In early 2022, BMW South Africa was looking to make a splash with its new all-electric sedan – the i4 M50 – and asked our very own Ciro De Siena if he’d like to race one up the hill at the 2022 Simola Hillclimb. It proved a momentous occasion.
The car was specially flown in for this event (at the time of racing, it was the only i4 M50 in South Africa and literally priceless!). No pressure then. The 2-day event opened on a very wet Saturday; with 400 kW under his right foot, Ciro began his campaign in the potent all-electric, all-wheel-drive BMW.
At some point over the course of the weekend, we had a feeling that we might be getting close to the electric car record for the hill. The record stood at 49.5 seconds and Ciro was running in the 49’s.
But the rules stated that he would have two opportunities to set the record, one in the Class Final and one in the Supercar Shootout. Ciro had to pull out the stopsWe hope you enjoy this story of personal and mechanical triumph, it’s a great memory for us, for Ciro and for BMW SA.
This year, 2023, our very own Ashley Oldfield will be sending the brand new BMW XM up the hill, while highly experienced racer Thomas Falkiner will be in the same i4 M50 hoping to take the record home for BMW once again.
More: Watch the 2023 Simola Hillclimb
Related content:
New BMW i4 Specs & Prices in South Africa
