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Rolls-Royce sketching out SUV for possible 'late 2017' release

With each new story on the Rolls-Royce SUV, the Goodwood automaker comes off as more at ease with their reluctantly birthed yet necessary sport ute. Company design chief Giles Taylor told Autocar that his team is still "sketching to assess the viability of the concept," which to ours ears means they're trying to figure out if such a beast is even possible within the confines of the brand. If it is, Taylor says it will be "a shooting brake, not a crossover with a sloping roof. A proper SUV."
A different company source, unnamed, seems confident that Taylor's team will figure it out, telling the magazine it would start at 200,000 pounds ($335K US). However, that same source said the vehicle will be "a kind of Mercedes-GLK-plus-plus," which is a baffling description in several ways. More reasonable is the speculation that it will ride on Ghost, not Phantom, architecture and make its debut sometime around late 2017.
That Ghost platform is expected to take cues from the carbon, aluminum and steel bones that supported the BMW Vision Future Luxury concept shown at the Beijing Motor Show and destined for the 9 Series. Some of those tricks will also go into the next-generation Phantom, which Autocar says will come in 2017 and not 2020.

BMW looking to fix i3 acceleration problem uncovered by Consumer Reports

The BMW i3 has been hailed in some quarters as the future of electric mobility, what with its innovative carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic body and commitment to sustainable materials wherever possible. The modernist little hatch is even available with a 650cc two-cylinder gas engine with 34 horsepower to act as a range-extender for those who want it. However, that optional engine might have a drawback - at least for the moment.
Consumer Reports brought the problem to light when one of its drivers was behind the wheel of an i3 using the range-extender. When the driver attempted to pass another vehicle on a rolling, two-lane road, the BMW suddenly had no power to accelerate - a scary situation. CR started examining the car and found something pretty shocking: After driving at a constant speed for a while without any regenerative braking in range-extended mode, acceleration to 60 miles per hour plummeted from about 9 seconds normally to a staggering 27 to 40 seconds in their testing.
A BMW spokesperson told CR that it knows about the problem and has a fix coming next spring that also works on current models. The upgrade includes a state of charge indicator, a warning about loss of power and uses the car's navigation to boost the battery before driving on rolling terrain. It is not clear if the severe power deficiency will also eventually result in a recall.

BMW 2 Series specs leaked?

Thanks to spy shots from earlier in the year, we already know what the new BMW 2 Series will look like, but now we know a lot more about the coupe courtesy of an apparent BMW South Africa error and some quick-clicking enthusiasts. Though the information no longer appears to be posted on BMW's South African website, 2addicts.com managed to grab most of the details for the new coupe, including the model lineup, specs and most (if not all) of the options list for the upcoming replacement for the 1 Series.
Just like the latest 3 Series, the 2 Series model lineup starts at the 220i powered by a 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder, but the more exciting BMW figures to be the M235i with its 320-hp, 3.0-liter straight-six. With the automatic transmission, the info says that the M235i weights 3,240 pounds and will be able to accelerate from 0-62 miles per hour in 4.8 seconds - making it both lighter and quicker than the 135is currently offered in the US. The base 220i coupe should also be fun to drive with its 180 horsepower and sub-3,000 pound curb weight.
A quick side-by-side comparison of the dimensions for the base 220i with our current base 128i shows that the new coupe rides on a longer wheelbase (105.9 in. vs. 104.7 in.), is about two inches longer (174.4 in. vs. 172.2 in.) and is an inch wider (69.8 in. vs. 68.8 in.). 2addicts.com even shows available paint colors, interior trim options and lists pricing for South African-spec models. Head on over to the forum to check out all the info they have posted, but we expect the 2 Series to be unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show early next year.