Auto Motor und Sport compares two of the most exciting cars every designed by BMW. One one hand, we have BMW’s only supercar ever built, the M1 (excluding the one-off M8) and the progressive sportscar of the future, BMW i8.
The photoshoot below shows us the two special cars side-by-side, and first thing that stands out is the timeliness design of the M1 which was built 33 years ago.
BMW M1
The M1 remains one of the most sought M models ever since the launch of the Motorsport division and even today it sells for over $200,000.
The M1 came to life in 1978 at the Paris Motor Show as the M divisions first ever creation.The M1 coupe was hand-built between 1978 and 1981 as a homologation special for sports car racing. The body was designed by Giugiaro, taking inspiration from the 1972 BMW Turbo show car.
At the time of its launch, it was one of the fastest and most dynamic cars on the market. It featured a 277 horsepower 3.5-liter straight-six engine and could reach speeds in excess of 160 mph. The redline came at 7,000 rpm and the M1 was capable of accelerating from 0-62 mph in 5.6 seconds.
Only 456 production M1s were built, making it one of BMW’s rarest models.
BMW i8
The lightweight i8 goes on sale in this summer and weighs 1450 kilograms, thanks to extensive use of carbon fiber design elements and cockpit.
BMW i8 uses a plug-in hybrid system consisting of a turbocharged three-cylinder BMW TwinPower Turbo petrol engine and BMW eDrive technology in the form of an electric drive system. The 1.5-liter combustion engine develops 170 kW/231 hp and drives the rear wheels of the BMW i8, while the 96 kW/131 hp electric drive sends its power to the front wheels and allows an all-electric range of up to 35 kilometers (22 miles) and a top speed of 120 km/h (75 mph).
In Germany, the BMW i8 starts at €126,000, while in the UK it will cost £ 99,125. The U.S. market will also get the BMW i8 in 2014 at a base price of $135,700.
We have recently test drove the BMW i8 and you can read our first driving impressions.
