4 Reasons Why The i8 Doesn’t Need An 800bhp V8
German tuner Gabura Racing Technologies was clearly not impressed with the standard i8 hybrid powertrain. Instead, it has dumped the whole lot and replaced it with an 800bhp Alpina-tuned V8. The build certainly looks very impressive, but we can’t help but think the whole thing is a little pointless.
1. Weight distribution
The i8 has been designed and built from the ground up as a mid-engined hybrid sports car. Thousands of hours of research and development have resulted in a car which has a near perfect 50:50 weight distribution. As a result, the i8 is a well balanced and playful car at the limit.
So we can only imagine what dumping a heavy 4.4-litre V8 up front will do to the handling characteristics…
2. Cutting edge technology
The i8 was never intended to be a flame-spitting supercar. Its 362bhp, 420lb ft of torque and 4.4-second 0-60 time are certainly impressive figures, but they’re nothing special in a world dominated by 1000bhp GT-Rs. What makes the BMW such an exciting car is that it showcases what the future might hold.
A turbocharged 1.5-litre transversely-mounted engine, carbonfibre tub and thermoplastic body are purely 21st century tech. So it feels kind of wrong to hot rod such an innovative car. Anyone can effectively shoe horn a huge engine into a new vehicle. We’ve been seeing tuning firms do it for years. Perhaps we’d have been more impressed had the Alpina V8 been working in conjunction with the 131bhp electric motor. I guess we can only dream.
3. You could just buy an M6
Completely reworking the i8’s chassis is not going to be an easy feat. That’s probably why they haven’t finished the project yet… And even though GRT haven’t released a price yet, we can assume it’s not going to be cheap.
So why not save your money and buy a much more appropriate BMW M6. It has the same 4.4-litre V8 as the GRT i8, but with a chassis that was actually designed for that power. Oh, and it also has a reasonably sized boot and room for some passengers. And with the money left over, you could probably afford to pay the ludicrous fuel bill for the next couple of years. Or maybe even buy an R34 GT-R. Either way, the M6 sounds like a winner to us.
4. There's probably an M version on the way
BMW has already hinted that it is working on an even faster version of the i8. Rumours from BMW insiders have claimed that the Bavarian firm is keen to show off the potential of an M-fettled version of the high tech chassis, and that another 300bhp could be expected.
The LaFerrari, P1 and 918 have shown that hybrid supercars can actually be more exciting than their purely petrol-powered counterparts. So we can’t wait to see what the M-Divison can produce. And we can almost guarantee that their answer won’t be to just stuff a huge engine into the mix.
Comments
Who came up with that idea anyway? not every car is enjoyable with 500+ HP
Well, who ever came up with it, thank you.
This is fing crazy.
I wonder why dont they do this to a prius
it would be a good idea woth a transaxle,
Sorry to say it this way, but, it’s useless to try and improve on sh*t
https://m.facebook.com/LSXPrius/
Already in progress as we speak. :)
I’d say the same that we should have the patience for the ///M guys and girls, even if it’s not confirmed yet, what their interpretation is of an improved hybrid sports car. I think they’re making a very good job right now with the new ///M cars.
Edit: Am I the only one who thinks, that you have to represent the M GmbH by writing it with the three slashes like “///M”?
I was going to say something about the “///“ hahah! I’m on the fence about if you need to use them to represent the M division. I feel like at most they should be used twice in a scentence, after that it kinda looks tacky.
AGREE
You can also write “1000 reasons why Mansory is a stupid company”
All the Mansory fanboys, please downvote!
And Brabus while we’re at it.
what is Mansory and what do they do?
Even their name is apologetic because they ruin cars
Seen the new Mansory M5? Yeah it looks like drunk squirrels made that while trying ecstasy…
Are they really going to put the engine at the front? In a mid-engine supercar? If you’re right, they’re just hugely, massively stupid
and I take back immediately my choice over the R34 if that’s the case
If they put the engine at the front thats a good thing.
It will improve weight balance because it will now be RWD instead of AWD.
Just a little bit of downforce and you’re humiliating all those i8’s with fake noise.
Picture of an Alpina B6 instead of the BMW M6, but I’m looking forward to the result of 800 bhp in an i8
Yeah, saw that and immidiately felt the urge to punch someone. M6 =/= Alpina …
How wrong!!!
Imagine the amount of brains and technology that will go into converting the i8. It will be a masterpiece in itself. It's what humanity does! re-invent, experiment. What's more, I am sure the conversion won't be cheap, so I guess it will be done pretty well. These guys surely know what they are doing. If you want a normal i8, that's fine. But some variety and human imagination and ingenuity is always welcome.That article is purely based on speculation and “what if”l. The author just presume that these guys don’t know what they are doing. I call bull. The fact is that we’re going to have to wait and see.
tbh I think it will look spectacular. IDK what people think it should be this and that, the I8 IMO is a failed M1 reincarnation, I hope some more HP does it justice.
Why would they put the v8 in the front ?!