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GRAND-AM, IMSA announce deal to bring DTM racing to US

It won't be until 2015 at the earliest, but the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA), Grand-Am and the Internationale Tourenwagen-Rennen have agreed to a licensing and cooperation deal that could bring a version of Germany's DTM series to the US.
When the American Le Mans Series and Grand-Am are officially combined next year, the resulting body will be called United SportsCar Racing (USCR). IMSA will be the sanctioning body for that series, and DTM races could be run as support events. It was also suggested by an ALMS chief that DTM races could be standalone or join NASCAR and IndyCar weekends.
With the so-called DTM America finally agreed to, there is now a way for manufacturers to run the same DTM-type cars in Europe, the US and Japan - last year Japan's Super GT series agreed to adopt "the basic technical regulations" of DTM for the GT500 class, the top class in the series. That already puts six manufacturers in play: Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW that run in Germany's DTM and Honda, Nissan and Lexus that run in Super GT. The DTM oversight body has invited American brands to Germany for the opening round of the 2013 season, and will begin actively courting their participation in the US series. Check out the press release from Audi with comments on the deal below.

Alpina D3 may be coming to Frankfurt with 350 hp, AWD

Rumors are swirling that Alpina, the tuning house that specializes in all things BMW, will followup its Geneva debut of the B3 Bi-Turbo with an oil-burning variant slated for debut at September's Frankfurt Motor Show. The news comes from Auto Zeitung, which reports that the second-generation D3 will be based off the Europe-only 335d.
This is a departure from the last D3, which had the four-cylinder turbo-diesel from the BMW 123d in a 3 Series body. The new model is expected to use a 3.0-liter, twin-turbocharged inline-six, which will generate 350 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque. That should scoot it to 62 miles per hour in under five seconds (likely while towing a tree stump). Both rear- and all-wheel drive should be available on the D3, and we imagine the thrill of this much power channeled through just the two rear wheels to be akin to skydiving sans parachute.
For our European friends that want an Alpina D3, but don't need more torque than any American full-size pickup, there may be plans to offer a four-cylinder variant that still delivers Alpina performance without a compromise in economy. We'll have more on the Alpina D3 when it debuts at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show.

BMW i8 named Autoblog's 2014 Technology of the Year [w/video]

The winner of Autoblog's 2014 Technology of the Year award was given this year for not just one technology, but for how a suite of technologies worked together to make one impressive vehicle. The BMW i8 was named the winner Wednesday night at the Belasco Theater in downtown Los Angeles, just outside the Los Angeles Auto Show. Autoblog's editorial staff agreed that the i8, which drew crowds of attention during our testing days, represents a future of driving that we can't wait to see happen. "I do believe that green vehicles solve a very fundamental problem, and if a car like the i8 can get a rich man with good knees (to get in and out of the car) to drive something with a plug instead of a 12-mpg sports car, then mission accomplished," says Sebastian Blanco, editor of AutoblogGreen and one of our judges. The panel reviewed nearly 50 qualified submissions from readers, editorial staff and industry, the panel of judges named the following as finalists: Dodge's SRT Performance Pages (read more here) The Subaru Eyesight forward collision warning system (read more here) The Performance Data Recorder in the 2015 Chevy Corvette (read more here) The 1.0-liter Ecoboost engine from Ford (read more here) Chrysler's 3.0-liter EcoDiesel V6 engine (read more here) Ultimately, we picked the car that excited us the most. The BMW i8 has a throaty exhaust note when accelerating. It's got carbon fiber, and a plug-in hybrid system that uses a small 1.5-liter three-cylinder engine and an electric motor. It has through-the-road all-wheel drive, and in Europe it'll come with laser beams for headlights. All that, and it's a massive eye catcher. People stop and stare when they see this car, for good reason. It's simply gorgeous. For a more in-depth look at our testing of the car, click here.