The super sophisticated plug-in-hybrid sports car BMW i8 has fallen prey to a radical tuning scheme: to replace the hybrid powertrain with a supercharged healthful V8.
Given its utterly bonkers looks, probably you were also surprised by the power numbers of the BMW i8. Let’s be honest, you and I were expecting a little more than 357hp from the futuristic skin-layered i8.
Of course, when it comes to putting it in pace, the i8 is keeping up surprisingly well, grabbing the apex and dancing its hybrid chassis through the corners. It’s an impressive halo car, but not enough for some of us. Like Gabura Racing Technologies, for example.
The boys from Gabura thought it would be better just to dump a proper combustion engine in the i8, like a V8. And while we’re here, why not take off all the hybrid nonsense? There, fixed it!
Well, we can safely say the power figures now matches i8’s aggressive stance. The 4.4-liter V8 – borrowed from an M6 Coupé, where it delivers 552hp – was upgraded by Alpina, and further worked on by Gabura, until it has reached a power peak of 800hp. Given its lightweight structure, the i8 could easily enter the Hyper Trinity (Porsche 918 Spyder, Ferrari LaFerrari, and McLaren P1) with this feature. Only there’s a problem.
The Gabura team wants to fit the V8 in front of the car. So the 0-to-60 of 4.4 seconds on the standard car will pale in comparison with the V8 i8, but that’s about it. By putting a weighty V8 in front of a car that was initially developed as a mid-engined (with 50:50 weight distribution) vehicle, you will make the i8 act in corners as agile as an OPC Opel/Vauxhall Astra H (read: heavy understeer).
Only time will tell if we were wrong with those above. We’ll keep an eye on you, Gabura!