The BMW i8 Is Slower On Track Than You'd Think

As part of performance testing, the German tuning house AC Schnitzer took the BMW i8 to the Nurburgring, and the lap times might surprise you
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German tuning house AC Schnitzer has taken the BMW i8 to the Nurburgring for a bit of fun, and it’s not as quick as you might expect.

During the company’s performance testing of its modified version of the flagship hybrid sports car, it posted a lap of 8m19.8s, which is a bit disappointing even compared to the fastest hot hatchbacks – the latest Civic Type R has blitzed a lap in 7m43.8s; some 36 seconds in front.

The BMW i8 Is Slower On Track Than You'd Think

That said, we instantly go back to the old argument of ‘which is faster’ versus ‘which would you rather drive/own’.

The i8’s problem seems to be performance at higher speeds. Above 90mph or so it really starts to crawl up the speedometer, which is no real problem for road drivers but it’s a kick in the danglies for track work, especially on a circuit like the Nordschleife that has plenty of potential for high speeds.

The BMW i8 Is Slower On Track Than You'd Think

Anyway, surprising lap times aside, we’d like to tell you more about the car itself. AC Schnitzer has taken the standard car and switched the suspension for its own setup, with shorter springs by 25mm and 20mm front and rear respectively. The wheels are larger but forged from the latest light-alloy metal, they’re wrapped in much wider rubber – up to 245-section at the front at 285 at the back.

This is going to help your corner speeds on circuits, but there’s no more pace on offer. The 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine still coughs up 227bhp and the electric motor is still good for 129bhp on its own. It’s rapid to 62mph, hitting the European launch benchmark in 4.4 seconds, but it could do with more top-end power if it’s going to set really quick lap times.

The BMW i8 Is Slower On Track Than You'd Think

Naturally, AC Schnitzer has modified the interior, too, but surprisingly modestly. The pedals have been changed for aluminium ones and there are matching accents on the centre console, but otherwise it’s pretty much as-you-were.

That’s not something you can say about the exterior, which has been given the Aerodynamic Conversion. It’s basically just a mountain of carbonfibre that looks cool and doubles as functional aero bodywork – though we don’t have stats on how much lift it reduces/downforce it generates. Still, it’ll look nice parked outside da club.

Comments

DL🏁

One of the most pointless cars imo

Its not that fast
Neither as economical as you’d expect
Doesn’t sound that good
Not that practical
Costs a lot

The only two things this car is good at is looking futuristic and depreciating

09/25/2017 - 08:50 |
296 | 8

This car is a Prius for people who are too rich to have a Prius. Also i8 is the oldest performance hybrid.

09/25/2017 - 08:52 |
88 | 8

Its an overpriced prius,
What really gets me is that Honda can offer a hybrid with a manual yet BMW cant…

09/25/2017 - 12:45 |
16 | 0
Olivier (CT's grammar commie)

In reply to by DL🏁

“Costs a lot”
“Not that practical”
“Not that fast”
“Doesn’t sound that good”
“Not as economical as you’d think”

cough GT86/BRZ cough

09/25/2017 - 18:38 |
14 | 22
Anonymous

Interesting fact: The Range Rover Sport SVR was 5 seconds faster around the Nurburgring, at 8:14

09/25/2017 - 09:12 |
32 | 0
Anonymous

Red makes a car faster they said…

09/25/2017 - 09:24 |
8 | 0
suchdoge

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

I thought it was resale red.
And stripes make it faster.

09/25/2017 - 12:47 |
2 | 0
Anonymous

I’m not engineer (yet), but 285 mm wide rear tyres is an exageration for a car that “only” sends 227 bhp to that wheels, so part of the problem can be there. I don’t think you compensate the speed it makes you loose in the straights due to more drag with the grip in the corners.

09/25/2017 - 09:42 |
44 | 0
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Agreed and any increase in lateral grip generated is offset by the slower acceleration. They should have stuck with 245 rears and ditched the silly wing as it’s only slowing them down.

09/25/2017 - 10:17 |
10 | 0
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Torque figures are more impressive than the horsepower figures.

Both turbos and electric motors are known for having better torque figures than HP figures. So while ‘only’ it has 360hp, it has about 420lbft of torque. Which makes those 285s sound a bit more reasonable.

09/25/2017 - 15:35 |
0 | 0
InjunS2K

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

I agree. 245s would’ve been just plenty and all that aero is unnecessary. A car like this with low hp needs to focus on mechanical grip and improving power and top speed. If it had over 400hp, then those mods would be justifiable. Any basic tuner knows this. Who at AC thought this was a good idea?!

09/26/2017 - 05:09 |
0 | 0
SAVAGE DOGG (Ping-Pong Gang) (Corvette Squad)

Boi VTEC is better than hybrid

09/25/2017 - 10:30 |
12 | 2
Daniel Busker

couldnt you get the i8 with 362hp? when i look in the classifieds i see them with 232hp and 362hp

09/25/2017 - 10:33 |
0 | 0
Sir Wafel (WhyBeAre of CT) (Multipla Squad) (propane)

In reply to by Daniel Busker

Depends if you count the electric engine of not, that’s why that’s a thing

09/25/2017 - 10:43 |
0 | 0
Klush

Would this then be a factory ricer?
Since ricer is all about “all show no go”.

09/25/2017 - 11:45 |
6 | 0
*Stanced Mitata* (MiataSquad) (JDM Squad) (RX-7Squad) (Stan

Somebody forgot to put the car on Eco sport mode.

09/25/2017 - 14:41 |
4 | 0
Anonymous

Cobin: the blyat i’m this piece of shℹt

09/25/2017 - 15:17 |
0 | 2
Anonymous

I read that when driving a short circuit that the i8 becomes slower every lap due to draining battery power

09/25/2017 - 16:14 |
2 | 0

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