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Watch the BMW i8 get wrung out on the Ring

Been wondering where the heck the reviews of the all-new, plug-in-hybrid BMW i8 have been? After all, the car isn't exactly new, having debuted in concept form way back in September of 2009. In August of last year, we even tested a prototype of the new supercar. Despite that, though, we still haven't gotten a crack at the actual vehicle that will be sold to the public.
Well, we're happy to tell you that we're currently testing the i8 and will have a proper review for you soon. If, however, you're just aching for some coverage of the low-slung plug-in, we have a short video of it in action around Germany's famed Nürburgring.
Despite it's three-cylinder, turbocharged gas engine, the i8 sounds pretty angry as it laps the Ring. That is, until it has a little bit of a breakdown. According to the guys that caught the car on video, it appeared the i8 had a minor brake issue, and was parked on the side of the track for a good 15 minutes, with the driver pumping the brakes. We should probably just take this as proof, then, that manufacturers are actually using the Ring for testing, and not just messing about.

2014 BMW 4 Series Convertible [w/video]

Here it is, the fifth generation of BMW's 3 Series Convertible - only this one begins with a "4," having been rechristened as a droptop version of the new 4 Series Coupe. With thirty years of work on this same recipe and having gotten it so right for much of that time, the Munich compact premium convertible has been a WYSIWYG affair for decades: once you saw its sedan paradigm, you knew what it was going to look like in roofless two-door form, and what you saw is exactly what you got.
It is ridiculous to think that BMW would choose this new model and its new nomenclature to muck things up. The new car has, though, gotten larger and roomier, and even though it's now part of the racier coupe division within the company's compact line, it has gotten more, shall we say, mature. Driving even further away from the days when handsomely tipped bartenders could work their way into one, The Ultimate Tanning Machine had shed even more elan, going instead for elegance and an attitude befitting its $49,675 starting price (including $925 for destination).
It strikes a few odd notes, but what it does best, it still does better than anything else out there in its price range.

BMW preparing new M4 GTS with water injection

Last month, BMW revealed a new safety car for the MotoGP series. Only instead of just taking one of its production models and giving it some flashing lights, special livery and emergency equipment, the Bavarian automaker used the specially equipped M4 to showcase a new water injection system. And now word has it that the tech is being worked into a new M4 GTS. The system sprays water into the combustion chamber in order to lower the temperature of the air and increase the engine's efficiency, thus allowing it to produce more power without overheating, and relying less on ambient temperatures. It does require refilling a 1.3-gallon water tank in the trunk, though. According to Car and Driver, it's that same system that BMW will be installing in the new M4 GTS, taking the place of previous M3 GTS specials. If precedent is anything to go by, the M4 GTS will also be stripped of excess weight and feature a tighter suspension, stickier tires and more, in order to make BMW's muscle coupe even more hardcore and focused for the track. We could be looking at a debut as early as Pebble Beach in August.