Light Start – Bloodhound boost, Battlefield stories, electric Mini, and Cap’n Jack is back

The Bloodhound SSC, due in SA in 2017, gets a cash injection from Geely

Remember that British-made car that is supposed to zoom through South Africa in 2017? The one that has been delayed a few times? The delays were brought on by funding issues and those… are not going to be a problem. Not any more. Chinese auto maker Geely (or rather the Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, who also own Volvo and the London Taxi Co.) is now the main sponsor for the Bloodhound SSC’s world record attempt scheduled to take place in South Africa in October 2017. The group will be funding the event for the next three years, as well as offering technical support. So now… we’re looking forward to seeing the car in Hakskeen Pan next year. Hey, anything that uses a Jag V8 engine as a starter motor has to be seen to be believed.

Source: via Ars Technica

Not content with just having awesome combat, Battlefield 1 has a story to tell

Most of us here at Stuff Towers are suckers for a good story. That’s probably got something to do with the fact that we all write a heck of a lot and stories… are kind of what we do. And an unlikely story seems to be on the way from Battlefield 1, the game with the horses and the trains and the shooting people across the map during WWI. Seriously, the story trailer for Battlefield 1 now has us about as excited as we were for the multiplayer and that’s taken some doing. Part of it is that the stories look like they might actually be well-rounded (at least, as far as we can judge from this trailer) but we’re not so sure that so many things exploded in World War One… either way, though. Battlefield 1 drops on 21 October. Guess we’re taking the week off, then.

Source: Battlefield (YouTube)

BMW is going to be adding an electric Mini, X3 to their EV roster

See, this is why we like competition on the tech marketplace. BMW is going to be creating and launching an all-electric Mini, as well as an electric version of their X3, in order to compete with Mercedes and other motor companies who are looking at expanding their EV options. The Mini is expected in 2019, so it’s still a ways off, and it’ll be followed by the battery-powered X3 in 2020. Having seen the i3 and the i8 (which we’d totally be okay with borrowing again, BMW — just sayin’) in action, we’re kind of excited to see what the company will do with new additions to their electric lineup. More details should emerge in the coming months. Hopefully we have some kind of charging infrastructure in the country by the time these two launch.

Source: Bloomberg

There’s another Pirates of the Caribbean on the horizon (and we’re totally going to watch it)

So you though they were done, did you? Since the last Pirates of the Caribbean film was released in 2011, you can be forgiven for thinking so. But the Disney machine must be fed and that means we’re getting a new films next year, subtitled Dead Men Tell No Tales. Except, if you watch the trailer above, you’ll notice that the dead men in question seem quite… chatty. When they’re not being incredibly homicidal, that is. Let’s cut things a little short. Returning to take on this new ghostly crew, which is being led by on Captain Salazar, are Johnny Depp (as Captain Jack) and Orlando Bloom (looks like Will Turner is back too). Expect the next film to launch some time around May, 2017.

Source: Disney (YouTube)