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      02-08-2014, 04:19 PM   #1
Oliver1
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BMW i8 Crashes into Snowbank During Winter Testing

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Looks like you can't drive these cars in adverse weather.






The snow banks created around tracks in Sweden have claimed yet another car during winter testing. After the Audi S1 quattro wedged deep in snow last month, this BMW i8 had done the same.

The i8 was stuck in the snow today after the driver went off the test road inside BMW's winter testing facility. A 7 Series prototype arrived on the scene but could do nothing to pull its hybrid brother back onto the road.

The i8 doesn't have a tow lug at the back, so pulling it out will require specialist equipment. Our spy photographer told us that heavy vehicles had to be brought in in order to clear the snow away before access to the stranded car could be found.

http://www.autoevolution.com/news/bm...ing-76441.html
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      02-08-2014, 06:03 PM   #2
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You actually can drive the i8 in adverse weather it has been developed and tested to make sure it does.
but somehow the car has ended up off the road.

I don't know the situation here perhaps a lack of concentration?
The main road in and out of the main compound is kept clear at all times as that is a specific requirement that must be met as the amount of photographers that descend on Arjeplog to scoop any prototype is quite high.
And prototypes are driven without disguise at night , but a security team performs a sweep of the road before any vehicles leave.
The first sign of a photographer or stationary car the test fleet returns to base.

One of the best things about the test centre at Arjeplog is that it is a good environment to watch the original "The Thing" or "Das Thing"
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      02-08-2014, 06:47 PM   #3
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bummer.
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      02-08-2014, 09:24 PM   #4
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      02-09-2014, 06:40 AM   #5
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So of the two incidents of the i8 crashing, both have been in inclement weather. I wonder how well the coordination between the front and rear drivetrains is really working.
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      02-10-2014, 10:13 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Efthreeoh View Post
So of the two incidents of the i8 crashing, both have been in inclement weather. I wonder how well the coordination between the front and rear drivetrains is really working.
Every car I've ever seen crashed in the snow/ice has been of the internal combustion engine only variety. I think you are looking for significance that isn't really there.
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      02-11-2014, 05:53 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Matski View Post
Every car I've ever seen crashed in the snow/ice has been of the internal combustion engine only variety. I think you are looking for significance that isn't really there.
What does that mean? Every i8 that's crashed that you've seen has not had the electric front drive in it, or do you mean you've only seen ICE -powered automobiles crash in inclement weather because they are the prevalent type of automobile driven at this point in history?

I'd hate to think BMW is driving around test mules on public streets in inclement weather without the weight-balancing electric front drive mounted in the nose of the i8, because that would be a seriously rear-biased weighted car, and prone to lose stability in inclement conditions.

From the two crashes posted in this Forum, from the small amount of pictorial data I've seen and description of the incidents, it looks like the i8 just veers off course. In the snow picture, the i8 just went left into the snowbank; it's not sideways, nor had it spun; it just veered left. In the other rain incident, it looks like from the pictures and description, the i8 just lost control and was kept on the road by the guardrails. The description noted the i8 went left and banged off the left median rail, then ended up on the right side of the road.

Maybe the design of having two separate, independent and dissimilar drivetrains acting in tandem is more of an engineering challenge than BMW initially expected.
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      02-11-2014, 09:35 AM   #8
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They have been testing the i8 in its many development iterations since 2010 or 2011. There are tons of videos and spy shots of development mules running in the snow.

We've seen two instances of a crash.

Is it not unreasonable to also consider driver error as a factor in these crashes?

I think you may be making a sort of stretched conclusion here.
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