Should We Be Surprised That BMW’s i8 Which Ended Production In June Outsold The Acura NSX?

Although it only has half as many cylinders as the Acura NSX and about two-thirds the power, the BMW i8 outsold it in 2020.

Despite the power gap, these two stack up pretty nicely. Both are halo cars for premium brands, feature a mid-engine layout, are exclusively available with hybrid powertrains, and start at around about $150,000.

What’s embarrassing for the NSX, though, is that BMW was only making i8s for half the year. With production ending in June, dealers were pretty much just selling left-overs.

According to Goodcarbadcar, in 2020 Acura delivered 128 NSXs, while BMW shifted 192 i8s. Losing to a similarly-priced car that’s on its way out, and wasn’t a big seller anyway, speaks volumes about how unpopular the NSX is with buyers.

In addition, 2019’s 238 sales was a pretty average year for the NSX. By comparison, BMW sold an average of 1,000 i8s per year, with 2,200 sales in 2015 being its biggest year on record.

Also Read: QOTD: Which Discontinued Cars From 2020 Will You Miss The Most?

Compared to ICE-powered sports cars in a (roughly) similar price bracket, the NSX doesn’t fare well, either. Last year, Audi managed to sell 583 R8s and Mercedes delivered nearly 2,400 AMG-GTs. Porsche, meanwhile, sold more than 2,400 911s in Q4 alone.

The NSX definitely offers superior performance to the i8, as it makes a total of 573 hp from its 3.5-liter V6 and its three permanent magnet synchronous AC motors. The i8 makes 369 hp from a 1.5-liter three-cylinder that’s hooked up to two electric motors.

As a result, the NSX gets to 60 mph in 3.1 seconds, one second faster than the BMW. The i8, on the other hand, focuses less on performance and, despite its layout and futuristic design, seems to be more of a grand tourer than a true sports car.