BMW i8 review - The BMW i8 hybrid supercar lands from the future to reassure petrolheads that excitement and eco can co-exist

BMW i8 review

Car makers so far aren’t in agreement on how to dress the future. Tesla, for example, based its electric technology around a conventionally good-looking car with the Model S. For the i8 supercar, BMW is basically saying, ‘dammit, this electric stuff is new. Let’s style it new, too’.

The i8’s swoops, cutaways and indents are taken straight from the 2009 concept car while the electric motor married to a highly tuned 1.5-litre turbocharged engine is equally bold.

We’ve seen million-pound hybrid hyper cars from McLaren, Ferrari and Porsche, but at just under £100,000 the i8 is flirting with affordable and no less exotic given it’s also built around a carbon fibre tub. It’s got breathtaking looks, right-on engine tech and heaps of government tax-breaks, but can it really deliver the on-road performance of the likes of rivals such as the Aston Martin Vantage V8 or Audi R8?

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