BMW i8 redesigned wood-and-leather interior is stunning. Few months back, Taraschi teased its return with a picture of its new model. The darkened image obscured some of the car’s details, but the curvy bodywork was impossible to miss. Now, we know just how curvy it is as the company has revealed the model, which is called the Berardo. It’s sleek with the four rounded fenders most prominent, a callback to the race cars the company built 65 years ago.
Underneath the curvy exterior, which was inspired by the company’s 1953 Giaur 750 Champion Sport, is a BMW i8. However, it wears a unique, hand-crafted aluminum exterior that’s been extended in length. The oval-shaped and upright headlights flank a tiny, oblong grille that gives the coupe a looming face. Behind the grille is a prominent hood vent. The rear is quite round but clean, with a tasteful diffuser and center-exit dual-exhaust pipes. Inside, there’s some remaining BMW switchgear and the German car’s dashboard that are impossible to ignore.
Things like the HVAC vents, the infotainment screen, and shift lever stick out. However, the rest has been completely reworked with a stunning dark brown theme, combining wood and leather for a lavish look. Taraschi even gave the center console a new design. Getting in, though, gives away the car’s origins – the Berardo retains the i8’s butterfly doors. The Berardo also uses the i8’s hybrid powertrain, which pairs the 1.5-liter three-cylinder mill with an electric motor.
Taraschi has tuned the mill, upping it from the i8’s 374 horsepower (278 kilowatts) to 420 hp (313 kW). However, two other tunes increase that to either 470 hp (350 kW) or a whopping 520 hp (387 kW), which is a good amount for a 1,500-kilogram (3,300-pound) car. The tuned powertrain can send the car to 62 miles per hour (100 kilometers per hour) in 3.9 seconds with a top speed of 173 mph (280 kph). BMW may have killed the i8, but it lives on in a new form
