BMW Australia’s first shipment of the ground-breaking i8 hybrid sports car has finally arrived and the price tag is $299,000.
BMW’s first plug-in hybrid drivetrain sees the i8 powered by a 170kW/320Nm turbocharged 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol engine which drives the rear wheels via a six-speed automatic transmission and a 96kW/250Nm electric motor which drives the fronts via a two-stage automatic transmission.
Combined output is 266kW/570Nm.
Making much use of lightweight materials including a carbon-fibre passenger cell, magnesium instrument panel and foam plastic air-conditioning ducts, the BMW i8 weighs-in at only 1485kgs and impressively returns combined-cycle fuel consumption of just 2.1l/100kms.
However the BMW i8 is perhaps surprisingly not all that fast – zero to 100km/h in 4.4 seconds (slower than the M4 and M3).
But the two-seater certainly ramps-up the glamour and the technology – for example, the scissor wing doors which open forwards and upwards to easy access are engineering works of art.
Battery power sees 355 volt, six-module lithium ion battery pack with 96 cells in total (mounted centrally under the floor) providing 5.1 kiloWatt hours of energy and a driving range in pure electric mode of around 37kms.
A full battery re-charge using the available BMW iWallbox Pure system takes one hour and 45 minutes or just two hours and 30 minutes using a standard domestic 240-volt outlet (which means you can re-charge your BMWi8 entirely using cheaper off-peak electricity rates…but if you can afford a $299,000 sports car, maybe that’s not a priority!).
Styling is a knock-out with the classic, low (1297mm), broad sports car dimensions, another version of the hallmark BMW kidney grille and gorgeous 20-inch alloy wheels (three designs to choose from).
Four metallic paint finishes are available – ‘Ionic Silver’, ‘Protonic Blue’, ‘Crystal White Pearl Effect’ and ‘Sophisto Grey Brilliant Effect’.
With that carbon fibre passenger cell, the BMW i8’s out skin is made from thermoplastic polymers which are claimed to be half the weight of equivalent steel panels.
Inside is the full suite of BMW technology including rear, side and surround-view cameras, 11-speaker Harman Kardon audio and i-specific navigation which includes battery re-charge stations (hint – there’s not many in Australia).
There are three interior design schemes and multiple leather colours – the leather tanned using an olive leaf extract and some trim materials are sourced from recycled products.
Centre console is an 8.8-inch screen.
One potential drawback is the minimal 154-litre luggage capacity (located behind the two seats and accessed via the tailgate.
There are six BMW i network dealerships in Australia where you can now test-drive the i8 and customer deliveries are scheduled to commence in February next year.
