DRIVEN + VIDEO: How Does The BMW i8 Fit Into The Greater Supercar Space?

The BMW i8 is one of those cars that **may** go down in automotive history. There's no question it's a major piece of Bavarian history.

It looks ahead of its time, it is as fast as a Porsche 911 and it more fuel efficient than a collection of today's sport-inspired autos. But with autos like the Ferrari LaFerrari, McLaren P1 and Porsche 918 making their debut this year, the i8 has been a bit buried in the industry. At least that's my perspective.

Although Agent 001 has given you his point of view about the all-new i8, I think its important to complement his findings with that of Autocar's Steve Sutcliffe. As he's piloted ALL the hypercars, it's good for him to provide some context of how the i8 piece fits into the greater automotive puzzle.

BMW's petrol-electric all-wheel-drive sports car hits the UK with the promise of supercar-grade acceleration, supermini-beating fuel economy and limousine-like cruising ability.

Steve Sutcliffe finds out whether the driving experience lives up to BMW's claims on the very best driving roads that Scotland has to offer.

DTMFan - 7/20/2014 12:30:29 PM

+2 Boost

A good review. So far more positive than I was expecting. I think the i8 is a great product, but I was wondering how much of a compromise owning one would be... according the this guy, not much!

I do love the way it looks.

Car4Life - 7/21/2014 8:52:31 AM

+1 Boost

I don't, Im on the fence. It seems like a fantastic car and a step forward in engineering, however...

The fact that a 550i or E550 4matic could out run my new $135k "super car", kinda disappoints me. 0-60 in 4.4 sec would of been something in the early 2000's and I get this car is also about the environment, but I just don't know if the sacrifice in performance is worth it.

All in all, great car but after the long wait and anticipation...I kinda expected more

CarCrazedinCali - 7/20/2014 3:47:28 PM

+1 Boost

way to go BMW!

BimmersNme - 7/20/2014 9:05:03 PM

+1 Boost

Impressive machine no doubt as a first BMW hybrid sports car. I can only imagine what BMW will give us as the next generation i8. I'd love to see this car in an Individual red color. Congrats to BMW for having the b@lls to come up with something so "out-of-the box" and pave the way for the next level of sports cars.