According to the i4 program director, it will be fine for a couple of laps, but they had to prioritize range over track performance.

"When you make the car for the race track, the range will go down very fast," Camacho told Road & Track during the first drive event for the i4. "It means, for me as a project lead, it was very important to have a rounded off concept including, of course, a good range and good charging performance. That's the reason why I decided not to go two steps forward."
So while the i4 M50 can hit 60 in under four seconds and makes 536 hp, an electric M4 it is not. Camacho says it'll be fine for a quick lap or so, but it's not designed for the sort of all-day abuse that an M3 or M4 is built to take. For that, you'll have to wait for a full-fledged electric M model to enter BMW's lineup.
"The first step was to electrify the first M model of the BMW Group as an M performance automobile," Camacho said. "That is the label: M Performance automobile. Of course, all the doors are open for the future, the goal and the next step is going to high-performance cars. It means we are starting and we're going one step after other until the right time."

 

Would you do it?

I will certainly not do it...
...and this for 3 reasons:

• I'm too old for this kind of sh1t.
• It's a company car. I think if my company would find out I'm playing with an €82.500 car on a track, I would not only lose my precious car, but also my job...
• It would kill me... not the driving on the track (well, I hope), but the moment my spouse knows I was racing on a track, I would:
  • get (another) divorce
  • be brutally murdered "The Shining style"

So, thanks, but no thanks

 

I don't do track days, it's expensive, and the car is not really built for it. I do plan to autocross it, a US thing where we run around cones in a parking lot against time (I think some call it slalom in some countries); each run is about 40-50 seconds, then we wait 5 minutes before the next run, so the brakes and motors have time to cool off.

 

And the heart rate for us older folks.

In NC there is a mountain road called the Dragon's Tail, known for the continuous series of curves.

I may try that slowly once I figure out how to drive all tge options

 

That’s what I was wondering - would it be up to the job? The range would be a concern. Plus it’s a lot of car to bin accidentally. It’ll be my company car too, but it’s my company so I’ll do what I like with it. 😁

My problem is that my 19-year-old has been nagging me to go tracking, and I don’t really have a car for it. And I’ve blown the car budget on the i4, so I can’t have a Caterham or a VX220 now. 😂

Ah well - Smart Roadster it is, then! Thanks guys.

 

@Squirrel1974, here's a thought. Make him work for his car, something like Build Your Own Car - Roadster, Hot Rod, & Supercar - Factory Five Racing this way, if it breaks, he'll repair it, he won't ask for $ to go to a garage.

 

Well, you still have your Range Rover V8.... take that one to the track...

 

Yeah, I thought about that. It’s quick enough, I suppose. Not great on corners, though - and if you drive it flat out, you can actually see the petrol gauge moving down.

 

I may one day try the Nordschleife, as it has always been a dream. Besides of that, I will only be going up and down the most twisted roads I can find when the summer vacation goes to Italy or Switzerland 😁

 

And on top of that, he learns some very useful things:

• How to fix cars
• become independent from moms wallet

 

4000lbs+ cars are of limited fun at the track. 5000lbs+ cars are of even more limited fun. Slow down a lot, turn, point, accelerate. Repeat. Not a lot of possibility to carry weight through corners. If you try, it'll be a mess, I'd expect. There's just too much weight.

I used to run track days in the FRS. After I went off in the pouring rain at Laguna Seca and debeaded a tire, I thought that I'd rather be alive for my family and I didn't need the stress. I had two spares so it was not a problem, and I could have gone back for two more sessions, but...

My dad went off at Big Willow. I'd also gone off at Thunderhill. I only consider it going off if it's all four wheels.

I also tracked the E60 550i at Thunderhill a few times. It was amazingly fast in a straight line but not so much in the corners. I'd lose speed in each corner then pass people with so much speed in the straights, the corners didn't matter.

 

4000lbs+ cars are of limited fun at the track. 5000lbs+ cars are of even more limited fun. Slow down a lot, turn, point, accelerate. Repeat. Not a lot of possibility to carry weight through corners. If you try, it'll be a mess, I'd expect. There's just too much weight.

@Jpuff, 4000+ pounds are fun in their own way at the track as long as they have the right chassis, right tires, brakes and engine - Acura NSX, Camaro SS 1LE, even BMW M3 or M4 xDrive are pushing 3900 pounds. Tesla Model S is 4600-4800 and set a record at the Nurburgring. I do admit that the i4 M50 is stretching the limit big time with its 5025 lbs, but having fun and having the fastest car are 2 different things. Of course, this is all speculation until we actually track the car, but I don't mind trying to make believe I'm Echo Gao...

 

I'm curious to try to autocross it, but I'm sure I'll certainly take it out to Bonneville Salt Flats and do a few 0-140s

 

Yes!

I was supposed to take my i4 to Sebring last weekend and the FIRM this weekend but I've been crushed by annoying case of COVID. I'm hoping for a Daytona or Sebring track day in a month or so.

I need to figure out how to disable all the traction and stability controls and other nanny systems.

 

Sounds great! Please let us know how you get on. I’d love to drive Daytona!