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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

History of BMW touring cars looks splendid in Adrenalin trailer

More high-quality documentaries about the history of motorsports are always welcome. When thinking about racing, we generally focus on moving forward to go a little faster or shave a tenth of a second off a lap. There's not much time to look backward. It's too bad, because there are so many fantastic stories from the sport's history. Thankfully, an upcoming doc is taking on the challenge of telling some of these tales, and it looks like a movie not to miss, especially for BMW fans.
Adrenalin - The BMW Touring Car Story mixes high-quality, vintage footage with new interviews from many of the drivers of these machines to craft what looks like a fantastic experience. Covering the period from the '60s to the modern DTM era, just the trailer shows racing from the 2002, 3.0 CSL and of course the E30 chassis M3 of the '80s. You also get to hear from legends behind the wheel like Hans-Joachim Stuck, Johnny Cecotto and Joachim Winkelhock telling their stories.
Adrenalin comes out in November on DVD, Blu-Ray and on-demand. Check out its trailer above for a taste at what it's aiming for. The documentary definitely looks like one to watch.

BMW i5 could be a new kind of i PHEV

Just this month BMW North America CEO Ludwig Willisch made a point of saying "Not any time soon" to AutoblogGreen's question about the arrival of a BMW i5 - and that came after he clarified, in case we didn't know it, that no such model exists. But the rumors of its eventual appearance were swelled again by a report in Autobild that sticks more details and numbers on what could be the next offering in for the i brand. In February, Car magazine laid the i5 out as having a 245-horsepower four-cylinder engine in front, assisted by a 204-hp e-motor in the bow and a 90-hp e-motor in the stern, for about 544 total horsepower. Autobild claims the gas engine will have 218 hp, the front e-motor will have 150 hp and the rear will have 272 hp, for roughly 640 total horsepower. Where the two reports agree is that it - maybe called i5, maybe i7 - will be based on the China-market long-wheelbase 5 Series platform, it will incorporate cues from both the 7 Series and 6 Series Gran Coupe, and it will not be cheap: 100,000 euros ($105,686 US) is the estimate. The i8 starts at 130,000 euros in Germany. Weight for the i5 is figured to be around 3,300 pounds. Green Car Reports says what's important about the i5's drivetrain is that it's being maximized for electric running. Its evolution of the company's eDrive mechanicals will crank the ICE over only above 36 miles per hour, and even then, only in cases of "maximum power demand." Electric-only driving would offer a range of 78 miles, company officials suggesting that it could remain in that mode for "fully two-thirds of its usage cycle." Whenever a vehicle like this arrives, that is, which Autobild says could be in 2019.