We Can’t Seem to Leave Well Enough Alone

Our desire to compete with one another and continually place emphasis on the one-upmanship we enjoy when we do get a leg up on our competition keeps us trying to do better at everything. Such is the case with one of the most amazing cars to ever come out of Germany and one that has already been considered one of the hottest cars of the current time, the BMW i8. Before many of the i8 models even make it to owners, one company is already trying to up the ante, as they always seem to do, and give us a version that is even better.

Manhart Racing has taken the i8 and altered it to be a racing dream, as if it wasn’t already. Even though the i8 already benefits from the use of the best hybrid sports engine in the market and a plethora of high tech efficiency devices, the dynamics of this car were not quite enough for Manhart and they had to go tinkering around with it, kicking tires and changing features. What they have come up with just might be one of the best upgrades a car of this caliber has ever received.

On the outside the car, which was originally black with green accents, has been changed to one that has black with yellow accents on it. This changes the look of the mirrors, brake calipers, side skirts, the kidney-grill surrounds and even the BMW badge on the hood receives a ring of gold to make it pop just a bit more. Looking a bit more closely and you can see the i8 is lower than the stock version and sits on Manhart Racing 21 inch wheels, filling the wheel well with sheer racing awesomeness. These looks and small performance details do give the car a more polished appearance while also offering a bit of a showy style about the car.

On the inside, the yellow accents are carried forward in the dashboard, steering wheel, doors, console and a few other places. This yellow on black look certainly seems attractive and allows the car to have an overall feeling of being ready to take on any track. So far, we have not seen what Manhart will do with the actual mechanics of the car.

Maybe they will pull some more juice from the engine? The one already in place is the three-cylinder twin turbocharged engine attached to a six speed automatic that coughs up 231 horsepower and 320 lb.-ft. of torque. Or they may be looking to up the electric moto which gives an additional 131 horsepower and 250 lb.-ft. of torque. Whatever the mechanical changes are, it will be interesting to see as improving on 362 horsepower and 570 lb.-ft. of torque in a car that can reach sixty mph in under 4.4 seconds is already pretty awesome, but as the racing experts, there is no doubt Manhart will find more power to give this awesome creature even more speed, a faster time to sixth mph, or a quicker pace at the track. I guess we will have to just wait and see what they come up with for us to enjoy on this amazingly upgraded BMW i8.