Photo: screenshot
Recently we had the chance to test drive the most advanced car BMW is currently making: the BMW i8. This sort of experience truly changes the way you think and makes you question all the values that you used to hold dear. That’s from an enthusiast’s point of view, of course.
How can a car using a 1.5-liter 3-cylinder engine be that good? That’s the question that remained stuck in my head long after I hard parted with the car and the answer is: electricity.
With the synchronous electric motor hid under the bonnet, powering the front wheels, the i8 wouldn’t be nearly as fun as it is. Combined, the two power sources deliver 362 HP and 570 Nm (420 lb-ft) of torque, numbers that aren’t all that impressive at a first glance.
Then you start learning more and more about it, like the fact that the body is made almost entirely of lightweight CFRP and that the chassis is made up of aluminum, together, including the batteries, tipping the scale at just under 1,500 kg (3,300 lbs).
You also notice that the electric motor has a two-speed gearbox and that the 6-speed hooked up to the internal combustion unit works flawlessly with it. The i8 is also BMW’s first all-wheel drive car that can also be a front-wheel drive one.
When driving on EV mode alone, the electric motor up front does all the work, powering just the front axle. When Sport mode is engaged, both units work together for the best results.
What impressed us the most though was how fit the 3-cylinder engine was. It’s not just the sheer power it made (231 HP) but also the sound and its raw character.
Sure, the ‘wise guys’ out there will immediately jump to claim that what you hear inside is augmented but even from the outside, in Sport mode, the i8 sounds incredibly good. That got us wondering just how much would it cost actually to buy one of these and not wait six months for it to be delivered.
We set out to find out if and how much the i8 depreciatese and concluded that it’s almost on par even after 10,000 km. The cheapest i8 we could find in Europe was being sold for €128,900 which is €1,100 less than the starting price of the BMW. Taking into account the optional extras on it, it seems like this thing suffered from depreciation after all.
That’s both good and bad news. It’s good news because not too long ago, a lot of people were taken aback by what price tags were stuck on the windows of i8s that were on sale. Some dealers asked even twice as much for one since the supply was short.
On the other hand, it’s bad news for those that already bought one and are looking for a profit. As it turns out, the rise in availability thanks to the concentrated efforts of BMW seems to pay out.
With the synchronous electric motor hid under the bonnet, powering the front wheels, the i8 wouldn’t be nearly as fun as it is. Combined, the two power sources deliver 362 HP and 570 Nm (420 lb-ft) of torque, numbers that aren’t all that impressive at a first glance.
Then you start learning more and more about it, like the fact that the body is made almost entirely of lightweight CFRP and that the chassis is made up of aluminum, together, including the batteries, tipping the scale at just under 1,500 kg (3,300 lbs).
You also notice that the electric motor has a two-speed gearbox and that the 6-speed hooked up to the internal combustion unit works flawlessly with it. The i8 is also BMW’s first all-wheel drive car that can also be a front-wheel drive one.
When driving on EV mode alone, the electric motor up front does all the work, powering just the front axle. When Sport mode is engaged, both units work together for the best results.
What impressed us the most though was how fit the 3-cylinder engine was. It’s not just the sheer power it made (231 HP) but also the sound and its raw character.
Sure, the ‘wise guys’ out there will immediately jump to claim that what you hear inside is augmented but even from the outside, in Sport mode, the i8 sounds incredibly good. That got us wondering just how much would it cost actually to buy one of these and not wait six months for it to be delivered.
We set out to find out if and how much the i8 depreciatese and concluded that it’s almost on par even after 10,000 km. The cheapest i8 we could find in Europe was being sold for €128,900 which is €1,100 less than the starting price of the BMW. Taking into account the optional extras on it, it seems like this thing suffered from depreciation after all.
That’s both good and bad news. It’s good news because not too long ago, a lot of people were taken aback by what price tags were stuck on the windows of i8s that were on sale. Some dealers asked even twice as much for one since the supply was short.
On the other hand, it’s bad news for those that already bought one and are looking for a profit. As it turns out, the rise in availability thanks to the concentrated efforts of BMW seems to pay out.
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