Any of the speeches I’ve heard at NYIAS press events regarding the i8 and i3 framed the concept as proving that electric vehicles don’t have to be boring and have poor dynamics. I’m ready to assume they achieved that goal with the i8 and i3, but the i8 doesn’t seem like a great ELECTRIC car to me. The electric range is very limited, and the vehicle isn’t practical AT ALL.
It seems to me BMW made a decision to develop some new technologies for their road cars, namely CFRP components (including chassis), and hybrid electric-gasoline drive. To exercise this direction, they built a small city car, the i3, and a flagship representation of The Ultimate (gas-electric) Driving Machine with the i8. I can see the logic. I just wish those engineering/development/production resources were spent on making their conventional vehicles better.
