What's this then?
BMW has renewed its partnership with the FIA Formula E Championship as official vehicle supplier, and so has unveiled a shiny new i8 Safety Car along with an i3 Medical Car and X5 eDrive Rescue Vehicle.
What's so new about it?
Unlike your common or garden BMW i8, this Formula E Safety Car is more of a rolling prototype. It uses a new type of high-voltage battery that has been developed by technical partner, Qualcomm, which gives an increased electric output. What is even more interesting is its new inductive charging system. Called the Qualcomm Halo, it is claimed to be the world's first vehicle to be capable of inductive charging, and it can be fully recharged in around one hour without the need to plug anything into the car.
Sounds impressive, anything else?
Yes. Lots of new performance-orientated parts have been added to the i8 Safety Car, such as 20-inch ATS racing wheels, six- and four-piston AP Racing callipers front and rear respectively and an FIA-certified roll cage inside. The car has been lowered by 15mm and has also had its glass rear window replaced with a ventilated plastic version. Front and rear diffusers have been added underneath the car to further improve high-speed aerodynamics.
Why so many changes?
Well, BMW might claim that it is just to ensure that the car is up to its role as Safety Car, but the standard road car already produces more power then the Formula E cars do. This year, for example, BMW has been using a special M4 Safety Car in the MotoGP Championship that used a water-injection engine. This has since made its way into the Concept M4 GTS that was recently shown at Pebble Beach and is likely to enter production in the near future. We wouldn't be surprised if this i8 is also the forerunner to a more performance-orientated version. The wireless charging technology is also likely to appear as an option in future hybrid and electric BMWs.
What else is BMW bringing to the party?
In addition to the i8 Safety Car, BMW is proving an i3 for use as the Formula E Medical Car along with a BMW X5 eDrive40e as transportation for the Rescue Crew. Acting as shuttles during each round of the championship will be a pair of electric BMW C evolution scooters.
Dave Humphreys - 25 Aug 2015