Alpina i8 ?

[Macbags]

Just back from a lovely and sometimes spirited drive through the Cotswolds.

At one point I came upon a sports car I didn’t recognise..... only saw it from the rear. It was shaped a bit like an i8 with similar ‘scoops’ over the rear wheels but it’s proportions were a bit wrong, it seemed larger than I thought an i8 would be. Tried to chase it down and got close on a couple of occasions ( my Chimaera 450 was well outpaced) the closest I got was when it turned off the A3400 near Chipping Norton and I got a glimpse of the badge that said Alpine or Alpina.

Did Alpina make an i8 ? Any other thoughts?

[matrignano]

Maybe it was an Alpine and you're just slow?

[Macbags]

I’d have to be both blind and slow. Definitely not an Alpine 110

[Caddyshack]

Only 1 prototype Alpina i8....might have been an Alpine, I bet they are handy on the twisties.

[Macbags]

Definitely not an Alpine......believe me it was a quick car in a straight line, I’m sub 5 to 60 and it was quicker than me!

Are there any photos of the prototype. The car was a bright blue not dissimilar to the ‘M’ blue I’ve seen before. The car did not have a BMW badge

[Biglips]

Could it have been a rimac? I always think they look a bit like an i8

[Caddyshack]

0-60 is not all that relevant to on road performance and it is hard to compare, I remember a MK2 golf keeping up with my cerbera on a B road and I am pretty handy on a track day.

[Macbags]

See what you mean but no....scoops/slots were more pronounced and it had a combustion engine.

[DeWar]

The Alpina i8 was black, wore Classic rims and had a rear spoiler.

There isn’t anything to stop people sticking any old badges on their car, so that or tricksy eyesight are the most likely explanations.

[Macbags]

I’ve now spent two hours searching possible cars and nothing’s closer than an i8. On the basis it’s highly unlikely to be the Alpina prototype I can only presume it was a de-badged i8 with the BMW badge swapped out for an Alpina badge?

[Caddyshack]

After a few google searches it also seems you can chip / remap an i8 so there may be some even quicker ones out there. The elec instant torque does give a big punch.

[stuthemong]

http://redbox.iblogger.org/2019/04/13/bmw-i8-roads...

?

[BFleming]

Anything here look familiar? https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[Macbags]

I’ve concluded it must have been a rebadged i8. What threw me was the Alpina badge and all the other Badges being removed. I surprised that from my viewpoint it looked a bit more bulbous from the rear.....it really looked quite heavy and dare I say it American.

Always thought they were very sleek with a low roofline....Admittedly my bum was only 6 inches off the tarmac but from that angle I as erm a little underwhelmed by the look from the rear. Still it went like snot off a stick!