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Bristol returning under BMW power

BMW has had its hand in reviving once-great British automakers, and now its playing its part in the rebirth of another. That marque is Bristol Cars, the automotive offshoot of the Bristol Aeroplane Company. Bristol hand-made luxury sports cars between 1945 and 2011 when it went belly-up, and ever since there's been an effort to bring it back. That effort is now picking up steam, and is set to launch later this year – marking the 70th anniversary of the marque's founding. It's tentatively known as Project Pinnacle, and while future versions are slated to pack plug-in hybrid power developed in collaboration with Bristol's sister company Frazer-Nash (which is now focused on battery technology), the first new Bristol in a dozen years is slated to pack BMW power. Details accompanying the announcement below are few and far between, but one way or another, it won't be the first time BMW will have played a part in breathing new life into a British automaker. The Bavarian company of course revived Mini, and made Rolls-Royce what it is today, but was also was briefly the custodian of Rover, Land Rover and Bentley, and has been linked to a potential (if unrealized) effort to bring back Triumph. Its role in Bristol's rebirth under Project Pinnacle may be less involved than all of those, but at very least we'll know that the new British GT will have a proper engine under the hood. BRISTOL CARS CONFIRMS POWERTRAIN FOR 70th ANNIVERSARY PROJECT PINNACLE • First new Bristol car in more than a decade to feature BMW powerplant • High performance powertrain earmarks resumption of the history between Bristol, Frazer-Nash and BMW dating back to 1930s London, England, June 2015 – Iconic British carmaker, Bristol Cars, makes the second in a series of announcements today about its first new car in more than a decade, codenamed Project Pinnacle. Project Pinnacle, which is set for launch later this year, will be a 70th anniversary celebration model, referencing Bristol Cars' rich heritage and executed as a modern take on the best of British craftsmanship, engineered to excite and satisfy as a high performance Bristol car. Bristol Cars is deeply proud to announce that the machinery underpinning this high performance new vehicle will be a BMW powerplant. The result will a sublime British sportscar with characteristics cultured uniquely for the first new Bristol since 2004.

Recharge Wrap-up: Eigg's renewable energy grid, Wulin City Car EV looks like i3

Scotland's Isle of Eigg's electrical grid relies solely on wind, hydro and solar power. It's the first grid of its kind after switching to renewable energy from noisy, unreliable diesel generators. Scotland's renewable resources are fodder for supporters of independence form the UK, and Eigg is a perfect example of that potential. Besides being a responsible community, it also seems like a lovely place to visit. Read more at Reuters. London Mayor Boris Johnson is calling for incentives for diesel vehicle scrapping. The goal is to improve London's air quality, encourage the purchase of clean vehicles and offset the inconvenience of charging diesel cars to enter the city's proposed Ultra Low Emissions Zone. Read more at Green Car Congress or in the press release below. BMW, Nissan, Renault and Volkswagen are teaming up to create a better EV charging infrastructure in the UK and Ireland. As part of the Trans-European Transport Network (T-ENT) program, the group aims to create extended EV-friendly roadways with the UK Rapid Charge Network, connecting major cities on the islands. Plans for the network include 70 rapid chargers along 684 miles of road. The four manufacturers also want to extend the project to mainland Europe to encourage the adoption of EVs. Read more at Hybrid Cars. Wuling is working on an EV, called City Car, which liberally takes visual cues from the BMW i3. The City Car EV concept is slated to make its debut in November at the Guangzhou Auto Show, while a production version could make its way onto Chinese roads next year. We might have to wait until the debut to know what powers the City Car, as those details haven't been released yet. General Motors is a 43-percent stakeholder in Wuling. Read and see more at Car News China. Taxi customers in New York will enjoy greater payment flexibility with the new interoperability between RideLinQ and Way2ride apps. Now customers will be able to use either app to pay in any of the city's 20,000 green and yellow taxis. There's no need for separate apps for separate cabs, and no need for drivers to install any new equipment. The groups behind the apps hope to expand this functionality to other cities across the country. Read more in the press release below.

2014 BMW 4 Series Coupe images leak out

Because embargoes were apparently made to be broken, images of the 2014 BMW 4 Series coupe have leaked onto the Internet ahead of the car's official debut thanks to Car Design News' Facebook page. As you'll recall, the 4 Series is the replacement for the outgoing 3 Series coupe, its nomenclature falling in line with the rest of BMW's lineup, where coupes and convertibles will be set apart from their sedan counterparts by one number.
As we can see in the photos, the 4 Series takes a lot of its design cues from the 3 Series on which it is based, but there's a lot more in the way of attractive body sculpting, and this production model stays true to the original 4 Series Coupe Concept that we saw at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this year.
We don't have official details to divulge just yet, but we can discern from the photos that the range-topping coupe will be the 435i model, likely powered by BMW's turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six from the 335i. There will no doubt be a 428i model with a 2.0-liter turbo-four underhood, and we expect BMW to offer its xDrive all-wheel-drive system on both models. Much like the 3 Series, a variety of trim levels will be on offer, including a top-spec M Sport trim that you can see painted in Estoril Blue here.