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The 2014 Alpina B4 Bi-Turbo Cabrio powers up luxury and speed

The BMW specialists at Alpina know how to exploit a niche when they see one. With the BMW M4 still not technically official, it saw the need for a higher performance four-seat convertible than the 435i 'vert. Enter the new B4 Bi-Turbo Cabrio that is debuting at the Geneva Motor Show.
The European-exclusive model takes BMW's 3.0-liter, twin-turbocharged inline-6 and massages it up to 410 horsepower and 442 pound-feet of torque, which is less power but more twist than the M4 would give buyers. Alpina's tend to be built more as quick, luxurious grand tourers, and the B4 Bi-Turbo gets is no different with an adaptive sport suspension and an eight-speed automatic. Plus it wears the classic pinstripes and 21-spoke wheels that are the brand's design hallmarks.
While the added weight for the convertible means that the Cabrio takes 4.5 seconds to reach 62 miles per hour, about a half-second slower than the coupe, at the moment it is the only way to get this kind of performance in a BMW convertible. Orders for the convertible open in March in Europe and prices in Germany start at 74,800 euros ($102,878 at today's conversion rates).

Toyota sells off Tesla shares, too

The incredible rise of Tesla's stock price has done little to now stop two major shareholders from ditching their stake in the American EV manufacturer. First, Daimler, parent company of Mercedes-Benz, ditched its four-percent stake, and less than a week later, Toyota is doing the same thing, selling off an undisclosed bit of its Tesla investment.
The move comes as Toyota winds down sales of the RAV4 EV, which gets its batteries and electric motor from Tesla at the company's Fremont, CA factory.
"We have a good relationship with Tesla, and will evaluate the feasibility of working together on future projects," Toyota spokesperson Kayo Doi told Bloomberg via email.

BMW could expand 'i' lineup

Well, this isn't exactly a surprise. BMW CEO Harald Krueger (shown above) has hinted that the i3 electric car and the i8 plug-in supercar could soon be blessed with a bouncing brother, perhaps in the form of the oft-rumored i5. Specifically, Krueger told Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (as reported by Automotive News) that there was certainly room in the middle of the i sub-brand's current two-model lineup "from the number point of view." The exec declined to offer any additional information. Unlike the i3 and i8, which are their own unique products independent of the rest of the BMW range, the i5 will allegedly be based on 5 Series sedan. It would also eschew the all-electric approach of the i3 in favor of a new and different version of the plug-in hybrid powertrain used in the i8. Rather than that car's turbocharged, three-cylinder gas engine, 129-horsepower electric motor, and 357 total system hp, the rumored i5 – according to our most recent report – would be significantly more powerful. There are rumblings that the new model would have anywhere from 544 hp to 640 hp, with at least two electric motors (one on each axle, making it effectively all-wheel drive). On top of the high performance, the i5 will have no issue running on EV power. According to one report, there'd be up to 78 miles of electric range, and would run purely on electricity up to 36 miles per hour. Even then, the gas engine would only join the party when under hard throttle. What do you think? Will BMW come out with a four-door PHV that could potentially outrun the current M5? Have your say in Comments. Related Video: