2014 BMW i8 drive review

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What Is It?

The i8 is BMW's best combination of ecology and flat-out fun. It's a hybrid electric sports car that maximizes both. Imagine a really, really fast, very good-looking Toyota Prius. No, don't think of it that way. Let's say that, short of hypercars like the Porsche 918, McLaren P1 or Ferrari La Ferrari, this is the world's fastest hybrid. Which would make it the world's fourth-fastest hybrid. But it's also a fourth of the price.

BMW calls it “an axle hybrid,” meaning the front and rear axles are driven independently -- sometimes at the same time and sometimes alternating. It's complicated, but if you really want to figure it out, a screen perched atop the dash details which engine/motor is doing what at any given time. It might drive you nuts. Better to just step on the gas, er, throttle and enjoy. Here are some details:

The rear axle is spun by a 1.5-liter turbocharged three-cylinder gasoline engine powering the rear wheels through a six-speed automatic transmission. An electric starter-generator is also part of the rear axel's drivetrain, helping to smooth out the transition between the gasoline engine's starts and stops. The front axle gets a big, meaty electric motor the size of a fire hydrant making 129 effective horsepower and up to 369 lb-ft of torque. Both are computer controlled. Various algorithms mix and match the powerplants as needed. Generally speaking, that means that in the city at speeds lower than 40 mph the car is powered by electricity alone driving the front wheels. Above 40 mph or when you floor the throttle, the rear gasoline engine kicks in. At regular freeway speeds the car is powered by the rear gasoline engine, until you floor it and then the front electric motor also kicks in. There is no mechanical connection between the front and rear axles. Total system output for both powerplants is 357 hp and 420 lb-ft. With an 11-gallon fuel tank for gas and a 5 kWh battery, the car has a range of 22 miles when it runs on pure electric and 310 miles combined.

It's also a production car that looks just like its concept. The concept debuted at Frankfurt in 2009 and the production car you see here has stuck remarkably close to the swoopy, winged look of the show car. Like that concept, and like the i8's i3 sibling, the production car is rolling in high technology. The main passenger cell is made from carbon fiber with aluminum extrusions protruding front and rear to cradle the engine in back and the motor in front. The whole car weighs 3,275 pounds.
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