The Development and Improvement of the BMW i8 Roadster

When developing the BMW i8 roadster, the team had to address the need for structural stiffness and rigidity. To achieve this, they reinforced the rear bulkhead and subframe by adding vertical bars, which not only improved the overall structure but also allowed for additional adjustments to be made. Building on this foundation, the team decided to apply similar reinforcements to the i8's ground-up design. By doing so, they were able to stiffen up the suspension and dampers, significantly improving the car's handling and stability.

One of the most notable improvements made to the i8 roadster was the revised suspension setup. The engineers softened the rebound damping at the front and stiffened the rear anti-roll bars, which helped to eliminate understeer and make the car more responsive and engaging to drive. This attention to detail resulted in a significant improvement over its predecessor, the BMW i8, which was notoriously understeered.

The i8 roadster is also notable for being one of the first hybrid sports cars on the market. Its unique blend of electric and gasoline power allows it to seamlessly switch between modes, making it an incredibly versatile driving experience. Whether in Drive mode, Hybrid mode, or Sport mode, the i8 roadster delivers exceptional performance and handling.

In Drive mode, the i8 roadster is capable of cruising at speeds of up to 120 kilometers per hour, making it well-suited for long highway drives. The car's electric motor provides a smooth and quiet ride, while the gasoline engine kicks in when needed to provide additional power. This seamless transition between modes makes the i8 roadster an excellent choice for daily driving.

Switching to Sport mode, the i8 roadster transforms into a high-performance machine. With both electric and gasoline power at its disposal, the car can accelerate from 0-100 kilometers per hour in just 4.6 seconds, making it a formidable opponent on the track or twisty roads. The engine's rev-happy nature adds to the overall driving experience, providing an exhilarating connection between driver and machine.

In Sport mode, the i8 roadster is capable of delivering exceptional performance, with some reviewers noting that it feels "really quick" and "incredibly fast." This is largely due to the additional 12 horsepower generated by the electric motor, which provides a boost in power without significantly affecting the car's weight. The result is a driving experience that is both engaging and rewarding.

A notable aspect of the i8 roadster's design is its use of skinny, high-performance tires. Rather than widening the front tires to improve handling, the engineers chose instead to focus on refining the suspension and chassis setup. This attention to detail resulted in a car that is not only more responsive but also more agile and fun to drive.

One of the most impressive aspects of the i8 roadster's driving experience is its ability to adapt to different conditions and modes. In Hybrid mode, the car seamlessly switches between electric and gasoline power, providing a smooth and comfortable ride. This mode is particularly well-suited for long highway drives or cruising on twisty roads, where the car can shut off the engine and glide along in electric-only mode.

While exploring various driving modes, it's clear that the i8 roadster is an exceptional performer. Whether cruising at high speeds, accelerating from 0-100 kilometers per hour, or navigating winding roads, the car delivers a sense of joy and engagement that is hard to match.

A POV review of the old BMW i8 can be found in our reviews playlist, where you can also check out more stunning reviews and compare them with this one. If you're interested in learning more about the BMW i8 or its rivals, we encourage you to subscribe and follow us on social media for the latest updates and content.

Camera footage and POV shots are an integral part of the driving experience, providing a unique perspective on the car's performance and handling. In these modes, the camera captures every detail of the drive, from the smooth ride of electric mode to the adrenaline-fueled rush of Sport mode.

As the reviewer navigates the i8 roadster through various driving modes, it becomes clear that this car is designed for anyone who loves driving. Whether cruising at high speeds or navigating twisty roads, the i8 roadster delivers exceptional performance and handling. Its unique blend of electric and gasoline power makes it an incredibly versatile machine, capable of adapting to any situation or mode.

The i8 roadster's design is also notable for its attention to detail and refinement. The car's sound system, while not overly complex, provides a rich and immersive audio experience that complements the driving experience perfectly. Whether cruising on the highway or navigating twisty roads, the i8 roadster's sound system adds depth and complexity to the overall experience.

The BMW i8 roadster is an exceptional machine, capable of delivering exceptional performance and handling in various modes and conditions. Its unique blend of electric and gasoline power makes it a standout performer, while its attention to detail and refinement set it apart from more conventional sports cars. Whether you're cruising at high speeds or navigating twisty roads, the i8 roadster is an absolute joy to drive.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthere's a badge first edition one of 200 fastest convertible roof in the world and I think let's just listen to this so that's new as well what's up ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this POV review by out atop an owl my name is Max and today I'll be telling you about this all-new BMW i8 roadster and not just any old iead roadster but a first edition one of 200 in the world and only five of these in the Netherlands and well we'll start with what is the first edition what do you get why is it special well it's quite easy really as you can see it has this insanely cool color II copper is the name of the color and it is exclusive to the first edition it looks incredible if you ask me this color is perfect for this car especially in combination with those BMW I wheels 20-inch in jet black really cool you also get all these black details on the side and frozen gray as well it just looks insanely cool if you ask me I mean it looks cool anyway but in this color again with all that black at the rear on the top and this frozen grey again in here very very very cool man all right and we'll just get that first edition stuff out of the way there's a badge first edition one of 200 and you get the same color leather as the outside so an equal pour leather with grey frozen gray fabric really beautiful also a lot of carbon fiber in there as well all right while I've got that door open that's open the other one for some extra drama and we'll take a walk around it I'll show you the changes I'll show you the roof I'll take it for a drive on this road and then we'll take it for a quick Autobahn blast to check it out to check out the performance as well and well let's get started so we'll start at the front we've got BMW laser lights really cool and this vent used to be completely open in the previous I ate but it is now completely closed and that's because there was both air coming from the radiator vent that what used to be there and it went over the roof back there so it's it had flow going over like that but BMW or the the developers noticed that if you cut off the roof that a whole tear would go over the window and just flow into the cabin so the passengers were being toasted so they closed it and the whole air is now directed downwards and out so they had to completely re-engineer that part of the cooling system and well it's just it's not just an i8 with the roof cut up and that's maybe also why it has taken so long for them to come with an i8 roadster because the i8 went in production in 2014 it's now 2018 so for years I think it's about two years late really but as I said they had a lot to change and to develop and to research to be able to make this car properly and make it as good as it is another thing they changed is the doors because you know it has these dihedral doors or not dihedral I don't know what it's called these butterfly doors and they are frameless a regular i8 just as a frame on it like that but these are completely new and with new carbon fiber insides so that's new as well another thing they notice is that the Holt air coming from the front going over here and the whole air coming out of here from the engine that's underneath here the 1.5 liter 3-cylinder turbo engine it it it's flow was more heavy on one side than the other and that messed up the suspension the bushings the liquids in there so one side got softer than the other and that was a bit wonky and that really messed up the handling as well so they had to change that as well another thing unique through the roadster are these seats because the airbags are now incorporated in the seats the side impact airbags and they used to be in the pillars right here of the doors I think but that's not possible with the roads or certainly they developed completely new sheets for the roadster and they are also supposed to minimize the amount of draft coming in behind you and yeah so that's that's about it for the development of this car you know it I guess that's why it took so long for them to come with a roadster because they had a lot of stuff to cover all right let's open the roof we can do that with this key there goes fastest convertible roof in the world 15 seconds up to 50 kilometers an hour I believe that is actually really quick but I do think that it looks better with the roof down and the windows up because you get sort of a Targa look I mean how cool is that the BMW i8 has always been a very dramatic looking car but now with that roof off it looks stunning absolutely spectacular especially you know these these bumps behind the seats and they go you know they they stretch out into these really cool body panels that we have always loved from the ia the the sort of floating parts it's completely open down here I mean does it get any cooler than this I don't know I I think it's absolutely amazing let us know in the comments what you think all right well another thing that's new are these storage compartments so there are three compartments enough space to store a couple of bags it has some more luggage space in the rear and well the gup-a had two small child seats back there where you could store a lot of luggage but I think yeah it has lost some luggage space but it has gained a lot of coolness all right the rest of the interior it has had a few small updates so it has the new screen the new I drive system with a touchscreen which works incredible as I said the bare carbon-fiber part of the first edition yeah it's it's a little facelift in here it's not that noticeable but it looks cool and I still love these handles these door handles with that button to open the door I mean it's just so theatrical incredible ok let's start it up we are started up we will start in easy mode I think so II drive that means that we are going to drive fully electric and that is one of the biggest changes this car has gone through both the new IH roadster and the IAT coupe a because it is now 70% larger the battery capacity and that means that you also get 12 horsepower extra so it goes from 131 to 143 and the petrol engine is still at 231 which is also pretty insane for you know a 1.5 liter 3-cylinder 231 horsepower that's the same as a 2-liter turbo in a mini Joe Cooper works for instance that has stayed the same but you gain 12 horsepower from the electrical motors but you also gain 60 kilos compared to the I 8 Kupe let's just listen to this very cool so 60 kilos heavier than the new coupe a and the new coupe a is also 50 kilos heavier than the old coupe a so you gain a bit of power but you also gain some weight let's just get this little window up wind deflector I hope the wind noise isn't too bad for the camera but it's actually starting to pick up the wind all right where was I okay so 50 kilos heavier the new coop I compared to the old Cooper and that is because when they were developed without the witness too bad I'm going to close the roof which is really quickly there we go and that's it that's pretty quick all right so when they were developing this roadster they had to add you know some structural stiffness some some rigidity to the to the chassis because you lose the rigidity of the roof and so they reinforced the rear bulkhead and they also reinforce the subframe by adding some vertical bars and then mounting the chassis or the body to the chassis and they thought well why not just add that to the gup-a as well so that gained a lot of structural stiffness as well which resulted in them being able to stiffen up the suspension and the dampers so that is actually another really big improvement on the previous i8 which was very understeered or quite understood and that's also something they changed on this one so they softened the rebound damping at the front and they stiffened up the rear anti-roll bars and that has also eliminated some of the understeer which means that this car is actually better driving and more balanced than the previous one and it has a lot less understeer and as you probably notice I'm still in a drive mode and that is it's a really incredible thing because it is really quick enough to just get around and this is the first real hybrid sports car if you ask me and it's also one of the most versatile cars you can get because in all three modes so II drive mode hybrid mode and sport mode it is incredible to drive it it just works really well it's actually pretty fast in in just a drive out you know the maximum speed you can go fully electrically has also gone up to 120 kilometers an hour so you can just cruise on the highway at 120 kilometers an hour in fully electric mode it's it's really incredible all right let's go to sport mode get that speedometer camera going and I'll show you you drive menu right there with that little arrow - you can see what's happening so it's charging right now it's charging and right now it's powering both the rear wheels and the battery is being charged as well all right so sport mode full throttle there we go kick down both electric power and ventral power going 4.6 seconds to 100 blow to shower to be 250 limited it is it is still very great this far that's 2:45 already it is it is really impressive I think performance wise you know that extra 12 horsepower it's sort of in balance with that extra 60 kilos I don't think this car will be that much quicker than the old one or not at all really but as long as it's around the same I would say that's okay okay well let's go British man yes thank you there we go some ancient sound as well as some engineered sound coming through the speakers but I like I don't really mind it it's it goes down very stable actually and this being there we are 250 you are vibrant five snoop speed I think too I mean as I said it is so versatile it can do any of those three things really really really well as a sports car it is quick it is fast it sounds good it handles really really well especially with those changes and I also love the fact that they were so you know dedicated in keeping short of that I ate spirit because they could have just mounted some wider front tires to get rid of that understeer but it but they didn't they kept those those skinny hypermiling tires and they just improved it in a different way and it is improved you really feel that it is more more sharp and it's for tight and you know let's switch to a hybrid mode I haven't shown you that one okay so this is hybrid mode or comfort mode really and this is a combination between the two so it it constantly switches between II drive you can see it actually you can see it over there so when you have a blue stuff it is electric and when you have orange stuff it's the engine so electric now then it turns on the petrol engine because my electric range has gone down a bit from that Altima blast but again it is really comfortable and it when you are cruising on the highway or on like a like a B Road it will shut down the engine quite often and it is just really comfortable to to glide along in easy mode especially with that roof down you know you can hear you can hear that the buzzing of the electric motor and you can enjoy the sounds around you and you know the surroundings it's just a really really nice experience to drive electrically with the top down all right but both my electric range and my petrol range have been depleted quite a bit so I'm going to end it here you can check out this POV review of the old I 8 you can also check out this beauty reviews playlist you can subscribe by clicking the big button and you can check us out on social media thanks for watching guys see you at the next one byethere's a badge first edition one of 200 fastest convertible roof in the world and I think let's just listen to this so that's new as well what's up ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this POV review by out atop an owl my name is Max and today I'll be telling you about this all-new BMW i8 roadster and not just any old iead roadster but a first edition one of 200 in the world and only five of these in the Netherlands and well we'll start with what is the first edition what do you get why is it special well it's quite easy really as you can see it has this insanely cool color II copper is the name of the color and it is exclusive to the first edition it looks incredible if you ask me this color is perfect for this car especially in combination with those BMW I wheels 20-inch in jet black really cool you also get all these black details on the side and frozen gray as well it just looks insanely cool if you ask me I mean it looks cool anyway but in this color again with all that black at the rear on the top and this frozen grey again in here very very very cool man all right and we'll just get that first edition stuff out of the way there's a badge first edition one of 200 and you get the same color leather as the outside so an equal pour leather with grey frozen gray fabric really beautiful also a lot of carbon fiber in there as well all right while I've got that door open that's open the other one for some extra drama and we'll take a walk around it I'll show you the changes I'll show you the roof I'll take it for a drive on this road and then we'll take it for a quick Autobahn blast to check it out to check out the performance as well and well let's get started so we'll start at the front we've got BMW laser lights really cool and this vent used to be completely open in the previous I ate but it is now completely closed and that's because there was both air coming from the radiator vent that what used to be there and it went over the roof back there so it's it had flow going over like that but BMW or the the developers noticed that if you cut off the roof that a whole tear would go over the window and just flow into the cabin so the passengers were being toasted so they closed it and the whole air is now directed downwards and out so they had to completely re-engineer that part of the cooling system and well it's just it's not just an i8 with the roof cut up and that's maybe also why it has taken so long for them to come with an i8 roadster because the i8 went in production in 2014 it's now 2018 so for years I think it's about two years late really but as I said they had a lot to change and to develop and to research to be able to make this car properly and make it as good as it is another thing they changed is the doors because you know it has these dihedral doors or not dihedral I don't know what it's called these butterfly doors and they are frameless a regular i8 just as a frame on it like that but these are completely new and with new carbon fiber insides so that's new as well another thing they notice is that the Holt air coming from the front going over here and the whole air coming out of here from the engine that's underneath here the 1.5 liter 3-cylinder turbo engine it it it's flow was more heavy on one side than the other and that messed up the suspension the bushings the liquids in there so one side got softer than the other and that was a bit wonky and that really messed up the handling as well so they had to change that as well another thing unique through the roadster are these seats because the airbags are now incorporated in the seats the side impact airbags and they used to be in the pillars right here of the doors I think but that's not possible with the roads or certainly they developed completely new sheets for the roadster and they are also supposed to minimize the amount of draft coming in behind you and yeah so that's that's about it for the development of this car you know it I guess that's why it took so long for them to come with a roadster because they had a lot of stuff to cover all right let's open the roof we can do that with this key there goes fastest convertible roof in the world 15 seconds up to 50 kilometers an hour I believe that is actually really quick but I do think that it looks better with the roof down and the windows up because you get sort of a Targa look I mean how cool is that the BMW i8 has always been a very dramatic looking car but now with that roof off it looks stunning absolutely spectacular especially you know these these bumps behind the seats and they go you know they they stretch out into these really cool body panels that we have always loved from the ia the the sort of floating parts it's completely open down here I mean does it get any cooler than this I don't know I I think it's absolutely amazing let us know in the comments what you think all right well another thing that's new are these storage compartments so there are three compartments enough space to store a couple of bags it has some more luggage space in the rear and well the gup-a had two small child seats back there where you could store a lot of luggage but I think yeah it has lost some luggage space but it has gained a lot of coolness all right the rest of the interior it has had a few small updates so it has the new screen the new I drive system with a touchscreen which works incredible as I said the bare carbon-fiber part of the first edition yeah it's it's a little facelift in here it's not that noticeable but it looks cool and I still love these handles these door handles with that button to open the door I mean it's just so theatrical incredible ok let's start it up we are started up we will start in easy mode I think so II drive that means that we are going to drive fully electric and that is one of the biggest changes this car has gone through both the new IH roadster and the IAT coupe a because it is now 70% larger the battery capacity and that means that you also get 12 horsepower extra so it goes from 131 to 143 and the petrol engine is still at 231 which is also pretty insane for you know a 1.5 liter 3-cylinder 231 horsepower that's the same as a 2-liter turbo in a mini Joe Cooper works for instance that has stayed the same but you gain 12 horsepower from the electrical motors but you also gain 60 kilos compared to the I 8 Kupe let's just listen to this very cool so 60 kilos heavier than the new coupe a and the new coupe a is also 50 kilos heavier than the old coupe a so you gain a bit of power but you also gain some weight let's just get this little window up wind deflector I hope the wind noise isn't too bad for the camera but it's actually starting to pick up the wind all right where was I okay so 50 kilos heavier the new coop I compared to the old Cooper and that is because when they were developed without the witness too bad I'm going to close the roof which is really quickly there we go and that's it that's pretty quick all right so when they were developing this roadster they had to add you know some structural stiffness some some rigidity to the to the chassis because you lose the rigidity of the roof and so they reinforced the rear bulkhead and they also reinforce the subframe by adding some vertical bars and then mounting the chassis or the body to the chassis and they thought well why not just add that to the gup-a as well so that gained a lot of structural stiffness as well which resulted in them being able to stiffen up the suspension and the dampers so that is actually another really big improvement on the previous i8 which was very understeered or quite understood and that's also something they changed on this one so they softened the rebound damping at the front and they stiffened up the rear anti-roll bars and that has also eliminated some of the understeer which means that this car is actually better driving and more balanced than the previous one and it has a lot less understeer and as you probably notice I'm still in a drive mode and that is it's a really incredible thing because it is really quick enough to just get around and this is the first real hybrid sports car if you ask me and it's also one of the most versatile cars you can get because in all three modes so II drive mode hybrid mode and sport mode it is incredible to drive it it just works really well it's actually pretty fast in in just a drive out you know the maximum speed you can go fully electrically has also gone up to 120 kilometers an hour so you can just cruise on the highway at 120 kilometers an hour in fully electric mode it's it's really incredible all right let's go to sport mode get that speedometer camera going and I'll show you you drive menu right there with that little arrow - you can see what's happening so it's charging right now it's charging and right now it's powering both the rear wheels and the battery is being charged as well all right so sport mode full throttle there we go kick down both electric power and ventral power going 4.6 seconds to 100 blow to shower to be 250 limited it is it is still very great this far that's 2:45 already it is it is really impressive I think performance wise you know that extra 12 horsepower it's sort of in balance with that extra 60 kilos I don't think this car will be that much quicker than the old one or not at all really but as long as it's around the same I would say that's okay okay well let's go British man yes thank you there we go some ancient sound as well as some engineered sound coming through the speakers but I like I don't really mind it it's it goes down very stable actually and this being there we are 250 you are vibrant five snoop speed I think too I mean as I said it is so versatile it can do any of those three things really really really well as a sports car it is quick it is fast it sounds good it handles really really well especially with those changes and I also love the fact that they were so you know dedicated in keeping short of that I ate spirit because they could have just mounted some wider front tires to get rid of that understeer but it but they didn't they kept those those skinny hypermiling tires and they just improved it in a different way and it is improved you really feel that it is more more sharp and it's for tight and you know let's switch to a hybrid mode I haven't shown you that one okay so this is hybrid mode or comfort mode really and this is a combination between the two so it it constantly switches between II drive you can see it actually you can see it over there so when you have a blue stuff it is electric and when you have orange stuff it's the engine so electric now then it turns on the petrol engine because my electric range has gone down a bit from that Altima blast but again it is really comfortable and it when you are cruising on the highway or on like a like a B Road it will shut down the engine quite often and it is just really comfortable to to glide along in easy mode especially with that roof down you know you can hear you can hear that the buzzing of the electric motor and you can enjoy the sounds around you and you know the surroundings it's just a really really nice experience to drive electrically with the top down all right but both my electric range and my petrol range have been depleted quite a bit so I'm going to end it here you can check out this POV review of the old I 8 you can also check out this beauty reviews playlist you can subscribe by clicking the big button and you can check us out on social media thanks for watching guys see you at the next one bye\n"