i8 [Official] BMW i8 World Premiere

[RS2000 4X4]

Are they really?

OK then. Where's BMW's answer to the SLS, SLR, Black series models (except for the M3 GTS and CRT perhaps...)?? I am a big fan of BMW but you cant be serious about BMW not trailing Benz on the supercar level... They should have got the balls to launch the M8 many years ago and perhaps it would have been otherwise but right now? BMW is trailing behind.

 

[Sunny]

^RS2000, you are new here, welcome. There have been many threads here in the past on the topic of why BMW should or should not build a supercar. I am sure a search will bring them up. Feel free to express your view point there or even make a new one. This thread is about i8, not BMW's non-existent supercar. Rehashing that debate here serves no one.

 

[marley71]

I would get the i8 if....I were rich and/or just into tech and cars. I would get the Tesla if I were a more conservative person, or the beautiful new S class coupe if opulence were my thing, or a countless number of bahnstormers if I wanted to live on the edge.

I hope there are enough rich people into tech and cars. Having a line of cars with a green light on advanced concepts is just fabulous for a car company like BMW. Not a design house, or some other boutique bit, but a contributor from the beginning, no halo "supa-dupa" rubbish.

I hope it turns out to be a grand move. Happy to see the lightness attitude apparent in the M4 prelim specs.

 

[DblPen]

OK then. Where's BMW's answer to the SLS, SLR, Black series models (except for the M3 GTS and CRT perhaps...)?? I am a big fan of BMW but you cant be serious about BMW not trailing Benz on the supercar level... They should have got the balls to launch the M8 many years ago and perhaps it would have been otherwise but right now? BMW is trailing behind.

trailing or leading?

 

[SCOTT27]

Just look how awesome this Sophisto Grey i8 is on the road compared to any other car?

It should be in Akira or some dystopian-set future sci-fi film? but the moment is now.

Since unveiling this car , there are several thousand orders for the 10,000 units per year.

The i8 is going to be one of 2014s most wanted car. If I want one then I need to start on setting up a divorce.

 

[LaArtist]

I scrolled to the bottom and then up watching those pictures, and i was just about to write how fugged up it looks, when i read that your point with the post was to show how awesome it looks.

Lol point failed

PS
And please do not divorce over a 3 cylinder BMW..

No matter how hard ones marriage is, its just not worth it

 

[EnI]

This looks surreal!
Futuristic i8 & all the women in the background wearing traditional drindl .
Only in Munich!

 

[Merc1]

Yes this car looks stunning, pure future BMW. This one is going to cause quite a stir at the dealerships here next year.

M

 

[EnI]

This one is going to cause quite a stir at the dealerships here next year.

I'm hearing there is a surprisingly strong interest in i3 as well among the future i8 owners. There will be quite some households with i8 AND i3 on the driveways. Btw, there are some people who are interested in both cars solely due to design - which looks 200% exotic & futuristic. I guess they just want to be seen in those cars & show off.

Will the BMW i cars become a "must-have" for the rich in 2014 (and beyond)?

 

[Merc1]

I'm hearing there is a surprisingly strong interest in i3 as well among the future i8 owners. There will be quite some households with i8 AND i3 on the driveways. Btw, there are some people who are interested in both cars solely due to design - which looks 200% exotic & futuristic. I guess they just want to be seen in those cars & show off.

Will the BMW i cars become a "must-have" for the rich in 2014 (and beyond)?

I've predicted since day one that these will be the same richy-riche buyers that have Tesla Model S' in their driveways already. It isn't surprising they will have both of these i cars. They will be all the rage, especially the i8. Wait until someone says Apple and BMW have.......

M

 

[SCOTT27]

More Awesomeness.

Have got one of these too.

 

[SCOTT27]

I'm hearing there is a surprisingly strong interest in i3 as well among the future i8 owners. There will be quite some households with i8 AND i3 on the driveways. Btw, there are some people who are interested in both cars solely due to design - which looks 200% exotic & futuristic. I guess they just want to be seen in those cars & show off.

Will the BMW i cars become a "must-have" for the rich in 2014 (and beyond)?

Yes I spoke to someone who has ordered the i3 in every color available. 6 cars , but they will be for six different locations.

 

[EnI]

Yes I spoke to someone who has ordered the i3 in every color available. 6 cars , but they will be for six different locations.

Fleet sales is also on fire. Interestingly many top-end hotels / resorts are buying i3s for shuttle purposes. I guess it's totally hip to own an i3 today, or even just be driven in one.

Some analysts predict 35,000 - 40,000 i3 units sold in 2014 worldwide; up to 5,000 of them in US.

 

[SCOTT27]

Fleet sales is also on fire. Interestingly many top-end hotels / resorts are buying i3s for shuttle purposes. I guess it's totally hip to own an i3 today, or even just be driven in one.

Some analysts predict 35,000 - 40,000 i3 units sold in 2014 worldwide; up to 5,000 of them in US.

Identifying with the Public is crucial for these cars to work . So there is events that will feature the BMWi philosophy such as
The BMW i3 as pace car at the Berlin Marathon.

 

[Sunny]

Fleet sales is also on fire. Interestingly many top-end hotels / resorts are buying i3s for shuttle purposes. I guess it's totally hip to own an i3 today, or even just be driven in one.

Some analysts predict 35,000 - 40,000 i3 units sold in 2014 worldwide; up to 5,000 of them in US.

I can easily see i3 being a sales success. i8, I doubt it. It is too expensive and too compromised by the hybrid driveline IMO. As much as I like it, I wish they had build an i6 instead, a 2x i3 - i3 Weighs 1195 kg, it's 22kWh battery pack weighs 230kg and 170HP/185 lbft motor weighs 50kg. So theoretically they could have put another motor and 44kWh battery for less than the 1500kg i8 weighs. The car would have had 340HP and 370 lbft of torque and even range would be far better than i3 since under most driving conditions only 1 motor would have to work. It would also have packaging/no real maintenance advantage of an all electric driveline. Given i3 costs ~40k, they could possibly have sold this 'i6' for ~ 80k, voila a nice electric alternative to base 911. Now that would have sold like hot cakes.

 

[Merc1]

Interesting Sunny, but I think once rich tree huggers see the i8 it will become the next must have for them like the Tesla.

M

 

[Sunny]

Interesting Sunny, but I think once rich tree huggers see the i8 it will become the next must have for them like the Tesla.

M

But that is the thing with Tesla Model S, it is not anymore just the rich tree huggers buying it as a trophy to show off their green credentials (the Tesla roadster was that). There are at least half a dozen of them in my neighborhood. I even know a couple of owners. They are upper middle class families. And yes, the environment is important to them, but it is hardly the only or even the primary factor. They have it because the car is genuinely good as a large family sedan and goes toe to toe and even beats anything in it's price/class in many of the categories that would be important to a sub-urban middle class family - space, safety, performance, running costs.

But I agree, I suspect the i8 (like the Tesla Roadster) will be limited to be a plaything for the "rich tree hugger".

 

[SCOTT27]

Fleet sales is also on fire. Interestingly many top-end hotels / resorts are buying i3s for shuttle purposes. I guess it's totally hip to own an i3 today, or even just be driven in one.

Some analysts predict 35,000 - 40,000 i3 units sold in 2014 worldwide; up to 5,000 of them in US.

If the i3 surpasses its projected sales target for 2014 then not only will the car be a success and significant profit contributor but it will also confirm that customers will accept electric mobility and more importantly within the premium market.

The bigger picture is yet to be seen but if the BMWi project exceeds its expectations it also leaves BMWs direct competitors exposed and outgunned especially if ( which we project) that the cutting edge and futuristic interpretations of an urban car and sports car are behind the appeal of the two models especially over convention electrified.

Analysts and industry rumours point that with the failure to foresee , not only in innovation , but design, manufacturing and infrastructure could become costly for our competitors. We seen the overruling of Audis E-Tron project to conventional electrified choices which cost someone their position.
Some even predict that failure to foresee the unique vision in electro mobility over conventional choices could lead to a shareholder revolt leading to a coup to implant someone who has a more focused vision on electric mobility.

One thing is certain BMW will have a grip on this market and are determined to be the leaders in electric mobility.
It is no surprise why several manufacturers in the premium , luxury and performance segments where all over the BMWi cars at the IAA.

BMWi is a revolution in the making.

 

[RS2000 4X4]

Strange how silent the I8 is in the video above, with such a good looking car you expect the noise of a V12 or something...

But I really do like how the car looks (and I hope that a more powerfull version will come... )

 

[Deckhook]

Strange how silent the I8 is in the video above, with such a good looking car you expect the noise of a V12 or something...

But I really do like how the car looks (and I hope that a more powerfull version will come... )

This is the marmite that is the hybrid sports car, some will love the fact it looks the way it does and sounds so ordinary and inconspicuous whilst others will hate it for this very reason.

You just can't win.