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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.

Mazda Turnpike in Japan shut down for racing

The people behind Motorhead Magazine in Japan clearly have some friends in high places. Not only did they manage to shutdown eight kilometers of the Mazda Turnpike up the Hakone mountain, but they invited some of the country's premiere racers to take a drive up the hill. This wasn't just a Sunday cruise either. Featuring a BMW Z4 from the Super GT series, a classic Ford GT40, two flavors of Nissan GT-R and two takes on the Subaru Impreza WRX STI, these guys came ready to run. When an opportunity to let racecars challenge a curvy mountain road presents itself, you don't squander it. Thankfully, the folks at Motorhead knew that and outfitted the course with a plethora of cameras and high-quality sound equipment to capture the action. The result is nothing short of sublime. Take the video's urging to turn up your speakers for this one, and watch as these racers hit ludicrous speeds in a beautiful place never meant for them. News Source: japanmotorhead via YouTube, Jalopnik Aftermarket Motorsports BMW Ford Nissan Subaru Racing Vehicles Performance Videos ford gt40 super gt

BMW confirms M4 DTM for next season

Fans of BMW performance had two events to keep an eye on this weekend: the reveal of the M4 Concept at Pebble Beach, and the efforts of the Bavarian automaker's DTM teams at the Nurburgring. What ties them together, however, is what BMW has in store for next year.
The German carmaker has confirmed that it's already working on a new M4 DTM to campaign in the highly-competitive touring car series starting next season. It didn't reveal any details, but we can expect the M4 to make the same jump to competition spec as the M3 did before it. And with some success, we might add: successive versions of the M3 have won 48 DTM races over the years, starting with the checkered flag which Harald Grohs claimed at Hockenheim in 1987 through to the same race which Augusto Farfus won earlier this year. After taking home the title for BMW in its first year back in DTM last season, Bruno Spengler also won at the Red Bull Ring in Austria two months ago, but the Bimmer teams seem to be having a bit of trouble defending its title against fresh assaults from Audi and Mercedes.
BMW undoubtedly hopes the new M4 DTM will help it turn another new leaf, and we're looking forward to seeing how it all shapes up. Read more in the press release below.