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More details emerge on hotter BMW i8S coming next year

The BMW i8 recently won the Autoblog Technology of the Year award, and it's going to get even better. In October, Automobile magazine reported that BMW's i brand is working on an i8S that would be stiffer and more powerful, and celebrate the marque's centenary in 2016. At the time, one of two power unit combinations was suggested, either one of them good for more than 500 horsepower. Car magazine has added more info on the coupe said to be called Project M100, saying that in addition to being a birthday gift for BMW, it will also be a going-away statement to current chairman Norbert Reithofer, who is expected to retire in 2016 or 2017. It will also be so thoroughly reworked that there will be plenty of daylight between it and the standard i8: a more integrated carbon fiber and aluminum chassis, a wider range of materials used in the build, a larger luggage bay due to the omission of rear seats, a more aggressive suspension supporting heartier brakes and wider tires, and - perhaps - a different aero and ground-effects package to be visually different and make the most of the alterations. As for that power unit, Car says that the two options mentioned by Automobile are still under consideration, being either a 2.0-liter twin-turbo four-cylinder with 320 horsepower and a 204-hp electric motor, or a 3.0-liter straight six with 480 hp and an electric motor with 109 hp. Either choice gets an integrated starter motor good for another 27 hp, and a total torque number of roughly 520 pound-feet, 100 additional lb-ft than the current car. Word is that it will be shown for the centenary in 2016 then go on sale by the end of 2017.

BMW X3 spied with nip and tuck nearly complete

With the style-driven BMW X4 coming along in development, it looks like some of the forthcoming crossover's design could trickle over to its utilitarian sibling, the X3. Captured in these spy shots, it appears that the 2015 BMW X3 is preparing for a minor facelift, and from what we can tell, the biggest change will center on the CUV's headlights.
There is plenty of camouflage on the front and rear fascias to suggest updates will occur there, too, but we can definitely tell that the X3 will be getting LED-equipped headlights - at least as an option, anyway. The halos are slightly different from the current offering and there is also an LED strip above the headlights used as turn signal indicators. Another interesting thing we notice in these pictures is the nub at the bottom of the grille (also visible in recent X4 spy shots). While this could be some sort of test sensor for this prototype, it could also be a front-mounted camera for a possible parking assist system.
We don't expect any changes to the powertrain and we're not sure what updates could be in store for the interior, but we're guessing that that the 2015 X3 will debut shortly after the X4 goes on sale next year.

What happens when you take an engineer sliding in a BMW i8

The BMW i8 is a pretty impressive car, and a highly visible one at that. It's a great brand ambassador, but not just for BMW. It's really no surprise that Formula E chose it as the safety car from the electric racing series. And, for its duties at tracks around the word, the i8 safety car got some slick upgrades, including wireless charging capabilities courtesy of Qualcomm. It's not your regular, cut-and-dry technology presentation. In the video below, Qualcomm engineers explain a little bit about what they do to enhance electric vehicles. But it's not your regular, cut-and-dry technology presentation. The engineers are forced to answer questions about Qualcomm's technology while riding along in the BMW i8 Qualcomm Safety Car driven by none other than Formula E driver Nelson Piquet, Jr. Sure, riding shotgun for hot laps at Donnington Park in an i8 sounds like a lot of fun, but these guys have a job to do, and Mr. Piquet isn't making it easy for them. The Qualcomm guys talk about taking technology and beefing it up for automotive use, explain the benefits of wireless charging and discuss some other stuff that's hard to pay attention to while watching the i8 get totally sideways in a smoky powerslide. See for yourself in the video below. If you miss something, don't worry; Qualcomm provides more explanation about its automotive technologies at its website, including safety, communication and, of course, inductive charging.