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BMW i8 fully revealed ahead of Frankfurt debut

It may be early in the morning here in the US, but in Germany, the first day of the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show is in full swing. BMW took advantage of the early start and showed off its long-awaited i8 plug-in hybrid sportscar, a two-plus-two, swan-wing-doored coupe, to the Frankfurt crowd.
We drove a BMW i8 prototype back in August, so many of the things we're reading today are clarifications on our initial suspicions or speculations. Underhood sits a 1.5-liter, turbocharged, three-cylinder engine. On its own, it churns out a respectable 231 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque, which is then channeled to the rear wheels by way of a six-speed automatic transmission. An electric motor, meanwhile, sends 131 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque through a two-speed automatic to the front wheels.
With all-wheel drive at its disposal, the total system power sits at 362 hp and 320 lb-ft of torque, and allows the i8 to scamper to 62 miles per hour in just 4.4 seconds. That excellent performance is offset by an estimated fuel economy figure of 94 miles per gallon, though, making this a fast and efficient vehicle. Charging is impressively fast on the i8, with a full charge coming from a 110-volt outlet in under four hours. A BMW Charging Station will trim the charge time down to 1.5 hours.

BMW to unveil X4 in March

It's been about half a year since BMW unveiled the X4 concept in Shanghai. But if you've been waiting for news on when it will reach production, the latest intel indicates it'll be announced next March.
Just when in March? That's the strange part. Inautonews reports having been told by BMW that the new X4 will be announced on March 14. So, the Geneva Motor Show, then? Not quite: although that show will still be going on then, the doors open to journalists like us on March 4, not 14. So either someone has got some details mixed up, or BMW - for some reason - is planning on waiting until after Geneva to reveal the production X4.
Whenever it does, we'll be looking at a slantback version of the X3, much like BMW did with the X5 and X6, giving Bavaria a rival to the Range Rover Evoque and Porsche Macan.

Fore! Pro golfers race BMW i8 against a golf cart

You wouldn't think a couple of pro golfers racing a golf cart along a nice green course would get the blood pumping. But throw in a BMW i8 plug-in hybrid and things get at least a little more interesting. At least, that's what the German automaker is hoping for. Bimmer is swinging big with a cross-promotional video featuring two pairs of golfers racing plug-in vehicles at the 2014 BMW International Open golf tournament in Koln, Germany. Two of the golfers take your run-of-the-mill golf cart while the other two take a slightly more powerful BMW i8, with the goal to get to the course's "halfway house" first. The race, among other things, sends jackrabbits scurrying and shows off the i8's really cool doors and racy styling. The odd part – "spoiler" alert – is that the golf cart wins the race by taking a short cut through the course despite the fact that the i8 pairs a 231-horsepower turbocharged engine with a 131-horsepower electric motor. It's probably not exactly the message of high-speed performance BMW wants to convey but it would raise eyebrows if this weren't all a silly stunt. Check out the three-minute video below and then read our i8 First Drive impressions here.