Take the BMW i8 for a blast and get a taste of the future of motoring! This incredible new hybrid car from BMW sets the standard for ‘green’ driving into the next decade even though it looks nothing like what you might think an environmentally-friendly would be like…
Let’s face it you wouldn’t think the words hybrid and BMW would ever be seen together but since showing off the concept car in 2009 the i8 has grown into a full production car that unsurprisingly won Car Design of the Year in 2014 when it was unleashed onto the public.
One thing’s for sure as soon as we clapped eyes on the i8 we realised that BMW had completely blown the image of electric cars being small and just a little bit eccentric out of the water. The BMW i8 is most definitely a pioneering member of the saintly supercar category.
So it looks the part but how does the i8 drive? Well it is surprisingly agile and thanks to be four wheel drive (the electric motors driving the front two the petrol one driving the rear) it has superb handling too. But there’s a definite trick to getting the most out of this car…
BMW has come up with three driving modes for the i8. Electric mode gives you a range of about 20miles using solely your lithium-ion battery pack. Comfort mode is ideal for motorway cruising and uses both but it doesn’t recharge the batteries. However select sport mode and not only do you get a hybrid car that drives like many a petrol-only supercar you get one that charges the onboard battery pack at the same time!
So the harder you drive the more it charges and as a certain Clarkson quipped: “If you get booked for speeding you get a thank you note from Greenpeace” so you can drive like a you’re on the Monte Carlo rally without any fossil-bruning fuel guilt. Result!
These sessions in the BMW i8 are a blast. You’ll be able to take this amazing car out for a serious drive on a circuit where you will be able to put that intriguing sport mode to the test for yourself. We have to agree with BMW – the i8 really is a vision of the future in one very fancy hybrid supercar. If you want to pitch electric against turbo power try our BMW i8 vs Mclaren MP4 -12C experience!
