If there is one constant in the American car culture, it’s that no matter how beautiful you think a car straight from the factory is, someone will come along and want to change it.
To many BMW fans, the BMW i8 plug-in hybrid sports car is one of the most stunning cars the company has ever built. Its revolutionary design is like nothing else in production today. Most of us would consider ourselves extremely fortunate if we could afford one and had ordered one early enough to actually take delivery this year. We would probably spend as much time staring at it like a masterpiece in an art gallery as driving it. Our idea of a major modification would be to decide whether or not to change brands of premium car wax.
On the other hand, the color options available from BMW for the i8 are limited, and meant to maintain the car’s exclusivity. Those colors weren’t enough for at least one BMW i8 owner.
This particular i8 has been wrapped in matte black. It gives the car a look that reminds us of a stealth fighter, although most stealth aircraft never looked this good to start with.
The wheels are a set of custom HRE P101s from Wheels Boutique. The brushed-finish wheels were applied with a satined translucent custom color called Frozen Blue. If the wheels look like they take up more of the wheel well than on a normal i8, that’s because they do. The front wheels are 22x9 inches and the rears are 22x10.5 inches.
The suspension was apparently lowered a bit. The result, as you can see, are fenders that are completely stuffed with wheels.
So what’s the verdict? If beauty is in the eyes of the beholders, do you behold beauty, or do your eyes hurt after looking at it? Will you be showing up around this BMW i8 with cameras, or will you instead bring pitchforks and torches?—Scott Blazey
[Photos courtesy of wheelsboutique via autoevolution.]
