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BMW will be featured marque at 2016 Goodwood Festival of Speed

As part of BMW's centenary celebration, it has been named the featured marque at the 2016 Goodwood Festival of Speed. That means we'll see plenty of Bimmers on track, but it also means a few will be hoisted in the air on this year's version of the famous Gerry Judah sculpture. That sculpture takes center stage on the Goodwood House's front lawn, blending metal with actual automotive machinery for a striking display that serves as the centerpiece for the entire Festival of Speed. This year, it will feature three race-ready BMWs – the 328 Mille Miglia Roadster, a Brabham-BMW BT52 Formula 1 car, and a Le Mans-winning V12 LMR. Consider the racing bases covered. And since this is England, it's only fitting that Rolls-Royce and Mini will stand alongside their parent company during this year's event – Rolls-Royce is headquartered down the road. BMW Motorrad will feature prominently, as well, and the M Brand will have its own "M Avenue," which will feature M cars sold over the past 40 years, including more than a few of the M cars our editors chose in their list of the greatest BMWs. You can also expect BMW's birthday present to itself, the futuristic Vision Next 100 concept, to receive a prominent placement at Goodwood. And of course historical and modern BMW models will be taking to the Goodwood Hill Climb course alongside the usual slate of performance vehicles, racecars, and concept vehicles from other brands. The 2016 Goodwood Festival of Speed runs from June 23 to 26. Related Video:

Ward's Automotive Ten Best Engines of 2014 dominated by diesels, turbos

With the Car and Driver Ten Best decided, the North American Car and Truck of the Year finalists announced and Cadillac, Ram and Subaru chalking up wins with Motor Trend, it's fair to say that the automotive awards season is in full swing. The next set of trophies to be handed out will be from Ward's Automotive, which has announced the winners of its 2014 10 Best Engines.
The latest contest was marked by the widespread emergence of diesel power and the continued success of turbocharged engines. There was even an electric motor on this year's list. In fact, only three of the ten winners were naturally aspirated and only two winners returned from last year.
"We weren't looking to throw the bums out, as they might say about an election. We were just really impressed with the flood of new powertrains," said Ward's Automotive Editor-in-Chief Drew Winter. Those new powertrains include the 83-kilowatt electric motor from the Fiat 500e, the 1.0-liter, EcoBoost three-cylinder from the Ford Fiesta and the 2.0-liter turbodiesel from the Chevrolet Cruze.

BMW iPerformance plug-in hybrids coming in July

BMW obviously has a long-term plug-in vehicle plan. Like megacity long. First hinted at in 2008 and finally announced in 2009, the Bavarian's EV march has gone through the MINI E, the ActiveE, and then the i3 and i8. There's got to be a detailed timeline chart taped to an office wall in Munich somewhere that we would love to get a glimpse of, but instead we just get bits and pieces of where BMW's going next. At least now know the next phase: iPerformance. The new iPerformance models will be vehicles from the core BMW line-up that have plug-in hybrid technology that was first used in the i3 or i8. This technology includes the, "electric motors, battery cells and electronic control systems" and the first models to use some of the i Brand guts will be the plug-in hybrid versions of the 7 Series, like the new BMW 740e iPerformance. BMW is also going to throw in some of the now-standard blue accents that you might be familiar with form the i3 and i8, in case you don't recognize the outlet panel. As for the continuation of the i vehicles (currently just that two-model line-up), we still don't know anything other than the rumors of an i5 or i6 or who knows what. You can read the full release about iPerformance below. Related Video: BMW at the 86th Geneva International Motor Show 2016. 12.02.2016 World premiere: The new BMW M760Li xDrive raises the bar in the sporting luxury sedan segment as the flagship variant of the successfully launched BMW 7 Series model range. The first ever M Performance TwinPower Turbo 12-cylinder petrol engine generates 441 kW/600 hp* and sprints from 0 to 100 km/h / 62 mph in 3.9 seconds* (fuel consumption combined: 12.6 l/100 km [22.4 mpg imp]; CO2 emissions combined: 294 g/km)**. The new iPerformance model designation, which will be given to all BMW plug-in hybrid vehicles from July 2016, provides a visible indicator of the transfer of technology from BMW i to the BMW core brand. It will be seen first on the plug-in hybrid variants of the new BMW 7 Series, e.g. the BMW 740e iPerformance. The iPerformance models will benefit from the transfer of technical expertise regarding electric motors, battery cells and electronic control systems. Visible indicators, meanwhile, are a BMW i logo on the front side panel, BMW i-style blue elements in the kidney grille and wheel hubs, and an eDrive logo on the C-pillar. Customers can also make use of the BMW i 360° ELECTRIC range of products and services, including the BMW i Wallbox.