Bugatti who? Meet the 16-cylinder BMW i8 + the James Bond's boat

Bugatti who?
Meet the 16-cylinder BMW i8

When you think of the i8, what springs to mind?

A glorified version of the Prius?

A sedate sports car?

Well, this i8 built by Team Edlinger is unlike anything you’ve ever seen.

And no, they didn’t take a Veyron engine and plonk it into the i8’s chassis.

Instead, it has FOUR 4-cylinder engines from the BMW HP4 superbike.

Want some more mind-blowing facts?

• Each engine revs to a dizzying 14,800 rpm

• It’s AWD, with one engine powering each wheel

• Combined, they produce 868 hp, operating on 100% e-fuel

• The car weighs in at a super light 2,220 lbs (=997 kg). That’s lighter than the 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata.

The car is expected to participate in hill climb events soon. We’ll keep you updated. Till then, here’s a quick walkaround.

The Trio is coming back…?

We reported that the Grand Tour would be coming to an end…
And it is.

While Amazon is thinking of ways to keep the show running with new presenters, James May believes that now is a good time for a “reinvented car show”.

The trio currently have their independent TV shows - Clarskon’s Farm, James May as the host in Our Man In…, and Richard Hammond's Workshop.

What do you think?

BMW part in a Rolls Royce is 176% more expensive

Yes, I know…if someone can afford a Rolls Royce, then they can pay for the repairs too.

But hear me out…

A Wraith owner decided to do a little experiment.

Instead of blindly accepting a $2500 quote from the dealer to get his clockspring replaced, he took it to a local repair shop to see if there was a compatible BMW part.

And there was - from a 6-series.

The price? ONLY $160!!!

Here’s the Reddit thread for the full story.

Makes me wonder what other shared parts can be replaced for cheaper. 🤔

James Bond’s new boat

Starting at $79,000, the Seacar Vehigh and Maestry are speedboats that look unlike any other.

The boats take a lot of design cues from the Aston Martin Vantage, while the interior has a Tesla-esque yoke steering wheel.

They reach a speed of 60 mph on water (fast by boat standards)

While it does have wheels (for show purposes), the boat isn’t amphibious.

Pity…It would have been super cool to see Mr. Bond drive straight into the water while trying to lose his enemies.

🍿Fails🍿 

1/ First Cybertruck crash

Though not exactly a fail, it’s still intriguing to see a crashed Cybertruck, especially considering the doubts regarding its stainless steel body.

While neither driver had injuries, the Toyota was badly damaged, with some damage to the Cybertruck too.

2/ Sudden U-turn goes wrong

Things could have gone a lot worse had the car in question not been a convertible.

3/ RVs get washed away after being parked too close to the water

Millions of dollars in vehicles got washed away, quite literally, after campers parked their RVs too close to the sea.

I wonder if insurance will cover the damage, given the lack of common sense. 🤦‍♂️

4/ Fast & Furious style heist fails miserably

Thieves tried to steal GM trucks from a parked railcar in Mexico but left empty-handed after being spotted by police.

⚡️EV⚡️ 

1/ Is History repeating itself? Karma hits Elon

Remember the story of how Lamborghini came to be?

Well, this time, the pride of another CEO has been wiped clean - Elon Musk.

In an interview back in 2011, Elon laughed when asked if the Chinese EV brand BYD could be a potential competitor to Tesla.

Fast forward to today, and BYD is projected to surpass Tesla as the world’s largest producer of battery-electric vehicles by the end of this quarter (March 2024).

The brand also earned a spot in the top 10 list of the highest-selling car manufacturers overall.

Who's laughing now, Elon?

2/ EVs on fire require 36x more water to extinguish

A drunk driver crashed his Model Y and it caught fire.

While the driver escaped unharmed, the EV was reduced to ashes.

According to the Pine Level Fire Department, it took more than 36,000 gallons of water to bring the fire under control.

Now I can hear the comments coming in…

“You’re not supposed to use water for EV fires. There’s a special extinguisher for that!!!”

I agree.

So does the Pine Level Fire Chief; but he also said that it’s far too expensive for the volunteer fire department.

3/ An EV battery that does not age

A Solid State Battery developed by QuantumScape retained more than 95% of its original energy capacity even after 1000 charging cycles.

That’s far more than the industry standard, which sees the lithium-ion batteries retain only 80% of their original capacity after 700 charge cycles (0-100% charge).

But what does this mean for the consumer?

• Longer range

• Shorter charging time

• Longer-lasting battery life

• Less of a fire risk in the event of an accident

The downside is that they’ll be more expensive, but over time prices will come down as we’ve seen with the current battery tech.

I’ve linked the full article if you’re interested.

4/ Zeekr 007 EV - 311 miles of range in 15 minutes

Continuing in the theme of the latest battery tech…

• Zeekr’s “Golden Battery” in the new 007 can charge from 10% to 80% in just 15 minutes, adding 311 miles of range

• The 007 is estimated to have 541 miles of range (136 miles more than the Tesla Model S)

Like BYD, Zeekr is another brand with the potential to dethrone Tesla.

😆Memes 😆 

1/ Just more one mod…I promise

2/ Say again…You got a what???