The Formula E Championship->ke4660 kicked off in spectacular style over the weekend, featuring a last-lap crash between the race leaders Nicolas Prost and Nick Heidfeld that gift-wrapped the historic win to Lucas di Grassi. That’s what everybody’s talking about and rightfully so. But the inaugural Formula E race also saw the BMW i8->ke4622 take center stage as the series’ official safety->ke2860 car.

Isn’t it fitting that a championship among electric-powered race cars->ke148 would have a low-emission, hybrid sports car->ke506 like the i8 serving as its safety car?

The BMW Qualcomm i8 Safety Car, as it's officially known, was joined by its little brother, the BMW i3->ke4694, which also performed duties as the series’ official medical car and extraction car. Might as well keep it in the family!

True to form, the i8 Safety Car ended up taking part in a busy and action-packed race, none more dramatic than the hellacious crash in the last lap of the race. While jockeying for the lead, Prost’s Renault->ke72 made contact with Heidfeld’s Venturi, sending the latter into the barricades in one of the most spectacular crashes we’ve seen this year. Fortunately, both Prost and Venturi escaped the accident in relatively unscathed.

At the very least, it gave us a good preview of how exciting the new FIA Formula E Championship can be. The BMW i8 Safety Car already knows that after only one race manning the track.

Click past the jump to read more about the BMW i8 Safety Car.

2015 BMW i8 Safety Car

Specifications
  • Make: Array
  • Model: 2015 BMW i8 Safety Car
  • [do not use] Vehicle Model: Array

BMW i8 Safety Car in detail

As with most safety cars, BMW retrofitted the i8 Safety Car for its specific purpose. It received a full roll cage, racing buckets with harnesses, special communications systems and on-board fire extinguishers.

The safety car itself is unique in that it has Qualcomm's imprints all over it. The i8, as well as the two i3s that make up the series' support fleet, comes with inductive charging. That means all three cars can be charged wirelessly using the Qualcomm Halo wireless charging system.

Oddly enough, the vehicles have yet to be approved by the FIA, although that issue should be resolved sooner than later.

BMW i8

The production-version of the BMW i8 officially made its world debut at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show. Since that time, Bimmer's hybrid sports car has proven to be quite a popular model for a lot of customers, especially in the UK. In fact, the UK is fresh out of i8s.

The car's futuristic design and unrivaled technology are big reasons for its high demand, but the most impressive thing about the i8 remains its revolutionary hybrid powerplant.

The i8 is powered by a 1.5-liter, turbocharged, three-cylinder engine and an electric motor that together produce 362 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque. The 1.5-liter engine mates to a six-speed auto transmission, while the electric motors hooks up to a two-stage transmission.

With that 362 horsepower in tow, the i8 is capable of sprinting from 0 to 60 mph in just 4.4 seconds to go with a top speed of 155 mph.

The BMW i8 starts at $135,925 in the U.S.