i8 [Renders] BMW M100 (i8 special)

[tristatez28lt1]

Autobild reports that BMW is working on a special i8 called the M100 (for BMW's 100 year anniversary).
4 cylinder turbo
500 hp and 700 NM
250,000 euros

 

[hoffmeister_fan]

Interesting. I would love it if it was one of their iconic inline-6, but I imagine an inline-4 would be tight squeeze.

 

[KiwiRob]

This would be the car they should have launched in the first place.

 

[SKY]

I was expecting more PS to be honest.

I believe BMW is going step by step with this. If this is a sales success we might see the M supercar at last.

 

[SCOTT27]

Its the progress of evolution for the i8 and also the continuation of the less is more philosophy of BMWi. We have seen how successful the i8 has been in terms of what it offers and what it stands for especially at the cost of which you can buy the i8 against conventional sports cars.
Do not be put off by this render because this is not it. This is a concoction of M mixed with aerodynamic madness which would not assist the i8 in its current form.
Although this car will be a derivative of the i8 its aerodynamics and body are different think of how an M car is wider than a standard 3er or 4er. But its enhanced aerodynamics are there for function.

 

[SKY]

When are we going to see the Z Concept @SCOTT27 ?

 

[Betty Swollocks]

We have seen how successful the i8 has been in terms of what it offers and what it stands for especially at the cost of which you can buy the i8 against conventional sports cars.

I really do have to take exception to this statement.

Success? Based on what? Sure it has had excellent reviews for its handling, but then I'm sure an i8 with a conventional power train (such as the S55 I6 twin-turbo) would have had similar reviews.

Sales? If you make far less than the market demands then you can declare ANY car a "success".

What it stands for? Surely that is economical motoring, but the real world figures bare absolutely no resemblance to the official fuel consumption figures. They're absolutely appalling and are not much better than most performance cars. It's a sports car, yet if you drive it like one you get 24 mpg!!

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=1424740

Oh, and it's pretty much the most expensive car in BMW's line up.

The point is, the i8 is a good car, but it is no more a good car because of its batteries and three-cylinder engine.

 

[manuelf]

..., but then I'm sure an i8 with a conventional power train (such as the S55 I6 twin-turbo) would have had similar reviews.

I don't think so. An i8 - like you describe - would be a totally different beast! Sure, it would wipe the floor with the current i8 on a racetrack. I would expect it to be clearly faster than a 991 Carrera S more in the region of a R8V10 (lighter, same torque, less power) ... so a total different car and therefore it would generate totally different reviews.
But it would totally foil the idea behind the project i.... and would cater to a total different target group. The target group of the current i8 is obviously NOT interessted in track Performance....

Surely that is economical motoring, but the real world figures bare absolutely no resemblance to the official fuel consumption figures.

Nothing new here... that real world numbers are way off compared to official synthetic driving cycle numbers is known all times ....

They're absolutely appalling and are not much better than most performance cars. It's a sports car, yet if you drive it like one you get 24 mpg!!

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=1424740

Just followed the link you gave us ...
Just to cite from it:
"... our return from a day's hard driving with two drivers. The average fuel consumption was 24.4mpg"
and
"Driving the V8 N430 in a similar fashion returned 15mpg"
at least it tells me, that the i8 has a 63% better range with the same amount fuel driven the same way ... I would rate this MUCH BETTER than the Aston!

 

[Betty Swollocks]

Nothing new here... that real world numbers are way off compared to official synthetic driving cycle numbers is known all times ....

No car that I have driven, or have read about, fails to achieve the official figures to the extent the i8 does. Even in normal, motorway driving, Jeremy Clarkson achieved 31mpg. Whilst the official driving cycle doesn't really reflect the real world, I can often get somewhere close, as my fuel consumption thread will testify.

Just followed the link you gave us ...
Just to cite from it:
"... our return from a day's hard driving with two drivers. The average fuel consumption was 24.4mpg"
and
"Driving the V8 N430 in a similar fashion returned 15mpg"
at least it tells me, that the i8 has a 63% better range with the same amount fuel driven the same way ... I would rate this MUCH BETTER than the Aston!

And now much would an i8 with a TT I6 have achieved? I guess it would have been better than the Aston too.

A car which does 10 mpg is 100% better than a car that does 5 mpg. It doesn't mean that 10 mpg is acceptable mpg though, especially if that car has an official EU cycle of 60 mpg.

The point is, in my view, the i8 has to offer SIGNIFICANT fuel savings over and above cars with a similar performance to justify a three-cylinder engine and batteries in place of a glorious NA V8 (or similar). 24.4mpg rather than 15mpg is just not big enough. The monetary savings are minuscule when you consider the cost of the i8 is six figures.

 

[manuelf]

No car that I have driven, or have read about, fails to achieve the official figures to the extent the i8 does. Even in normal, motorway driving, Jeremy Clarkson achieved 31mpg. Whilst the official driving cycle doesn't really reflect the real world, I can often get somewhere close, as my fuel consumption thread will testify.

I think this (the even bigger Delta between official data and real world consumption) is more or less a characteristic of plugin hybrids in general - not the i8, don't you think?

The point is, in my view, the i8 has to offer SIGNIFICANT fuel savings over and above cars with a similar performance to justify a three-cylinder engine and batteries in place of a glorious NA V8 (or similar). 24.4mpg rather than 15mpg is just not big enough. The monetary savings are minuscule when you consider the cost of the i8 is six figures.

The thing is, that there are several reasons, why someone buys a car in the price range of the i8 ... design, technical goodies, some wow-factor (in the i8 context: being able to drive electric only aka stealth mode in some situations)... the People which can afford one are probably the last who really have to care about fuel consumption ... and I personally have no clue what consumption an i8 has compared to a ... lets say R8V8 when driven in cruise mode, what most of owners do

 

[Betty Swollocks]

I think this (the even bigger Delta between official data and real world consumption) is more or less a characteristic of plugin hybrids in general - not the i8, don't you think?

Yes, I would agree.

The thing is, that there are several reasons, why someone buys a car in the price range of the i8 ... design, technical goodies, some wow-factor (in the i8 context: being able to drive electric only aka stealth mode in some situations)... the People which can afford one are probably the last who really have to care about fuel consumption ...

Which is EXACTLY my point! I can see the advantages of the drive train on a cheaper car like the i3, and one which is used mainly in the city.

On the i8, they've offered a solution to a problem that never existed. For a six-figure supercar (debatable, I know), the fuel consumption is pretty irrelevant. BMW could have released the same car with CFRP, futuristic looks, the engine from the M3 tuned up to 450hp. What a car THAT would have been! A lightweight performance car. The M3 does 0-100km/h in 4.1 seconds. An i8 with CFRP and a 450hp engine would have been sub 4 seconds.

It would still have caught people's attention due to it's CFRP chassis and looks, and therefore it would still have promoted BMW's "efficient dynamics" ethos. I would have bought one. What a rival it would have made for the R8.

Comparing the i8's consumption with an Aston is missing the point. It should be compared with what the i8 could have been. A fully petrol i8 with 450hp. I guess the consumption would have been somewhere between the current i8 and the Aston V8, but with hypercar rivalling performance.

 

[klier]

^ M will come with such a car eventually, not i.

 

[CrunchSlaughtered]

The i8 is so good, that it made the Piech family (by owning one) realize how ahead BMW is And Piech tried to change everything, but.....

 

[KiwiRob]

But it would totally foil the idea behind the project i.... and would cater to a total different target group. The target group of the current i8 is obviously NOT interessted in track Performance....

In your opinion who is the target group for the I8, I was always had the impression that 911 customers were the main target, that's sportscar buyers, many who will thrash the nuts of it.

Maybe they aren't interested in track performance but they are surely interested in on road performance.

 

[SKY]

I believe if BMW used that engine configuration on the i8 was to differenciate itself from the rest of the crowd. At the end oof the day, hybrid is the way to go in the future. Using a hybrid engine to achieve E92´s performance levels with a tiny fuel consumption makes for a good headline. Says you are cooler and greener than the rest and serves as a launch platform for the things to come.

Now BMW can use the carbon resources for the rest of the line up, plus the 3 cylinder, and they can rely on the i8 to build a more serious supercar.

 

[manuelf]

In your opinion who is the target group for the I8, I was always had the impression that 911 customers were the main target, that's sportscar buyers, many who will thrash the nuts of it.

Maybe they aren't interested in track performance but they are surely interested in on road performance.

Ok - I just can give you my personal perception from my direct environment (germany, bavaria, west of munich) ... and I have no clue whether this perception holds true in other countries/places.... The majority of Porsche 911 buyers (of course new cars), which I know plenty of, is above 55 years and either buys it because it was a childhood dream - as the 911 is seen as The Sportscar here or because its a status symbol, which has a beautiful design and is seen as classy. Of this majority some drive faster (Autobahn or B roads), but do not race. That means they might be above the speed limits on straight lines... they don't do aggressive cornering/switch off traction or stability systems nor do they even think of going to a race track. In all honesty that means, they are not able to detect/evaluate, that their 911 has a more capable chassis ... than for instance a 235i has
... and exactly for this customer base an i8 is a perfectly viable alternative!
Ok - not for the one with the childhood dream 911, but everyone else, who looks for a certain kind of status symbol. The i8 is premium, beautifully designed, provides all the needed straight line and handling performance and additionally has the sexy tech nimbus (carbon, hybrid) and is so green on top!