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Alex Zanardi back in the driver's seat with BMW

If there's ever been an inspirational story in the pantheon of motor racing history, surely it's that of Alessandro Zanardi. The Italian driver worked his way up the motor racing ladder, making it into Formula One and winning two CART championships for Chip Ganassi Racing back before the series re-merged into IndyCars. Tragedy struck in 2001 when he lost both his legs in a crash at the Lausitzring in Germany, but rather than accept his fate, Alex pushed on. Fitted with prosthetic limbs, he learned to drive a racing car with hand controls and got back in the driver's seat.
Zanardi drove for BMW in the European Touring Car Championship and then in the World Touring Car Championship that replaced it, landing on the podium several times despite his physical disadvantage. He left racing in 2009 to train for the Paralympics, winning two gold medals in London, but Alex apparently couldn't shake the racing bug. BMW modified one of its M3 DTM racers with hand controls for him to test later that year. And now he's returning to motor racing full time.
BMW has just announced that Zanardi will be driving a Z4 GT3 in the Blancpain Sprint Series, the successor to the FIA GT Series and short-distance counterpart to the Blancpain Endurance Series. The car has been modified with the hand controls the Bavarian automaker's racing department fitted to the aforementioned M3 DTM and will be fielded by the ROAL Motorsport team with which Alex challenged for the European Touring Car Championship last decade.

Recharge Wrap-up: BMW X5 PHEV debuting in Shanghai, Proterra sets up shop in CA

South Carolina-based Proterra has received funding to build electric buses in California. The California Energy Commission has awarded the company, which is headed by former Tesla executive Ryan Popple, a $3-million grant. Proterra will use the funds for a facility in the LA suburb the City of Industry, where its largest customer, Foothill Transit, also operates. Proterra has also opened an office in San Bruno, just south of San Francisco. Read more at SFGate or at ValueWalk. Despite its "urban mobility" design, the BMW i3 has become popular outside of large cities. Rather than singular urban centers, "The strongholds in this country are parts of California, Texas and southern Florida," said BMW North America CEO Ludwig Willisch. He also says the electric car hasn't been particularly successful in the Northeast, with cities like New York perhaps not being as mindful of sustainability as California. BMW is also nearing i3 sales of 12,000 a year, which Willisch calls "a sustainable rate." Read more at Automotive News. BMW will debut its X5 xDrive40e plug-in hybrid at the Shanghai Motor Show this month. It is the first PHEV from BMW's core brand (not from its i sub-brand). It uses a turbocharged four-cylinder engine and electric motor for a total of 313 horsepower, and a combined fuel economy of about 70 miles per gallon (according to the ECE test cycle). Press days for the Shanghai Motor Show are April 20-21. Read more in the press release below. BMW at Auto Shanghai 2015. At a glance •BMW at the 16th International Automobile & Manufacturing Technology Exhibition (Auto Shanghai) from 22 – 29 April 2015 (Press Days from 20 – 21 April). •BMW presents a world premiere, four Asian premieres and two Chinese premieres in Shanghai. •World premiere: the BMW X5 xDrive40e Sports Activity Vehicle is the first plug-in hybrid series-production model from the BMW core brand. •Asian premiere: the new BMW 2 Series Gran Tourer is the first premium model in its segment to offer maximum variability and room for up to seven people. •Asian premiere: the new edition of the BMW 1 Series is even more expressive, sporting and efficient than before. •Chinese premiere for the three athletes in the luxury class: the new BMW 6 Series Convertible, the new BMW 6 Series Coupe and the new BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe. •Chinese premiere with top-notch driving dynamics, efficiency and exclusivity: the new BMW M6 Coupe and the new BMW M6 Gran Coupe.

Hyundai, Kia, Genesis and Subaru clean up in IIHS 2018 safety ratings

Hyundai, its partner Kia and its Genesis division are the big winners in the latest vehicle safety ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, accounting for six of the 15 models that earned the Top Safety Pick+ awards for 2018. Subaru was right behind with four, Mercedes-Benz had two, and Toyota, BMW and Ford each had one. Another 47 vehicles earned the Top Safety Pick designation, where Toyota had 10 vehicle models, with Hyundai recognized for nine models. All but one of the seven vehicles in Subaru's lineup, the BRZ, qualified for one of the awards. IIHS strengthened the criteria for the Top Safety Pick+ award for 2018 to require headlights to earn a "good" rating — an "acceptable" rating was previously enough to notch the "plus" award — and good or acceptable passenger-side protection in the small overlap front crash, which replicates a crash involving just the front corner of a vehicle. It also required vehicles to have acceptable or good headlights for the first time to earn a Top Safety Pick award. Most of winners for both awards qualified on the basis of optional upgrades. IIHS in October began evaluating the passenger side of vehicles in its small overlap front crash test after it said it became clear that automakers were neglecting that side of the vehicle as they focused on improving driver-side protections. IIHS first began conducting driver-side small overlap crashes in 2012. It began measuring both how well low and high beams illuminated the road and the amount of glare they produce for oncoming vehicles as part of its ratings in 2016. The Top Safety Pick+ winners are listed below. The list doesn't include any minivans, pickups or minicars, which don't appear on either list of awardees. Small cars Kia Forte Kia Soul Subaru Impreza (sedan and wagon) Subaru WRX Midsize cars Subaru Legacy Subaru Outback Toyota Camry Large luxury cars BMW 5 series Genesis G80 Genesis G90 Lincoln Continental Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedan Midsize SUVs Hyundai Santa Fe Hyundai Santa Fe Sport Midsize luxury SUV Mercedes-Benz GLC The full list of Top Safety Pick winners is available here.Related Video: Image Credit: IIHS BMW Genesis Hyundai Kia Lincoln Subaru Toyota Safety Crossover SUV Wagon Sedan crash test