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Toyota-BMW sports car to gain all-wheel drive, supercapacitors?

Sales of salt are skyrocketing following the latest rumor of the planned joint-venture sports car from Toyota and BMW. The whisperings indicate that project will spawn both a replacement for the BMW Z4 and a long-awaited Toyota Supra successor based on the FT-1 Concept shown above. Word is that the new cars will feature front-engine, all-wheel-drive layouts with plug-in hybrid technology. This news would appear to run somewhat counter to earlier reports that BMW and Toyota are teaming for a six-figure hybrid supercar.
According to Autocar, the project will benefit from the experience Toyota gained with the TS030, its hybridized Le Mans prototype. The evidence for this is, of all things, a Toyota Yaris - in particular, the Yaris Hybrid R that was shown at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show last September. That car used a 300-horsepower, 1.6-liter gas engine, while a pair of 60-horsepower electric motors provided all-wheel-drive push (an additional motor also sent additional juice to the front axle). The 414-system-horsepower drivetrain used supercapacitors in place of the traditional lithium-ion batteries of traditional hybrids.
For the production sports cars, Autocar claims that the Yaris Hybrid R's setup will serve as the basis for the new powertrain, although it won't be a direct carryover. Instead, a 2.0-liter BMW engine will be paired with Toyota-designed, BMW-built motors.

BMW working on 'FAST' CUV to slot between X1 and 2 Series

Our spy shooters have caught a new FAST BMW testing that's rumored to hit the market in late 2015. Sadly, the word fast in that last sentence isn't describing the car's performance; instead it's an acronym that stands for Family Active Sports Tourer. Talk about a case of false advertising.
Despite it's speedy name, the FAST doesn't look ready to set any Nürburgring lap records. It rides on BMW's modular, front-wheel drive UKL platform that underpins the current generation Mini Cooper, upcoming 2 Series Active Tourer and next X1. According to our spies, its design is supposed to blend the looks of a wagon and a CUV on the outside with a large, useful interior. Conceivably, it could be offered with the hybrid system from the 2 Series, as well.
The new prototype definitely shares the styling of its front-wheel-drive BMW siblings. Up to the A-pillar, it looks pretty similar to what we know about the future X1. But the FAST has a more arched profile and lower ride height compared to the crossover's chunkier, more conventional design.

BMW sets Guinness record for longest drift with new M5 [w/video]

In September of 2011, Chinese drifter Wang Qi broke the Guinness record for the world's longest sustained drift, doing 13 laps inside the Olympic Center Stadium in Tianlin, China for 5,802.3 meters. That was broken in February of this year by Abdo Feghali in Abu Dhabi drifting a new Chevrolet Camaro around a skidpad for 11,180 meters - almost seven miles. In March, BMW decided it wanted the record "back in the US," and set up a course at its BMW Performance Driving School near Greenville, South Carolina to get the job done. On May, 11 it was Mission Accomplished when Performance Center driver Johan Schwartz drifted an M5 around a skidpad continuously for 51.3 miles.
Despite that accomplishment, we're pretty sure that professional drifter Vaughn Gittin, Jr. isn't impressed. The way Guinness defines "drifting" can also describe a donut, which is effectively the kind of drifting that's been done for these last three records. BMW went even further by watering down the surface of the track, reducing the skill required and the need to change tires during the effort. On the other hand, you can't drift a car for long in a straight line, but perhaps there should be some clarification or classifications added to the milestones.
There's a short video below taken during the record-breaking run, and a press release from the company that did it.