For those who have already forgotten, BMW's foray into the electric vehicle era was led by a small hatchback called the i3. The city runabout looks unassumingly cute on the outside and appears to be doing very well within the confines of the urban jungle, but apparently, it can be fun at the track, too.
Stighiz from YouTube shows us how it's done inside his BMW i3s while doing multiple hot laps at the Nürburgring. Yes, multiple, as the driver said that three laps were completed with just one full charge.
Gallery: 2018 BMW i3s: First Drive
According to the owner, this BMW i3s is all stock, so there isn't any modification added to make it a track weapon.
As the sportier version of the i3, the i3s is powered by BMW's eDrive synchronous permanent magnet motor that makes 181 horsepower (135 kilowatts) and 199 pound-feet (270 Newton-meters) of instantaneous torque. It also has a lower sport suspension, faster acceleration, a Sport drive mode, and wider rear track, wheels, and tires compared to the standard version.
We're not sure if this 'Ring-conquering i3s was already equipped with a larger battery pack of the 2019 model, but the owner said that one full charge was good for three hot laps. That's pretty impressive, especially for a tiny car equipped with a small yet bigger 42.2 kWh battery (for 2019).
In case you're curious about the track experience with the small EV, the driver generously provided some feedback. According to him, the i3s's chassis was good but curves should be approached with caution. The brakes worked well, too, complemented by the EV's regenerative braking.
The driver also gave downsides, such as the ESP unnecessarily intervening and that the i3s was slow, citing two sections within the 'Ring that "felt like an eternity."
Then again, the BMW i3s isn't a track toy so that's expected. As they say, it's more fun to drive slow cars fast than fast cars slow.
