventional torque converter. The engine has a specific sound to it that gets deeper as RPM levels rise, tapping out at 6,500.
That's not all though. The conventional engine is helped by another, electric engine, the same found on the i3. This one sits at the front, while the 1.5-liter petrol engine sits behind the seats. With the electric engine powering the front axle the i8 becomes a 4WD car. There is also a 3rd engine, at the back. This one is acting as an alternator or a generator, depending on the car's needs.
Combining those 3 engines you get 353 HP and 550 Nm of torque. This means that the i8 has a 238 HP/ton power-to-weight ratio. The i8's time to 100 km/h is 4.6 seconds for now, but the final version of the car might be even faster.
Driving on battery power alone, the car will have an autonomy of around 35 km, not a high value (like the one of the i3) but decent enough to get you free of charge through zones that have a congestion or zero-emission tax like the ones you can find in London.
Probably the most impressive feature of the i8 is the way it shifts between power sources and how they manage to work together.
“It’s a crucial part of hybrid drivetrain development, and something we’ve put a great deal of effort in to perfecting to keep us in good stead for the future. It’s part of the reason why we decided from the outset not to engage an outside partner, but to keep all electronic development in-house, and retain the intellectual property rights for ourselves.” says Jos van As, head of chassis development for all BMW models.
Another impressive feature of the i8 is the comfort of the ride, even though it's a sportscar. The ride will be close to the 4 Series Coupe which will be released pretty soon. This was BMW's choice because the developers actually kept in mind the fact that the customers that will buy the i8 will use the car on a daily basis.
Keeping in mind that the price tag will be around €125,000 the i8 seems a worthy opponent for cars like the Carrera 4S. Not only will it offer the same amount of performance but it will be as comfortable as a 4 Series and spectacularly futuristic in terms of appearance, usage and economy.
Google News