The plan to run in the class for production cars over 2000cc has gone a little awry of late. We started off well with the
Mercedes A45 AMG
, but then the temptation of an
Abarth 695 Biposto
dropped us into the sub-2000cc category. 1,499cc turbocharged petrol engine or not surely the additional electric power of
a BMW i8
would get us back among the larger engined production cars?
Hybrid power put the i8 in a class of its own
However, the powers that be at
Shelsley Walsh
decided the i8 should run in Class Z, which is specifically for hybrid and electric cars. It was a disappointment on one hand as we'd wanted to test the i8's mettle against established runners such as Porsche 911s, Subaru Imprezas and supercharged Lotus Elise and Exige variants.
The upside is there was no previous class record for hybrid cars at Shelsley, so the Multi Car Hillclimb Challenge only had to keep it together to join a select group of record-holding drivers.
Arriving on Saturday morning, there was little to do to the i8 other than give it a wipe over with a clean cloth and apply the usual championship stickers and ones for the NationalAssociation of Blood Bikes. There was one more sticker to add this time, though, thanks to new sponsor Primo, which provides multi-vehicle insurance policies.
We were also prepared for the idiosyncratic way practice runs are allocated at Shelsley. If you are among the first 30 drivers in the queue to sign on, you're guaranteed three practice runs on the Saturday, plus your two competition drives on Sunday. Everyone else takes pot luck for an additional third practice run.
Two power sources, four driven wheels...
We didn't manage this and nor were we prepared for the huge interest in the i8. Surrounded by petrol- and methanol-fuelled cars, the i8's petrol-electric hybrid set-up seemed to capture the imaginations of everyone we spoke to. The most common question was whether or not the car ran solely on electricity, which it can for up to 23 miles depending on the battery charge. There was also a lot of surprise at how quiet the car is from the outside.
Our main concern was making sure there was sufficient charge in the battery to deliver the i8's full whack of 362hp. With the 131hp electric motor driving the front wheels and the 1.5-litre turbo triple powering the rears, 0-62mph comes up in 4.4 seconds, so the i8 looked good for getting off the line at Shelsley.
This proved to be the case and it was remarkably consistent over the first 64-feet, recording identical 2.44-seconds for each timed run. Less consistent was the intervention of the DSC traction control system, which we decided to leave switched on due to the relatively narrow tyres and their hard rubber compound.
On the road, the i8 feels brilliantly balanced, but into the 'Bottom S' at Shelsley, the BMW's front end would begin to understeer and that brought the DSC into play. Switching off the DSC only made the problem worse, so it was better to devise a driving style to work with the system as best as possible.
To achieve this, we found avoiding the left-hand kerb at Bottom S and an earlier turn in for 'Top S' kept the DSC at bay. In the end, the first timed competition run proved the best at 35.27 for team-mate David Finlay as trying to be even smoother in the second run could only net 35.38 seconds. To put that in context, our best time in a Volkswagen Golf R last year at Shelsley was 34.95 seconds.
Different tyres would make a massive improvement to the i8 for hillclimbing, but as a showroom fresh road car it acquitted itself well and deservedly now holds a class record. You can watch the run recorded on our Garmin Dash Cam 20. [Coming soon! - Ed.]
The next outing for the Multi Car Hillclimb Challenge is Loton Park on June 13-14 in a Vauxhall Corsa VXR, followed by Doune on June 20-21 in a Ford Fiesta ST with Mountune kit. So, it's a battle of the small hot hatches.
here