The BMW i8 Roadster with new rear wing and a shortened front windscreen is ready for the race track.
BMW, as an official partner of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship, unveiled at the “Yacht Club de Monaco” on the eve of the Monaco E-Prix the all-new Formula E Safety Car – the BMW i8 Roadster Safety Car.
The BMW i8 Roadster Safety Car joins the BMW i8 Coupé Safety Car used previously as the world’s first safety car that can be used with an open cockpit.
The car is actually a series produced BMW i8 Roadster, specifically modified for use at the racetrack with new rear wing and shortened front windscreen.
Technical modifications for use at the racetrack.
Regarding stiffness the BMW i8 Roadster is the perfect basis for a Safety Car. No major modifications were necessary but there still have been some changes for the racetrack version. The most striking modification to the BMW i8 Roadster Safety Car is the front windscreen, which is shorter than the production model. This gives the car a more dynamic appearance. The Safety Car’s centre of gravity is also 15 millimetres lower than the production car. The car has M Carbon Ceramic Brakes, an FIA-approved roll bar, a front splitter and a rear wing for additional downforce.
Modifications necessary for its role of Safety Car have also been made. The light bar is mounted above the rear wing, making it easily visible from all angles in any race situation. The BMW i8 Roadster Safety Car also has a communication antenna and a GPS antenna, an extensive communication system in the cockpit, and a rear-view camera.
Design follows the lead of its predecessor.
Another spectacular aspect of the new Safety Car is its livery design. It evolves the high-contrast BMW logo-inspired alternating blue and white schematic from the BMW iFE.18 and BMW i8 Coupe Safety Car into a decidedly expressive form suitable to open air mobility and the dazzling Monaco street racing context. Blue and purple are the natural colours of raw electricity, while the orange and green accents are the same colours as the lights system on the Safety Car. As with the BMW iFE.18, violet “synapses” surge throughout the livery making explicit the “live” connective network embedded within the design.
The signature BMW Group Motorsport matt black anti-reflective cockpit extension has been updated to be inclusive of passengers, who will take their place in the passenger seat during taxi rides. The resulting “winged“ graphic also mirrors the iconic door opening kinematic of the BMW i8 Roadster.
BMW i models in Formula E fleet:
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