A BMW i8 and i3 just recently sold on Bring a Trailer. That sentence by itself isn’t really news, that happens pretty regularly. However, the pair that just sold are different than most because they weren’t actually cars. Instead, they’re full-scale fiberglass replicas. So while they look just like the real thing from about 20 feet away, they’re just shells on rolling casters. Why buy them? Aside from playing full-scale Hot Wheels in the street with your buddies, I can’t think of anything.
These two replicas were reportedly built by BMW for promotional reasons, so they could show off the cars at dealerships. I imagine those dealerships couldn’t get the real things, for whatever reason, so these Life Model Decoy versions showed customers what they could have in their garages. And whoever just bought them for [INSERT FINAL SALE PRICE] just paid real humans dollars to also imagine what a real i3 or i8 would look like in their garage.
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Hey, at least they look cool? The BMW i8 is one of the absolute wildest looking cars of this century. It debuted over a decade ago and it still looks futuristic. Does it also look like its birthing a 911 beneath its taillights? Yes. But the rest of it looks stellar and its flying buttresses are still among my favorite modern automotive design elements. So even though this replica has no powertrain, or interior, or really any automotive parts whatsoever, at least it looks pretty.
As for the BMW i3, I’ve always liked the design. I know I’m in the car enthusiast minority but I think the i3 is cool. It’s good looking in the same way a pug is; it’s so strange that it’s cute. And mock the i3 all you want but basically every automaker copies its floating C/D-pillar design now. Would I want to look at a gigantic replica of one in my driveway everyday? No, but to each their own.
Both replicas were sold by the DFW Car and Toy Museum, which is a place that makes sense for such cars. Hopefully whoever bought these things will make good use of them. I still say they should play full-size Hot Wheels with them and crash them into each other in the street.
