I didn't think I'd see it this fast, ICE is history...

That and the oil-glut we find ourselves in.

 

Formula E stands for "Formula the End".

F1 is not that.

Just another "the sky is falling, F1 is finished" thread. Nothing to see here, move on people.

 

My general feeling with batteries is that we are halfway there. Why do I say that ? It comes from benchmark data that I have been collecting.

I have been benchmarking 3 vehicles, back to back, on the same roads, driving in an extremely spirited manner. The cars in question are the 612, 550 and Model 3.

In this highly spirited driving mode (which is the only mode I have any interest in) the 612 and the 550 have about double the effective range, hence my statement that as of 2020, we are halfway there.

 

So long i can still get petrol on the side of the road I'll continue driving petrol cars. When that gets the ban (which I doubt in the foreseeable future), all I can do is be sad about the demise of the ICE sportscar. A Ferrari 812 with all electric powertrain would be no different than any other electric car barring the interior and exterior. It'll become a glorified kitchen appliance on wheels. Zero emotion. I wouldn't have any interest in buying such a car. If I HAD to have a purely electric car then I would buy a Rolls Royce or Bentley of some kind. At least the interior will be nice and spacious. But when that time comes...I'll be selling the lot and live on some island in the South Pacific (I realize right now I'm already there, I'd just pick a nicer island).

 

While I'm no fan of electric cars I have to say that the BMW i8 is pretty cool looking. I had one in front of me and he was about to pass where I would never be able to but he pulled it off thanks to insane torque and acceleration.

 

I don't know why but BMW stopped making the i8, and announced they won't replace it.
I thought it was a remarkable sporty rechargeable hybrid.

 

Did you know that the movie "Soylent Green", that one where Charlton Heston discovers that food is made from people, is set in 2020?

Just saying.

 

That´s easy: because nobody bought them.

But actually they´re going to replace it. It´s just that not right now.

https://www.bmwblog.com/2019/07/01/bmw-m-vision-next-to-arrive-in-2023-as-an-i8-replacement/#:~:text=The star of the #NextGen,proportions of the current i8.

 

I read that.

It's a mistake in my view to leave a gap in the market and replace a car only 3 years after the end of production.
Other constructors may jump in that niche and it may well happend with the BMW i8.
For example when 4-seat convertibles became hard to sell in the 80s and 90s, most constructors deleted them from their range.
Mercedes, BMW and Audi didn't, and persevered even if it wasn't so profitable.
Now it's very difficult not to buy German is you are after a 4-seat soft top; they have almost completely captured that share of the market.

 

Exactly my thought

 

I suppose their budget for eco-stuff has been depleted by more mundane hybrid SUVs and the i8 must not be very high in their list of priorities.

Anyway, I don´t think that the i8 had many competitors, it was a rare niche car.

 

I thought it was something straight out of a sci-fi movie. In our building garage one was parked for a while. Every time I walked by I stopped and marveled at this beauty. There's nothing like it.

 

It's a clever car, a 2+2 in coupe form with very good dynamics by the sound of it.
The biggest let down was to hear it had only a 3-cyl ICE shared with a MINI !
But if you get over that, it looked like a good proposition.

 

Nice looking car but too expensive for a 3-cyl.

 

Soylent Green was a movie examining that exact process.

 

You mention the economy, but there were other things to consider.

People do not make political judgement based on economic rationale.

 

Hmm, you're probably right. Sad, economic rationale should always be the first thing to consider.

 

Yeah I get that and there is lots to hate about the EU. That said, I do believe it was a mistake to leave. Oh well.

 

I’m glad to see that numbers aren’t everything to you. For me, Britain is much more than a figure of economic growth, it is a culture and a civilization.

 

Neither do Americans, except on the loosest scale. We identify as Texans, Virginians, Floridians,... Sometimes we identify as northerners, southerners, easterners, westerners,... Other times we identify as plainsmen, mountain men, ...

But at least we are citizens, while people from Britain are subjects.

 

I think you are a bit behind the time.
We have been British Citizens for many years.

 

Things have changed since the days of George III, these days we export failed royals to LA.

 

You are complaining about the packaging {of the (currently) most successful EV car company} not about the notion of an EV car by itself.

 

The concept of motorsports, combustion or electric, has its days counted and it’s quickly becoming a niche. Ferrari better start looking at different avenues to promote their products and better start diversifying asap.