RE: BMW i8 vs The Real World

[erics]

chelme said:

Well done erics...good move.

An aston v12 v costs 5-6k a year to run including warranty renewal. It rattles like a pig (dashboard mainly), is far from pleasant on long trips like the one to spa for example. It is too heavy for track work.
The i8 will be a different experience.

[CRA1G]

ravon said:

I'm with you Slippery, for the same reasons, mines Chrystal White with frozen grey, roll on September !

Count me in.. Ionic Silver with Blue accents and in the dealership now...! But I'm not collecting until the 1st of March,and out of choice ( been busy or out of the country ) i have not even sat in one never mind driven one..!

[slippery]

CRA1G said:

Count me in.. Ionic Silver with Blue accents and in the dealership now...! But I'm not collecting until the 1st of March,and out of choice ( been busy or out of the country ) i have not even sat in one never mind driven one..!

Good work! Just done the same with a FFRR which should be here next week. I look forward to sitting in one for the first time!

[Tuvra]

They should make a spyder version and make it look a bit more like a "normal" super car, basically like this mock up I did:

The random blue stripes and "look I am an electric car" wheels just look rubbish IMO.

Edited by Tuvra on Tuesday 20th January 08:54

[mwstewart]

RemarkLima said:

• sigh* so you're argument is that manufacturers shouldn't make EVs because they do not suit the UK?

Perhaps they're making them for other more suitable markets, and then why not sell them in the UK to those that want them? Just perhaps...

You've well and truly lost the thread!

[Alias218]

hondafanatic said:

Someone mentioned that it looks like it's pooping out a 911. And once seen, cannot be unseen.

Oh no! At first I couldn't see it, now it's all I can see!

It's like an automotive version of Alien.

[Sway]

EricE said:

errek72 said:

KTF said:

Maybe its just me but I would expect the weave on carbon fibre to me all going the same way on such a visible piece given the cost of the car?

Wow. So that's what premium looks like huh?

Looks just like the frame of the i3 that I had for a few days. As a layman I would not have been able to identify that material as carbon fiber. Even on the i3 it looked a bit cheap because the material seemed fairly soft and had a lot of scruff marks on the door sill.

see: http://www.engadget.com/gallery/bmw-i3-cutaway-and...

The car itself was good and felt very zippy yet relaxing to drive. I want one but the price didn't seem right.
I believe I would feel the same way about the i8 - it's a spectacular car but £100k for a car with a tuned Mini 3-cylinder... no thanks - not yet.

//edit: found something: https://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t...

Edited by EricE on Monday 19th January 19:38

Most people are familiar with a twill cosmetic top layer, which does nothing much structurally, but looks pretty.

The big benefit of composites (whatever fibre is used) is that their strength/stiffness are directional. So considering that part of the monocoque will be critical to safety, the fibres are laid so they are strongest in the directions they need to be.

If you look at raw layups for structurally significant components, they often look counterintuitive and messy.

[leon9191]

errek72 said:

KTF said:

Maybe its just me but I would expect the weave on carbon fibre to me all going the same way on such a visible piece given the cost of the car?

Wow. So that's what premium looks like huh?

There is a good reason it looks like this, the layed and multi direction of the weave adds strength in a specific and designed way to the structure. To go to the effort of making a light weight carbon fibre construction and then adding weight making it "pretty" defeats the purpose.

[kambites]

I wonder why the weave is visible at all. I thought the strongest way to make CF was for the plastic to extend to fully encase to the carbon? Is it just a bit of vanity on BMW's part or is there a good structural reason for having the weave standing proud like that?

[B10]

For such a hi-tech car why leather seats? Flinstones

[Sway]

It is fully enclosed - just a very thin layer of resin!

The bits standing proud are carrier threads to hold the fibres in place.

The critical element for strength is the ratio of fibre to resin - hence why pre impregnated cloth that's vacuumed, stuck in a autoclave under even more pressure, and baked is so much lighter and stronger than wet layup - all the excess resin is squeezed out.

[jamespink]

Just seen this... WOW! https://www.facebook.com/ArchiDesiign/posts/622567...

[JonnyVTEC]

kambites said:

I wonder why the weave is visible at all. I thought the strongest way to make CF was for the plastic to extend to fully encase to the carbon? Is it just a bit of vanity on BMW's part or is there a good structural reason for having the weave standing proud like that?

The weave is the primary stucture with the resin (platics acting like a binding material). You need the fibres to the extremes of the geomtry to offer contribution to the cross section. That said a few layers of non structure CF or even glass can sometimes be present to offer a sacrafical layer where marks and scratchs arn't a concern and glass fibre can be used to offer isolation from galvanic corrosion of bolted on parts.

[kambites]

Sway said:

The bits standing proud are carrier threads to hold the fibres in place.

Ah OK, that'd be it then.

[Zadkiel]

Dan Trent said:

Each to their own - PH would be a dull place if we all agreed - and I'm aware of the love for the car among my journalistic colleagues. Called it as I saw it though, constructive debate on that welcome! As mentioned as a caveat in the piece this was a shorter loan than we usually get for UK test drives and I'd welcome a longer stint to see if longer exposure reveals more. If that happens I'll report in with an update.

And if you do buy one please do us a Carpool on it - would love to hear genuine ownership experiences.

Cheers,

Dan

Edited by Dan Trent on Monday 19th January 13:35

I haven't driven this car yet to form my own opinion but I am inclined to agree with Mr Trent. I think that he is perhaps one of they few who are not blinded by the "newness" of this car. Many other reviewers I believe expected it to be crap and were pleasantly surprised. They think it looks great (which I personally don't agree with, it's subjective of course but there is a difference between radical and good which people sometimes forget) and that it's not a let down so rave about it. But it cannot be judged on a lesser standard than it's competitors if it wants to compete on an even playing field, it needs to be better than them, not just surprisingly close.

It's like a League One team losing 2-1 in the FA Cup final to a Premier League team for most journos, they are impressed with how well it did. But in reality it's a Premier League team too, it's just not as good.

[danp]

Zadkiel said:

I haven't driven this car yet to form my own opinion but I am inclined to agree with Mr Trent. I think that he is perhaps one of they few who are not blinded by the "newness" of this car. Many other reviewers I believe expected it to be crap and were pleasantly surprised. They think it looks great (which I personally don't agree with, it's subjective of course but there is a difference between radical and good which people sometimes forget) and that it's not a let down so rave about it. But it cannot be judged on a lesser standard than it's competitors if it wants to compete on an even playing field, it needs to be better than them, not just surprisingly close.

It's like a League One team losing 2-1 in the FA Cup final to a Premier League team for most journos, they are impressed with how well it did. But in reality it's a Premier League team too, it's just not as good.

Doesn't sound like it's as good to drive as a 911 when really pushed hard.

But it's a lot better in terms of company car tax, "real world" mpg, the numbers are limited and it's more than a bit different from the ubiquitous 911.

Hence cars up for overs and a there is a long wait if you order from BMW.

Edited by danp on Tuesday 20th January 10:22

[Dave Hedgehog]

only1ian said:

Dave Hedgehog said:

This is so vastly more desirable to me than anything Tesla makes. And its only V1.0 of this tech, i am sure BMW will improve it over time.

I would happily commute to london in one every day

Drove a tesla p85 at the start of January in Norway,where it is affordable thanks to government subsidy and tax breaks for electric vehicles, and was at a launch em vent for the i8. On interior style alone the tesla wins hands down. Pushed the tesla and i oversteered due I suspect to the weight.

Would seem like someone needs to do a comparison test!

the tesla has a stupid special needs giant ipad slapped on the dash and sounds utter crap so it gets a 0/10 for desirability from me, I would rather take the bus than give them any of my hard earned

the i8 is a good compromise for an eco sports car, it looks good and sounds great, if you have to an eco car ofc

[GroundEffect]

KTF said:

Maybe its just me but I would expect the weave on carbon fibre to me all going the same way on such a visible piece given the cost of the car?

That's not how CFRP works...

[matsoc]

I test drove one last Saturday for a couple of hours. I like the looks and the interior also feels special enough but the best part of the drive seemed strangely the streets of the city centre. There are very few around and it took more iphone pics than a F12, at least here in Turin. And it copes so good with traffic and slow speed. I also like the dimensions, it is relatively compact. But on some of my favorite roads in the hills it didn't feel that special. Also the straight line performance aren't so impressive, the M4 easily feels faster. Buy overall it is good, it impressed me a lot more than the F-Type on a comparable 2 hour test. Is it a true BMW supercar? I don't know but it is certainly something different...

[X5TUU]

a neighbour of mine has one, and its nice don't get me wrong and its an ok drive, nothing to set the world on fire (but to be fair I never expected it to), but its a 1st gen model in a category that BMW are exploring, I can see good examples of these holding value well.

Would I buy one though ... no