BMW i8 Performance Review | The Best Supercar for Flexing on a Budget

At some point in time, someone somewhere thought it'd be a good idea to build a hybrid supercar. And then the boys at Stuttgart decided to take that idea and build this. The BMW i8. Arguably one of the most revolutionary cars made in the past decade, especially at this price point. It mimics the technology for million dollar hypercars such as the Ferrari LaFerrari, the McLaren P1, and the Porsche 918. It broke the Internet back in 2012 when they revealed the concept, and then it broke it again when they didn't change a thing on the production car. The world was electrified at the idea of this engineering marvel, but I would hardly call it a supercar.

Yes, they do start at about $150,000, but let's be real here, these things depreciate like rocks and you can go out today and buy used one for less than half of that price. And then there's the performance. On paper, these things just aren't super fast. I mean, come on, 357 horsepower and a curb weight of 3,500 pounds. That's nothing to write home about, Spot. Most people aren't aware of that. And whenever you go anywhere, you'll be treated like a celebrity, frankly, because it's.

Got the looks, that mid engine layout, the low slung hood, the vents, and of course the doors that do this.

So, yeah, it can talk the talk. It's a stunning piece of machinery, but can it walk the walk? Let's find out.

It's important that I get the details.

Out of the way. This is a 2015 model with 357 brake horsepower and 420 pound feet of torque. Now, I know for 2019, they bumped it up to 369 brake horsepower with the same torque rating. But I think most of the gains were in the electric motor.

So there's not going to be a lot of effect on roller acceleration at a higher speed.

At least that's what my research from Car and Driver tells me.

Their tests showed very little performance gains after 60 miles per hour.

Anyway, that power is generated through a marriage between a turbocharged inline three powering the rear wheels and an electric motor powering the front. So technically, this thing's all wheel drive. It's funny, because 10 years ago, people would have considered putting turbos on a car the evolutionary step in automotive engineering. Nowadays, cars are turbocharged, electrified drive themselves, and sometimes throw fake exhaust noise through the speakers. In theory, it all sounds like a pretty terrible combination for a car enthusiast, but I don't know, in practice, it Kind of works.

That's because even though it has less than 400 horsepower, it can edge out a C7 Corvette in the quarter mile. And the artificial soundtrack almost sounds like a Porsche's flat six. So you can still have some fun here. But let's give it a go in our acceleration test and see how she stacks up. So we'll put it into sport mode to activate this angry looking cluster. It also engages both the gas engine and the electric motor for maximum performance. And that lets you use the paddles to shift through the six gears manually. The car also has electronic dampening control, so putting it into sport mode also stiffens everything up. I find it not too harsh either. Anyway, this first run will be in full manual.

Alright greg, here I come.

Okay, now let's see how well this auto mode works.

It.

So we know the BMW i8 is capable of a low 12 second time in the quarter mile with a trap speed of around 112-115 mph. But how did it do in our rolling test?

So the BMW i8 did 40 to 100 in 6.92 seconds. A tad slower than an M2 competition.

Which ran it in 6.63.

Now we weren't able to get a.

61:30 time, but the Internet does show.

Me that it should be running in around 13 seconds. This isn't exactly, you know, an in house number, but I did get it from road and track and car and drivers acceleration data.

So I think it's a pretty credible time.

Anyways. The BMW i8 has some pretty decent punch down low, but it does start losing steam after about 100 or 110. An M2 competition would probably put some.

Car lengths on this thing, which is.

A bit unfortunate, but hey, sometimes your little brother is a better athlete than you. Another thing to think about is that there's a small amount of lag between wide open throttle and full power.

It takes a split second for the.

Electric motor to kick in after you apply full throttle. It's not what you want in a roll race. And this car really doesn't have enough power to negate that downside. But hey, let's go see how it drives.

So how does it handle? Well, given that the car is a completely carbon tub. Like many modern supercars, there's practically no flex in the body. Going through corners leaves you planted with minimal roll. The one downside is the tires. 215 in the front and 245 in the rear is a size down from even the 3 Series BMW it makes sense if they want to reduce rolling resistance and make the most out of a car with limited power, but it leaves me with no confidence when pushing it to the limit. They battle this by having the car low and wide, but still, I'd be concerned with the lack of mechanical grip for track use. Let's talk about mods for a moment. Unlike a full electric car such as Tesla, where you're currently limited by the company's software robots, you can tune the gas engine in the the i8 because it's basically the same turbo three from a mini Cooper. There's a company that claims a high 10/2 6130 time with just their ECU tune alone, which is a big step in 13 seconds. That would be enough to make this car as fun to drive as it is. Good looking. But put it into comfort mode and it is comfortable. The seats are not sporty though, they don't hug you in the turns. But they do feel alright and have plenty of adjustment, especially for taller folks. But that does come at a price. The back seats, they're a complete joke. If you have any intention of using them, rethink that. It's a better place for duffel bags than human beings. And the more I drive it, the more annoyed I get at the exhaust. Note, if you're chugging along by yourself, it doesn't sound too bad. Sort of throaty here and there, but pull up to even a 340i and that'll put you to shame. And once in a while you can catch when the noise doesn't match up and you're reminded that you're being fooled by a speaker.

So I think I've decided this car, for lack of a better word, is best used for flexing. Now, if you're unfamiliar with that term, what flexing is, is basically the art of showing off. Let me explain. Yes, it's relatively quick, gets great gas mileage, and it's a technological leap forward. But from a performance standpoint, which is what we care about on this channel, it's classic form over function. I mean, look at looks like a literal rocket ship, but it has a hard time keeping up with its entry level. M Brothers. I'd be pretty upset if I bought this $150,000 supercar and got walked by a 2 Series from a roll. And while we're talking price, let's talk about its competitors. At this price point, you have the Aston Martin Vantage, which is gorgeous. The AMG GT, the Audi R8 V10, and the NSX, which is also a hybrid and if you want doors that go up you can get a used 570s for around the same price. All of those cars are better supercars than this thing but if you're shopping this car used at about 70 grand, that's a bargain that I'd have a hard time passing up.

On that closing note, this car is like the love child between a Tesla an M6. It has traits from both of its parents but it does nothing particularly well. The full electric range is short, its performance is mediocre, the handling is not game changing and the ride quality is just slightly above average. All it has going for it is a pretty looking face but for some reason I don't even mind. I've always wanted one of these things. It can't be my only sports car though. I would need something that can actually go fast. And even though it's almost half a decade old, it still looks like it came from the future.