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News

Rimac Delivers the First Nevera R Founder’s Edition, and It’s Already a Collector’s Dream

If the modern hypercar era had a mission statement, it would probably be written by Rimac—and the Nevera R Founder’s Edition might be its most unfiltered paragraph yet.

Rimac Automobili has officially delivered the first of just ten Nevera R Founder’s Edition models, unveiling it at the glacially glamorous I.C.E. St. Moritz winter automotive event. In true Rimac fashion, the entire run sold out in a week, proving that the market for million-dollar electric hypercars is not only real—it’s rabid.

The debut car wears a suitably dramatic two-tone finish, blending Cote d’Azur blue with Titanium Silver, split by a razor-thin center stripe decorated with Rimac’s signature tie motif. It’s tasteful, technical, and quietly menacing—much like the company itself.

Mate Rimac, never one to undersell a moment, described St. Moritz as the perfect backdrop for this delivery. And he’s right. This is a car that isn’t just fast—it’s a manifesto on what the post-combustion hypercar should be.

Not Just a Car—A Passport to Rimac’s Inner Circle

Unlike most limited-run hypercars, the Nevera R Founder’s Edition is less about exclusivity and more about immersion. Buyers don’t simply spec their cars—they co-create them.

Each owner is flown to the Rimac Campus in Croatia for a one-on-one configuration session with Mate Rimac himself and the design team. From there, they’re given access to the Bugatti Rimac headquarters and even invited to influence future vehicle development.

In other words, this isn’t just a car. It’s a backstage pass to one of the most technologically ambitious automotive companies on the planet.

That’s a subtle but powerful shift in what “Founder’s Edition” really means. These ten customers aren’t just early adopters—they’re collaborators.

2,107 Horsepower and Zero Apologies

The Nevera R is not a gentle evolution of the standard Nevera. It’s a full-blown escalation.

With 2,107 horsepower on tap, the quad-motor electric hypercar launches from 0 to 60 mph in just 1.66 seconds—a figure that borders on physics abuse. Its top speed of 431.45 km/h (268 mph) places it among the fastest production cars ever built, regardless of powertrain.

And it isn’t just a straight-line monster. During 2025, the Nevera R collected 24 world records, cementing Rimac’s reputation for turning outrageous claims into verified data. It even walked away with a Red Dot Design Award, because apparently breaking speed records wasn’t enough.

The Future of Hypercars Has Already Arrived

There’s a certain irony to watching an electric hypercar dominate an alpine resort known for its vintage Ferraris and Bugattis. But that’s exactly what Rimac wants. The Nevera R Founder’s Edition isn’t here to replace history—it’s here to write the next chapter.

Ten cars. Two thousand horsepower. A company that’s already shaping the future of both Rimac and Bugatti.

And if this is what a “Founder’s Edition” looks like, the rest of the hypercar world might want to start paying very close attention.

Source: Rimac Automobili

News

BMW’s iX3 Finally Gets the White Steering Wheel It Showed Us Months Ago

When BMW first rolled out press images of the all-new iX3, eagle-eyed observers noticed something odd: a bright white steering wheel that, inconveniently, didn’t exist in the configurator. Six months later, BMW has finally decided to make good on its own marketing photos.

The German iX3 configurator has been quietly updated to include the long-teased white steering wheel, priced at a surprisingly reasonable €250. It’s a small change, but one that highlights how seriously BMW is leaning into personalization with its next-generation electric SUV.

Of course, BMW being BMW, the white wheel doesn’t come without strings attached.

To get it, buyers must also opt for the Digital White interior package, a €1,080 upgrade in Germany. This wraps the seats in BMW’s Veganza material—marketing speak for artificial leather—which is also used on the steering wheel itself. The rest of the cabin avoids looking like a hospital waiting room thanks to Atlas Gray fabric trim, a black Veganza finish on the door armrests, and an Anthracite headliner. In other words, it’s more “modern gallery” than “stormtrooper.”

Interestingly, BMW doesn’t force customers into an M Sport package to get the white wheel. Even base-model iX3 buyers can order it, which is refreshingly democratic for a brand that often hides the good stuff behind pricey trim levels. The updated BMW roundel sits in the middle of the wheel, though the change is subtle enough that most people won’t notice unless they’re staring at it in a showroom.

If white isn’t your thing—or if you’d rather not worry about blue-jean dye slowly staining your steering wheel—BMW still offers the familiar black version. That one gets a small M badge on the lower spoke, and aside from color, it appears to be identical in shape and design to the white wheel. How well the pale version will survive years of sweaty palms and coffee spills remains an open question.

More Colors, More Power, More BMW Being BMW

The steering wheel isn’t the only new addition. BMW has also expanded the iX3’s paint palette with three new shades: Fire Red, Eucalyptus Green, and Individual Frozen Space Silver. It’s a welcome move for a model that’s supposed to look as forward-thinking as its Neue Klasse underpinnings.

There’s also a new AC Charging Professional option, which boosts AC charging to 22 kW and adds Vehicle-to-Load capability. With up to 3.7 kW available, the iX3 can now power tools, appliances, or even a small campsite, turning the SUV into a rolling power bank.

BMW has also thrown in a stainless-steel loading sill for iX3s ordered with the Contemporary, M, or Individual interior themes. Meanwhile, buyers who go for the M Sport Package or M Sport Package Pro get a special key finished with BMW’s signature blue, violet, and red M stripes—because if you’re paying extra, you should at least get a fancier key.

Not everything is available just yet. Heated rear seats still don’t show up in the German configurator, as BMW plans to roll that feature out first in South Korea and Japan starting with March production. Ventilated front seats are also missing for now, though BMW says they’ll arrive later in the model’s life cycle.

The iX3’s Story Is Just Getting Started

Deliveries of the new iX3 haven’t even begun, which means this steady drip of new options is only the beginning. More BMW Individual colors are scheduled to arrive later this year, along with additional versions of the SUV, including the iX3 40 and the hotter iX3 M60 xDrive.

And looming over everything is the real performance flagship: the X3 M “ZA5,” due in 2027. If BMW’s electric future follows the same formula as its gasoline past, that’s where things are going to get very interesting.

For now, though, the biggest headline might just be a steering wheel that finally matches the pictures.

Source: BMW

News

BMW Cuts V-8 Power In Europe, But Not In The United States

BMW’s S68 twin-turbo V-8 was always living on borrowed time. Not because it wasn’t good—it’s spectacular—but because Europe’s regulators have been circling it like wolves around a bratwurst. Now the bite has finally landed. Beginning next month, BMW will detune the S68 in Europe to meet upcoming Euro 7 emissions rules, slicing 40 horsepower from the gasoline side of the powertrain in both the M5 and XM Label—and doing it two years before the regulations even take effect.

Yes, the axe falls early.

In pure BMW fashion, though, Munich refuses to let its flagship Ms look weak on paper. To offset the combustion-engine haircut, BMW is turning up the voltage. The electric motor in the M5 is upgraded so that the total system output remains 717 horsepower, exactly where it was before. The XM Label does the same trick, holding the line at 737 horsepower by pairing a slightly weaker V-8 with a stronger electric motor.

The result is a numbers game that looks unchanged on a spec sheet—but one that tells a more complicated story underneath.

Europe Loses 40 Horses. America Doesn’t.

This change applies to all M5s and XM Labels sold in the European Union’s 27 member states, plus any other markets that follow EU emissions rules. But if you’re buying one in the United States, you can breathe easy—and deeply.

BMW spokesperson Jay Hanson confirmed that U.S.-market M5s and XM Labels will continue to use the full-power S68, with no detuning required. In other words, America gets the uncorked V-8 while Europe gets the eco-friendly version with an electrified crutch.

That’s not exactly new in the modern car world—but it’s still a bitter pill for European enthusiasts, especially when the M5 is supposed to be BMW’s unapologetic performance flagship.

The S68 Isn’t Going Anywhere

Despite the emissions squeeze, BMW isn’t walking away from its V-8 anytime soon. The S68 is slated to power a whole lineup of future M and M Performance models, including:

  • The next-gen X5 M Performance (G65)
  • The full X5 M (G95)
  • The X7 (G67)
  • And the next X6 in both G66 M Performance and G96 M forms

Even BMW ALPINA is expected to stick with the V-8 for the return of the B7 and an XB7 successor, though those models will reportedly come with hybrid and inline-six variants as well. An electric ALPINA is also on the horizon—which feels both inevitable and faintly tragic.

Meanwhile, the current M5 (G90 sedan and G99 wagon) will keep the S68 when its mid-cycle update arrives. The facelifted models have already been caught testing, though their official debut isn’t expected until late spring next year, ahead of production starting in July 2027.

More Than Just a Power Cut

BMW isn’t simply turning down the boost and calling it a day. European-market M5s and XM Labels are also switching to the Miller combustion cycle, a strategy that improves efficiency and lowers emissions by tweaking how the engine handles intake and compression. On top of that, BMW is upgrading the exhaust aftertreatment system and recalibrating engine management software.

The company insists the result is “continued dynamic performance at the highest level,” thanks to the stronger electric motor filling in for the lost V-8 output.

Maybe. But we all know what that really means.

Hybrids are fantastic at masking what’s been taken away—until you start pushing the car hard, again and again, when heat, weight, and battery limitations start to matter. The M5 is already a two-and-a-half-ton missile. Adding more electric hardware to compensate for a neutered engine only makes it heavier.

And if given the choice, most buyers would almost certainly take the 40 horsepower back instead of the electrons.

As someone who lives in Europe, I know I would. Better yet, ditch the plug-in hybrid altogether and let the V-8 breathe freely again. It would shed weight, restore character, and make the M5 feel like an M5 instead of a regulatory workaround.

Of course, the EU wouldn’t be thrilled about that.

Source: BMWBlog