
FOR OVER THREE QUARTERS OF A
CENTURY, THE BASIC IDEA BEHIND THE
CAR WAS LEFT UNTOUCHED.
Until now. BMW i has launched a groundbreaking sports car with a
wide range of technological innovations – the BMW i8. The innovative
BMW eDrive technology effectively combines an electric motor with
a BMW TwinPower Turbo engine (hybrid electric vehicle). The result
is a breathtaking plug-in hybrid sports car with the fuel consumption
and emissions of a compact vehicle.
The weight of the BMW i8 is a result of the Life module – the passen-
ger cell made of light and extremely robust carbon fiber. It substantially
reduces the weight of the vehicle and has a significant impact on the
design of the BMW i8. The principle of intelligent lightweight design has
also been applied to all other components of the BMW i8. Moreover,
streamflow aerodynamics reduce drag and energy consumption.
With its dynamic proportions and sporty, progressive design, the BMW i8
embodies lightness – as well as efficiency and sheer driving pleasure.
The development process itself is the first of many innovations. In order
to ensure that the BMW i8 is a truly sustainable product, measurable
targets were defined at the design phase and throughout the entire life
cycle of the vehicle, from the extraction of raw materials, production
and use to recycling and the end of product life. The deliberate use of
recycled and environmentally friendly materials in production guarantees
holistic sustainability throughout the entire value chain.
For more information, visit www.bmw-i.com.
01. DEVELOPMENT
BMW_i8_Bedienungseinleger_210x138mm_US.indd 415.01.14 17:53 Online Edition for Part no. 01 40 2 957 072 - X/14

fuel consumption (EU)
2.1 l /100 km
CO² emissions
49 g / km
BMW_i8_Bedienungseinleger_210x138mm_US.indd 915.01.14 17:53Online Edition for Part no. 01 40 2 957 072 - X/14

BMW eDRIVEVehicle features and options
This chapter describes all standard, country-
specific and optional features offered with the
series. It also describes features that are not
necessarily available in your car, e. g., due to
the selected options or country versions. This
also applies to safety-related functions and
systems.
BMW eDRIVEAt a glance1Vehicle battery2Electrical drive unit3High-voltage battery4Fuel filler flap5Combustion engine6Charging port
The concept The hybrid system makes it possible to opti‐
mize fuel consumption and driving characteris‐
tics.
An electric motor assists the combustion en‐
gine. In certain driving situations, the vehicle
can also be driven using only electric power,
thereby reducing fuel consumption.
In addition to this, the electric motor acts like
an alternator: during braking and coasting, it
converts the vehicle's kinetic energy into elec‐ tricity. The current is stored in the high-voltage
battery and is used to drive the electric motor.
Functions
Acceleration boost: ASSIST and eBOOST
Driving off and accelerating require a lot of en‐
ergy. To reduce fuel consumption during high
acceleration and to optimize acceleration, the
electric motor supports the combustion en‐
gine. For this purpose, the electric motor is
supplied by the high-voltage battery.
Electric driving: ePOWER
Under certain conditions, refer to page 61,
the vehicle is powered only by the electric mo‐
tor.
Variable drive configuration
The electric motor drives the front axle and the
combustion engine the rear axle. Depending
on the operating condition, the vehicle has the
options of front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive
or bundled for four-wheel drive.
Follow instructions for electric driving eDRIVE,
refer to page 61, driving with the combustion
engine DRIVE, refer to page 62, and driving
stability, refer to page 105.
Acoustic pedestrian protection Depending on the country variant, the system
generates an artificial engine sound during
electric driving up to approx. 20 mph/30 km/h.
Driving with the combustion engine:
POWER
The combustion engine provides the perform‐
ance to move the vehicle. If necessary, theSeite 31BMW eDRIVEAt a glance31
Online Edition for Part no. 01 40 2 957 072 - X/14

high-voltage battery is charged at the same
time.
The hybrid system always starts the combus‐
tion engine automatically.
Energy recovery: CHARGE The high-voltage battery is charged while driv‐
ing through energy recovery.
The electric motor acts as a generator and
converts the kinetic energy of the vehicle into
electric current.
Charging can take place in various situations
while the vehicle is in motion:▷When the vehicle is rolling if the accelera‐
tor pedal is not pressed.▷During vehicle braking.
When exerting gentle pressure on the brakes,
the vehicle is only braked by the electric motor.
When the brake pedal is depressed further, the
brake system is activated additionally. This is
why only part of the brake energy is used to
charge the high-voltage battery when exerting
firm pressure on the brake.
The mark in the instrument cluster is located
within the CHARGE range.
Sensible driving and early speed reduction are
important to make full use of the energy recov‐
ery feature.
Display The eDRIVE displays, refer to page 72, pro‐
vide information about the current state of the
drive and visualize the system's use in a dia‐
gram.
Energy-saving driving To save energy while driving, read the follow‐
ing information:
Before driving eDRIVE allows using the air conditioner even
before driving off. The stationary climate con‐
trol, refer to page 123, provides more range
than full air conditioning while driving.
Parked car ventilation during the charging
process can provide maximum range when
driving off.
During driving▷General driving tips, refer to page 140, for
increasing the range.▷Use the eDRIVE system efficiently, refer to
page 134, for an optimized driving style.▷ECO PRO mode, refer to page 141, for in‐
creasing the range.▷Display of hybrid system utilization, refer to
page 75▷Hints for saving fuel, refer to page 140, for
reduction of the fuel consumption.
After the trip
▷Charge vehicle, refer to page 146, and
plan next trip.▷Prepare for long downtimes, refer to
page 183.
BMW i Remote app
A special BMW i Remote App allows to control
and display certain vehicle functions using a
smartphone.
Safety information Read the information on safe handling of the
high-voltage system, refer to page 178.
Long-term Follow the instructions for vehicle storage and
for longer idle periods, refer to page 183.
Seite 32At a glanceBMW eDRIVE32
Online Edition for Part no. 01 40 2 957 072 - X/14

Acceleration boost: eBOOST
Five bars indicate the available output of the
electric motor for the eBOOST acceleration
boost. Depending on the available output of
the high-voltage battery, there could be more
or less eBOOST available. If the high-voltage
battery is completely discharged, all five bars
are grayed-out.
Energy recovery: CHARGE
The energy recovered is indicated in the COM‐
FORT and ECO PRO modes by four bars in the
CHARGE range. The high-voltage battery is
being charged. Depending on the available
output of the high-voltage battery, more or
less eBOOST could be recovered. If the high-
voltage battery is completely charged, no en‐
ergy can be recovered. The four bars are
grayed-out.
Auto Start/Stop function: READY
READY indicates drive readi‐
ness.
Indications on the Control Display Displaying the hybrid system
utilization1."Vehicle info"2."eDRIVE"3. "Consumption history"
Hybrid system utilization
Gray bars indicate the fuel consumption of the
combustion engine, arrow 1. Blue bars indicate
the percentage utilization of the functions of
the hybrid system, arrow 2.
One bar indicates one minute.
The combustion engine's average fuel con‐
sumption is indicated by a line above the bar
display and as a value to the right of the graph.
Displaying the energy flow
1."Vehicle info"2."eDRIVE"3. "Energy flow"Seite 75DisplaysControls75
Online Edition for Part no. 01 40 2 957 072 - X/14

Calling up information on the info
display
Press the onboard computer button on the
turn signal lever.
Information is displayed in the info display of
the instrument cluster.
Information at a glance
Repeatedly pressing the button on the turn
signal lever calls up the following information in
the info display:
▷Kilometers.▷Average consumption, fuel.▷Average consumption, fuel.▷Average consumption, electric.▷Current consumption, electric.▷Average speed.▷Date.▷Time of arrival.▷Distance to destination.
Adjusting displays for computer
You can select what information from the com‐
puter is to be displayed in the instrument clus‐
ter.
On the Control Display:
1."Settings"2."Instrument cluster"3.Select the desired displays.Information in detail
Total range The total range considers the
capacity of the fuel tank as well
as the electric energy in the
high-voltage battery.
Average fuel consumption
The average fuel consumption is calculated on
the basis of various distances. Standstill with
drive readiness turned off is not considered.
Current fuel consumption Displays the current energy consumption. The
efficiency of the driving can be monitored.
Average speed
Periods when vehicle is parked with drive read‐
iness switched off are not included when cal‐
culating average speed.
Resetting average values Press and hold the onboard computer button
on the turn signal lever.
Time of arrival
The estimated time of arrival is displayed if a
destination is entered in the navigation system
before the trip is started.
The time must be correctly set.
Distance to destination
The distance remaining to the destination is
displayed if a destination is entered in the navi‐
gation system before the trip is started.
The distance to the destination is adopted au‐
tomatically.
Speed limit detection
Description of the speed limit detection, refer
to page 82, function.Seite 84ControlsDisplays84
Online Edition for Part no. 01 40 2 957 072 - X/14

Trip computerThe vehicle features two types of board com‐
puters.▷"Onboard info": the values can be reset as
often as necessary.▷"Trip computer": the values provide an
overview of the current trip.
Resetting the trip computer
On the Control Display:
1."Vehicle info"2."Trip computer"3."Reset": all values are reset.
"Automatically reset": all values are reset
approx. 4 hours after the vehicle came to a
standstill.
Display on the Control Display
Display the computer or trip computer on the
Control Display.
1."Vehicle info"2."Onboard info" or "Trip computer"
Resetting the fuel consumption or
speed
On the Control Display:
1."Vehicle info"2."Onboard info"3."Consumpt." or "Speed"4."Yes"
Speed warning
The concept Displays a speed, when reached, should cause
a warning to be issued.
The warning is repeated if the vehicle speed
drops below the set speed once by at least
3 mph/5 km/h.
Displaying, setting or changing the
speed warning
On the Control Display:1."Settings"2."Speed"3."Warning at:"4.Turn the controller until the desired speed
is displayed.5.Press the controller.
Speed warning is stored.
Activating/deactivating the speed
warning
On the Control Display:
1."Settings"2."Speed"3."Warning"4.Press the controller.
Setting your current speed as the
speed warning
On the Control Display:
1."Settings"2."Speed"3."Select current speed"4.Press the controller.
The current vehicle speed is stored as the
speed warning.
Settings on the Control
Display
Time
Setting the time zone
1."Settings"2."Time/Date"Seite 85DisplaysControls85
Online Edition for Part no. 01 40 2 957 072 - X/14

3."Time zone:"4.Select the desired time zone.
The time zone is stored.
Setting the time
1."Settings"2."Time/Date"3."Time:"4.Turn the controller until the desired hours
are displayed.5.Press the controller.6.Turn the controller until the desired mi‐
nutes are displayed.7.Press the controller.
The time is stored.
Setting the time format
1."Settings"2."Time/Date"3."Format:"4.Select the desired format.
The time format is stored.
Automatic time setting Depending on your vehicle's optional features,
the time, date and, if needed, the time zone are
updated automatically.
1."Settings"2."Time/Date"3."Auto time set"
Date
Setting the date
1."Settings"2."Time/Date"3."Date:"4.Turn the controller until the desired day is
displayed.5.Press the controller.6.Make the necessary settings for the month
and year.
The date is stored.
Setting the date format
1."Settings"2."Time/Date"3."Format:"4.Select the desired format.
The date format is stored.
Language
Setting the language
To set the language on the Control Display:
1."Settings"2."Language/Units"3."Language:"4.Select the desired language.
Settings are stored for the profile currently in
use.
Setting the voice dialog
Voice dialog for the voice activation system,
refer to page 27.
Units of measure
Setting the units of measure
To set the units for fuel consumption, route/
distance and temperature:
1."Settings"2."Language/Units"3.Select the desired menu item.4.Select the desired unit.
Settings are stored for the profile currently in
use.
Seite 86ControlsDisplays86
Online Edition for Part no. 01 40 2 957 072 - X/14