Unique, innovative and a real racer: No-one in the Formula E starting field passes by the new BMW i8 Roadster Safety Car. After its official unveiling in the run-up to the Monaco E-Prix, the new spearhead of the BMW i fleet of vehicles has been part and parcel of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship since the tenth race weekend in Berlin. The car has been modified specifically for use at the racetrack and the design is based on its sister model, the BMW i8 Coupé Safety Car. It is the first FIA Safety Car in the world that can be used with an open cockpit.

Among the numerous modifications made to the BMW i8 Roadster Safety Car for use on the racetrack, it is the sporty appearance that immediately catches the eye. The most important features of the spectacular silhouette are the shortened windscreen and the rear wing, which give the BMW i8 Roadster Safety Car a more aggressive exterior.

Bruno Correia has been active in motorsport for 20 years. Whether in a kart, touring car, GT car, or single-seater car, the man from Portugal has demonstrated his driving skills in numerous series around the world. After many years as a safety car driver in the FIA World Touring Car Championship, he switched to Formula E in 2014. Since then, he has been on official duty in the BMW i8 Safety Car, and since May 2019, in the BMW i8 Roadster Safety Car. He enjoys passing on his wealth of expertise: In his spare time, Correia manages and coaches young talented racers. In addition to his great passion for motorsport, the father of two daughters snowboards, enjoys surfing and is also active in karting.

It is the first FIA Safety Car in the world that can be used with an open cockpit. The unique plug-in hybrid was modified specially for use on the racetrack, and its design is based on its sister model, the BMW i8 Coupé Safety Car. The setting for its debut was the “Yacht Club de Monaco”, under whose pennant the racing yacht “Malizia” sails, which will contest the legendary Vendée Globe in 2020. The project is supported by the unique BMW technology partnership, which culminated in an extraordinary encounter between the BMW i8 Roadster Safety Car and the catamaran “Malizia” in Monaco. You can see the special duel between Formula E safety car driver Bruno Correia and Pierre Casiraghi, Vice President of the Yacht Club de Monaco, in the video below.

25,000 nautical miles, solo, non-stop and without external support: The Vendée Globe, one of the toughest regattas in the world, is also known as the “Mount Everest” of competitive sailing and leads around the world along the stormy Antarctic Ocean. In November 2020 the “Malizia”, an Open 60 class racing yacht measuring in at just under 20 metres, is set to take on the biggest individual sporting competition in the world.

Record circumnavigator Boris Herrmann will contest the next edition of the solo regatta with the “Malizia” for the Yacht Club de Monaco. BMW is on board as team partner with their expertise in automotive construction and experience of technology transfer to competitive sailing. In collaboration with BMW development engineers, thematic fields were identified in which the automobile manufacturer can provide support, for example, with expertise in lightweight construction and electric drive. The visionary BMW i technology provided the foundations for this.

Pierre Casiraghi is the youngest son of Princess Caroline of Monaco, and the Vice President of the Yacht Club de Monaco, under whose pennant the “Malizia” sails. Casiraghi is eighth in line to the Monegasque throne, behind his two cousins, his mother, his brother Andrea, his two nephews Alexandre and Maximillian, and his niece India.

Casiraghi regularly sails with Herrmann and is supporting him with the Vendée expedition. Among other events, he will contest the Open60 two-man regatta alongside the German. In 2017, Herrmann and Casiraghi finished third in the legendary Rolex Fastnet Race.

How do you transform a road vehicle into a unique and fascinating car? To a one-off that will henceforth lead the way at the front of the most innovative race series in the world? With the BMW i8 Roadster Safety Car, BMW i engineers and designers have a repartee to these questions, while at the same time expressing their visions. The path is characterised by innovation and a pioneering spirit. “In implementing the BMW i8 Roadster Safety Car, the BMW i engineers, designers and communications crew have dared to explore new horizons and create an absolutely unique car”, said Robert Irlinger, Head of BMW i.

“The development team behind the Safety Car is akin to a start-up. Our engineers got creative within their own ranks and assembled it on top of their regular jobs. In doing so, they have achieved something completely new. I am very grateful to the FIA and Formula E for showing such enthusiasm towards our innovation and for making it possible to use the BMW i8 Roadster as an official Safety Car.” The first safety car in the world without a roof – built to lead the way at the front of the first all-electric race series in the world.

To ensure the required safety of those in the first safety car in the world without a roof, the engineers and designers made no compromises on the BMW i8 Roadster Safety Car. One of the central elements when it comes to safety: the roll bar, which provides a safe zone for passengers in the unlikely event of a rollover. The FIA-certified roll bar in the BMW i8 Roadster Safety Car holds a weight up to seven and a half times that of the car in a vertical main crash and up to three and a half times that of the car in a vertical front crash. The roll bar connection to the CFC passenger cell is also in line with FIA regulations for racing car safety cages.