The BMW i8 Coupe Safety Car will take on the guise of a real racer from the Mexico City E-Prix onwards. The new livery – from the pen of Michael Scully, Head of Design BMW Motorsport – underlines the close relationship between this special BMW i8 Coupe and the BMW iFE.18 race cars. It was unveiled in the run-up to the fourth race of this season’s ABB FIA Formula E Championship at the “Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez” (MEX).
Among the guests were BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt, the two BMW works drivers, António Félix da Costa (POR) and Alexander Sims (GBR), Pia Schörner (Head of BMW Motorsport Marketing) and Alberto Longo (Co-founder and Chief Championship Officer at Formula E).
During the launch event, guests were given a first close look at the BMW i8 Coupe Safety Car in its new look. The design was developed in close collaboration between Formula E and the BMW Motorsport design team, and reflects the iconic design language of the BMW iFE.18. Like the race cars, the aesthetic of the BMW i8 Coupe is inspired by the urban context of Formula E, in which spectators typically see the cars from positions that are higher and closer to the track than at other circuits.
“As with the BMW iFE.18, the first priority when designing the Safety Car was the top view of the car,” explained Scully. The iconic blue and white elements of the BMW logo structure each key view of the BMW i8 Coupe Safety Car in a way that makes no two views of the car the same. The asymmetric layout also shares the functionally-derived non-reflective matte black cockpit element seen on the BMW iFE.18.
Embedded within the livery is a connective graphic network of blue and purple ‘veins’ carrying the natural colours of raw electricity. “We have translated the themes found in the design of the BMW iFE.18 to the very different proportions of the BMW i8 Coupe. This livery gives the Safety Car a new dynamism and a bold level of expression appropriate to racing in the streets,” said Scully.
BMW i has been closely associated with Formula E as ‘Official Vehicle Partner’ since Season One and has provided the entire fleet of safety vehicles ever since. The BMW i8 Coupe Safety Car has been modified with many BMW M components to cope with the specific demands of motor racing. These modifications include a roll bar, rear wing and rear hatch made of carbon fibre, a front splitter, sports seats from the BMW M4 GTS (combined consumption: 8.5 l/100 km; combined CO2 emissions: 199 g/km), four-point harness, a roof-mounted signal light system, BMW M carbon ceramic brakes and a sports chassis.
