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Formula E gets wireless-charging BMW i8 safety car [w/video]

Racing series typically select a safety car appropriate to the kinds of racecars for which they'll be setting the pace. So you might find a Mercedes SLS pacing a Formula One grand prix, for example, and you're more likely to find a BMW M4 on duty at a DTM race and a Chevy Camaro or SS on an oval speedway for a NASCAR or Indy race. It would only stand to reason, then, that the FIA Formula E Championship kicking off next month in Beijing would press a plug-in into service as its safety car. But the organizers didn't go for your run-of-the-mill Nissan Leaf or Toyota Prius.
No, the safety car for Formula E will be a BMW i8 specially modified for the occasion. As you can see from the video below, the hybrid sports car packs a full roll cage, racing buckets with harnesses, special communications systems and on-board fire extinguishers. But that's not all.
In partnership with technological partner Qualcomm, the Formula E support fleet - including two examples each of the i8 and i3 - will feature inductive charging. So while one is out on the track, or at least sitting at the end of the pit lane waiting to be deployed - the other will be charging wirelessly. The vehicles are still pending FIA approval, and only one has been outfitted with the Qualcomm Halo wireless charging system (with the others to be retrofitted later), but they were all on hand for the recent practice race at Donnington Park.

Forget about greenlighting it, BMW is already testing the M2

One week ago, we reported, with some skepticism, that BMW had greenlit a car we've been waiting for since the 1 Series M Coupe was discontinued - the M2. Now, we have the first images of that new hotshot underoing testing in Germany.
What's our reasoning here? After all, this just looks like an M235i. Well, that camo is disguising swollen fenders designed to conceal wider tires. Now, these aren't production changes, and it's very likely that the eventual M2's fenders will look quite a bit different. According to our spy, the front fenders have been borrowed from the M235i Racing, while the rears are from an unknown source.
Our spies are also quick to point out a few other high-performance items on this mule. The cross-drilled brakes and blue M calipers are one such item, although we aren't sure how much they differ from the optional stoppers on the production M235i. The black wheels are borrowed from the M3 and M4, and are shod in what look like a sticky set of Michelin tires.

Petrolicious reconnects with the BMW M coupe

With the look of a clown shoe on wheels, the BMW M Coupe was a product of using what was around to create something great. Starting with the Z3 convertible, BMW's engineering team added a bulbous roof to improve rigidity, and for the M version, it dropped in the inline six from the contemporary M3. While the result wasn't a beauty queen, the car more than made up for any aesthetic complaints in driving pleasure. Petrolicious talks to owner Alex McCulloch about just what makes the tiny three-door so special in its latest video. With a fairly short wheelbase, plenty of power, and a rear suspension from the E30-chassis BMW 3 Series, the M Coupe can be a quite handful at the limit. "I used to say it wanted to kill me, but now we've reached an agreement where it's not quite as murderous," McCulloch says. He's eventually found that the only real way to exploit the coupe to its fullest is on the track, where he competes in time trials. To get lap times as low as possible, the BMW now wears quite a few mods, but McCulloch says that it's all reversible. Figure out what competitive hang gliding has to do with driving in this clip from Petrolicious. Related Video: