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BMW shows up-armored X5 concept and we can't get near it

BMW has brought a slightly different concept vehicle to the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show. Rather than something that foreshadows a future product or a new design direction, the Munich-based manufacturer has brought an X5 that's designed to be shot at. It's called the Concept X5 Security Plus. The Concept X5 name is a bit misleading, though. It's based on the 2014 X5, while BMW already builds an armored CUV, called the X5 Security. The concept tag has to do with the "Security Plus" part.
Engineered to be compliant with VR6 security standards - the current X5 Security is for VR4 standards - the Concept X5 will quite happily shrug off direct attacks from an AK-47. Thanks to sealed joints, high-strength steel moldings, high-performance steel body panels and special, polycarbonate-coated security glass, Kalashnikov's finest, whether used as a firearm or as a melee weapon, would be useless against this X5.
Built alongside the standard X5 in BMW's Spartanburg, SC factory, the X5 is shipped to a BMW facility in Toluca, Mexico for installation of the armor and security features. The company claims this delivers a more thoroughly engineered protective solution than aftermarket retrofitting.

BMW preparing new M4 GTS with water injection

Last month, BMW revealed a new safety car for the MotoGP series. Only instead of just taking one of its production models and giving it some flashing lights, special livery and emergency equipment, the Bavarian automaker used the specially equipped M4 to showcase a new water injection system. And now word has it that the tech is being worked into a new M4 GTS. The system sprays water into the combustion chamber in order to lower the temperature of the air and increase the engine's efficiency, thus allowing it to produce more power without overheating, and relying less on ambient temperatures. It does require refilling a 1.3-gallon water tank in the trunk, though. According to Car and Driver, it's that same system that BMW will be installing in the new M4 GTS, taking the place of previous M3 GTS specials. If precedent is anything to go by, the M4 GTS will also be stripped of excess weight and feature a tighter suspension, stickier tires and more, in order to make BMW's muscle coupe even more hardcore and focused for the track. We could be looking at a debut as early as Pebble Beach in August.

Is BMW ready to increase i8 production?

The BMW i8 plug-in hybrid is really fast. But the car is getting to customers really slowly. The German automaker might be doing something about that. Bimmer executive Ian Robertson, speaking with reports at the Los Angeles Auto Show this week, commented on the high demand for the super-PHEV and said the company may step up production in Germany, Automotive News Europe says. That's because the wait list for the i8 is approaching 18 months in some global markets. And Robertson would like to get that timeframe down to about six months. No details were disclosed about how fast the i8 is being produced or how much faster that production rate may get. The i8, which retails for about $135,000, started sales in Europe in June and in the US two months later. As for the smaller, slower i3 electric vehicle, BMW is making about 2,000 units a month, and wait lists are down to about four months. Part of the reason for that is because BMW shifted distribution rates for that model towards the US to meet higher-than-expected demand from stateside consumers and slow German sales. Through the end of October in the US, BMW had sold almost 4,300 i3 vehicles and 271 i8 models, including 204 i8 units last month alone.