Remember the oddball that is the BMW i8? Honestly, nobody would blame you, if you were to admit that you had completely forgotten its existence in 2017. Hailed as The Future™with much fanfare at its release in 2013, it quickly disappeared into obscurity once the media hype had died down. Are we seeing the i8, or heck, even the i3, on the roads regularly? Nope. Perhaps they were just released a bit before their time. That or people flat-out refused to pay over £100,000 for some three cylinder 1.5l car. I know which reason I'd rather lean towards.
Just as we thought the i project was a bit of a lost cause after no updates at all, BMW has recently dropped a clanger to all the media outlets and released pictures of the (admittedly pre-roadworthy) i8 convertible.
Details are very sparse at the moment, but it's probably safe to assume it will come with the same guts as the standard i8, with the usual drawbacks that come with lopping a roof off. So expect to see a marginal drop in performance and rigidity, as physics take their toll on the extra weight that comes from strengthening beams. There is some nattering about a longer range battery floating around, but that's nothing more than speculation at this stage.
Curiously, one detail BMW has made crystal clear at this early stage is the CO2 figure, which is 48g/km. To put that into some form of perspective, the regular i8 emits 44g/km, so while that is a slight increase, it's impressively marginal. Expect it to continue to sip fuel at an eyebrow raising low rate, then. That is when you're not using all of its 357 horses.
Will this turn the i8 into some sexy, fashionable sports car? The original i8, in my opinion, was almost too futuristic, to the point where it just looked plain awkward. Sure, it was cool to see something that looked like it came straight out of a sci-fi story, but in everyday traffic it just attracts attention, and not in a good way. "What are those weird wheels?" people would say. "Why are there random holes?" It just doesn't quite work for me, and I'm not convinced taking the roof off is going to give it any more sex appeal. Regardless, the convertible will be on sale from 2018.
With that all being said though, I have to give big respect to BMW for pushing the electric age of cars a little bit further, and being daring with their design. I'll be watching the i8 and the i3 carefully to see if they age gracefully, or whether they end up looking like some 1950s wet dream of the 'future' in 30 years time.
Details are very sparse at the moment, but it's probably safe to assume it will come with the same guts as the standard i8, with the usual drawbacks that come with lopping a roof off. So expect to see a marginal drop in performance and rigidity, as physics take their toll on the extra weight that comes from strengthening beams. There is some nattering about a longer range battery floating around, but that's nothing more than speculation at this stage.
 |
| Picture via topgear.com | BMW |
Will this turn the i8 into some sexy, fashionable sports car? The original i8, in my opinion, was almost too futuristic, to the point where it just looked plain awkward. Sure, it was cool to see something that looked like it came straight out of a sci-fi story, but in everyday traffic it just attracts attention, and not in a good way. "What are those weird wheels?" people would say. "Why are there random holes?" It just doesn't quite work for me, and I'm not convinced taking the roof off is going to give it any more sex appeal. Regardless, the convertible will be on sale from 2018.
 |
| Picture via topgear.com | BMW |
With that all being said though, I have to give big respect to BMW for pushing the electric age of cars a little bit further, and being daring with their design. I'll be watching the i8 and the i3 carefully to see if they age gracefully, or whether they end up looking like some 1950s wet dream of the 'future' in 30 years time.
The Slightly Forgotten BMW i8 is Arriving Again, Somewhat Windier
Reviewed by Jack Cooper
on
November 15, 2017
Rating:
Reviewed by Jack Cooper
on
November 15, 2017
Rating:
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