The BMW i8 is being hailed as a new kind of car. Whether you’re into the green-meets-mean theme or not, however, it’s undeniably an interesting and impressive convergence of technology and design. But how is it made?
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This series of videos answers that question, as well as showing the i8 on the dynamometer fresh from the production line. Eerily quiet as it starts out, the i8’s dyno run is a brief validation test, not an all-out sprint for maximum power.
Before that final validation dyno, the i8 has to be assembled from its component parts, starting with the construction of the carbon monocoque chassis.
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Once the interior is installed, the electrical bits wired, and the battery pack, drivetrain, and other mechanical bits are in place, the i8 proceeds to final assembly and inspection.
It’s a detailed, laborious process, using many of the most high-tech materials and processes in the industry, and it’s a window into how cars will be built in the future—that is, if the i8 really is a harbinger of things to come.
