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BMW NA president says i3 beats Tesla EVs thanks to lighter all-around footprint

Those waiting for a full-out brawl between Tesla Motors head Elon Musk and BMW North America chief Ludwig Willisch will have to wait a bit. For the bloodthirsty, there are signs of some healthy competition and a little bit of green-car sniping between the two automakers. Willisch, speaking at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this month and responding to questions about Tesla, noted (without mentioning that company by name) that the production process of the German automaker's i3 plug-in was "greener" than any other. According to Business Insider, Willisch highlighted the fully recyclable materials used to construct the i3 as well as the hydropower used at the carbon fiber plant in Moses Lake, WA. Willisch also noted that the Tesla Model S is "very heavy on the braking. Our car feels just like a normal car. That's a big difference when it comes to driving," Automotive News said in a separate report. The latter model weighs about a third less than the Tesla, though it also has an EV range about a third as big. The BMW executive did allow that the Tesla did make a good proverbial "snowplow," not for its driving characteristics but for its ability to get more people conformable with electric vehicle technology. Musk was asked about the i3 in an August conference call and laughed before noting that the i3 had "room to improve." No word on whether Musk and Willisch will be sending each other Valentine's Day cards next month.

Mini Countryman PHEV caught at electric watering hole

Our spy photographers have once again found the next generation Mini Countryman out testing in the wild. This time, they caught it replenishing its thirst for electrons. Although we knew some sort of hybrid Countryman was coming, this confirms its existence and plug-in capabilities beyond any reasonable doubt. Like the rest of the Mini lineup, this new Countryman will be noticeably larger than its predecessor. It also appears to feature a larger, more aggressive grille and lower intake vents. Other than that, the car appears to be quite evolutionary in design. Our spy photographers expect the plug-in hybrid Countryman to debut in 2019 powered by a combination of the 1.5-liter turbocharged three-cylinder and an electric motor. We have also predicted that the gasoline engine could power the front wheels while the electric motor (or motors) powers the rear wheels, which together could provide all-wheel-drive and 240 horsepower. Related video:

Alex Zanardi back in the driver's seat with BMW

If there's ever been an inspirational story in the pantheon of motor racing history, surely it's that of Alessandro Zanardi. The Italian driver worked his way up the motor racing ladder, making it into Formula One and winning two CART championships for Chip Ganassi Racing back before the series re-merged into IndyCars. Tragedy struck in 2001 when he lost both his legs in a crash at the Lausitzring in Germany, but rather than accept his fate, Alex pushed on. Fitted with prosthetic limbs, he learned to drive a racing car with hand controls and got back in the driver's seat.
Zanardi drove for BMW in the European Touring Car Championship and then in the World Touring Car Championship that replaced it, landing on the podium several times despite his physical disadvantage. He left racing in 2009 to train for the Paralympics, winning two gold medals in London, but Alex apparently couldn't shake the racing bug. BMW modified one of its M3 DTM racers with hand controls for him to test later that year. And now he's returning to motor racing full time.
BMW has just announced that Zanardi will be driving a Z4 GT3 in the Blancpain Sprint Series, the successor to the FIA GT Series and short-distance counterpart to the Blancpain Endurance Series. The car has been modified with the hand controls the Bavarian automaker's racing department fitted to the aforementioned M3 DTM and will be fielded by the ROAL Motorsport team with which Alex challenged for the European Touring Car Championship last decade.