(Photos by Dave Nutting) – It does not look, sound or behave like any other car I have ever spent time in before. It literally causes people to stop and take notice. My kids thought it was a spacecraft, my wife thought it was a spacecraft, and my mom thought it was hard to get out of. The 2015 BMW i8 is an engineering tour de force that really makes anyone who spends time in it think about what cars are going to be like in the coming decades. Listen, baseball, apple pie, and Chevelles aren’t going anywhere. The legacy and legitimacy of muscle cars, pony cars, and tire burning trucks is cemented into our psyche. This car is not coming to displace, replace, or disgrace them, this thing is coming from a different approach. A 228hp turbocharged three cylinder mounted in the middle of the car coupled with electric motors to produce nearly 360hp and more than 400 lb-ft of torque? That’s different. That is COMPLETELY different and I am here to tell you that it is freaking amazing.
Of all the cars I have ever driven down New England Dragway, this was the most dramatic looking and it would be on the quicker end of the street cars I have taken down the track as well. In 94-degree heat the car went 12.767/109.21 and it did so with the odd scream of the three cylinder working in conjunction with the smooth power from the electric motors. Yes, this car came with a plug but you do not need to use it. The car charges itself as you drive and because you have a gas engine at your disposal, you do not have to worry about range anxiety unless the planet you crash land on does not have gasoline. The passenger compartment is made of carbon fiber. Doors, skeleton, etc all carbon fiber. The car weighs just over 3,000lbs empty and oh, driving to and from the drag strip with my kids in the back seat it was delivering over 40mpg at points on the highway in sport mode and it spent time gliding along in electric mode as well as gas when we were in the standard non-sport driving mode that the car has. Admittedly we did not mess with the eco settings but rather just kept it mostly in sport because it was where all the fun was.
The six speed automatic transmission could be manually controlled with the paddles behind the wheel or by knocking the shifter up and down, or it could be left to its own devices in sport mode or in whatever other automated way you would like it to shift. The transmission is incredible. It responds to commands in milliseconds both going up and going down through the gears.
The engine sound is a neat part of the car as well because for a three cylinder engine you would expect it to be all 
high strung and tinny but it actually has a roar that works its way kind of gently into a scream when the pedal is to the floor. The acceleration at all speeds and in all gears is great and strong. Anyone that tells you a 12-second car does not feel fast on the street is on glue. No, this will not beat a Hellcat in a straight line but it will carve one up like a Thanksgiving turkey when the road develops some corners in it.
There are dynamic dampers on all four corners that are constantly editing themselves for road conditions and what you are trying to do with the car. The stability control is there and is relatively unobtrusive, even in situations where we were really pushing the car hard through some severe bends. Yes, it helped us but it does not feel like “dad” reaching down to grab your wrist and lead you along. Instead it is more of a gentle reminder that you’d be boned without its help. The electric power steering is spectacular and the wheel had perfect amounts of weight and resistance to it. You had to put in effort, it gave feedback, and there was definitely a dynamism that this car had we were not expecting. More on that in a few. The brakes would put you through the windshield if you wanted and this car was equipped with the lightweight 20″ wheels which are a nice stylistic option and add some more rubber as well.
Inside the car we had the “Giga World” interior. It was nice but not completely Buck Rogers like some of the other interior packages. We found the seats to be just right for support and comfort as well. The back seats do exist and they hold a growing six and overgrown eight year old with comfort but unless you have small friends, make this thing primarily a two-seater in your planned usage. It felt very upscale inside but not futuristic which we appreciated. Hanging too many gadgets on this thing would actually take away from it in our opinion and the interior was a good balance of current cutting edge and utility. The exterior though?
That is the part of this car that cannot be overstated. EVERYONE looks. Running naked down the street with your hair on fire would garner 33% of the attention that this thing gets. It is jarring at some level because you have to be careful of the people taking cell phone photos of it, the people staring absently at it, and the people wandering into your lane. These are things that happened and it had me as nervous as a lobster off the Maine coast. Thing is, I don’t blame anyone for staring at this car. Hell, I did it. At my house, shooting photos with Nutting, everywhere. There are so many lines and interesting shapes happening that it is impossible NOT to look. By far the way the rear quarter panel pinches up and the way the roof overhangs it to create a tunnel effect is the most dramatic part of the car in my eyes. That is a WOAH situation every time you see it, even when viewed through the mirrors attached to the car.
From an all around standpoint (meaning styling, power, handling, comfort) this was easily the best car I have ever driven. How? Why? Despite the future word looks, the weird doors, the fact that you literally cannot open the hood (more on that in a few) it has soul and spunk and a nature that begs you to engage with the road. I never had the radio on in this car. I was always listening, paying attention, or otherwise engaged with the machine and didn’t need the distraction. It is not some transport pod from the planet Blutar. It is (at least what I would consider) a super car and one that I was depressed about giving back.
It had to have been an honor to be on the team that did the design and engineering work on this car in Germany. I have to believe it was a skunkworks of the very best that BMW has to offer with talent and vision. It also seems like they may have done the most un-German thing possible and basically handed them a blank sheet and then ordered the team to create a car. What they have made is a lot more than that. This thing is iconic.
Gripes? Sure I have some but maybe not what you think. The price for the car is $139,495 as tested. Not complaining about that. Why? Because this car is not pretending to be something it is not. $70,000 for a pickup truck is far more insane than $140,000 for this thing. My opinion anyway.
My complaints are these. 1.) It sucks to get out of. Like old Corvettes where you used to have that bridge girder of a frame rail to climb out over, now you have that plus some and you are pivoting on your tukus and trying to lever yourself out of the car. It isn’t terrible but for people who are older and not as spry, it may be kind of ugly hoisting yourself out of this thing. Then again, the elderly are likely not the prime target for the machine. 2.) You literally cannot open the hood. Up front, the hood is so fragile and made of such thin aluminum that the car was engineered to literally prevent customers from opening the thing by themselves. Knockouts in the door jamb are removed on each side and release cables pulled simultaneously. After that two people have to lift (one per side) and then gently rotate it forward before inserting some weirdo BMW spec pins to lock it into place. There’s electrical stuff up there and it would have been cool to see it but we didn’t need that bill from BMW! The access to the three cylinder is similarly Fort Knox-esque so you won’t see that in the photos either. Maybe that is the downside of the future, literally being sealed off from the workings of your vehicle. Scary, right?
This car is an achievement and we bet it spawns its fair share of imitators as other companies look for what they want their future to be. If this is an indication of where BMW is going, the future is languid, beautiful, and fast as hell. We’ll sign off on that!
2015 BMW i8 PHOTOS BELOW – SEE THEM ALL –
The sky erupted about five minutes after this photo was taken. Prior to that lots of people in the neighborhood were oogling the car while on early morning walks. Two very different forms in the lighthouse and the i8.
We found the car to be striking from every angle. Here you can see the rakish looks of a side profile. What is interesting is that from each angle the car takes on a different attitude. This screams exotic at us.
The split BMW grill is a bit of an illusion as there is no actual opening aside from a slit at the bottom of the plastic grill looking area. No engine up front means no real need for air there.
One of the things that would catch us by surprise while looking at the i8 from some angles was the width of the car. It looks really wide from the front but less substantial from angles like this.
Here you can see that awesome rear quarter panel area that makes up one of the most dramatic parts of the car. The overhang and the pinch in the quarter create a stunning tunnel effect.
These optional 20″ wheels were nice and they really followed the design language nicely.
How slippery is it? Coefficient of Drag is 0.26. That is SLIPPERY.
The whole passenger compartment is made of carbon fiber and advanced plastics. BMW calls it the “Life Module”.
Seriously, this thing looks like it was delivered from the planet Neptune and it does so in all the right ways. It drives even better than it looks.
Another close look at the amazing lines and crannies of this car. BMW let their designers and engineers go nuts on this and we appreciate that fact.
BMW badging is sparing on the i8. That is a vote of confidence that once you have seen it, you’ll know what it is forever.
The interior is modern and cool but it is not over the top crazy. This was the Giga World package and we have no idea what that means other than black leather and comfy.
Here’s what the dash looks like when in Sport mode. Simple and good.
Here’s the more relaxed look when the car is in Comfort mode. We think that there are other modes but even seeing this was a mistake because we were out of Sport.
Here’s a more overall look of the driver’s area and interior. It is not weirdo sci-fi stuff but rather forward looking and purposeful. The interior was a cool place to be.
Bucket seats in this car are insanely comfortable and they really lock the driver and passenger into place. Storage space is at a minimum but when breaking the time-space continuum it is better to travel light.
CANNOT. STOP. LOOKING. AT THIS.
Here’s the area where the three cylinder 285hp gas engine lives. You can’t get there from here without tools and opening the hood up front? Can’t do that either.
There is a small storage well in the “trunk”. One of the neat parts of the car is the glass window between the engine area and the passenger area. Just cool.
Every line on the car seems to attract attention. Dig that little blue accent stripe that runs around the back of the car.
Ohhhh! We nearly forgot, back seats. Yes, they are there. Yes, small kids fit in them, and no adults will not be too comfortable in there. The seats are more like pads. At least the people back there can hand you a drink.
At least you saw through the lies!
No mention of the claimed 100 plus mpg figures then – that were recorded in a lab with the car on rollers apparently.
The funny thing is that in the not-too-distant future some moron will rip out the hybrid running gear and slot in an LS!
Still a stunning looking car – especially in black.
“Up front, the hood is so fragile and made of such thin aluminum that the car was engineered to literally prevent customers from opening the thing by themselves.” That sounds highly suspect, as the hood needs to be strong enough to stand up to air pressure at Autobahn speeds. And the force from that is typically a lot more than the hood’s weight.
Matt, here’s a video on how to open the hood on this thing. Listen to the way the mechanic describes the process. I didn’t want any part of a bill from BMW!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxe_b2GRwok
“you don’t need to open it unless its in the shop.” Every dealers dream… Cool concept. The trickle down in 10 years will be interesting.
I love the styling of this car.
I saw one the other day, and I felt like I was in Blade Runner.
Another car you dont get to “own” you just pay for the privilege of driving it till you trade it in for another one.
This goes to show that there may be a future for cars that are fun to drive afterall, even if we don’t get to work on them.
Thank you for sharing.