The BMW i8 is good for 369 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque, powering all four wheels. But that’s less important than where the power is coming from. Which in the i8’s case, is the middle. Being mid-engine makes the car more naturally balanced and offers driving dynamics totally unique from more traditional front engine options.

Top speed was also adequate: the BMW i8 can get from 0-60 mph in about 4.4 seconds. Interestingly, the BMW i8 was also the first hybrid/EV to use a two-speed transmission for its electric motor at the front. While the i8 isn’t as economical as BMW had hoped, it’s still more economical than most supercars, capable of returning 35 MPGe. Because of that front electric motor, the latest iteration of the BMW i8 can drive up to 22 miles on pure electric power alone.

The MSRP pricing for the BMW i8 started at $143,400. But unfortunately, the BMW i8 was discontinued so you can only find used / pre-owned models. The BMW i8 can be purchased at great prices, around $60,000-$70,000 used. So should you buy one in 2023?

Let’s find out!

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The $150,000 BMW i8 has a fairly small trunk – it can hold just 154 liters of luggage. But big enough to fit quite a few NVIDIA cards, along with a motherboard, CPU, some cooling and a massive power supply. According to HardwareTimes, this mining system is powered by an ASUS B250 Mining Expert board and an EVGA SuperNOVA 1600 T2 power supply.

Bryne told the publication that the idea behind this mining setup is to be able to travel while earning money. The battery of the i8 is said to be enough to power the six-GPU rig. The battery capacity of both, BMW i8 Roadster and the i8 Coupe, was increased to 11.6 kWh in 2018. The battery can also be charged while driving in the i8’s Sport Mode.

Clearly, the six graphic cards generate quite a lot of heat, so apparently the trunk’s hatch has to remain open to avoid overheating. So it’s unclear how that works while driving.

The recently NVIDIA 3000 Series cards are in high demand with all online and brick and mortar stores being sold out. They also command quite a high premium on third-party marketplaces, so if you’re planning to build your own BMW i8 or i3 rigs, account for that extra dollar.

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But since cost plays an important role within BMW Group product planning, a new approach was put in place. A few years ago, the Bavarians announced new plans to build their future electric and plug-in hybrid models on a modular and flexible architecture.

Dubbed “The Fifth Generation Platform”, the new architecture will give them the full vertical stack: petrol, diesel, electric and hybrids. Naturally, there were some objections to those plans. Even within the company, some engineers believed that a fully dedicated electric platform – like Tesla’s – is the way forward.

Today, Reuters published an interesting report on the topic. According to respectable media outlet, and citing Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine, the BMW Works Council believes that BMW should shift course and establish a technology platform just for electric cars.

“Only with our own e-architecture can we fully exploit the advantages of an electric vehicle,” Manfred Schoch told Der Spiegel magazine.

Schoch brings up the Tesla example and said that even some BMW managers have pushed for a new electric strategy internally for some time. The pure electric platform would make cars lighter and give them a longer battery range and a bigger interior.

Reuters reached out to BMW but a spokesman said the company was currently “optimally positioned” and declined to comment on speculation about internal discussions.

For now, BMW’s flexible architecture plans are moving forward. This year, we will get the first fully-electric SUV – the BMW iX3 – followed in 2021 by the i4 and iNEXT. Additional electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids will arrive in the next few years.

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The BMW i8 Coupe and i8 Roadster are the ultimate technological milestones of the BMW Group, blending in a spectacular and futuristic design with state-of-the-art engineering. The reason why the i8 is so important to BMW is the fact that it laid the foundation for future electrification of the entire range of models.

Since 2014, more than 20,000 units have been sold worldwide. The i8 was officially presented at the IAA Frankfurt 2013, with the market introduction following later on in 2014. The plug-in hybrid model was directly inspired by the Vision EfficientDynamics concept of 2009.

The package proposed by the i8 was entirely daring: a supercar silhouette with upwards-opening doors (“gullwing”), sporting an electrified powertrain and all-wheel-drive traction. The i8 features a lightweight aluminum chassis with a passenger cell made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic. Many parts of the aluminum were primarily built using state-of-art 3D printing.

The plug-in hybrid architecture comprises a 1.5-liter, 3-cylinder gasoline engine powering the rear axle, mated with an electric motor that spins the front wheels. The entire plug-in hybrid configuration is rated at 275 kW / 374 PS (368 hp).

The all-electric range reaches between 55 and 53 kilometers, while the top speed hits 250 km/h. The acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h takes just 4.4 seconds in the i8 Coupe and 4.6 seconds in the i8 Roadster.

The electrified powertrain has been specifically designed to enhance efficiency and ensure a dynamic power delivery. The placement of the high-voltage battery is at a low level, in the center of the vehicle. The LifeDrive architecture, which comprises the passenger cell and chassis, weighs less than 1,500 kilograms and the weight distribution is equal on the two axles – 50 : 50.

The i8 has been a pioneer in many aspects, from the innovative LifeDrive architecture, to the plug-in hybrid eDrive powertrain and functional design philosophy. When launched in 2014, the i8 was the first production car in the world to feature a Laser-based lighting system.

BMW is sending off the i8 models in true style with the help of the limited-run Ultimate Sophisto Edition models. The last 200 units of the i8 to be built at the Leipzig plant in Germany feature a special and unique interior and exterior customization.

The scheduled cease of production is set for April this year.

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Therefore, we wanted to take a look at some of the best and most exciting plug-in hybrid and electric sports cars you can buy today. We took into consideration things like batteries, electric motors, drivetrains and regenerative braking. Of course, the car design and in-cabin tech play an important role as well.

ACURA NSX

It turns out that Honda has been planning an NSX successor for some time but couldn’t get the formula right. However, it seems that Honda has figured out exactly the right formula and the NSX is back and it has its eyes set squarely at Ferrari, Porsche, McLaren and even BMW.

The new Acura NSX is a plug-in hybrid sports car using a mid-mounted twin-turbocharged V6 engine engine, combined with an electric motor, to power the rear wheels through a nine-speed dual-clutch transmission. The front wheels are powered by two electric motors, one for each wheel. Combined, the Acura NSX puts out a total of 573 hp and 476 lb-ft of torque, which is up there with the Ferrari 458 Italia and Audi R8 V10, two cars that Acura set its sights on during development.

The 0 to 62 mph sprint is rated at 2.7 seconds with a top speed of 191mph.

Porsche Taycan

The all-new Porsche Taycan (pronounced tie-kahn) has just made its long-awaited debut, after stunning the world more than a year ago with its Mission E Concept. Now that it’s finally here, we get to learn how the Stuttgart brand is going to steal everyone’s lunch. As with most high-performance EVs, Porsche is launching the two top-of-the-line Taycan models; the Turbo and Turbo S.

The Porsche Taycan Turbo and Turbo S are both incredibly fast EV sedans designed to take on the Tesla Model S P90D and P100D, respectively. The “standard” Taycan Turbo makes a whopping 670 peak hp and 626 lb-ft of torque from its dual electric motors. While the more powerful Taycan Turbo S makes an astonishing 750 peak hp and 774 lb-ft of torque. It’s said that 0-60 mph will take 2.6 seconds for the Turbo S but expect it to be a touch quicker than that in reality, as all German car companies underrate their performance figures. That’s also about in line with the Model S P100D.

In fact, both of those peak power figures can only be used for 2.5 seconds, after which they drop to 616 hp for 10 more seconds. After that, power drops off a bit more but by that time you’re at very license-losing speed. In fact, they just tested the Porsche Taycan by launching it from 0-90-0 mph in 10.7 seconds. So after 12.5 seconds of continuous acceleration, the Taycan will be well over triple-digit speeds. Its top speed is 162 mph.

BMW i8

BMW’s hybrid sports car is a marvelous piece of engineering. It’s made almost completely of carbon fiber and has one of the most exquisite designs in the car marketplace. The hybrid sports car is an instant head-turner wherever it goes and its unmistakable looks have built a cult among the enthusiasts.

The i8 uses both an internal combustion engine and an electric unit to get you moving. On the front axle you get an electric motor making 131 PS and 184 lb-ft (250 Nm) of torque whose sole job is to power the front wheels and, eventually, take you around town emissions free.

On the rear axle you’ll find a 231 PS and 236 lb-ft (320 Nm) 1.5-liter 3-cylinder turbocharged engine that is responsible for the more fun part of the game. It is connected to a 6-speed automatic gearbox and only powers the rear wheels. However, the engineers made sure the two can work together, combining the 6-speed gearbox  of the internal combustion engine to the 2-speed one of the electric motor, offering the car up to 362 PS and 420 lb-ft (570 Nm) of torque when needed.

Furthermore, by doing so, they managed to create a car that can be both front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive as well as – for a short burst – rear-wheel drive.

The BMW i8 has an all-electric range of up to 35 kilometers (22 miles) and a top speed of 120 km/h (75 mph).

Tesla Model S

Tesla’s Model S sedan with “Ludicrous Mode” has been timed going from zero to 60 mph in under 2.3 seconds. That’s an impressive figure in this ranking.  The Model S Performance produces 825 horsepower (615 kiloWatts) and 959 pound-feet (1,300 Newton-meters) torque, pulling its hefty 4,941 pounds (2,241 kilograms) of weight.

The 2020 Model S is now only available as a Long Range model with an EPA-estimated 373 miles of range.

Lotus Evija

The Lotus Evija is a limited production electric sports car to be manufactured by British automobile manufacturer Lotus. Codenamed “Type 130”, production of the Evija will be limited to 130 units.

The Evija is powered by a 70 kWh battery pack. Each of the four individual motors are placed at the wheels and are rated at 368 kW (500 PS; 493 hp), for a combined total output of 1,470 kW (2,000 PS; 1,970 hp) and 1,700 N⋅m (1,254 lb⋅ft) of torque.

Lotus claims that the Evija will be able to accelerate from 0– 100 km/h (62 mph) in under 3 seconds, from 0–299 km/h (186 mph) in under 9 seconds, and achieve a top speed of over 320 km/h (200 mph).

Porsche 918 Sypder

Porsche produced 918 units of the 918 Spyder. All 918 Spyders have a 4.6-liter V8 engine working together with a couple of electric motors to produce a combined output of 874 horsepower (652 kilowatts) and 944 pound-feet (1,280 Newton-meters). The standard 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) sprint comes in 2.6 seconds and hit 124 mph (200 km/h) from a standstill in 7.2 seconds while the 0-186 mph (0-300 kph) run takes just 19.9 seconds. In electric mode, the 918 Spyder needs 6.1 seconds until 100 km/h.

Porsche 918 Spyder benefits from the all-wheel drive setup and a four-wheel steering system.

918 Spyder drivers have the choice of five different modes to choose from: E-Power, Hybrid, Sport Hybrid, Race Hybrid and Hot Lap.

Polestar 1

According to Polestar, it isn’t a high-performance Volvo but its own car. Though, it’s built off of a Volvo chassis, wears a modified Volvo body and a tuned Volvo engine. So it’s sort of a Volvo. The rest of it, though, is all new.

Under the hood lies a tuned Volvo engine, which is a 2.0 liter turbocharged and supercharged four-cylinder engine. The supercharger adds boost at low revs, eliminating turbo lag, and then the turbo kicks in a mid-to-high revs to finish off the powerband. That engine powers the front wheels and two electric motors power the rear wheels. Plus, a third electric motor that acts as the starter motor and can add power as well. All combined, it makes 592 hp and 738 lb-ft of torque.

Polestar claims a 0-60 mph time of less than four seconds.

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