BMW has confirmed it will not add a SUV to its new i sub-brand because it will not fit the brand’s image.

“We’re not thinking about [a] SUV on i models. For BMW i we are talking about an urban concept for megacities. The thing with the SUVs is nobody needs four-wheel drive for the city. The SUV trend is only a thing about the space or the roominess,” explained Roland Kowalski, the i3′s project manager, in an interview with Australian website Car Advice.

The company has trademarked the names i1 through i9 and it is believed to be in the early stages of developing new models that will slot between the i3 city car and the i8 sports car.  Rumored to adopt the name i5, the next addition to the range will likely take the form of a tall crossover or a large sedan that will be available with either an all-electric drivetrain or a more flexible plug-in hybrid unit.

BMW is focusing on successfully launching the i3 and the i8 in key markets around the globe so a third model is still several years away from landing in showrooms.

While an all-electric i-badged SUV is out of the question, BMW is moving forward with the launch of a gasoline-electric plug-in hybrid variant of the X5 that was previewed as a thinly-veiled concept called X5 eDrive at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show.

A new report finds Toyota and BMW are in the early stages of jointly-developing a pair of supercars powered by a fuel-sipping gasoline-electric plug-in hybrid drivetrain.

Details are vague, but rumors indicate the yet-unnamed cars will be powered by an evolution of the 4.4-liter V8 engine found under the hood of the M5 and M6 linked to a Toyota-designed hybrid drivetrain consisting of a compact lithium-ion battery pack and an electric motor. 

All-wheel drive will most likely come standard, but whether the two power sources will work together and spin the wheels through a common transmission or each independently power an axle is not known. �

Toyota and BMW will rely heavily on lightweight materials such as carbon fiber and aluminum in order to offset the weight added by the complex hybrid drivetrain.  

Although both cars will share their platform and basic drivetrain, they will wear completely different bodies and will not look similar when parked next to each other.  Toyota’s version will be billed as a heir to the Lexus LFA, while the BMW-badged model will slot above the i8 as a halo car.  Each car’s price tag will hover in the vicinity of $300,000.

If the rumor proves true, more details about the upcoming supercars will emerge in the coming months.  

At a show where Honda was unveiling the new 2014 Civic and supercharged CR-Z, the automaker practically upstaged itself with an Odyssey minivan churning out a staggering 1029hp.

The “Power Van” is based on a basic, grocery-getting, kid-hauling 2014 Honda Odyssey minivan, but it has been thoroughly reworked by Bisimoto, a southern California tuning house specializing in Hondas, Hyundais and Porsches.

The van is powered by a thoroughly tuned 3.5-liter Honda V6, torn down to the bare block and resleeved, rebuilt and turbocharged. The massive twin Turbonetics spools are fed by an enormous intercooler where the Odyssey’s grille once resided. Perhaps most insane of all, the monster six has been mated to a Honda 6-speed manual.

The body has been lowered on an Air Ride hydraulic suspension for that ultra-slammed look with what the cool kids call “demon camber” on the rear independent suspension. With large-face wheels by Fifteen52 and low-profile Toyo tires, it’s an American take on the Japanese “VIP van” craze currently en vogue across the Pacific.

Unorthodox platforms are par for Bisimoto, whose shop cars include a 533whp Honda CR-Z, 724whp 1990 Honda Civic Wagon 1.6. The Odyssey is perhaps their craziest build yet, but considered perfectly humdrum within the wild world of the SEMA show.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has announced the upcoming Model X crossover will only be available with all-wheel drive when it lands in showrooms late next year.

Speaking at the opening of a Tesla store in London, England, Musk explained all variants of the seven-seater Model X will be driven by two independent electric motors mounted on the front and rear axle, respectively.  The compact setup will enable the battery-powered crossover to excel in challenging weather conditions but it will make it more expensive than the rear-wheel drive Model S with which it shares its platform.

Tesla is still finalizing the specifications but the Model X will likely come standard with a 60 kWh battery pack.  An available 85 kWh unit will extend range to a healthy 300 miles while bumping the crossover’s price to nearly $90,000, a hefty increase over the base model’s base price of $57,400.  A performance-focused variant capable of sprinting from zero to 60 mph in around 4.5 seconds will arrive later in the production run to round out the lineup.

A full set of details about the Model X will be available when the production version of the car is shown late next year.