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BMW's new strategy: Electric everything

Mercedes isn't the only car maker determined to beat Tesla before it gets huge. Sources speaking to German business daily Handelsblatt claim that BMW is in the midst of planning an executive shuffle that will also include a big shift in its electric vehicle strategy. While the company would still offer ground-up EV designs like the i3, the new strategy would greenlight electric versions of some of BMW's most important vehicles, including the 3-series sedan, X4 crossover, and iconic Mini. If the leak is accurate, management is likely to approve the change at the end of September. We've asked BMW for its take on the report, although it declined to comment to Handelsblatt. It wouldn't be shocking to see the Munich crew change tack, though. While Tesla has received hundreds of thousands of Model 3 pre-orders, i3 sales dropped in 2016 – the upscale (if oddly-shaped) EV just isn't as hot as it once was. If BMW electrifies some of its most popular cars, you wouldn't have to choose between a super-efficient, eco-friendly EV and the familiar designs of the brand's mainstream driving machines.The story originally appeared on Engadget, your guide to this connected life.Related Video: Featured Gallery Mini Vision Next 100 Concept View 38 Photos Green BMW MINI Electric Hybrid engadget

Two rare Alpina BMWs given the Petrolicious treatment

Alpina is getting more and more ink because of because of that rolling cannonade known as the B7 and its closer ties with BMW. The company's tuning business dates to 1962 when Burkard Bovensiepen began fiddling with Weber carburetors, then his company began racing in 1968 and was eventually certified as an automaker in 1983.
Two of its rarer specimens from those early years have gotten a glance from the folks at Petrolicious: the E24 B10 and E24 B7S. Based on the BMW 6 Series, the Alpina versions made one of the most special coupes from the Eighties even more so. According to the video, there were only 44 B10s made, and the turbocharged, 333-horsepower B7S - this was in a luxury coupe in 1982, mind you - saw only 33 examples produced.
You won't be sorry to find out more about them - and see how they run - in the Petrolicious video below.

BMW 5 Series future: 3-cyl engines and 600-hp M5

What if we told you the next BMW M5 would crest 600 horsepower? You probably wouldn't be too surprised, considering the steady increase in output that's accompanied each preceding generation. Now, what if we told you that the next BMW 5 Series would be available with a three-cylinder engine? Yeah, that'd be a surprise. But it may be a reality, according to a new report from Car. In its roundup of information on the next-gen BMW 5, code-named G30, the Brit mag predicts the new sedan will arrive in the summer of next year riding on an all-new platform that trims nearly 180 pounds of body fat through the use of high-strength steel, aluminum and carbon fiber. That platform, called the CLAR, which is short for Cluster Architecutre will give birth to not only a new 6 Series, but (for some reason) a 5 Series Gran Turismo and a Touring model, which won't likely be sold in the US. It will also underpin the 7 Series, eventually. Under hood, the lighter 5er will be paired with a new 1.5-liter, three-cylinder turbodiesel for the entry level 518d. This is the same three-pot oil-burner found in the 2 Series Active Tourer and Mini Cooper D. Of course, considering how little of BMW's actual engine range is sold in the US, we very much doubt the 518d will make it across the pond. More likely candidates for the US market include a range of a 2.0-liter, four-cylinders, such as the 272-horsepower 528i, and potentially a four-cylinder diesel. Naturally, there will be six-cylinder mills, found on the 530i, 530d, 540i and M550d. At the very top of the range, of course, will be a 600-hp M5. There will even be a range of hybrids and plug-in hybrids that are sure to further annihilate the formerly logical BMW nomenclature. Car expects the new 5er to arrive next summer, which we'd wager would lead to a debut at either the 2016 Geneva Motor Show or perhaps next year's Auto China, in Beijing. Featured Gallery BMW 5 Series Next Generation Spy Shots News Source: CarImage Credit: CarPix Rumormill BMW Diesel Vehicles Hybrid Luxury Sedan