Giannis
Staff member
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This is it, ladies and gentlemen. The i8, the all new and over-hyped green sportscar from Munich, was unveiled a couple of days ago at this years Frankfurt International Motor Show, after a slow process of revealing various stages of its design process in the form of two concept cars, the Vision Efficient Dynamics and the i8 Concept, as well as press releases with technical content, revealing information about the, then, upcoming i8's powertrain.
So, what we have in front of our eyes is something completely new for BMW, both design- and mechanically-wise. The i8 is a 2+2 seater plug-in hybrid with a passenger cell made from carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic. Its innovative design and aerodynamically groundbreaking body design result in an aerodynamic coefficient of just Cd=0.26, and alongside the powertrain design, a very low centre of gravity, below 46cm from the ground. As a typical BMW, it features the twin kidneys grill, but no double corona (angel) lights, in an effort to visually differentiate the i sub-brand from the rest of the BMW line-up. The i8 also comes with doors that open upwards, surface design (external and internal) based on the layering principle and classical sports car proportions that make it a very forward-looking sports car.
As far as the i8's drivetrain is concerned, at the rear lies a 1.5l three-cylinder petrol engine with BMW TwinPower Turbo technology that generates 170 kW/231 hp and a maximum torque of 320 Nm (236 lb-ft). This engine sends its power to the rear wheels via a six-speed automatic gearbox. At the front there is a model-specific hybrid synchronous electric motor with an output of 96 kW/131 hp and 250 Nm (184 lb-ft) of maximum torque, the power of which is channelled through the front wheels via a two-stage automatic transmission. Under what would be the transmission tunnel of a normal car can be found a lithium-ion high-voltage battery with liquid cooling and usable capacity of 5 kWh. The combination of BMW TwinPower Turbo and BMW eDrive technology plus intelligent energy management produce a system output of 266 kW/362 hp (max. torque: 570 Nm / 420 lb-ft) and give the all-wheel-drive BMW i8 the performance characteristics of a pure-bred sports car (0 – 100 km/h / 62 mph in 4.4 seconds) combined with fuel economy and emissions figures more familiar from a small car (EU fuel consumption: 2.5 litres per 100 km / 113 mpg imp). The kerb weight is kept under the 1.5t mark, at 1,490 kilograms.
There are five driving modes to choose from via the Driving Experience Control switch and eDrive button. A range of up to 35 kilometres (22 miles) on electric power alone is possible, while the COMFORT mode offers an optimum balance between dynamics and efficiency and a combine range of over 500 kilometres (310 miles). In SPORT mode, the electric motor is used for a boost function. The i8's behavior on the road can be described as a typical “glued-to-the-road” AWD driving experience with torque distribution geared towards optimised dynamics. The suspension consists of a double-wishbone front axle and a five-link rear axle. Electric Power Steering, Dynamic Damper Control and 20-inch light-alloy wheels are standard, with carbon wheels being optional.
Source: [BMW]
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You can download BMW's press release here: The_BMW_i8
And you can join our forum discussion here: (link)
