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      08-12-2014, 09:47 AM   #1
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Jeremy Clarkson Review of BMW i8

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Clarkson's verdict ★★★★☆

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The Clarkson review: BMW i8 (2014)
We're going nowhere fast but, boy, it's a wild ride


By Jeremy Clarkson Published 11th August 2014

WE ARE too dependent on oil. Everybody knows that. And everybody knows the long-term solution is hydrogen. But governments don’t like long-term solutions. They like fixes to happen by tomorrow afternoon because then they will still be in office. So they have leapt onto the available-now hybrid bandwagon, offering discounts and other incentives to people who buy Toyota Priuses and the like. I find it infuriating.

I do not believe that the solution to our energy crisis is to be found by developing a car that has a normal petrol engine as well as an electric motor that has to be powered by an extremely heavy bank of batteries. Using conspicuous consumption to solve the global problem of conspicuous consumption is muddle-headed and foolish.

And the simple fact of the matter is this: the new range of plug-in hybrids that can be charged via a 13-amp socket in your garage are going to send demand for electricity through the roof, which will be a problem for cities such as London that are facing power shortages and the threat of brownouts even now.

Still. This is where we are, so instead of moaning, let’s move on to have a look at what is easily this year’s most eagerly awaited new boy, the most talked-about car in years — the BMW i8.

Let me give you the headline figures so you can see why everyone is rocking backwards a little bit on their heels. It accelerates from 0 to 62mph in 4.4 seconds. Like all high-performance BMWs, it is limited to a top speed of 155mph. And yet, thanks to its hybrid power train, it can do 135mpg. You read that correctly. One hundred and thirty-five miles to the gallon.

I could bang on at this point about how a hydrogen-fuel-cell car could do 1,000mph while using no fuel at all, but that would be churlish, so let’s get back to the i8, which looks as though it’s come from the pages of an Isaac Asimov novel, can hang onto the shirt-tails of a Porsche 911 and costs about the same to run as a wheelbarrow.

There are two power sources. At the back, driving the rear wheels, there’s a British-built three-cylinder 1.5-litre turbocharged unit that despite its smallness produces 228 brake horsepower. Then, at the front, driving the front wheels, there’s an electric motor that produces a colossal 184 lb ft of torque from the moment you turn it on.

So you have a torquey motor driving the front wheels and a whizzy little turbo driving those at the rear, and frankly that sounds a recipe for disaster. Either the car will spin round and round in increasingly dizzying circles, or it will split in half. Which means, you may imagine, that to drive this car you need to be the genetic twin of Buck Rogers.

Not so. All you need is to leave your short skirt at home, because climbing under the swan-wing doors and over the wide sill is a manoeuvre in which much dignity can be lost. Once you are behind the wheel, though, all seems to be fairly normal. There’s a normal sat nav system, normal heater controls and normal cupholders.

Only if you concentrate do you realise that everything feels a little lighter and a little thinner than in a traditional BMW. It feels a bit like the Alfa Romeo 4C in there. Borderline flimsy. But this is necessary, because in a car with a bank of batteries every effort must be made to keep the weight down. Even the windscreen is thin.

So you fire it up and nothing happens. Well, the lights come on and the dash wakes up, but there’s no noise. Mildly perplexed, you slot the gearlever into Drive and you’re off. And that’s it. Despite the car’s huge complexity, you drive it in the same way you drive any other one. That is a colossal achievement.

It does not feel like a normal vehicle. though. It weighs about 1½ tons but it feels lighter than a feather. It feels spookily light. It feels — and I have spent several minutes thinking about this — magnificent. And so far we are still in town, using caterpillar silent drive most of the time. Only when you need a burst of speed does the petrol engine at the back fire up to help out. You don’t really know this has happened.

But then I was out of town, on the long sweeper onto the bottom of the M1, and I moved the gearlever over to the left to engage Sport mode and floored it. Ooh, it shifts. And grips. And that little engine makes quite the most intoxicating sound this side of a Ferrari V12.

Speaking of which. Up near junction 9 I encountered an immaculate Ferrari 275 GTS and we drove side by side for a while. My favourite Ferrari of them all and this bright new dawn, and I was wondering, “Hmmm. Which would I prefer?” The BMW is that good.

There are some things I need to mention. If you drive in the default Comfort mode, the batteries are being charged only very slowly, and as a result, if you ask for the eDrive setting, or electric drive, you often get a message saying there isn’t enough juice.

In Sport mode it’s a different story. Energy is fed to the cells every time you lift off the throttle and every time you brake. But unlike in the hybrid Mitsubishi I tested recently, you can’t feel this happening. The braking feels normal. It feels brilliant. Nearly as brilliant as the steering, which is nervous and flighty but still the best electric setup I’ve found.

Rest of the review - http://www.driving.co.uk/car-reviews...w-bmw-i8-2014/
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Last edited by ///Mfurious; 08-12-2014 at 10:22 AM..
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      08-12-2014, 10:04 AM   #2
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Love the i8, would look sick with wider tires and spacers.
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      08-12-2014, 10:04 AM   #3
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seems as though he likes it
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      08-12-2014, 10:07 AM   #4
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      08-12-2014, 10:19 AM   #5
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Nice review by Jezza. Throw some Rims on her and you're good to go.
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      08-12-2014, 10:23 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rich@GTBPerformance View Post
Nice review by Jezza. Throw some Rims on her and you're good to go.
I think for people who want to just show off, yes they will throw some rims or whatever, that are like any other rims you see on every modified car these days.

That being said, I believe there are many (or is it a few?) i8 buyers who appreciate the tech and development that went into these cars, and wouldn't want to throw that away by placing any set of rims on it, like one would for say, an M6.

Not disputing that there are some beautiful, lighter-than-stock, well done sets of aftermarket wheels out there... Just saying, this car will need something more than that.

It would be nice to see manufacturers of aftermarket rims embrace this idea, and produce rims that will not decrease the efficiency of the i8 while still looking nice, and of course are lighter, etc.

I look forward to the BMW CFRP rims for the i8 hopefully not too long into the distant future. They would be my first choice for an "aftermarket" wheel for this car.
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      08-12-2014, 10:31 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ddk632 View Post
I think for people who want to just show off, yes they will throw some rims or whatever, that are like any other rims you see on every modified car these days.

That being said, I believe there are many (or is it a few?) i8 buyers who appreciate the tech and development that went into these cars, and wouldn't want to throw that away by placing any set of rims on it, like one would for say, an M6.

Not disputing that there are some beautiful, lighter-than-stock, well done sets of aftermarket wheels out there... Just saying, this car will need something more than that.

It would be nice to see manufacturers of aftermarket rims embrace this idea, and produce rims that will not decrease the efficiency of the i8 while still looking nice.

I look forward to the BMW CFRP rims for the i8 hopefully not too long into the distant future. They would be my first choice for an "aftermarket" wheel for this car.
If you put an OE Sized rim on the car, that is lighter than the current application then you will improve fuel efficiency, braking and handling. Unfortunately BMW is limited by it's bean counters and I have no doubt that once we get our hands on an i8 and pull her shoes off, we will find significant room for weight savings.

There are a multitude of wheel companies out there who do this already, HRE has a number of lighter than stock aftermarket applications that look stunning. BBS also has currently the lightest 19" wheel on the market for the E9x M3, which chops 6+lbs off per wheel over the OE Competition package wheels.
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      08-12-2014, 10:37 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rich@GTBPerformance View Post
If you put an OE Sized rim on the car, that is lighter than the current application then you will improve fuel efficiency, braking and handling. Unfortunately BMW is limited by it's bean counters and I have no doubt that once we get our hands on an i8 and pull her shoes off, we will find significant room for weight savings.

There are a multitude of wheel companies out there who do this already, HRE has a number of lighter than stock aftermarket applications that look stunning. BBS also has currently the lightest 19" wheel on the market for the E9x M3, which chops 6+lbs off per wheel over the OE Competition package wheels.
Agreed OE sized rims are the way to go for this car, and of course, reducing unsprung weight is always a good thing.

It's not just about weight, though - it's the aero. My limited understanding is the stock i8 rims were developed with aerodynamics in mind (wind tunnel tested?) and thus contribute to the overall reduced drag and better airflow around the and through the vehicle.

I think aftermarket would need to do the same for i8 rims. That, and I personally feel that some new designs would be needed. A lot of wheels look very similar to each other and it would be nice to see some fresh designs that match the character and lines of the i8.

Then I think we would have a winner on our hands.
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      08-12-2014, 10:38 AM   #9
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What amazes me about this car is how can it do 0-100 in 4.4 seconds with 215mm wide rear tires. I think BMW put quite a lot of effort in the rear suspension combined with the power delivery.
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      08-12-2014, 10:41 AM   #10
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Btw the review is good but fails to mention the third power source, an 8hp / 37 ft-lb electric motor generator mounted to the B38 engine, which contributes torque while the turbo is spooling up.
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      08-12-2014, 11:09 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kevinlevrone View Post
What amazes me about this car is how can it do 0-100 in 4.4 seconds with 215mm wide rear tires. I think BMW put quite a lot of effort in the rear suspension combined with the power delivery.
3.8 according to Road & Track's numbers
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      08-12-2014, 11:17 AM   #12
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Sucks that the USD is so weak to the British pound except for cases like this. This car is selling there for $167k. Here? $135k.
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      08-12-2014, 12:36 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rich@GTBPerformance
Quote:
Originally Posted by ddk632 View Post
I think for people who want to just show off, yes they will throw some rims or whatever, that are like any other rims you see on every modified car these days.

That being said, I believe there are many (or is it a few?) i8 buyers who appreciate the tech and development that went into these cars, and wouldn't want to throw that away by placing any set of rims on it, like one would for say, an M6.

Not disputing that there are some beautiful, lighter-than-stock, well done sets of aftermarket wheels out there... Just saying, this car will need something more than that.

It would be nice to see manufacturers of aftermarket rims embrace this idea, and produce rims that will not decrease the efficiency of the i8 while still looking nice.

I look forward to the BMW CFRP rims for the i8 hopefully not too long into the distant future. They would be my first choice for an "aftermarket" wheel for this car.
If you put an OE Sized rim on the car, that is lighter than the current application then you will improve fuel efficiency, braking and handling. Unfortunately BMW is limited by it's bean counters and I have no doubt that once we get our hands on an i8 and pull her shoes off, we will find significant room for weight savings.

There are a multitude of wheel companies out there who do this already, HRE has a number of lighter than stock aftermarket applications that look stunning. BBS also has currently the lightest 19" wheel on the market for the E9x M3, which chops 6+lbs off per wheel over the OE Competition package wheels.
Doesnt the i8 also have special low rolling resistance tires? Increasing the width of the wheels might cause you to not be able to find the right tires and also creates more rolling resistance. I think for the best gas mileage (if that even matters once youre already in the 100s), the stock wheels and tires are best.
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      08-12-2014, 12:41 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ddk632 View Post
Agreed OE sized rims are the way to go for this car, and of course, reducing unsprung weight is always a good thing.

It's not just about weight, though - it's the aero. My limited understanding is the stock i8 rims were developed with aerodynamics in mind (wind tunnel tested?) and thus contribute to the overall reduced drag and better airflow around the and through the vehicle.
I was just going to say that. The wheels on the i8 are forged and also aid in the aerodynamics of the car.
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      08-12-2014, 12:47 PM   #15
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Not as desirable as a Ferrari. Sorry BMW.
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      08-12-2014, 01:49 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dtn
Not as desirable as a Ferrari. Sorry BMW.
I do not believe that was their intent. No need to be sorry.
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      08-12-2014, 02:41 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ddk632 View Post
I think for people who want to just show off, yes they will throw some rims or whatever, that are like any other rims you see on every modified car these days.

That being said, I believe there are many (or is it a few?) i8 buyers who appreciate the tech and development that went into these cars, and wouldn't want to throw that away by placing any set of rims on it, like one would for say, an M6.

Not disputing that there are some beautiful, lighter-than-stock, well done sets of aftermarket wheels out there... Just saying, this car will need something more than that.

It would be nice to see manufacturers of aftermarket rims embrace this idea, and produce rims that will not decrease the efficiency of the i8 while still looking nice, and of course are lighter, etc.

I look forward to the BMW CFRP rims for the i8 hopefully not too long into the distant future. They would be my first choice for an "aftermarket" wheel for this car.
afteramrket wheels on an i8 - and most bmw imo - would be like Michelangelo "throwing" some cubism on David. Plain wrong.
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      08-12-2014, 02:42 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jblack4083 View Post
Doesnt the i8 also have special low rolling resistance tires? Increasing the width of the wheels might cause you to not be able to find the right tires and also creates more rolling resistance. I think for the best gas mileage (if that even matters once youre already in the 100s), the stock wheels and tires are best.
And the drive-train synchronization is based on specific tires and rim size. Change it up and suddenly you have a system where the front drive electric system has to overcompensate to maintain a power balance to prevent the car from spinning out or tearing itself in half as Clarkson stated.

I think I heard Dinan was having second thoughts about tuning the i8 once they got a look at the more technical documents, increased risk of fire, drive-train sync, etc. I think there are people taking for granted how different the i8 is from other cars. I also think the aftermarket will find themselves limited to more cosmetic tuning after they get a hold of the hardware.
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      08-12-2014, 02:46 PM   #19
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great review, I've seen this video 2 weeks ago

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      08-13-2014, 12:50 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jblack4083 View Post
Doesnt the i8 also have special low rolling resistance tires? Increasing the width of the wheels might cause you to not be able to find the right tires and also creates more rolling resistance. I think for the best gas mileage (if that even matters once youre already in the 100s), the stock wheels and tires are best.
This.

Car's hardly out there and people are already shopping for new wheels.

I bet any aftermarket wheel will mess up how the car's been set up.
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      08-13-2014, 01:08 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dtn View Post
Not as desirable as a Ferrari. Sorry BMW.
You are wrong actually. I am selling my current Ferrari, to be replaced by the i8. And considered the 458 as the replacement choice.

So it is more desirable to some of us.
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      08-13-2014, 01:29 PM   #22
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Wow that was an impressive review!
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