The automotive world has been buzzing of late about BMW‘s upcoming i3 electric car having an optional range extending gas-powered motorcycle engine. As our sister site Autoguide.com reports, the i3 will be available with an optional two-cylinder BMW motorcycle engine to power a generator which can recharge the electric motor and extend the vehicle’s range to 250 miles compared to a range of 60-90 miles relying just on the battery.

It turns out that two-cylinder motorcycle engine will actually be provided to BMW by Taiwanese manufacturer Kymco. This should be no real surprise as Kymco supplies several engines for the smaller-displacement BMW motorcycles including the engine for the single-cylinder G450X and the parallel-Twin engine used in the BMW C650GT and C600 Sport maxi-scooters. Continue Reading »

When I first saw this video, I thought it had to be a trick. Like the Gillette video of Roger Federer knocking a can off a man’s head with a tennis serve or the Nike ad with a couple of Dutch soccer players and an air vent, the first reaction is it has to be fake.

But then I remember this is BMW stunt rider Chris Pfeiffer we’re talking about here. The world champion freestyle rider has pulled off a couple of wild stunts in the past, like performing his tricks on the roof of BMW’s 331 foot tower in Munich and finding alternate ways to cross a bridge, but nothing as daring as playing chicken against a bobsled at an Olympic bobsled track.

And there he is, riding a BMW G450X up the Innsbruck Olympic bobsled course in Austria against two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Christoph Langen.

Is it real? Or is it a trick? Check out the video after the jump and tell us what you think.

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