Fast Lane: BMW M8 Competition Gran Coupe now available

BMW M8 Competition Gran Coupe with 3.2-second century sprint now available.
BMW M8 Competition Gran Coupe with 3.2-second century sprint now available. PHOTOS: BMW, HYUNDAI
BMW i8 production to end next month.
BMW i8 production to end next month. PHOTOS: BMW, HYUNDAI
Hyundai Elantra to arrive later this year.
Hyundai Elantra to arrive later this year. PHOTOS: BMW, HYUNDAI

BMW M8 Competition Gran Coupe with 3.2-second century sprint now available

The BMW M8 Competition Gran Coupe has landed. For $721,888, you get a stylish car with four doors, four individual seats and M-fettered performance.

Developed alongside the BMW M8 GTE endurance racer, the M8 Competition Gran Coupe is powered by a 4.4-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine which puts out 625hp at 6,000rpm and 750Nm of torque from 1,800rpm. It accelerates from 0 to 100kmh in 3.2 seconds, with a regulated top speed of 250kmh.

Tyre-wear pollution can be worse than exhaust emissions: Study

Tighter regulation of exhaust emissions has meant that new cars emit very little particle pollution. But tyre-wear pollution is unregulated and can be 1,000 times worse, according to independent real-world testing expert Emissions Analytics.

Increased popularity of sport utility vehicles as well as larger and heavier vehicles exacerbates this problem - as do growing sales of heavy electric vehicles and widespread use of budget tyres.

Non-exhaust emissions (NEE) are particles released into the air from brake wear, tyre wear, road surface wear and resuspension of road dust during on-road vehicle usage. No legislation is in place to limit or reduce NEE, but they contribute significantly to poor air quality.

NEEs are currently believed to constitute the majority of primary particulate matter from road transport, 60 per cent of PM2.5 and 73 per cent of PM10. Big and high-performance electrical vehicles can also emit high levels of NEEs.

BMW i8 production to end next month

BMW's i8 will come to the end of its runway next month. Since its introduction six years ago, it has become the world's most successful sports car with an electrified drive system.

The plug-in hybrid has found more than 20,000 buyers, more than all its competitors in its segment combined. The i8, available as a coupe and convertible, will likely be succeeded by something based on the BMW M Vision Next.

Volvo launches battery assembly in Ghent

Volvo Cars has inaugurated a new battery assembly line at its Belgian plant in Ghent, where it will start building its first fully electric car, the XC40 Recharge P8, later this year.

Volvo Cars aims to reduce its lifecycle carbon footprint for each car by 40 per cent between 2018 and 2025, as a first step towards its goal of becoming a climate- neutral company by 2040.

Over the next five years, Volvo Cars will launch a fully electric car every year, as it seeks to make all-electric cars 50 per cent of global sales by 2025, with the rest hybrids.

Hyundai Elantra to arrive later this year Hyundai's 2021 Elantra will be unveiled on Tuesday. Built on a new platform, it sports a "four-door coupe" look with longer, lower and wider proportions.

Cutting-edge engineering and design innovations make the three-dimensional body panels possible.

Expected to arrive in the latter half of the year, the car will have a number of engine variants.

The base model could get a 1.6-litre engine paired with continuously variable transmission found in the Hyundai Venue. Turbocharged and hybrid versions are also a possibility.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 14, 2020, with the headline Fast Lane: BMW M8 Competition Gran Coupe now available. Subscribe