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McLaren shoehorned the F1's V12 into a BMW M5 wagon test mule

Automakers are known to utilize preexisting vehicles as test beds for major research and development purposes. But some of the zombie mashups produced in-house can result in pretty interesting combinations. Case in point, when McLaren was developing its BMW-sourced naturally-aspirated 6.1-liter V12 for the legendary F1, the company put the engine in … a BMW M5 wagon? Yup, you read that correctly. ItÂ’s no mystery that the legendary F1 came with a BMW-sourced V12. That "M70" V12 originated from its placement in the E32 7 Series and E31 8 Series “50” models in the 1980s up through the 1990s. The version that went into the F1, however, is more closely related to the M-tuned "S70" V12 found in the E31 850CSI, which was the pseudo M-variant to the 8 Series that wasnÂ’t officially designated an M model. But it did feature full-fledged tuning from the M Division. On "Top Gear" presenter Chris HarrisÂ’ podcast, "Collecting Cars", Harris interviewed David Clark, the former director of McLarenÂ’s cars for both the road and motorsports between 1994 and 1998. Clark revealed that they took an E34 BMW M5 wagon and shoehorned the S70 V12 into its engine bay as the mule for testing the F1Â’s engine. Clark even said he drove the car himself as they were fine-tuning the V12Â’s engine output. YouÂ’re probably wondering, how the heck did that thing fit? But it isnÂ’t that surprising. The E34 5-Series was designed to house either the BMWÂ’s venerable straight-six or the new-at-the-time V8. And there was room enough to house the V12 as well, particularly since BMWÂ’s V12 was essentially two of its “M20” straight-sixes bolted together at the crank in a vee. When Clark was testing the S70 V12 in the wagon, he and his team ended up with the 627 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque the F1 became known for. ThatÂ’s nearly twice the power the production M5's 311 hp and 266 lb-ft at the time. Clark also divulged that the actual prototype mule still exists, but itÂ’s in BMWÂ’s secret collection of prototypes, and itÂ’s never been revealed to the public. He does, however, hope that one day, BMW will open its doors and show off the incredible mashup of an automobile. Until then, youÂ’ll have to rely on the few custom engine swaps done by owners to get a taste of what a V12-powered E34 M5 is like. Rumor also has it that McLaren could be working on a new direct F1 successor with help once again from Gordon Murray.

8 automakers, 15 utilities collaborate on open smart-charging for EVs

We're going to lead with General Motors here. GM is one of eight automakers working with 15 utilities and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) at developing a "smart" plug-in vehicle charging system. Why did we start with GM? Because it's the first automaker whose press release we read that mentioned the other seven automakers. Points for sharing. For the record, the collaboration also includes BMW, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Chrysler, Mitsubishi and Ford. The utilities include DTE Energy, Duke Energy, Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric. The idea is to develop a so-called "demand charging" system in which an integrated system lets the plug-ins and utilities communicate with each other so that vehicle charging is cut back at peak hours, when energy is most expensive, and ramped up when the rates drop. Such entities say there's a sense of urgency to develop such a system because the number of plug-in vehicles on US roads totals more than 225,000 today and is climbing steadily. There's a lot of technology involved, obviously, but the goal is to have an open platform that's compatible with virtually any automaker's plug-in vehicle. No timeframe was disclosed for when such a system could go live but you can find a press release from EPRI below. EPRI, Utilities, Auto Manufacturers to Create an Open Grid Integration Platform for Plug-in Electric Vehicles PALO ALTO, Calif. (July 29, 2014) – The Electric Power Research Institute, 8 automakers and 15 utilities are working to develop and demonstrate an open platform that would integrate plug-in electric vehicles (PEV) with smart grid technologies enabling utilities to support PEV charging regardless of location. The platform will allow manufacturers to offer a customer-friendly interface through which PEV drivers can more easily participate in utility PEV programs, such as rates for off-peak or nighttime charging. The portal for the system would be a utility's communications system and an electric vehicle's telematics system. As the electric grid evolves with smarter functionality, electric vehicles can serve as a distributed energy resource to support grid reliability, stability and efficiency. With more than 225,000 plug-in vehicles on U.S. roads -- and their numbers growing -- they are likely to play a significant role in electricity demand side management.

BMW mulled ten, eight, and six-cylinder engines for i8 before going hybrid

There's little doubt that the 2015 BMW i8 is one of the most radical and groundbreaking performance cars this industry has seen in a long time. From its unique carbon-intensive construction to its 1.5-liter, three-cylinder and electric motor plug-in powertrain to its concept-car appearance, the flagbearer for BMW's new i venture challenges the very notion of what it takes to be a supercar.
Yet apparently the i8 almost didn't do that at all. Yes, it probably still would've had innovative assembly techniques, serious performance and come-hither bodywork, but according to a new report in the Telegraaf, it was very nearly a much more conventional beast, drawing its power from a V10 engine. According to the report, that line of development never got much beyond the drawing board, but BMW engineers then shifted their focus to both V8 and six-cylinder motivation, going so far as to build prototype cars. The higher cylinder-count engines were eventually dropped altogether after BMW decided to turn the i8 into a hybrid, with the six-cylinder reportedly nixed due to heat management and weight issues. In the end, of course, BMW went with the PHEV powertrain that offers a total system output of 362 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque - plenty of thrust for this lightweight, all-wheel drive coupe while still enabling an incredible 94 miles to the gallon on the EU cycle. Regardless of how it turned out, it's still fascinating to think that BMW didn't have a much firmer conceptual idea of what it was after when it started the i8's development.
Here at Autoblog, we're genuinely thrilled about this new generation of greener hybrid super- and hypercars, a movement spearheaded by the i8, Porsche 918 Spyder, Ferrari LaFerrari and McLaren P1. But even so, our inner-gearheads can't help but wonder what might have been had BMW pursued a more conventional i8, either in place of, or in addition to, the car they did build. What do you think? Have your say in Comments.