BMW i8
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Chrisbassett
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Only the original concept car was diesel. Production is all petrol so far and no plans for diesel so far.
Contigo
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Concept was a V8 petrol.. I saw it at Olympic village in 2012.
Chrisbassett
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Ah, the original blue & white "Vision" concept was a turbo diesel. Then they made another in petrol and that carried through to the production cars.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_i8
So we are all correct
: )
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_i8
So we are all correct
: )
Tilum
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The official 0-62mph is 4.4s, and official 0-60mph is 4.2s. However when R&T tested it, they timed the 0-60 in 3.8s! So it's not too shabby then LOL.
The interior is rather nice isn't it - looks great and is very comfy, however some of the quality of the interior is a bit of a let down TBH. But then it is a BMW and not a Maserati I guess.
Hi Drew, I had to postpone my test drive as I was at the MC Trofeo racing this weekend. But I had over 2 hours in the i8 yesterday though, which included a mixture of driving including city centre, suburbs, country roads, and plenty of twisties in the Peak District.
Boarding/Alighting
People have commented about how difficult it is to get in and out of the car, but I don't find this an issue at all, just as long as the seat is right back when getting in and out of the car. So the plan is to assign my seat (and wing mirror) position etc. to my 'profile' in the iDrive system, and then assign my profile selection to one of the (eight) 1-touch user defined buttons. That way all I have to do is put the seat right back before exiting the car (making it easier to exit), then it is in the same position for when I get back in the car, then press the preset button with my profile set to it, and the seat etc will move into my user-defined driving position. I don't think anyone else (at the launch event on Friday last week) moved the seat before trying to get in and out, so some people's criticisms may be a little premature. But having said that if you are really tall then there won't be much difference between the seat in your driving position and with it being all the way back. Furthermore, people were saying how they felt they had to duck when exiting the car, so as not to bang their head against the underside of the door. However, with me being quite short it wasn't an issue LOL. But as with a Lotus Elise/Exige or a Mercedez SLS AMG, I think the more people practice getting in and out of the car, the easier it will become.
As for opening/closing the dihedral doors, it's not difficult despite having to push/pull them at an angle, due to the doors being quite light and being hydraulically assisted.
Interior
Once inside, and as mentioned above, the i8 a comfortable environment to be in. The driving position feels fine, and I like the way the dash and controls are angled towards the driver, giving the cabin a driver focussed feel. The cabin is quite futuristic looking, but not too 'sci-fi' as to not be classy.
The i8 has all the mod cons, which is great as I intend for this to be my daily driver. For instance, the 'Head-up' display works a treat. My only criticism being that the i8 doesn't have Blind Spot Monitoring as mentioned in a previous post. But having said that (and contrary to some reviews) I found the all round visibility of the i8 to be quite good. Yes, you can't see the front wings, front bumper, or rear bumper, but that is no different to most modern cars. Set the wing mirrors up correctly, as well as the rear-view mirror, and with the aid of the park assist cameras, there shouldn't be any problems.
The Test Drive
Unfortunately the i8 wasn't fully charged up when we set off, having only 2 miles of electric only range left. So it was a case of setting off in Sport mode to try and charge up the battery a little. However, a combination of Sheffield city centre's terrible roads and the stiffer suspension in Sport mode made for a (relatively) uncomfortable drive. So I quickly put it into Comfort (Hybrid) mode, which made a big difference to both the ride comfort as well as the throttle response (which was more moderated c/w Sport mode, hence being more suited for stop-start city traffic). It's not THE most comfortable ride I've ever had, but that seemed to be down to the skinny tyres rather than the trim level in the cabin.
Transmission & Driving Modes
As with most cars, to get the best out of it, you have to understand the way it behaves. Unlike in the GranTurismo/GranCabrio, the i8 doesn't have a Sport button. Instead you have to push the gear shifter to the left to put the car into Sport mode (whereas this action in the Maserati puts the car into Manual mode). One drawback is that there isn't a way of putting the i8 into Manual mode, other than pulling one of the steering-wheel mounted paddle gear shifters. And even then it doesn't stay in Manual mode. For instance, in Comfort mode, when the Manual mode is activated by using the paddle shifters, it very quickly reverts back to Auto mode. Although admittedly the i8 did seem to stay in Manual mode for much longer when it was activated when driving in Sport mode.
Acceleration
The accelerator in the i8, unlike in the Panamera S E-Hybrid, feels like that of a normal car. The accelerator in the Porsche had two stages to its response - partly pressed it would use the electric motor (when in Hybrid mode), but push a bit harder and the engine would fire up. It's the same in the i8, however they differ in the feel throughout the pedal's travel. You could feel a 'sticking' point (change of resistance) between the 2 phases of the accelerator pedal's travel in the Panamera, whereas the i8's had a nice, smooth feel throughout the entire range.
The Porsche's approach has it's pros and cons - the positive being that it encourages the driver to stay in the low throttle range where only the electric motor would be used, as the engine would only fire up if a distinct increase in pressure was applied to the accelerator pedal in order to push it past the 'sticking' point. But whilst this helps to ensure economical (electric only) driving in Hybrid mode, the downside is that the Porsche had a non-linear feel to the throttle, which felt unpleasant if you wanted to push the car harder. So a thumbs up to BMW for that.
The i8 appeared to have a Drive-by-Wire throttle response. So after pulling out after some time sat stationary at the side of the road to allow for a gap between myself and the traffic ahead, when I nailed the accelerator to the floor (in Sport Auto mode) I was somewhat underwhelmed. Furthermore, it seems as though, unlike the GT/GC, when putting the car into Sport mode (when in Auto), it doesn't immediately downshift to give you the higher revs and thus the instant torque and power. But after putting the car in Manual (+Sport) mode the car suddenly came alive - the throttle and steering becoming so much more responsive, the acceleration actually being quite impressive - quickly taking the mph into high figures, and eating up the road ahead.
Brakes
Another plus was something that I didn't even notice until the thought randomly popped in my head on the way back... the feel of the brakes. Lots of cars with regenerative braking have been criticised for the unnatural, non-linear feel through the brake pedal when braking. But the i8's brakes felt just like any other BMW's brakes, i.e. 'clamping point' [of the pads on the discs] being high up in the pedal's travel, with heavy braking being applied with the pedal only pressed halfway down. The fact that I didn't detect a difference is testament to BMW, so another thumbs up for that.
In terms of braking performance, although the i8 has very small brake discs and tiny pads/callipers for a 'sports car', the brakes felt remarkably competent. Which is no doubt due to the i8 weighing (comparatively) very little, and having such a low centre of gravity (CoG). So another plus point for the i8.
According to the dealer who came out with me on the test drive I pushed the car a lot harder than anyone else had over the weekend, but TBH it wasn't balls out ('SCD style' driving) due to too much traffic on the beautiful roads in the Peak District. So I am unable to comment on how well they fare over a period of intense driving. But having said that, the i8 was never meant for the track. So based on how I pushed the car, the brakes seem more than up to the job for the average person's spirited drive through the countryside.
Handling
As for handling, the light, but accurate steering makes car effortless to drive around town. So tight bends in multi-storey car parks or sharp left/right turns at junctions shouldn't be a problem. And despite the car being so wide (it's wider then the GranTurismo/GranCabrio and BMW's new X5!) you never feel like you're driving a ridiculously wide car. (Although I must admit I didn't have to park it any small parking spaces, where the width may well cause a problem!)
And as for more spirited drives, the very low CoG and low kerbweight pay dividends. For a hybrid, that can be driven as an everyday car, it does an impressive job as a sports car. As others have said in press reviews, it does understeer when pushed hard. And although this could probably be eradicated if some fatter tyres were put on it, most people driving the i8 will not push the car hard enough for it to be too much of a problem. So in that sense BMW have done a great job of making a car that is weighed down with a load of batteries, into a sports GT.
Economy
I'd love to give you the mpg for the test drive, but rather frustratingly the dealer forgot to give this to me before the car was taken out by someone else. You can set the main display to show you the mpg for that trip, but the dealer had set the default display to the total mpg. But to put it into perspective, the dealer said that he took the car out during the week, with a mixture of driving and got 70mpg out of it! Furthermore, despite setting off with only a 2 mile electric range, and probably driving well over 50 miles, the petrol range only came down by about 25 miles, thanks to the help of regenerative braking and the battery being charged up in Sport mode.
Miscellaneous
Two things to add.
1) One concern was that the dihedral doors would need significant room to open and thus alight the car. This could prove to be a nightmare when getting out the car in a public car park, with a car parked next to you. But due to the way the door sweeps upwards, it didn't require as much room as I had thought it might. So hopefully that is one concern put at ease.
2) Although the i8 does show you what gear you're in when you're in Manual mode, it appears as a pair of small digits (e.g. "S3" for 3rd gear in Sport mode) in the bottom right hand corner of the instrument panel. Why on Earth BMW didn't choose to make it considerably larger and have it in the centre of the instrument panel (like on the GT/GC) is beyond me. As when pushing the car ******* the twisties, the last thing I want to do is to have to look down through the steering wheel to try and find where it displays what gear the car is in. It could even appear in the Head-Up display, which would be even better as it would mean you don't even have to look down at all! Large opportunity missed IMHO. Although I guess the more I drive the car, the more I will get to know what gear the car is in depending on the sound of the engine etc.
Conclusion
The i8 exceeded my expectations in some areas, but fell short in others. However overall it does what I expect of it, and fits the brief of what I want from my daily driver rather nicely.
T
lofty
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I had a little spy in one of these the other day, they look stunning in the flesh and I hadn't realised they were a 2+2. I must admit I found they are not easy to get in and out of though and I'm not exactly large, it reminded me of a Lotus Elise with its large deep cills.Great effort but I'd miss the noise too much.
Tilum
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Yep, with the front seat in my driving position, I was able to fit in the back with room to spare! (Although I confess I'm not the tallest of guys LOL.)
Regarding the noise, it doesn't sound too bad TBH - better inside the car than out, as the exhaust sound is channelled through the speakers. Not the same as a V8 Maser though, hence the MC is staying
Regarding the noise, it doesn't sound too bad TBH - better inside the car than out, as the exhaust sound is channelled through the speakers. Not the same as a V8 Maser though, hence the MC is staying
drewf
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Excellent write-up T, thank you for that. As mentioned earlier, we are particularly interested in the controls feedback, as Ian has worked on the project throughout most of the life cycle.
Despite all the miles he has in the cars, I've not managed to actually see one turn a wheel yet!
Shared your post with him, and here are the comments:
Seat position - doesn't the seat automatically move back to your preset position when you open the car using the remote? Or have you set the position to be at the rear of the slides, then select a different position once in the car?
HUD - the display is good, but underused. Could have so much more functionality.
Gears - the change modes are typical BMW Steptronic as preferred by the factory. When placed into manual control, it will stay in manual provided you are putting in manual inputs by changing gear, otherwise it will time out and revert to an auto program. That time out is a control parameter....
Acceleration and brakes - MASSIVE effort by the controls team to ensure these were seamless, and emulated a normal driving experience. Very pleased to hear you found it so. It's faster than it appears, mostly because the noise is not as expected.
The small disks and pads are possible due to the tremendous braking force the regen system can inject. Like the brakes though, that can get hot...
Handling and parking - the i8 drives very well, it's light and simple to use. Parking? Don't... it's too wide to use many multistories, and the problem is exacerbated by the doors. The car fills a bay to start with, then it only needs someone to park fairly close and you can't get back into the car. Great theatre, stupid practicality.
Economy - nothing like as high as you might imagine, but it's not an economy car. It is possible to get decent mpg out of it, but not very likely
Does it matter what gear you are in? Really? What do you really need that information for - the car knows and will select the correct gear... The driver has access to almost no information, so should just concentrate on steering... [I think you may infer from this that Ian has a 'thing' about the gear system].
The team that developed the car's systems were mostly not internal BMW staff, hence my interest. 25 years ago I worked on a BMW project and loved it, even got to work with Nelson Piquet for 6 months. There has been a long break, but it looks like we might be working with them for other projects too, given the apparent success of the i8, although I hope I won't have to be frontline pulling the overnighters to make deadlines
Despite all the miles he has in the cars, I've not managed to actually see one turn a wheel yet!
Shared your post with him, and here are the comments:
Seat position - doesn't the seat automatically move back to your preset position when you open the car using the remote? Or have you set the position to be at the rear of the slides, then select a different position once in the car?
HUD - the display is good, but underused. Could have so much more functionality.
Gears - the change modes are typical BMW Steptronic as preferred by the factory. When placed into manual control, it will stay in manual provided you are putting in manual inputs by changing gear, otherwise it will time out and revert to an auto program. That time out is a control parameter....
Acceleration and brakes - MASSIVE effort by the controls team to ensure these were seamless, and emulated a normal driving experience. Very pleased to hear you found it so. It's faster than it appears, mostly because the noise is not as expected.
The small disks and pads are possible due to the tremendous braking force the regen system can inject. Like the brakes though, that can get hot...
Handling and parking - the i8 drives very well, it's light and simple to use. Parking? Don't... it's too wide to use many multistories, and the problem is exacerbated by the doors. The car fills a bay to start with, then it only needs someone to park fairly close and you can't get back into the car. Great theatre, stupid practicality.
Economy - nothing like as high as you might imagine, but it's not an economy car. It is possible to get decent mpg out of it, but not very likely
Does it matter what gear you are in? Really? What do you really need that information for - the car knows and will select the correct gear... The driver has access to almost no information, so should just concentrate on steering... [I think you may infer from this that Ian has a 'thing' about the gear system].
The team that developed the car's systems were mostly not internal BMW staff, hence my interest. 25 years ago I worked on a BMW project and loved it, even got to work with Nelson Piquet for 6 months. There has been a long break, but it looks like we might be working with them for other projects too, given the apparent success of the i8, although I hope I won't have to be frontline pulling the overnighters to make deadlines
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Great write up, thanks T. And a very interesting counter to some of the point from Drew / Ian - thanks for that, too.
Tilum
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Hope the feedback helped Drew. Glad to hear Ian's comments about my feedback. Here's my thoughts on his stance on things:-
"Seat position - doesn't the seat automatically move back to your preset position when you open the car using the remote? Or have you set the position to be at the rear of the slides, then select a different position once in the car?"
TBH the dealer had the keys, so my seat position etc weren't assigned to any presets. He did say that the settings in the car are assigned to each key, the idea being one person has one key and another person (e.g. partner) has their own key, so as soon as the individual uses their key the car's setting change to the individual's settings. What I wasn't sure was how the settings are assigned to the key e.g. whatever status the settings are in when locking the car with key A, then when key A is used to unlock the car, the car default's to those settings, or whether the individual's 'profile' in the iDrive system are assigned to the key (rather than whatever the latest status of the settings are). TBH I don't necessarily want the car to move the seat to my driving position as soon as I unlock the car, as that will limit the time I have available to get in (before the seat moves too far forward)! Hence the idea of pressing one of the preset buttons once sat in the car. Guess I'll have to have a proper play when I get the car for longer.
"HUD - the display is good, but underused. Could have so much more functionality.
Agreed. I like the fact that it helps you to keep your eyes on the road rather then having to look down/across for speed and sat-nav directions. But it could be used to display other features as well, including what gear you're in!
"Gears - the change modes are typical BMW Steptronic as preferred by the factory. When placed into manual control, it will stay in manual provided you are putting in manual inputs by changing gear, otherwise it will time out and revert to an auto program. That time out is a control parameter...."
I prefer the Maser set-up i.e. when you're in Manual mode it stays in Manual, and if you're in Auto and use a paddle (or the gear shifter) to change gear it temporarily goes into Manual mode (for c. 5-10 seconds) before reverting back to Auto (which is the mode the car is actually set in) unless there is a further driver gear-change input. This way it gives the driver the control of which mode they want.
Does Ian's comment mean you can change the time-out in parameter in the iDrive settings? If so, that would make a big difference.
"Acceleration and brakes - MASSIVE effort by the controls team to ensure these were seamless, and emulated a normal driving experience. Very pleased to hear you found it so. It's faster than it appears, mostly because the noise is not as expected.
The small disks and pads are possible due to the tremendous braking force the regen system can inject. Like the brakes though, that can get hot..."
Well BMW's huge efforts have paid dividends, as both the acceleration and braking feel very natural. Yep, the i8 is quick (when in the right driving mode, i.e. Sport+Manual), and as you say, it doesn't sound like a NA V8 so the acceleration is deceptive, no doubt due to some of the power/torque coming from the small 3 cylinder engine and some from the electric motor.
As for the regen braking, that's a good point. That's probably another reason why the i8 doesn't need such big pads/discs as some of the energy used to slow the car down is fed back to the battery pack.
"Handling and parking - the i8 drives very well, it's light and simple to use. Parking? Don't... it's too wide to use many multistories, and the problem is exacerbated by the doors. The car fills a bay to start with, then it only needs someone to park fairly close and you can't get back into the car. Great theatre, stupid practicality."
THIS is my biggest concern as I want it to be my daily driver. I think manoeuvring the car around a multi-storey would be fine as the steering is light and responsive, and the i8 is quite agile. The problem as you say (and has always been my concern when I first saw the vehicle's dimensions on the spec sheet) is parking it between 2 white lines. I'll be better off parking it at the side of the road than to park it in a multi-storey unless there are loads of free spaces or I can find a space on the end of a row. Having said that, this is a similar story with lots of other cars these days, as cars are getting bigger and bigger, but the parking spaces don't seem to be getting any wider (or longer)!
"Economy - nothing like as high as you might imagine, but it's not an economy car. It is possible to get decent mpg out of it, but not very likely"
Obviously I'm not expecting the officially claimed 135 mpg on long journeys, but as most of my journeys will be short and be driving using the batteries power, I should be able to achieve a high mpg. For instance, the i8 (as with the Panamera S E-Hybrid) genuinely does exceed 99.9 mpg (the max. that can be displayed on the dash!) when in electric-only mode. Yes, one would have to typically pay for the electricity to charge the battery up, but as discussed previously, the i8 charges the battery up via regenerative braking (and in Sport mode) and I have PV panels on my house to help minimise the amount of electricity I have to harness from the grid. It will be interesting to see what total mpg I get from the car over a year or two.
"Does it matter what gear you are in? Really? What do you really need that information for - the car knows and will select the correct gear... The driver has access to almost no information, so should just concentrate on steering... [I think you may infer from this that Ian has a 'thing' about the gear system]."
Errr, YES!!! It's a sport/GT/hybrid car for crying out loud. [These comments are aimed at Ian, rather than yourself Drew LOL]. What gear you're in makes a MASSIVE difference to how sporty the car is to drive! When I was on the twisties with a large drop the other-side of a crash barrier in the Peak District I wanted to keep my eyes on the road ahead, not have to try and look down through the steering wheel to see the (relatively) tiny gear display. If I were driving in Sport+Auto and just wanted to leave the car to decide what gear to have the car in and I just have to point the car in the right direction by turning the steering wheel, then that would be fine. But I want to be able to have the car in the gear that I want (which isn't necessarily the same gear that the Autobox thinks it should be in). Although as stated earlier, I guess with time, I will get a better feel for what gear the car is in based on load on engine sound etc.
"The team that developed the car's systems were mostly not internal BMW staff, hence my interest. 25 years ago I worked on a BMW project and loved it, even got to work with Nelson Piquet for 6 months. There has been a long break, but it looks like we might be working with them for other projects too, given the apparent success of the i8, although I hope I won't have to be frontline pulling the overnighters to make deadlines"
That's pretty cool, and sounds like it was a lot of fun, albeit a lot of hard work as well. But it sounds as though the rewards were well worth it Keep us posted on what "other projects" you end up working on (just as long as it doesn't break any non-disclosure agreements LOL).
P.S. You'll have to get yourself a test drive in one and let us know what you think to it. I'm guessing Sytner Leicester is probably your closest i dealership(?)
Cheers,
T
"Seat position - doesn't the seat automatically move back to your preset position when you open the car using the remote? Or have you set the position to be at the rear of the slides, then select a different position once in the car?"
TBH the dealer had the keys, so my seat position etc weren't assigned to any presets. He did say that the settings in the car are assigned to each key, the idea being one person has one key and another person (e.g. partner) has their own key, so as soon as the individual uses their key the car's setting change to the individual's settings. What I wasn't sure was how the settings are assigned to the key e.g. whatever status the settings are in when locking the car with key A, then when key A is used to unlock the car, the car default's to those settings, or whether the individual's 'profile' in the iDrive system are assigned to the key (rather than whatever the latest status of the settings are). TBH I don't necessarily want the car to move the seat to my driving position as soon as I unlock the car, as that will limit the time I have available to get in (before the seat moves too far forward)! Hence the idea of pressing one of the preset buttons once sat in the car. Guess I'll have to have a proper play when I get the car for longer.
"HUD - the display is good, but underused. Could have so much more functionality.
Agreed. I like the fact that it helps you to keep your eyes on the road rather then having to look down/across for speed and sat-nav directions. But it could be used to display other features as well, including what gear you're in!
"Gears - the change modes are typical BMW Steptronic as preferred by the factory. When placed into manual control, it will stay in manual provided you are putting in manual inputs by changing gear, otherwise it will time out and revert to an auto program. That time out is a control parameter....
"I prefer the Maser set-up i.e. when you're in Manual mode it stays in Manual, and if you're in Auto and use a paddle (or the gear shifter) to change gear it temporarily goes into Manual mode (for c. 5-10 seconds) before reverting back to Auto (which is the mode the car is actually set in) unless there is a further driver gear-change input. This way it gives the driver the control of which mode they want.
Does Ian's comment mean you can change the time-out in parameter in the iDrive settings? If so, that would make a big difference.
"Acceleration and brakes - MASSIVE effort by the controls team to ensure these were seamless, and emulated a normal driving experience. Very pleased to hear you found it so. It's faster than it appears, mostly because the noise is not as expected.
The small disks and pads are possible due to the tremendous braking force the regen system can inject. Like the brakes though, that can get hot..."
Well BMW's huge efforts have paid dividends, as both the acceleration and braking feel very natural. Yep, the i8 is quick (when in the right driving mode, i.e. Sport+Manual), and as you say, it doesn't sound like a NA V8 so the acceleration is deceptive, no doubt due to some of the power/torque coming from the small 3 cylinder engine and some from the electric motor.
As for the regen braking, that's a good point. That's probably another reason why the i8 doesn't need such big pads/discs as some of the energy used to slow the car down is fed back to the battery pack.
"Handling and parking - the i8 drives very well, it's light and simple to use. Parking? Don't... it's too wide to use many multistories, and the problem is exacerbated by the doors. The car fills a bay to start with, then it only needs someone to park fairly close and you can't get back into the car. Great theatre, stupid practicality."
THIS is my biggest concern as I want it to be my daily driver. I think manoeuvring the car around a multi-storey would be fine as the steering is light and responsive, and the i8 is quite agile. The problem as you say (and has always been my concern when I first saw the vehicle's dimensions on the spec sheet) is parking it between 2 white lines. I'll be better off parking it at the side of the road than to park it in a multi-storey unless there are loads of free spaces or I can find a space on the end of a row. Having said that, this is a similar story with lots of other cars these days, as cars are getting bigger and bigger, but the parking spaces don't seem to be getting any wider (or longer)!
"Economy - nothing like as high as you might imagine, but it's not an economy car. It is possible to get decent mpg out of it, but not very likely
"Obviously I'm not expecting the officially claimed 135 mpg on long journeys, but as most of my journeys will be short and be driving using the batteries power, I should be able to achieve a high mpg. For instance, the i8 (as with the Panamera S E-Hybrid) genuinely does exceed 99.9 mpg (the max. that can be displayed on the dash!) when in electric-only mode. Yes, one would have to typically pay for the electricity to charge the battery up, but as discussed previously, the i8 charges the battery up via regenerative braking (and in Sport mode) and I have PV panels on my house to help minimise the amount of electricity I have to harness from the grid. It will be interesting to see what total mpg I get from the car over a year or two.
"Does it matter what gear you are in? Really? What do you really need that information for - the car knows and will select the correct gear... The driver has access to almost no information, so should just concentrate on steering... [I think you may infer from this that Ian has a 'thing' about the gear system]."
Errr, YES!!! It's a sport/GT/hybrid car for crying out loud. [These comments are aimed at Ian, rather than yourself Drew LOL]. What gear you're in makes a MASSIVE difference to how sporty the car is to drive! When I was on the twisties with a large drop the other-side of a crash barrier in the Peak District I wanted to keep my eyes on the road ahead, not have to try and look down through the steering wheel to see the (relatively) tiny gear display. If I were driving in Sport+Auto and just wanted to leave the car to decide what gear to have the car in and I just have to point the car in the right direction by turning the steering wheel, then that would be fine. But I want to be able to have the car in the gear that I want (which isn't necessarily the same gear that the Autobox thinks it should be in). Although as stated earlier, I guess with time, I will get a better feel for what gear the car is in based on load on engine sound etc.
"The team that developed the car's systems were mostly not internal BMW staff, hence my interest. 25 years ago I worked on a BMW project and loved it, even got to work with Nelson Piquet for 6 months. There has been a long break, but it looks like we might be working with them for other projects too, given the apparent success of the i8, although I hope I won't have to be frontline pulling the overnighters to make deadlines
"That's pretty cool, and sounds like it was a lot of fun, albeit a lot of hard work as well. But it sounds as though the rewards were well worth it
Keep us posted on what "other projects" you end up working on (just as long as it doesn't break any non-disclosure agreements LOL).P.S. You'll have to get yourself a test drive in one and let us know what you think to it. I'm guessing Sytner Leicester is probably your closest i dealership(?)
Cheers,
T