BMW i8 2019 has m4 performance

BMW i8 2019

It is 2019 or more accurately almost the end of 2019 and it has just dawned on me that the future-forward BMW i8 is 4 years old. The i8 is so futuristic it still looks like a car from the future, even today in 2019.

The swooping lines that meet at the rear, the flying buttresses and scoops give the i8 a unique look not seen in any other BMW or car for that matter.

Recently I had the briefest of experience with a press car during a quick photoshoot session with Federico Mineri of LXM2.com, a luxury automotive magazine.

We grabbed a coffee at a Starbucks in Mayfair and gleefully jumped into a pearlescent i8 with blue accents which BMW calls Crystal White Pearl Metallic w/BMW i Frozen Blue, a bit of a mouth fill so I’ll just call it frosty white.

Straight away the i8 coupe looked a little different from the previous model, but only very very slightly following a bit of a facelift. Apart from the super subtle facial refinement and a few minor touches, not much has changed externally at least. But internally though things are a little different, for example the cabin is now more in line with improvements first seen in the i8 Roadster. There are also improvements you can’t see but you will be able to feel, more on the feely parts a bit later.

Let’s talk a little more about the distinctive styling of the i8, BMW say they set out to create an extremely aerodynamic car. the i8 is so slippery it cuts through the air like an eel through water. The look of the car isn't to everyone's taste but judging by the looks our press car got it most definitely catches the eye enough to compel on lookers to brandish their smartphones for cheeky quick snap.

After getting in the car Federico quickly put the car through its paces by flicking the mode selector to sport, unlike most cars there isn't a specific sport mode button, this very fact confused Federico initially prompting a quick call to BMW. It turns out all you have to do is flick the drive stick which looks like a gear knob to the left for some sporty fun.

Everything changes instantly in sport mode, the driver display glows red, the suspension feels firmer and the engine note changes from pure silence to something angry, imagine poking wolf with a stick although I so not Condon doing that for obvious reasons. Sportiness and engine note and the amount of said note creates drama and the feeling of extra manliness or womaness for the sake of being PC. Federico mashes the accelerator pedal and the i8 launches forward with gusto pushed faster forward by the loud chorus seemingly coming at you from all angles but there is a big but..

Something didn’t add up as far as the engine sound was concerned, you see the gas engine in the i8 is actually 3 cylinders but the engine note fools you into thinking there might be 3 extra cylinders. The sound you thought was coming from the 6 cylinders singing behind your ears is FAKE like fake news. BMW is cleverly but artificially generating an engine note which they then pipe through the speakers in the cabin, if you ever played PlayStation or an Xbox this is what the i8 feels and sounds like. Is this kind of audio foolery cheating?

The disappointment of fake noises aside here is the low down on all things engine related, no faking I promise. Powering the i8 is a respectable mid-mounted 231bhp oil sipping engine, in America, you know this as a gasoline engine but unlike America, this isn't a dirty big throbbing V8 but a 3 cylinder for driving the rear wheels. The engine is mid-mounted because as we all know a proper sports car needs a mid-mounted engine right? Attached to the engine is a six-speed automatic gearbox.

Upfront is a respectable 143bhp provided by something called an electric motor which is tasked with driving the front wheels.

The gasoline engine and the electric motor gives the i8 multiple personalities. In sport mode, your i8 becomes an AWD shouty angry animal where the gasoline engine and the electric motor work together, the result is M4 rivalling performance.

From an angry shouty animal in Hybrid mode the i8 becomes a bit more civilised, it transforms into an ultra-quiet and ultra-efficient driving machine for wafting along. in Hybrid mode the i8 sips petrol like champagne at a civilised party instead chugging beer at a student party. Sipping gives you 75MPG, which we are told is good for the planet.

Or if you are feeling a bit guilty after thrashing your i8 in sport mode all day you can redeem yourself by driving in pure electric mode.

You can say a lot of things about the 2019 i8 (FAKE engine noise) but you can't hurt its feelings by calling it fat, it only weighs 1535 KG which is not a lot.

The wheels alone are lightweight, further weight saving came from BMW using carbon fibre to build the tub and something called an aluminium subframe which makes the i8 lighter than a Porsche 911. Does this mean a 911 is fat?

But there is more, the battery has 70 per cent more charge than pre-2019 which means more range when in pure electric mode which equates to 20 to 25 miles to you and me. How about CO2? Well officially as low as 42g/km for the Coupe.

The pre-2019 i8 was known to be a bit of an understeer expert, that talent has been muted thanks to front damper calibration and a much stiffer rear anti-roll bar. All this means extra sportiness.

Phew! We have come to the end of the shoot and my time with the i8, let me know your thoughts in the comment bit below. See you next time.