Ever wonder how the wonderful BMW i8 compares to the “Starship Enterprise” itself, the Tesla Model S P85D when it comes to accelerating from 0 to 200 km/h (124 mph)? Here’s your answer.
Before we get into the specifics though, let’s go over the numbers. The BMW i8 can and should hit 100 km/h in 4.4 seconds, which happens to be just as quick as a Model S 85D (minus the ‘P’).
However, the Model S P85D will hit that mark in a little over 3.0 seconds flat using those 691 HP – unlike the BMW i8 which has to make due with just 362 PS (266 kW).
Still, the i8 does have a weight advantage as well as an actual 6 speed automatic transmission that can help it put its power down properly, which matters a lot once you’re at very high speeds.
So what does this video tell us? In short, the P85D wins the 0-200 (124 mph) battle by a fraction of a second after absolutely obliterating the i8 during the 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) sprint.
In fact, it’s shortly after 100 km/h that the BMW starts pulling a little bit better than the Tesla, whereas at one point, they’re almost neck and neck with just 5 km/h between them.
It would have been interesting to see the “race” past the 200 km/h mark. The i8 would have probably impressed not just us, but also P85D fans that seem to think that car is unbeatable.
In reality, those people are half right. It’s pretty hard to out-accelerate the P85D over a very short distance. However, a very long straight will definitely pinpoint its weaknesses with razor sharp accuracy.