2014 BMW i8
-
BMW’s i8 sports coupe could prove to be the first attainable hybrid vehicle (which excludes Porsche's 918) to win the hearts and minds of enthusiast drivers. After all, it boasts some 354 combined horsepower, enough to run from 0-62 mph in just five seconds, yet returns a claimed fuel economy of 78 miles per gallon. The i8’s drivetrain combines a three-cylinder gasoline engine, powering the rear wheels, with a front-mounted electric motor powering the front wheels. As you’d suspect, that makes the amount of power sent to both front and rear wheel highly variable, allowing...
-
Luxury Gets Light: BMW Takes Stake In Carbon Fiber Maker SGL
BMW today announced it has taken a 15.16 percent stake in SGL Carbon SE, a leading manufacturer of carbon fiber and carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP). This move should surprise no one, as BMW has been closely partnered with SGL for several years now, but it does put a point on the near future...
Nelson Ireson -
BMW Explores The Next Step In Nav Systems: microNavigation
BMW is working to develop future navigation systems that will even advise the user which traffic lane to pick, or how to find their car in a crowded parking garage.
Kurt Ernst -
BMW microNavigation Offers New Tools For Getting Around: Video
At this point in the game, satellite navigation is old hat. To really get attention, automakers have to up their game -- and that's exactly what BMW has done with its new microNavigation system prototype. The microNavigation unit works a lot like other satnavs, offering traffic data, suggesting...
Richard Read -
Move Aside LED Lighting Tech, BMW Is Firing Up The Lasers
Sometimes the pace of development in the automotive segment has echos of Moore's Law, the trend for power in the computing world to double every two years. No sooner have manufacturers such as Audi started ditching halogen and HID lighting for intelligent and ultra-bright LED light clusters in some...
Antony Ingram -
Blowin' In The Wind: Turbines To Power BMW Leipzig Factory
However green cars are able to get, the process of building thousands of them every year still isn't particularly environmentally friendly. The manufacturers are doing all they can to improve this. GM's Detroit-Hamtramck factory that produces the Chevrolet Volt is equipped with several solar panel...
Antony Ingram -
We can finally confirm that the production version of 2009’s BMW Vision EfficientDynamics Concept, set to go on sale in October of 2013, will go by the name ‘i8’ and head a range of new eco-focused vehicles from BMW. BMW yesterday announced its new ‘i’ sub-brand focused on developing sustainable mobility solutions has been launched. Thus far, only two models have been announced, the i8 supercar and the enigmatic Megacity Vehicle, which will be called the i3 in production trim. Eventually, however, there's expected to be an entire range of vehicles spanning...