Badass BMW i8 (Electric Supercar) Caught Test-Driving in the Snow (VIDEO)

February 16th, 2012 by Zachary Shahan

Charis wrote on a market research report the other day that essentially said that electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrids need an iCar to really get the public gung-ho about them. In other words, stop giving us the ‘green’ pitch that I (and probably you) love, but that most folks meet with relative indifference, and give us the “YOU NEED THIS OR YOU WILL BE SO UNCOOL” pitch.

While I’d like to think we can get everyone realizing the core importance of going green (i.e. if we don’t, we threaten the survival of our species… not to mention that of countless other species), and this is something I work on every day, I would venture to say that there is no single thing we need more than making green products or lifestyle options the coolest, baddest things on the planet, and making it just plain uncool to go another route. Part of that includes make simply awesome green products.

First of all, back on the car front, there’s hardly an automobile brand better than BMW to do this for EVs or plugin-hybrids, in my opinion at least. And, look, they even give it that funky ‘i’ prefix! Coincidence? Or was the market research report and recent news about us needing an iCar somewhat influenced by early whispers of the i8 and i3? I’m not sure,… but on to the news!

So, the BMW i8 was caught test driving in the snow recently (or it was staged to make it look like it was caught test-driving… you decide) and Chris DeMorro of sister site Gas2 chimes in on his thoughts on and desires for this “hella cool” car in this repost below (followed by a couple more brief statements by yours truly):

Video: BMW i8 Electric Supercar Caught Out In The Open (via Gas 2.0)

I’m pretty much in love with the Nissan Leaf, even though I’m not a car guy at all and don’t intend to buy a car anytime soon, if ever (I’ve been car-free for about 7 years now and love it). But I think this BMW i8 and related products may get more of the public behind this green car trend than the Leaf has… we’ll have to wait and see, and keep sharing videos of the badass car as they come out.

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Tags: BMW, bmw electric cars, bmw i8, bmw plug-in hybrids, i8, icar, plug-in hybrids

About the Author

Zachary Shahan spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as the director/chief editor. Otherwise, he's probably enthusiastically fulfilling his duties as the director/editor of Solar Love, EV Obsession, Planetsave, or Bikocity. Zach is recognized globally as a solar energy, electric car, and wind energy expert. If you would like him to speak at a related conference or event, connect with him via social media. You can connect with Zach on any popular social networking site you like. Links to all of his main social media profiles are on ZacharyShahan.com.

Dave2020

In my humble opinion, it will prove impossible for carmakers to create an iCar image for the EV, for the simple reason demonstrated in the video.

This tired old design has the severely compromised dynamics common to every car on the road. If you made an entirely new concept, with an ultra-low CD, no roll or pitch, more efficient tires and very cheap ride-height control, then you begin to get somewhere near what the future-car should be.

The dynamic symmetry chassis is game-changing. It banks through the curves and doesn’t suffer from understeer or oversteer. Both driver and passengers would experience a new quality of performance and comfort.

Surely, that level of perfection would be essential for any car to aspire to icon status? It must stand out from the uniform herd.

But of course, if you first made this as an EV, some idiot would still want to put an ICE in it, wouldn’t they.
- http://cleantechnica.com/ Zachary Shahan
  
  Good points.
  
  I guess we can dream
Bob_Wallace

I’m (hopefully) in love with the Toyota RAV4 EV.

I need 4WD and the cargo space of a small SUV. I also need a good 150 mile range, but I could probably do without that as long as there was a Level 3 charger in town.

With battery weight down low even an electric SUV should do pretty well on the curves. And I get to drive one of the world’s great roads every time I go to town.
Kieran

The upcoming Tesla Model S will hopefully have a similar effect.
- http://cleantechnica.com/ Zachary Shahan
  
  Yeah, and the Tesla Model X. I’m not that into SUVs, but the thing’s wicked doors are pretty catchy.