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Recharge Wrap-up: Venturi to break electric world record, app shows where bike lanes are needed

Electric automaker Venturi hopes to post a new electric land speed record this week, despite Bonneville Speed Week being cancelled. The VBB-3, developed with Ohio State University, is powered by two 1,500-hp electric motors. If the salt flats are sufficiently dry, the team hopes to set a new electric world speed record of over 600 kilometers per hour (373 mph), and possibly 700 kph (435 mph). The Venturi BB-2.5 set a record of 495 kph (307 mph) in 2010. Read more at Electric Autosport, and keep abreast of Venturi's progress at its Twitter account. A new app is trying to fix Wiesbaden, Germany's bike problem. A bike organization named the city the worst in the world for cycling. In response, a local group developed an app that uses crowdsourced routes to suggest where bike lanes and paths should go. The app tracks users routes as they ride, and maps them to show where the city could benefit from improving its infrastructure. The app and its results have the attention of government officials, too. See the video below, or read more at Fast Company. BMW has delivered the first i8s at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in California. The first customers include Roger Penske, Rick Hendrick and Tony Fadell (founder and CEO of Nest). The lucky new owners were also treated to a gourmet meal from Chef Thomas Keller, who was also among those to receive the i8 at the event. As mentioned, BMW also auctioned off a special edition i8 at Pebble Beach for $825,000, considerably more than the car's base MSRP of $135,700. Read more in the press release from BMW, below. Uber's Berlin ban has been suspended by a local court. The city banned the car-hailing app for failing to meet passenger safety standards. The court will now decide whether to uphold the ban or toss it out. This was the second time this year that Uber had been deemed unlawful in Berlin. Uber continued to operate throughout its ban, despite threats of fines. If upheld, Uber could be fined $34,000 for picking up a passenger. Read more at The New York Times. BMW Delivers First BMW i8 Sports Cars in the U.S. at Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. Chef Thomas Keller, Roger Penske and Rick Hendrick Among the First to Take Delivery of the Revolutionary BMW i8 Plug-In Hybrid. Woodcliff Lake, NJ – August 15, 2014... Today, BMW delivered the first plug-in hybrid BMW i8 sport cars at Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, the world's premier celebration of the automobile, in Carmel, Calif.

The new BMW M4 GT4 carries the factory-prepped race torch

Purchasing a factory-prepared race car is a relatively easy thing to do, if you have the means. A number of manufacturers, from Mazda to Porsche, sell cars that are race-ready straight out of the box. BMW, following on the success of the E92 generation M3 GT4, announced today that an M4 GT4 will be ready for the 2018 season. The GT4 spec is the lowest class of FIA GT racing. It's meant for amateur racers, and as such the regulations are quite strict. Every car must have at least one amateur driver, and the rules as to what constitutes as an amateur are very specific and clear. Aside from BMW, Aston Martin, Porsche, and Toyota all field cars in GT4 spec races. Like the M3 GT4, the new version of the M4 comes from the factory homologated to FIA GT4 spec. BMW says the M4 GT4 will use the standard coupe's 425 horsepower twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline six cylinder engine, including the electronics – the outgoing M3 GT4 used the standard car's 420 hp, high-revving, 4.0-liter naturally-aspirated V8. The new car will also pull bits like a carbon fiber hood from the M4 GTS. Specific details like weights or fluid capacities haven't been revealed, nor has the transmission been confirmed. It's unclear if the M4 will be heavier than the smaller outgoing M3, which weighed slightly over 3,000 lbs. Expect things like built-in air jacks, a roll cage, lightweight seats, and other race-ready parts to carry over. The M4 GT4 will start testing at the end of 2016 in preparation for a 2018 debut. Customers with who can't wait can purchase one of BMW's other race-ready offerings. BMW currently sells the M6 GT3 and M235i Racing. Parts like the pedal box, brakes, and seats for the M4 GT4 are the same as those in the M6 GT3. Pricing hasn't been announced, but the current M3 GT4 sells for about $140,000. The car should go on sale late next year. Related Video: Motorsports BMW Racing Vehicles bmw m4

BMW i3 with range extender could arrive after HOV stickers run out in CA

We will weep for the BMW i3 REx owner with ticket #40,001 for California's green HOV stickers. While the standard-issue battery-electric i3 has been deemed eligible for the state's white stickers, which allow for owners to drive in HOV lanes solo, the proverbial jury of the California Air Resources Board (CARB) is still out on the BMW i3 REx, which will have a little-bitty range-extender on board, Transport Evolved says. The issue is that, while there is an unlimited number of white stickers for pure EVs such as the Nissan Leaf and Tesla Model S, the state has limited the number of green stickers, which grant solo-HOV access to plug-in hybrids and extended-range plug-ins, to 40,000. And with almost 29,000 green stickers given out as of the end of last year to cars such as the Chevrolet Volt and the Toyota Prius Plug In, they may run out within two months. The other key point is that the waiting list for the i3 with a range extender is running at about six months as of January, that could cause a bit of hand-wringing among folks looking to buy the REx. BMW said earlier this year that the extended-range version of the i3 would qualify for white stickers because the car is a so-called BEVx, meaning that its range-extender's full-tank range is less than the electric motor's single-charge range. BMW designed the i3 with a small range-extender tank of just 2.4 gallons, but the automaker estimated that California's green stickers wouldn't run out until the end of 2014.