[Jason]

BIMMERPOST NEWS

Next Gen BMW i8 May Go Fully Electric

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According to Autocar, BMW may be turning the next generation i8 fully electric by ditching its 1.5L gas engine. In place of the current hybrid system, the all-electric i8 would be powered by a larger battery and three new high revving brushless electric motors - two powering the rear wheels while the third powers the front wheels.

The new electric motors are claimed to operate at a much higher internal speed than the units used by the current i8, and would produce up to 268 horsepowers each. For comparison the current i8 produces 357 horsepowers in total.

“BMW has a great history of high-revving combustion engines,” said Autocar's source. “We’re looking to take this tradition into the electric car arena with electric motors that rev far higher than those seen in production today.” As well as providing greater power, the high-revving nature of the prototype electric motors allows them to be made in a more compact form than those in use today. “Revs are the route to making electric motors smaller,” said BMW.

The carbon fiber structure would be modified with a wider center tunnel to house the larger battery. And despite the increased battery size, there would be no weight gain from the current i8.

Before the all-electric i8 arrives, the current i8 will receive a facelift/refresh, which may have been spotted recently - see our spy photos.

[FSHNGRY]

Who cares

[wdeerfield]

the range will need to be well over 250 miles for this to gain any traction in the market. if not it will remain a niche car for those who buy it just to say they have it

[YungDro]

thread closed....

[clbmw]

Credit to BMW for doing it but...

...instead of listening to people who aren't buying it because it has a small 3 pot instead of a 6 pot or V8 and can't compete with other cars in the segment (oh wait sorry I forgot no one considers a 911 Turbo or R8 a competitor when spending 130k) BMW remove the engine.

Audi just did this and scrapped it in favour of an NA V10

I have no problem with electric cars but do it bottom up, not top down, after all supercars are niche and contribute very little to world pollution.

But hey what do I know , I'm just a customer

[Eddien123]

Originally Posted by clbmw

Credit to BMW for doing it but...

...instead of listening to people who aren't buying it because it has a small 3 pot instead of a 6 pot or V8 and can't compete with other cars in the segment (oh wait sorry I forgot no one considers a 911 Turbo or R8 a competitor when spending 130k) BMW remove the engine.

Audi just did this and scrapped it in favour of an NA V10

I have no problem with electric cars but do it bottom up, not top down, after all supercars are niche and contribute very little to world pollution.

But hey what do I know , I'm just a customer

We're little fish In a very large pond. BMW doesn't care what enthusiasts think or want anymore. They make more selling to the masses.

[Roundown]

Originally Posted by Eddien123

We're little fish In a very large pond. BMW doesn't care what enthusiasts think or want anymore. They make more selling to the masses.

I wonder which BMW considers more of a commercial success; the i3 (which is literally being given away with purchase of more expensive BMWs) or the i8 (which did create a 'halo' for the sub-brand and sold well for a time)?

[DJKapeesh]

This is what happens when Tesla leaks their pattents

[RingMeister01]

Originally Posted by YungDro

we want a V10 V12 supercar.

Hear hear

[Needbmwpartzz]

Does everyone not recognize that the future of all electric is currently not sustainable given that our current hydro infrastructure is inadequate if everyone has one instead of ICE's.
I don't believe that one day all cars will be all electric....this is just in between technology to keep the greenies happy!
Please someone prove me wrong!

[ORIGIN M.]

Originally Posted by BRCHP

Who cares

Clearly you do not.

Why not care and post elsewhere with your carelessness.

[ORIGIN M.]

Originally Posted by Needbmwpartzz

Does everyone not recognize that the future of all electric is currently not sustainable given that our current hydro infrastructure is inadequate if everyone has one instead of ICE's.
I don't believe that one day all cars will be all electric....this is just in between technology to keep the greenies happy!
Please someone prove me wrong!

Welcome to 2016. iNext !

You will learn that you were seriously wrong.

[Needbmwpartzz]

Originally Posted by red-sauerkraut

Welcome to 2016. iNext !

You will learn that you were seriously wrong.

Thanks....guess I'm a skeptic for electrics.
I don't think the future infrastructure for electrics will not resemble that of fossil fuels especially with driverless cars...i think it will look more like mass transit without the mass....and don't even get me started on the economics of this tech....but I guess time will tell what technologies prevail....interesting times to come,staying tuned.

[M3anPower]

I was hoping for AMG GT fighter but this?
I'll just pass

[Amgeater2]

Originally Posted by ///M1990

I was hoping for AMG GT fighter but this?
I'll just pass

to be honest with you the I8 is more a 'super car' than the AMG GT all day (coming from a guy that daily drives both cars at the moment) they are 2 very different vehicles in their own way...

[Aye-eight]

Originally Posted by YungDro

we want a V10 V12 supercar.

Ferrari, Lamborghini, Audi R8, McLaren ... BMW is doing the right thing by staying out of this space. It doesn't have much of a future.

[Makman]

Originally Posted by Needbmwpartzz

Does everyone not recognize that the future of all electric is currently not sustainable given that our current hydro infrastructure is inadequate if everyone has one instead of ICE's.
I don't believe that one day all cars will be all electric....this is just in between technology to keep the greenies happy!
Please someone prove me wrong!

You are very wrong, sorry.

EV are the future because of many reasons, some being that they offer a much better safety, comfort, less service/no service and freedom, freedom of refueling. They will also preform alot better (alrdy doing in 0-62). They are just the natural step in advancement...

[Aye-eight]

Originally Posted by Needbmwpartzz

Thanks....guess I'm a skeptic for electrics.
I don't think the future infrastructure for electrics will not resemble that of fossil fuels especially with driverless cars...i think it will look more like mass transit without the mass....and don't even get me started on the economics of this tech....but I guess time will tell what technologies prevail....interesting times to come,staying tuned.

Electricity, as opposed to gasoline, is already available in everybody's household, and a lot of cars get recharged overnight, when there is much less draw on the grid. Charging speed will be a challenge, though. Especially if you're driving mostly long distance. 5-min gas tank refills are hard to beat.

Driverless cars are a completely separate technology trend that happens to be pushed by similar players. How driverless cars, driver cars, and pedestrians will mix in the future, really is anybody's guess.

[Needbmwpartzz]

Originally Posted by Makman

You are very wrong, sorry.

EV are the future because of many reasons, some being that they offer a much better safety, comfort, less service/no service and freedom, freedom of refueling. They will also preform alot better (alrdy doing in 0-62). They are just the natural step in advancement...

We will see.......currently ev's are a very small market player,and winters aren't too friendly on electrics and range is still an issue

[kyleb350]

So, if I'm reading that right, 3 motors at 268 HP each would be 804 HP!?

[bradleyland]

Originally Posted by Needbmwpartzz

Does everyone not recognize that the future of all electric is currently not sustainable given that our current hydro infrastructure is inadequate if everyone has one instead of ICE's.

I'm not entirely sure what "hydro infrastructure" is, but I like to be generous in my interpretation. I'm guessing it's some difference in regional slang, referring to the infrastructure that delivers electricity to homes? Let me know if I've got that wrong.

It's true that if everyone plugged in their electric cars at once, most countries current infrastructure would simply fall apart. However, I think it's a naive to assume that this scenario will play out. Everyone isn't going to buy an electric car overnight. Also, the cost per unit of energy for electricity is much, much lower than the equivalent cost for petrol. There is room for upward movement of electric utility prices that can more than cover the cost of infrastructure upgrades.

IMO, this single issue will not prevent the increased adoption of electric vehicles. It is a problem that will be solved — for the most part — outside of the view of the consumer, and consumers tend to care about things that are within their view. Compromises like poor range and long refueling (used as a euphemism for recharging) times are much greater inhibitors of adoption. The slow progress of increases in battery capacity incentivize a gradual transition.

Originally Posted by Needbmwpartzz

I don't believe that one day all cars will be all electric....this is just in between technology to keep the greenies happy!
Please someone prove me wrong!

So what is the penultimate technology that will surpass all-electric? Do you think we'll circle back around to heat engines?

I don't think batteries are the final destination, but I do think that electrics are here to stay. The primary driver of this being that with an electric, you centralize your power generation. With petrol, you've got a distributed power generation infrastructure. Each ICE powered automobile is its own little power generation facility. This is true even of non-hybrid ICE cars. Keep in mind that "power" is a unit of measure, just like centimeters and liters. In a traditional ICE, power is generated by combusting fuel, and is put to work directly. The otto-cycle ICE powerplant has a very finite thermodynamic efficiency ceiling, and there are no replacements on the horizon that look to break through this.

Contrast this with centralized power generation, and distributed storage. Centralized power generation has better thermodynamic efficiency in nearly every case. There is tremendous incentive to optimize this, because power generation facilities make or break their business on the margin they can squeeze out of a commodity market. You also have more options in a centralized model. When it comes to large scale power generation, we (as a society) actually have some really solid options already.

The distributed storage challenge is the one we haven't fully cracked yet. Lithium ion energy efficiency is positively incredible when compared to pretty much any heat engine (if you think of the fuel as a storage medium). The problem is that you have to factor in the energy expense of hauling around the battery. Lithium ion batteries are very, very heavy. We need higher power density, and faster charge/discharge cycles. Progress is being made, but it's slow.

[ChiTownM]

Originally Posted by Amgeater2

to be honest with you the I8 is more a 'super car' than the AMG GT all day (coming from a guy that daily drives both cars at the moment) they are 2 very different vehicles in their own way...

I would love to hear much more comparison between the two......I have the i8 and was wondering how the AMG feels and drives. Love the i8.