Wild Burros, $7 Gas, and a BMW i8 Roadster on Route 66

Route 66 plays heavily on the American imagination. First opened back in 1927, “The Mother Road,” whose moniker comes from John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, winds its way 2400 miles from Chicago, Illinois, to Santa Monica, CA. Post WWII, the road came to symbolize American freedom and the spirit of the Great American Road Trip; “manifest destiny” in a seemingly endless strip of asphalt. At its peak, Route 66 greeted travelers with all manner of roadside diners, neon-festooned motels, and irresistible roadside kitsch, and gave us such memorable musical chestnuts as Bobby Troup’s classic “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66,” written in 1946 and famously recorded by Nat King Cole. (And by many others. This author is particularly partial to versions by Asleep At The Wheel and The Rolling Stones.)

The years were not kind to Route 66, however. The development of the US Interstate Highway System (officially the “Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways”) in the 1950s-70s slowly bypassed many of the towns along the original highway, and Route 66 was officially decommissioned in 1985. The reduction in traffic had understandably negative effects on the businesses along the way, and today, Route 66 exists as much as a ghost from an earlier era as it does an actual route to get halfway across the country. Yet, as a nostalgic tourist attraction, it still offers much to committed travelers with time on their hands and wanderlust in the heart.

The Dream Behind The Drive

One such pair of travelers are Andre and Michele Player, from Seattle, Washington, and their BMW i8 Roadster. The dream started for Andre as a sort of escapist fantasy from his everyday stressful business life over the course of a 35+ year career in Information Technology. “During long days and dull meetings, I would daydream, ‘I wish I could just get in my car and drive…I don’t care where or for how long. In fact, I don’t [want] a timeline or agenda, I just wanted to drive.'” Over time, that daydream turned into a goal of a retirement gift for himself, and Route 66 seemed the perfect plan. “I’d never driven any of Route 66 before, but it just seemed perfect. The history, the nostalgia, and it’s filled with places we’d never been.” As that day grew closer on the horizon, he had a realization: 2026 was the Centennial of Route 66. Perfect.

Choosing The Right Car For The Road

With a route decided, the next (and perhaps most crucial) question was: What to drive? He knew he wanted the car to be a drop-top to make the experience as engaging as possible (and he admitted he was past the point in life where a motorcycle for such a journey made sense; “just a bit too cautious and fragile at this point for two wheels,” Andre sighed.) As an avowed car guy with multiple interesting vehicles in his garage, he took the question of what to drive seriously.

Andre is no stranger to BMWs. He previously owned a 740i, and his parents drove a 328. His mother even treated herself to a Z3 when the kids were finally out of the house. “It was her ’empty nest’ gift to herself,” said Andre. “I’ve had multiple cars over my lifetime, 23 to be exact. My last daily was a Tesla Model 3, which I purchased sight unseen. So, after 8 years of EV ownership, [another] EV was at the top of my list for my next purchase.” But with no convertible EVs on the market (at least in the US), that requirement proved quite the pickle, and one which omitted the BMW i4 from his search. And then he thought about the BMW i8 Roadster.

What Made The BMW i8 Special

The BMW i8 was one of the coolest cars of its era — a plug-in hybrid sports car that looked like it drove straight off a concept board at the ArtCenter College of Design. In fact, that’s not far from the truth. The i8, along with the i3, was designed by Benoit Jacob, who at the time served as BMW’s head of electric vehicle design. The concept car that previewed it — the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics, shown back in 2009 — was a huge hit and the production i8 stayed remarkably faithful to that original vision.

Produced from 2014 to 2020, the i8 paired a turbocharged 1.5-liter three-cylinder engine with an electric motor, combining for around 369 horsepower. It could sprint from 0-60 mph in about 4.2 seconds and top out at 155 mph. The electric-only range was modest (roughly 18 miles) but that wasn’t really the point.

The point was the look. With its scissor doors, swooping roofline, and laser headlights, the i8 turned heads like few cars under $150K could, feeling genuinely futuristic at a time when hybrids still meant “boring and sensible.”

The i8 was also a genuine engineering laboratory. BMW used it to pioneer their “LifeDrive” architecture, with a carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) passenger cell sitting atop an aluminum chassis. This kept curb weight surprisingly low for a hybrid — around 3,300 lbs — and fed directly into lessons BMW applied across future models.

In 2018, BMW added the i8 Roadster, swapping the fixed roof for a soft-top and gaining open-air drama in return.

Finding The Perfect Example

As an extended road trip car, the i8’s unique mix of design, performance, and efficiency had all the makings of a great travel companion, and Andre found the perfect car at Park Place LTD, in Bellevue, WA, not far from his house. The car was a 2019 i8 Roadster with only 12k miles, in Sophisto Grey and the Terra World interior. But there was one twist: Andre’s wife, Michele, was planning on accompanying him on his journey, which called out one limitation of the i8: Not much storage space. But as with many emotional purchases, any doubts about practicality melted away when Andre set sights on the car. “After seeing the i8 Roadster in person, my first thought was, ‘Damn the lack of storage; full speed ahead!'”

Hitting The Road

So with one full sized wheeled carry-on for Michele, a large duffle for Andre, backpacks for both of them, and a small soft-sided cooler with ice packs, rain jackets, thermal vests, the charging cables (along with car cleaning products and an emergency roll of toilet paper), Andre set off down the coast from Seattle to Santa Monica, CA, where Michele, who had flown ahead, would join him. “I took the fast way down from Seattle to Oregon, staying off I5, but then pretty well meandered the rest of the way south down to Los Angeles.” It was 1100 miles from his driveway to the real starting line of their journey. “We didn’t even really know how long we’d be gone, never having crammed ourselves into so tight a car for such a long drive before. Could have been 3 days, could have been 3 weeks.”

Just before they started out, the war with Iran began, wreaking havoc on gas prices. Was it the best time to start a road trip? Of course it was! (Ed: There is no bad time to start a road trip.) The plug-in hybrid system and tiny tank attached to the i8’s three-cylinder motor eased the pain at the pump, even as prices topping $7/gallon for premium in certain areas. And the car did indeed prove to be parsimonious, averaging 35-38mpg over the course of their trip. Of note: They only plugging the car in once, at the Wig Wam Motel just outside of San Bernadino, CA.

Navigating The Mother Road

Planning a drive on Route 66 isn’t as easy as a traveler might think, since much of the road has been decommissioned, and GPS systems aren’t necessarily tuned to recognize it easily. But by using the highly recommended Route 66 Navigation app on his iPhone and Apple Maps as well, the pair were able to stick to the original road about 70% of the time. “We could have stretched that to 75%, but there were a few times when blasting down Interstate-40 just made the best sense. We only got stuck on bad pavement and had to backtrack a couple of times, which was less than I thought we would.”

Sights Along The Way

As hoped, the sights and sounds along Route 66 proved unforgettable. In Oatman, Arizona, Andre and Michele crept the i8 through town being mindful of the wild burros that wander the streets. Descended from the pack animals that once hauled ore for gold miners along this stretch of road, they were turned loose when the mines closed and learned to survive in the harsh Black Mountains desert. Each morning some of these small, sure-footed donkeys amble down from the hills to nudge tourists for specially sold hay or pellet “burro chow,” then drift back to the desert at dusk, a living reminder of Oatman’s mining past and its stubborn, dusty charm.

And any journey on the western half of Route 66 isn’t complete without visiting Seligman, Arizona, the real-life inspiration for Radiator Springs in the Disney/Pixar movie, Cars.

The pair did divert from their route a few times to take in the astounding scenery in this part of the American West, including a short train ride from Williams, Arizona, to visit the Grand Canyon, and also to spend some memorable time in ever-delightful Santa Fe, New Mexico, not far from Albuquerque. But Route 66 was their real draw, and they made Tucumcari, New Mexico, their ultimate turn-around spot. After a night at the celebrated Blue Swallow Motel (famous for their “100% Refrigerated Air”), they turned around and pointed the i8 westward.

A Rare Car On A Legendary Road

BMW produced a total of 20,465 i8’s over the cars eight-year run, with 3,884 being the Roadster variant, so seeing one, even in a large urban area, is unusual. Out on Route 66, the car could almost be mistaken for a leftover prop from “Cowboys & Aliens.” “People along the route were lovely,” said Andre. “There was a ton of curiosity about the car, with lots of ‘what is that?’ and ‘is that a Ferrari or Lamborghini?’ When I’d tell people it was a BMW, they were usually really surprised and would say things like, ‘I never knew they made one that looked like that!’ But then, we’d also run into people that knew every single thing about the car and couldn’t ask enough about my experience with it. It was great to have a chat about such a unique car I absolutely adore and am fortunate enough to own.”

The Verdict After 4,500 Miles

Andre and Michele’s overall review of the i8 Roadster as a road-trip car was overwhelmingly positive. “The i8 performed beautifully and flawlessly. While being a 2-seater, filled to the brim, it felt as roomy as any luxury sedan I have owned, and rode as well as one. The only caveat being that on extremely bumpy roads, we could feel it, but even then, it’s clear the car is dampened better than most cars of the same profile. We genuinely looked forward to jumping in the car every morning to head off to our awaiting adventure.”

Even their initial concerns about not having enough space proved unfounded. “At the outset, we were really nervous about having enough space in the car, and even tried to not buy many souvenirs, but since the Roaster has no rear seat, there was a surprising amount of room back there. In fact, we could have brought (or bought) more stuff.”

At the end, after 3 weeks on the road, 5 states, and 4500 miles round-trip from Seattle to Tucumcari before turning around, the pair made it within 65 miles of the midpoint of Route 66, going west to east. Would they do it again? “Are you kidding? Given how much fun we had, it shan’t be long. We’re already looking at new routes around our home in Washington for our next trip in the i8. The Monday after we got home, I was ready to be back in the car. Can’t wait to go!”