Man pushes BMW i8 to its absolute limits during an extreme 'full send' durability test

This YouTuber decided to test the BMW i8 hybrid sports car to its limits, which didn’t go too well.

The i8 is a lot of things, but it isn’t exactly a machine designed for endurance.

Interestingly, the two or three things that went wrong are related to one thing in particular.

Which is probably further proof that this car was mostly an experiment.

Why this YouTuber wanted to test this unusual ‘supercar’

YouTuber OG Schaefchen is known for occasionally causing chaos at the wheel of unorthodox cars but, on this occasion, he decided to do something else.

This idea was to test the BMW i8, an early plug-in hybrid supercar, with back-to-back stress challenges to see what would happen.

On paper, the futuristic ‘alien-like’ look, the upward-opening doors, and the carbon monocoque chassis looked promising.

But timing is everything and this car was a bit early, which leads to his main criticisms.

The challenge was split into three separate tests: straight-line acceleration, cornering and handling, and drifting.

The first one went okay, the second one went ‘meh’, and the third one went even worse.

This is what the YouTuber didn’t like

The first he noticed was the throttle response, which felt unresponsive and hesitant.

In the straight-line speed test, for example, the car sprinted off the line quite quickly but it apparently lacked that supercar ‘punch’ he was expecting.

And when it came to handling, cornering, and drifting, it went even worse.

The significant understeer, lack of power for drifting, and aggressive electronic interventions also worked against sporty driving.

“This car’s throttle response is like hitting the gas pedal with a wet sponge,” he said.

In the end, Schaefchen concluded that this car was a great lifestyle vehicle, but not a true supercar.

The metaphor he used to describe the car in general terms was even more brutal.

“It’s a little bit of a catfish. You know, you’re on Tinder and you see a pretty face and you swipe right and it turns out they’re not so nice in person. Exactly the same with the BMW i8,” he concluded.

What this tells us about the BMW i8 hybrid sports car

When it first came out, the i8 confused people because it came with a built-in identity crisis, so to speak.

It was both a performance car and an efficiency-first car, which are two concepts that go together quite well… today.

Back then, when it was launched, in general you either made your car go fast, or you made it efficient.

The experimental i8 was a bold move in a new direction, but because it was experimental and quite ‘early’, it came with a few chronic issues.

As a hybrid sports car, the small engine, the all-wheel-drive layout, and the heavy battery made it good but not perfect.

As an economical car, the fact it had so much power and an early, less-than-perfect battery system made it, again, good but not perfect.

Still, it’s such a shame we never had an encore.

With today’s technology, the i8 could be so much better and more fun.