BMW’s plug-in hybrid i8 is a stunning look into the future of motoring, one that combines beautiful modern styling and high-tech building materials with a wildly complex and efficient powertrain. Performance and image aside, though, the whole package can feel a bit clinical. The raucous exhaust note is artificial, for instance, and the car features more electronic wizardry than a SpaceX rocket. To give the car some warmth, Italian design house Garage Italia Customs went back in time, not forward.
The Milan-based firm has christened a one-off version of the i8 called the Futurism Edition, which is decorated with a vibrant vinyl wrap inspired by Giacomo Balla’s 1909 painting Street Light. Just like Balla’s original oil artwork, the car features sharp strokes of yellow, red, and purple over its carbon fiber body, brilliantly showcasing European artistry from past and present. Officially, the Futurism Edition is a celebration of BMW’s 50th anniversary in Italy, but for the people behind the project, it’s much more than that.
“The BMW i8 Futurism Edition is a practice of style,” said Lapo Elkann, president of Garage Italia Customs. “It gave the Garage Italia Customs Maestros a chance to celebrate a car which is projected towards the future of mobility. At the same time, it honors Italian art with Giacomo Balla, who is a prominent figure of the Futurism movement.”
Street Light is typically displayed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, but if you’re on the other side of the pond, you’re in luck — this special i8 is set to star in the 2016 Mille Miglia race on May 19. To drive the past and future dynamic home, the vehicle will run directly behind an iconic BMW 328 driven by BMW Italia CEO Sergio Solero.
BYD has launched the third-generation Qin Plus DM-i in China, and the first thing that caught my eye is its price. According to CarNewsChina, the plug-in hybrid sedan starts at 79,900 yuan, which is about $11,980. That’s an incredibly low price for a brand-new car, especially by US standards.
What’s even more impressive is the range. The Qin Plus DM-i can drive up to 137 miles on electricity alone, which should cover most people’s daily commutes without using a drop of gas. Once the battery runs out, the 1.5-liter engine takes over. Thanks to its 17-gallon tank and roughly 91 mpg with a drained battery, the combined range reaches up to 1,423 miles.
Apple won the PC market’s worst quarter, but that’s not the entire story. It won the race by stumbling less than everyone else.
PC makers shipped just 57 million computers worldwide in Q3, which might look good, but it’s a 21% year-over-year plunge (via Counterpoint Research). And despite Apple’s Mac shipments falling by 11%, to 5.6 million, its market share rose from 8.7% to 9.8%. How did that happen?
Update (October 22 23:54 PT): In response to our query, GM clarified that offline recording support is already available on eligible vehicles. Like Tesla's Sentry Mode, it requires owners to connect a USB drive to save incident recordings, which can be viewed on the vehicle's infotainment screen. The upcoming Connected Cameras feature will build on this by giving owners remote access to these recordings via the revamped OnStar app, allowing them to check footage without walking out to their car.
General Motors has announced plans to add a new Connected Cameras feature to its OnStar service starting next year, giving drivers a way to monitor parked vehicles remotely and capture footage of certain incidents.