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BMW planning six-cylinder i9 hybrid to celebrate centenary?

On the prospect of a new BMW M1 based on the company's new i8 hybrid, the jury has been in and out so much that we can't even tell which way it's likely to go. However, the latest reports coming in from Germany suggest that BMW may have something else up its sleeves. Rather than make a conventional gas-powered version of the i8, Germany's Auto Motor und Sport says BMW will make a more powerful one.
Tentatively dubbed i9, the hybrid sports car is rumored to pack a six-cylinder internal-combustion engine instead of the i8's turbo three. Coupled to more potent electric motors, it would figure to produce even more than the 357 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque already on tap in the i8, with further weight reductions to offset the bulkier engine.
Auto Motor und Sport says the mooted model will be produced to celebrate the Bavarian automaker's 100th anniversary and eclipse the i8's performance, with a projected 0-60 run in under four seconds en-route to taking the gloves off to crunch the Autobahn in electric bliss. The new i flagship would be another member of the company's growing electrified family, joining the existing i3 hatchback, upcoming i5 minivan and possible i8 Spyder down the line.

Mercedes chief invites Audi, BMW to compete in F1

Mercedes-Benz didn't just win the Formula One World Championship in 2014 – it positively dominated it. The team won all but three of the grands prix this season, scoring a one-two finish at more than half of them and landing at least one car on the podium at every race without exception. It goes without saying, then, that the German automaker thrives on competition, but now it's welcoming even more. Speaking with Germany's Sport Bild at its homecoming celebration in Stuttgart, Daimler chief Dieter Zetsche welcomed Mercedes' biggest rivals Audi and BMW to join it on the F1 grid. Noting that the three German brands share some 80 percent of the market for luxury automobiles, Zetsche said that F1 would make a natural arena of competition for Mercedes, Audi and BMW to fight for top bragging rights. The three currently compete against each other in front of home audiences in the DTM touring car series – effectively Germany's equivalent to NASCAR – but of the ten races held this year, the majority were in Germany itself, and all of them took place in Europe. BMW last competed in F1 when it bought the Sauber team in 2006, but withdrew from the series in 2009. Despite its progenitor Auto Union having fielded the famous Silver Arrows in pre-war grand prix racing, Audi has never been a player in modern F1 racing, though recent rumors have linked it to a potential foray – spurred by the arrival of sister-company Porsche on its home turf at Le Mans, the departure of several of its key endurance drivers and the hiring of former Scuderia Ferrari chief Stefano Domenicali. Porsche had similarly considered an F1 program before getting the go-ahead to compete with Audi at Le Mans. As for the prospect of Mercedes competing in other international racing series, Zetsche added that year-long preparations for 24 hours of racing at Le Mans didn't present a good cost-benefit ratio in his estimation, but that Formula E (where Audi currently supports a quasi-works entry) would be worth a closer look.

2015 BMW X4 slides in on the diagonal starting at $45,625 in the US

If BMW has shown us anything, it's a knack for creating niches and expanding its product portfolio. Go back to the early '90s and it had essentially four models: the 3 Series, 5 Series, 6 Series and 7 Series. End of list. Since then, the Bavarian automaker has not only taken on Mini and Rolls-Royce, but has expanded its own range of models exponentially. You can chalk a big part of that up to crossovers, and another sizable chunk to giving existing models a different roofline and calling it something new. What we have here is a prime example of both.
Previewed in concept form the better part of a year ago at the Shanghai Motor Show, the slantback version of the X3 (and the baby brother to the X6) is now here in full production guise. Mechanically it's essentially the same as the new X3 on which it's based, but amps up the "sport" at the expense of the "utility" part of the SUV equation.
BMW will undoubtedly offer a wide range of powertrain configurations in markets around the world, but back in the United States it'll be offered in two specs: the X4 xDrive28i, packing a 2.0-liter inline-four with 240 horsepower and a $45,625 sticker price (including destination), or the X4 xDrive35i with the 300hp 3.0-liter six and a $48,925 MSRP. Either way, you're getting an eight-speed automatic and all-wheel drive.