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EBONY ISSUE - n° 15 - 2018 - € 10 www.theoney d.com
The Art of Sailing Sanlorenzo SX8
QUART ERLY - P.I. 21/07 /2018 Intern ationa l € 10, Poste Italiane S.p.a. Chf 10,50 , UK £ 7,50 Spedizione in Abbon amento Postale
- 70% - LO/MI
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[ The CAR ]
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It’s a sensory revolution that ushering electric power into the mainstream. The engine roar of old is becoming a distant memory and silence is now the star. Silence you can savour aboard the new super-sporty BMW i8 Roadster First Edition by Diego Tamone
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[ The CAR ]
B
y some strange association of ideas that became set in stone during the 20th century, cars clothed in sporty lines and, of course, supercars, have to be noisy. That’s just the rule. Thanks in great part to the influential role played by motorsport, sight and hearing
are the two official sense when it comes to cars. Design and sound, in other words, are pivotal
factors and thus purchase motivators. This deeply-rooted conviction looks set to be rocked to its core by the gradual emergence of electric motors on even high performance and supercars this millennium. Just a decade ago, electric power seemed like an extravagance that would only stretch to toys for the big-spending high net worth crew. But now it’s very much mainstream with the facts and figures to back it up. In 2017, BMW sold in the region of 100,000 zero emissions cars, a jump of 60% on the previous year. The German marque expects that 15-25% of its models will be electric by 2025 too. That may only be an estimate but it’s credible enough because it is backed up by a very real-word fact. A few months ago the Bavarian company laid the first stone of the new Competence Centre for Battery Cells which opens its doors in 2019 and involved a total investment of around 200 million euro. This is an essential stepping stone to the fifth generation of its electric motors which will have a range of about 700 km, by 2021 or so. That said, BMW’s present is very ably represented by the new i8 Roadster First Edition, the evolution
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The first run spans just 200 numbered examples of the BMW i8 Roadster First Edition. This is a hybrid supercar that pairs a 3-cylinder petrol engine with an electric motor to produce an impressive 374 bhp combined power output. It can hit speeds of 120 km/h in all-electric mode
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[ The CAR ]
The car’s eye-catching forms and futuristic lines are underscored
of the i8 Coupé which debuted in 2015. It is an exponent of the new ultra-
by a new colour dubbed E-copper by the German marque which
quiet engine trend and is eco-friendly with a big plus. That plus being, of
is paired with matt black accents. Interior flourishes include
course, that you can drop its hard top to enjoy the simple sound of the wind
ceramic details and LED ambient lighting with a choice of colours
or the air as its soft silhouette cuts through it, and only that. Sustainable mobility with just the right allure. But it’s not for everyone. You will need to be open-minded as this is not an inexpensive car and, most of all, because BMW intends to fit out just 200 numbered examples to start with. The new car is clothed in eye-catching forms and an equally eyecatching livery comprising the brand-new Metallic E-Copper metallic paint paired with matt black accents. It looks futuristic and it is futuristic. The i8 Roadster First Edition packs in plenty of striking cabin features too such as the ceramic chosen for some of the interior details, LED ambient lighting and the i8 logo projected into the footwell and when the doors are open. Details which, paradoxically, detract from its real substance as this is, after all, a plug-in hybrid system that combines a 3-cylinder petrol engine with an electric motor to unleash a combined total of 374 brake horse power. It can hit up to 120 km/h in 100% electric mode and reach its self-limited top speed of 250 km/h running on fumes (50 km per litre). www.bmw.com
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