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Recharge Wrap-up: Porsche adds third 919 Hybrid for Le Mans, Audi to heat factory with geothermal

Porsche will be running a third 919 Hybrid LMP1 car in the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race. The extra Porsche will race in the six-hour May 2 WEC race at Spa-Francorchamps as a lead-up to the legendary 24-hour race on June 13 and 14. Porsche hasn't announced the driver lineup for the third 919 Hybrid, but drivers will remain the same for the other two cars. Including the third car is meant to help further test performance and efficiency as part of development for future hybrid systems. Read more at Green Car Congress. BMW i Ventures is investing in Zendrive, a driving focused data and analytics company. The cooperation of the two companies is meant to help advance safety and efficiency by making the "in-car mobility experience even smoother by optimizing commuting and driving patterns," according to BMW i's Ulrich Quay. The venture capital arm of BMW's i brand also invests in JustPark, Chargepoint, Life360, Chargemaster and MyCityWay, and says it will have more strategic investment announcements in the coming months. Read more in the press release below. The Audi Hungaria factory in Gyor, Hungary will soon be getting geothermal energy from a nearby plant being constructed in Per. When the facility is finished, Audi expects to source 82,000 megawatt hours of geothermal energy per year from it, or about six percent of its total heating needs. The clean energy helps Audi move "step by step along a path to developing a CO2-neutral production plant," says Audi's Dr. Hubert Waltl. "The mobility of the future must be CO2-neutral – and that applies not only to the use of our vehicles, but also to their production." Read more in the press release below. Supporters have begun a petition drive for the passage of an E15 ordinance in Chicago. Despite pushback from oil companies, the city council is close to passing the "Chicago Clean Air Choice Ordinance," which includes the requirement by retailers to sell the 15-percent ethanol gasoline blend in the city. The ordinance includes an exception for stations selling less than 850,000 gallons of fuel per year. More than 4,000 people have signed the petition so far, with others leaving messages to voice their opinion on the matter in opposition to Big Oil's attempt to block it. Read more at Domestic Fuel. BMW i Ventures announces strategic investment in Zendrive. - Further Increasing safety and security through innovative mobility services. New York City, NY.

Editors' Choice: Top Five 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show Debuts

Consider the 2015-16 auto show season officially kicked off. The Frankfurt Motor Show offered a great look at the newest crop of production cars and conceptual machines, and brought some old favorites back into the spotlight for a closer look. (The Alfa Romeo Giulia, for example, debuted in June, but this was the first time most of us saw it.) Now that the dust has settled and we're all on flights back to the US, our editors cast their votes for their personal favorites from the Frankfurt show. These are the cars we truly loved seeing the most. But unlike other shows, there was no one runaway winner – all of the Top Five received positive praise from our team. We won't spoil the results, though. Scroll down to see what we liked most from this year's Frankfurt expo. 5th Place – MERCEDES-BENZ IAA CONCEPT View 12 Photos MIKE AUSTIN: The clean lines on this concept have me excited for a more elegant beauty to future Mercedes-Benz vehicles. Next to the Concept IAA, the lovely S-Class Coupe looks like an overstyled barge. DAVID GLUCKMAN: Yeah, the extendable rear is neat and all, but I'm more interested in the front-end styling of this one. It looks like the Tron version of a 300SL, in a good way. I'm hopeful it portends the future of Mercedes design. STEVEN EWING: I was super impressed when Mercedes said that, with the rear end extended, this concept has a drag coefficient of just 0.19. That's crazy aerodynamic. I'm not head-over-heels about the styling, but I think the lessons learned from this concept are really important, and will play a huge role in the future of Mercedes' products. 4th Place – ALFA ROMEO GIULIA View 15 Photos SEYTH MIERSMA: I can hardly express how in love with this car I am. The styling feels creative, modern, and evocative, without going over the top. The proposed performance is spectacular. And the Alfa badge speaks to a legacy of romantic motoring. DAVID GLUCKMAN: Pretty Italian car makes big promises and will probably deliver on about three quarters of them. I think that will still be enough for me. JEREMY KORZENIEWSKI: I'm really intrigued by the Giulia. It looks great, sounds awesome, and I'm expecting it to have a load more character than its German rivals. I hope I'm not disappointed. 3rd Place – JAGUAR F-PACE View 15 Photos GREG MIGLIORE: It's the first SUV for Jaguar, and I think they nailed the design, capability, and electronics. It's the right car at the right time.

Win an electric car and celebrate Earth Day

Autoblog may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Pricing and availability is subject to change. No donation or payment necessary to enter or win this sweepstakes. See official rules on Omaze. Enter to win this giveaway or any other Omaze experience now through April 23, 2021 and receive 500 extra entries into any campaign plus a chance to win $10K with code GOGREEN500. Simply add the discount at checkout. Whether you like it or not, there will come a day when most, if not all of us, will be driving electric cars. For some of us that day can't come soon enough, and in honor of Earth Day we've put together a list of our favorite car giveaways so you can save some green while being green.  Win a 2021 Porsche Taycan Turbo S and $20,000 - Enter Here If there’s one thing Porsche is good at, itÂ’s making fast, beautiful cars, and the Taycan Turbo S is no exception. Making 750 horsepower, 774 lb-ft of torque and a top speed of 161 miles per hour, punching the accelerator will surely throw you back in your seat. In fact, its 0-60 time of 2.6 seconds matches that of the quickest Porsche 911 ever made, the Turbo S. The difference between this Taycan Turbo S and that 911 Turbo S, of course, is that the only reason youÂ’ll ever need to stop off at a gas station is to fill up on snacks. That and the fact the Taycan doesn't actually have a turbo anywhere in the car. We wouldnÂ’t be reaching for a bag of FlaminÂ’ Hot Cheetos, though, because this incredibly comfortable leather interior is immaculate, and weÂ’d hope to keep it that way. Enter here for a chance to win this prize worth $220,000. Win a Himalaya Land Rover Defender 110 EV and $20,000 - Enter Here The Land Rover Defender is an icon: an intense, luxurious off-roader that turns heads and can crawl up nearly anything. The problem? For the past 20+ years it hasn't been available in the United States and it's never been what youÂ’d call environmentally friendly. But this Defender is different. ItÂ’s vintage, restored by Himalaya and itÂ’s all-electric. At 275 horsepower, you wonÂ’t be thrown back in your seat, but the 406 lb-ft of torque helps make this an incredibly capable rock crawler.