99-16 Suzuki Hayabusa 1300-1340cc Diy Side Mount Turbo Header on 2040-parts.com

Infiniti and Red Bull deal set to expand

Infiniti set to get deeper in to bed with Red Bull We’ve not been the biggest fans of Infiniti’s marketing efforts in the UK and Europe, but we had to concede that the decision for Infiniti to sponsor Red Bull in F1 had its upside. That upside is the decision to build the Infiniti FX50 Sebastian Vettel Edition as a production car, and the news that the feedback from the Vettel car will lead to a range of IPL (Infiniti Performance Line) cars which will be to Infiniti what AMG is to Mercedes and ‘M’ is to BMW. So the news that Infiniti is to up the ante with increased Red Bull sponsorship is good news, probably both for Infiniti and Red Bull.

SAE approves new fast-charging standard for EVs, plug-ins

SAE International said it has approved a new technical standard that will dramatically reduce charging times for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and electric vehicles. The global engineering group said the new charging standard, developed with the cooperation of more than 190 automakers, utilities and equipment builders, will allow charging times to be reduced from as long as eight hours to as short as 20 minutes. Automakers want DC direct charging to take less than 10 minutes, or roughly the time it takes to fill a tank with gasoline.The goal is to accommodate currents as high as 500 volts distributed from public charging stations.

Driven: BMW X3

The BMW X3 had the premium CUV market to itself when launched in 2004. Skip forward to the launch of the second generation and not only does the new version have a whole host of competitors for company, it also has to fit around its X1, X5 and X6 siblings. We took the 2011 BMW X3 (known internally as F25) to the Austrian Tyrol and spoke to its exterior designer, Erik Goplen, to find out if it still has the segment covered.