The BMW i8 proved to be a hard nut to crack by tuners. The hybrid setup of the car is troublesome when it comes to squeezing out some extra horsepower. However, there is one tuner out there that claims to have done and its name is BR-Performance. The guys claim that their tune for the i8 will bring the car’s output up to 400 HP and 650 Nm of torque.
Those figures seem unbelievable making us wonder how they were achieved. The powertrain of the BMW i8, as you know, is made up of a small 1.5-liter three-cylinder turbocharged engine, which leaves little room for improvement.
The internal combustion unit makes 231 HP and 320 Nm (236 lb-ft) of torque while the electric motor is good for 131 HP and 250 Nm (184 lb-ft). A grand total of 362 HP and 570 Nm (420 lb-ft) is massive for a car of this weight. Chip in the all-wheel drive and you get a 0-62 mph sprint time of 4.4 seconds. However, the BR-Performance Stage 1 kit takes things to another level with 38 extra HP and 80 extra Nm of torque.
Since there’s little chance of squeezing extra power from the electric motor, those gains must’ve come from the 1.5-liter engine which means, it’s now making 269 HP and 400 Nm (295 lb-ft) of torque, numbers which would be absolutely amazing considering its size. Until we get an official response from BR-Performance, let’s watch their i8 in motion in the video below.
