BLOWN AWAY by BMW i8 (or my driving)! // Nürburgring

Thank you / ikke_sant for the lap!
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Disclaimer: the actions performed in this video are executed by professionals or individuals that consider themselves professional on a closed circuit within the local regulations.
00:00 Intro/Specs
03:02 Lap
11:06 Impressions

[@driftshake]

Thank you so much @mgcharoudin! This was an experience of a lifetime, and I had so much fun :D This was my first time at the Nürburgring, and I will be coming back. Probably in something that isn't a GT hybrid with skinny tires like the i8. I've never been a passenger with someone as experienced as you, so it was really exciting. I was mostly worried about the car to be honest, and not your driving. Again, thank you, it was an absolute blast!

[@kiowle]

Nice car, rare color!

[@JaSon-wc4pn]

The old BMW behind you would be a better pick for sure

[@Liqueurdriver]

You look like pewdiepie

[@driftshake]

@@Liqueurdriver Hahaha, that's not the first time I've heard that 😅

[@driftshake]

@@JaSon-wc4pn E36 is also a cooler car 😅 I want one!

[@derbigpr500]

Underrated car. BMW should have made a version with a regular powertrain from M cars, at least the M3 engine, if not the M5. Imagine the i8 with a V10 from the M5 E60.

[@Ponykotze]

You‘re right, but it was never supposed to be a hypercar, more like proving hybrid or electric powered cars haven’t to be soulless or boring combined with an awesome fuel economy (and that’s the reason why it’s undertired). The i8 concept was shown in 2009. 15 years ago. Still looking like a spaceship today. 362 hp weren’t that bad back then when the heavier M3 had 420 hp.

[@TSunderground]

everybody hates it back in the days now they love it, the same story with the every new BMW, BMW is the best

[@user-nb3xu6fl9q]

Not really underrated is it, not when you consider cost from new and how it compares to similar options, I'd say it's pretty underwhelming in fact...

[@elijb3102]

EXACTLY! I do recall on an old Need For Speed game in the 90s that there was a mid engine BMW! I just don’t understand these manufacturers in listening to the people! @thatsaucellc - Sauce Boss

[@royliber3824]

@@Ponykotze I agree. If people want M cars performance then they should get M cars. The i8 simply wasn't made to be the next M car. The i8 was created to show you can have a fast car with great fuel efficiency. Having a 3 cylinder petrol engine with an electric one producing around 370HP was something unheard of back then and still nowadays it would be quite powerful.

[@desertsandfly2277]

I'm shockingly impressed with how this car performs. Guess it really wasn't just made for sporty looks after all. Just needs some minor mods like better tires and brakes and maybe suspension and it could handle really great.

[@Jan_Ole_GBH]

Good car wrong Engine, I8 with a V8 from the M5 or M550i woud be soooooo good

[@hexagonosaurus5848]

​@@Jan_Ole_GBH stick to forza horizon builds kid

[@AndrewTSq]

Unfortunatly its a slow car around the track. The tuned one did a 8m19.8 (!). If they had gone with just a normal ice engine this car would probably be super fun.

[@royliber3824]

@@Jan_Ole_GBH If you put a V8 into the i8 I think it would miss it's purpose. The idea of the i8 is showing you can have great performance having smaller engines with the enhanced electric one.

[@jaybomb5022]

​@@hexagonosaurus5848This car lost to a base model 911 he has a point about failing to power it correctly.

[@memorimusic420]

An I8 on the ring, never thought i'd see this lmao. I love the reaction of your passenger aswell, you can have him on the channel more often!

[@driftshake]

I'd love that as well 😅

[@subliminalvibes]

Were _you_ aware there's a button in the centre console marked 'e-drive' which controls the rate of charge? The owner in the video wasn't! 😲

[@driftshake]

@@subliminalvibes The button that says 'e-drive' puts the car into electric only. I don't know what you're talking about. It is in sport mode, and that is the best way to charge it while driving it.

[@subliminalvibes]

@@driftshake not correct. Edrive has many modes and requires some knowledge. (RTFM) This owner wasn't even aware of traction controls, let alone the fact that he could've arrived at APEX with 90 or 100% charge. Here's a great example... youtube/ aHBk8zJ06b4 (sorry KZbin delete my comments if they contain links) Hope this helps. 👍😎

[@driftshake]

@@subliminalvibes Dude. I know about 'hold state of charge' I have it programmed to button 7 in my car, and it has nothing to do with the 'e-drive' button. You don't understand how it works. What do you think it does? Makes power up my magic? The only thing is does is what the name says. So it keeps your battery at the level you set it at. So if I'd used that at like 80% the car wouldn't have been able to boost at all because it would try to stay at that level. Also, I know how to turn off traction control. You can see me doing it in the video, I was just a bit flustered because of the situation. I drove from Norway to the Nürburgring. What state of charge the car was in wasn't really what I was thinking of. This wasn't planned. Misha sent me a message, and I had like 15 minutes before we went.

[@Watts378]

Quiet a nice sound from that 3 cylinder. Great lap MC.

[@burakirtel5015]

3 cylinders have better sound than 4s i think. sounds like 6 cylinder

[@AndrewTSq]

yeah, all un even cylinders sounds really nice

[@DimZin]

It's actually a speaker that makes it sound like this inside the cabin

[@Unsalted375]

sounds like v6 tbh

[@jortepap]

🤢What you are hearing is all fake sound. This 3 cylinder sounds nothing like a 6 cylinder.

[@SamuelJBall.]

Taken my i8 around Spa, Silverstone and a few smaller UK tracks such as Castle Coombe and Llandow, always found it to be really well balanced and some improved brake pads and wider Pilot Sport 4S tyres make it a lot more useable. Its surprising how much more life you can get out of the battery by extending braking zones to maximise the regen, before having to do a charging lap or two. On the road however you'll never get to drive it hard enough for long enough to fully deplete it. Great video and thanks to the owner!

[@driftshake]

I didn't want to go into the comment section for a long time, but thanks for the insight! As you said, you would never run into an issue of running out of batteries with normal use. This is probably as far away from normal use as you can get, but it still performed very well. Also I feel like I should have mentioned the width of the tires, because that is primarily why the grip sucks.

[@radspiderjackson]

Misha just single handedly increased the value of i8's.. glorious

[@mtnman1984]

It was maligned for its drivetrain, but it's really a concept car come to life. Really unique. Not exactly slow either. It doesn't win the numbers game, which is fine in a world with cars that can kill you in seconds. This is plenty quick to enjoy on the road.

[@318iSpoons]

I love the i8! But after seeing this track performance by Misha, I love it even more!😍

[@MrTchou]

Be careful with « better brakes », i know that on Toyota hybrids and I believe all hybrids there is a blend between physical braking and regen braking, at some point you are only regen, then both or only physical, just depending on how and how much you press the brake pedal. Not sure the transition between all those will still be as smooth if you change the brakepads/disks. It’s a balance that has been thought for.

[@derbigpr500]

Those brake systems constantly adapt the amount of regen to actual physical braking by the brakes by measuring the brake pressure and comparing it to actual deceleration of the car, to blend them in seamlessly. How strong the regen is doesn't depend on how strong you press the brake pedal or how strong the actual brakes are, but on how much deceleration the car is experiencing, and the regen braking can take it to a certain deceleration, after that it slowly blends in the actual brakes. No brake discs constantly perform the same with heat or fade, and the hybrids compensate for that. Otherwise all such systems would feel wonky and totally different all the time. It should compensate for more powerful brakes too. Point being, if the system is good (and I assume it is on the i8) these should be absolutely no difference in regen feel with a different set of discs and pads, you'd just get more power from the brakes as you dig into them more and they totally take over the braking and the regen isn't doing much anymore.

[@Mr_Sprint]

Yeah my Golf GTE will regen under braking, but at the ring, because your asking for SO much braking, the regen steps back and the mechanical brakes fully take over, so battery drains very quickly, as it can’t “catch it breath” so to speak. Full charge lasts me two laps, so for misha, maybe half a lap 🤣. If you’d like a drive misha, just say the word and I’ll be there 👍🏻

[@a77mighty666]

loving the rear view cam Misha, another great video! nice car too

[@Mr_Sentoo]

Having owned this car for two years and this guy looks like he owned it for 2 days. In the centre console there is a button called edrive and there you can set it to charge the car at the percent you want. This car is actually great in the snow due to the chassis and constant 4wd. The boot was a real pain, it can only fit a carrying on suitcase, so you end up having your stuff on the back seat. The doors are fun to open but you are limited where to park so you couldn’t park in none of the large car parks. The fuel tank was ridiculously small and the fuel gauge was annoying due to the only 4 bars. Most people don’t keep it long because driving it on a daily basis gets really frustrating.

[@subliminalvibes]

​@@driftshakeLoL He didn't say anything negative about the car in the snow. What are _you_ talking about?!?

[@Mr_Sentoo]

@@driftshake and you don’t know there is a charging mode on it?

[@barondugger]

What's the battery life? It seems like a lot of hybrids' batteries are extremely expensive to replace, if they are available at all.

[@Mr_Sentoo]

@@barondugger it depends how you charge it to be honest, there is a 6 year warranty on the battery or a set km i forgot the details. When I had it new it was around 30km on full electric. The battery is there to add power and torque mainly.

[@driftshake]

@@Mr_Sentoo What charging mode? In sport it charges with regen. There is a "hold charge" option, but that only keeps the car at the current battery level. It doesn't charge it.

[@Ramboonrs]

I have wider tired on myi8, completly transformed the experience

[@Lecter1971]

Last summer I changed the tires on my BMW i8 roadster to Michelin Pilot sport 4s, and increased from 215 to 245 in the front and from 245 to 275 in the back That really made a change when I took it to Nurburgring in August! More grip espesially in the front. This should have been the default tires for the BMW i8.

[@ThePontiacgto65]

The red color is superb with the rear red lights, it magnifies the design

[@nfancioni]

Cool car with an interesting powertrain for its time. The owner seems so happy during the drive and is living in the moment, which is a nice change from the passengers that are using their phone the whole time

[@darkknight8139]

Wow, again this car is really impressive. BMW proved with this car that they could make a really fun hybrid sports car. The design is striking without being controversial (current i7) or totally weird (original i3) and even the 3 cylinder noise is quite OK. And then came the CEO saying that diesel was the way forward, killing off the momentum of electric car development after the original i3. And look at the current i4, it is just a 4 series with an extra battery. It is emberassingly different to this i8. Ok, technology has improved of course, but if BMW would have gone on developing dedicated EVs, they could have been the German brand selling more EVs than Volkswagen.

[@geemac44]

Tyres, brakes, cooling of oil & water along with upgraded brake lines and brake fluid would see this i8 perform more impressively for Misha than how well it performed in its ‘stock’ format. It's a great looking and sounding 3cyl sports car😃👍

[@thatguy41246]

perfect timing misha love the videos

[@peterreynders5639]

Did a testdrive back than and the only down site was (if you are a tall person) is getting in the care, also the topspeed (250km/h) witch was reaching in no time. Handling, speed,comfort etc was way more than enough.

[@stoneeh]

Hell yes! After the recent I4 video, me and many others probably were thinking of the I8. And there we go :) Seems very well behaved. Tires seem to entirely have been the limiting factor, as far as handling. 13:00 would love to see it again with these improvements.

[@race-element]

5:20 Exactly! the first lap you drive is always the best, just feeling the track for the first time hehe! Dangit also Misha nice of thinking about the entertainment value of the lap later on! thank for feeding for my daily nordschleife addiction!

[@madmax]

i8 this car usually, but this was fun.

[@honda4185]

Drove one of theese a few years back and it run great but the best thing was the grip.. the sound is both engine and speakers sadly tho! Great lap 👍

[@hellogir]

Love the design of i8, very pleasant owner!

[@corleth2868]

I walk past a blue i8 on the way to my local shop, it's a great looking car so I'm happy to see that they perform pretty well on track too.

[@MotorsportArchives]

Handles really well, very interesting car

[@offdatgogo]

I drove an entire 850+ mile road trip from Washington DC to Florida in one of these. It was surprisingly comfortable & sporty. Definitely an attention getting and conversation starter. For the money I'd buy something different. But I was pleasantly surprised at the i8 capabilities. I'm now a fan of the faux sounds coming through the audio but how else will a turbo 3 sound good LOL

[@Mark-rt6fy]

Getting noticed is a major part of this car you pay for tho

[@sambitdas9416]

It still looks amazing

[@Carvlogger]

Yea bro. The i8 is such a good and timeless machine 💪💪

[@sighheinrich]

One of the best looking BMWs the last 10 years!

[@DeBaRe]

These 3-Zyl. Turbos are great! (once drove an Toyota Aygo from my girlfriend for a while; n.a. 3-Zyl. ..even those were fun. Love the sound of half of an inline 6) ...once I met an I8 on the Autobahn driving my e34. We had good fun for a while :) -eventhough I couldn't quite keep up with my 525i.

[@sunflower-zv4ce]

طريقة قيادة هذا الرجل للسيارة 😮تجعل القيادة تبدو سهلة جداً 😤على عكس الواقع😑انه محترف👍

[@AlphaDrivers]

Looks really stable on the track! I don't know if is possible to modify it somehow and squeeze some more power 😁

[@waynwastaken]

now we just need an LFA video

[@greggb681]

Wow, what an impressive car!

[@samserious1337]

9:33 from what I'm seeing eboost is still on (lighting up in the revmeter), just the km calculation is not showing any number. Battery seems almost empty though.

[@TheResistorNetwork]

I drove my i8 Roadster from San Francisco to Toronto and back (total 7000mi/11000km) in less than 30 days. It was a great trip. The car is comfortable and managed 41mpg overall. The highlight of the trip was a proposal to my now fiance. Great car and one that will always be in our memories! Nice to see it tossed around the track like this. It performs well.

[@toniozz2126]

Really impressed by the car on track! Of course limiting factor will be the battery capacity, it's only allow to do one lap, but a very nice lap!

[@davidsmall7676]

That was a pleasant surprise! Thanks Misha 🎉🎉

[@CONNNE]

By the time I will be able to afford this car, I am afraid it will be way too old. We need new i8s :(((( such a beautiful car

[@royliber3824]

Not exactly meant to be the most pure track car there is but you can see BMW has their marks all over this to make it into a useable track car. You get a lot of power from a hybrid that uses 3 cylinder engine which even nowadays still quite impressive, definitely more useable for the road than the track but with minor grip modifications it will be able to do both quite great. I agree tho with Misha saying this car is more of a "concept production" car if you will more than being an M car or what not. Definitely unique cars tho.

[@JDMAUTO]

Good call with the sunglasses misha!

[@MrMarkusmulder]

Thanks for the video and Stay safe ✌️. Houdoe

[@vvevvevvvv]

Man, I've heard the story of Andreas Bovesiepen of Alpina how they've made their own version of i8. With 2.0 turbo and some 450hp combined it would be even better.

[@Domman56]

Love all of these oddball cars

[@mikeyyyxl6617]

nice cam setup

[@freddi427]

I'm really impresse by this i8, and i think it still goes okay when the battery is empty 👌 That golden E36 with the XX 60 plates is driven very well, really keeps up despite having way less power, he is fast in the corners. Exciting to watch :)👌

[@Deyahblo]

This car makes everything look still 🔥🔥

[@aldulainthelenor1845]

Please do a Honda CR-Z. I keep seeing them in your videos. It is the much slower predecessor to this car. They aren't fast but they are still quite fun. Please someone get Misha into a CR-Z.

[@ErnestoFavor76]

Just FYI, its in the manual, you can charge the car faster, put it in Comfort mode or eco pro and push hold state of charge. Under vehicle settings/ auto edrive/ hold state of charge. It will not drain the battery untill full. Use eco pro mode with it for early schifting, perfect to warm up your engine.

[@Rushopium]

I never thought much about this car but now I want to buy one !

[@m1k1langelo93]

love videos. Any honda NSX lap video coming? 🤔🤔😍😍

[@rkan2]

0:15 - don't forget i3 is also full carbon fibre chassis, which even for the price which was high it was pretty cheap.

[@RandyJM21]

I saw one of these in whute with blue and black accents with aftermarket wheels that looked amazing with white letter tires and on road it was one of the most stunning and cool looking cars i have ever seen. I looked around at other random expensive cars on the road and the looked so plain . Like everything else was 2 d and the bmw was 3 D . Had never seen one in person but on road design wise stood out more then any car ever . The wheels of which i cant describe but were black with blue accent and motor sport look with the big white letters complimented it sick . He is happy to have the rare red . Cool , but IMPO doesnt work as well as the more common white . However , i would like to see it without those stock wheels ( not great or bad wheels for me ) and a similar motiff of wheels and tires . Im not a flash tyoe or gimmick fan but the white letter tires that appeared wider then stock looked soo cool even if they were look at me thing , it just worked . Never seen wheels and tires transform a car in that way . Made other cars on road that day like Jags , Maseratti aad Aston look so plain and un special . I fell in love with that look and made deep imprint . Im not turned on by BMW Design and i realize what this car is as described here and not an ultimate sports or supercar but the way this one was set up it looked so beautiful and modern as well as super car in design that aesthetically I found more intriguing then anything and would love that exact car . Nsever seen a car POP like that . Truth as mentioned , for a street car the performance is 100% great even if your better then avg driver ( most people , in U.S. anyway cant drive on any edge so its not hard to be above avg ) who also has some balls you dont need more for public roads to test your guts and skill / have fun and make it impossible for most people to follow or catch you on technical road regardless of what they are driving unless its ultra light and they are trained / experienced . With PS4S tires that can transform much lesser cars this would be great . I wish i had taken a picture of the one i saw to know what tires and wheels . For all i know they did screw up the handling by affording my grip then suspension likes make it roll or whatever . It just looked 50 years newer then anything on road and this was after it was out for some time . Strictly on design . White with nice motor sport wheels with styling accents its a crazy head turner and best looking BMW with M1 which is the only BMW i properly consider good looking with a few exceptions here and there but in a different way . The white car which i had seen on video and pictures looked soo different in real life on road . May have had other mods or lowered that I was un aware of having no major interest in it until seeing one in the wild . Stunning and impressive looking . I could see buying a depreciated one in good shape based on design even though i am more interested in function over form between the two .

[@BorisBidjanSaberi11]

Respect to the owner for putting this thing out here

[@gafrers]

Great Car and Great Lap.

[@mixworks-de]

Seems to be a fantastic chassis - if BMW upgraded the battery and the IDrive system - they'd be good for a re-relase I guess!

[@maticcro5992]

This channel is so awesome, i gladly contributed, hope to see thousands of more videos Misha, you are the King of the Ring 😁greetings from Croatia

[@user-tn1vc1xz5d]

I drove an i8 around Llandow a few years back. I liked it a lot and I loooove the way it looks. I felt I needed to be a contortionist and an acrobat to get in it 😂😂😂

[@br4kecheckd]

Misha probably had a very pleasant chat with the person that apparently moved under braking. It was so pleasant it had to be cut out hahaha

[@jethrox827]

Decent acceleration for and old fuse box

[@olo398]

like the owners reaction prolly the 1st time hes ever felt all those gs/speed etc? nice vid Carmrade

[@izadeun]

The guy on the passenger side face is priceless !!!

[@45cab]

Greetings Misha,awesome very entertaint…🎉

[@goldtutch]

I think it will always be a fairly radical car , someone will always want to buy one, i cant see them dropping under 30k, what do you think? unless the battery is toast then it might or will.

[@critical]

I remember making a guy in an i8 really angry when he couldn't keep up with my sq7

[@R19Robbin]

Always liked those butterfly doors 👌

[@IamnotClarissaOakes]

Beautiful car. Reminds me of the old 8 series, which was a head turner. Talking of those 8 series - have you driven one, Misha?

[@michaelh.8177]

Its damn hard to get in and out above 1,90m. I drove them at the bmw plant pretty oftened

[@elcasho]

Wow nice car!

[@anotae]

Beautiful car.

[@dasteknoviking]

Just wondering, while watching you shift the gears - seems like the indicator was not showing the change? Noise changed, however the indicator was wrong... Something off with the video edit or the car?

[@bencemuller7919]

It sounds like the old race games from the 90s, but it's still a space ship :D

[@babyjazz101]

The owner was loving that 😂👍🏼

[@CW-yp9jo]

And it still looks so good. Much more "futuristic" and sleek looking than the cars bmw makes now lol.

[@mlgmounted9599]

Imagine turbo inline 4 version of i8 some sort of Porsche cayman, perfect ring car

[@kumchavalcha]

By the face of MIsha he liked it a lot:D - Interesting chasis with a future:)!

[@seanforehand755]

The tires on the i8 are so skinny, i wish they were more easily modified, the dealership i work at in the US services them, i wqnt to try one with like 500hp. They were surprisingly good to drive though

[@benzinschnueffler187]

The i8 has such a cool sound

[@yawningkitty457]

Shame the battery ran out, that started out as a stunning lap.

[@RM-vv9eh]

Misha mentioned, and i could also see, that the battery power had ran out.... But i noticed he was still getting 'E boost' on the rev counter. Does the i8 truly run out of assisted power ? Was Misha wrong or is the display wrong ?

[@driftshake]

I'm pretty sure that the display is wrong. It is probably just programmed to say "E boost" whenever you are at hard throttle in sports mode. It doesn't seem like they took charge into consideration when making that indicator. Probably because this is such a rare situation for this car to be in.

[@Gamezoneadi]

Pls put pedal cam in place of rear view. Love ur vids❤

[@RDJ979797]

My friend gave me a ride in her i8 few weeks ago its red just like this and its super comfortable. bit of a struggle getting out of the car as i kept hitting my head on the wing door

[@Ramboonrs]

Finally Misha!!!

[@MrLince-hr4of]

❤🤍💙💚🧡always loved it

[@marvinvisser5039]

Sounds better than the newer BMW M models 🤪

[@nevenblaskovic7627]

I tried this car 7 years ago and it was great👍 with better pads and tyres and full battery would be nice.

[@aardvarkmindshank]

It sounds surprisingly good for a 3 cylinder. Is it real audio or fake?

[@hussilveridico3002]

Great Car

[@arthurlekov2947]

The car is quite fast, 200+ before the compression.

[@Michael-bh6fl]

Just checked red same colour 2017 in the UK £30000, there are some sub 30k so much cheaper in UK

[@Cazie1872]

Morning Misha 🙏🏻👋🏻

[@husainalli]

Someday I wish to see lap times with both Traction Control On and Off. On a few cars that u like.

[@PartiBuoy]

That would be cool. Start with full tank and charge. Drive 26km, charge with motor, drive another 26km on electric, charge with motor

[@tw1st3d35]

I mean, the i8 was decent when it came out but that 3cyl really has no reason to be in there. 4cyl min but I guess they wanted something similar to the Honda CRZ, sporty hybrid that uses little fuel and is decent around a track. I think this thing would be a weapon with more power, better brakes and suspension. After all, this thing was never built with the Nordschleife in mind but it's suprising to see it perform that well.

[@wiktorjaciow9815]

I was waiting for a vid with an i8 for so long haha😅

[@SunSnowGravity]

M + i8 looks live love

[@neddy781]

I always hoped BMW would've put a twin turbo V8 or something like that in this chassis and design.

[@rwilson4073]

I'd love to see you try out a CT4-V Blackwing or a CT5-V Blackwing. I think you'd be happy with the improved handling over the prior caddy V-cars, and of course the power.

[@ms-jl6dl]

There are no Cadillacs in Europe.

[@rwilson4073]

@@ms-jl6dl where there’s a will there’s a way. He’s done a CTS-V before, and hopefully when he does the C8 Z06 it’s the American spec.

[@MrCaterhamr500]

Do these have regenerative braking, I’d charge only by plugging in or does the petrol engine somehow charge?