Until the M2 was launched this year, the M car that generated the most "I gotta get me one of these" sentiment was probably the BMW M4 coupe. And why wouldn't it? Compared to the M5 and M6, the M4 is smaller, lighter, and more nimble—qualities very much in demand by those hot of shoe. Unless someone's spouse demands that the family's M car has four doors and a name with a "3" in it, the M4 is probably at or near the top of many Bimmerphiles' most-desired-fast-BMWs list.
Coming at the fast and fun issue from a completely different direction is the BMW i8 plug-in hybrid sports car. Like the M4, it too is a coupe—at least until the i8 Roadster comes out in two or three or five years. The i8 also is a very desirable BMW, especially for drivers who desire a lot of attention from other drivers.
Other than two doors, four tires, and back seats—sort of—the M4 and i8 are very different cars. Where the M4’s BMW DNA can be described as honest and true—rear-wheel drive and an inline six—the BMW i8 has been genetically modified with all-wheel drive—sort of—and a 1.5-liter, three-cylinder engine in back mated to an electric motor in front. It’s kind of like the latest Jurassic Park movie, where the dinosaur breeders started with plain T-Rex DNA but then added some high-performance genetic material from other species that really didn’t belong there. The result was a hybrid super predator. It’s probably a stretch to call the i8 a super predator, but it is definitely a hybrid and there’s no denying that it’s a pretty slick and quick GT car.
The M4 and the i8 are similar in weight. The M4 has a lot more horsepower than the i8—425 to 357—but not quite as much torque—406 pound-feet in the M4 versus the i8’s 420.
Specifications are one thing, but what do they mean when it comes to what’s important? How do these two coupes compare in the “fun and fast” department?
On paper—at least on BMW’s paper—the M4 is faster, with a zero-to-60 mph time of 4.1 seconds for the manual transmission version, and 3.9 seconds for the DCT. BMW says the i8, which comes with a two-speed automatic in front and a six speed automatic in the rear, should only manage 4.4 seconds.
So that’s that. Or is it?
Some people have the money and the connections and the use of a long airport runway to be able to run two cars, head-to-head, in a drag race to see which is faster on that particular track on that particular day with those particular drivers. The BBC’s Top Gear—the web site, not the Clarksonless television show—has the wherewithal to stage such races and that’s what they did.
Will the M4 be victorious, as BMW in its promotional materials says it should? Or will the i8’s torque triumph? Watch the video to find out.
Yes, this is just a drag race. No, that’s not what either the M4 or the i8 were primarily designed for. Yes, the true test of a high-performance BMW is how fast it goes around a real racetrack with a skilled driver; or no, the real test of a high-performance BMW is how it runs on highways and back roads and how it makes you feel when doing so.
Notice that we haven’t gone anywhere near the relative cost of these two beauties, because price does not always equal performance, and that’s a discussion for another time. Today’s video is about an M4 v i8 drag race, which doesn’t really settle anything, but it’s still fun to watch.—Scott Blazey
[Photos and video courtesy of Top Gear.]
