Celebrating their 20th anniversary as well as the BMW 3 Series convertible reaching the double decade mark, the German tuning firm Cargraphic is releasing a set of special edition 20 inch alloy wheels for the high revving V8 powered BMW M3 convertible. Cargraphic is offering the light weight three piece racing wheel with the classic mesh design and because BMW owners can be a bit more picky than other automotive enthusiasts, Cargraphic also offers the option of milling the wheel from a solid blank, a lengthy process that takes about an hour and a half per wheel and saves about five pounds at each corner over more traditional machining methods.
Press release after the jump.
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We thought we left the witch-hunting back centuries ago, but as it turns out, in Germany, a whole new form of burning-at-the-stake is taking place. A group of protestors from Berlin that support leftist organizations in the German capital have taken their whole approach of getting noticed to a new level, and they’re doing it by burning down luxury cars.
Yes, this is the 21st century and apparently, hooligans still do exist. More than 200 cars have been reported to being burned by these people, most of which include local luxury brands like Mercedes, BMW, and Volkswagen. They burn these cars in an attempt to send a message that the growing increase in rent due to the ongoing urban development in the city isn’t sitting too well with the blue-collar folks that can’t keep up with the gentrification of their city. So, in an attempt to get their points across; they burn down any luxury car that is unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of their wrath.
Making things worse is that they’d leave a note after the poor car has been burned to a crisp, even claiming responsibility for their fiery rage. So, if you’re in Berlin with a brand-new luxury vehicle, make sure you keep a close eye on it, especially during weekend nights, before it gets toasted – literally.
In Germany even the police has great cars, and not just any car, but a tuned BMW 1-Series. And with AC Schnitzer doing the job you can only imagine that you cannot be a bad guy around there.
The AC Schnitzer police car is based on a BMW 123d Coupe powered by a 2.3 D engine tuned to deliver 241 HP and 480 Nm. The engine is mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission and accelerates the from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 6.7 seconds.
The body kit includes two-piece front spoiler, rear skirt insert, rear wing and rear roof spoiler and the latest AC Schnitzer wheels Type IV BiColor. On the interior the tuner added racing bucket seats with AC Schnitzer logo and silver genuine carbon fiber trim on the dashboard, center console, door handles and steering wheel.
Press release after the jump.
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You can’t fault BMW – and by extension, MINI – for coming up with unique ways to promote their brand.
The two car brands are scheduled to release a host of BMW and MINI accessories just in time for the holiday season. Two products that are poised to hit the shelves are a pair of BMW and MINI licensed Bluetooth headsets.
Both headsets, which feature the two companies’ logos on the rhomboid-shaped ear element fitting, are compatible with any kind of mobile phone and we’ll venture to make a guess that having one clipped on your ear will surely spike up your class points.
According to BMW, the Bluetooth headsets are light as a feather, weighing it at only eight grams. They also come with a pair of rechargeable batteries encased on the headsets and when the time comes that it needs recharging, a special adapter that’s connected to your car’s power socket makes recharging these headsets easy and accessible to do.
Each headset also allows for a up to five hours of continuous use and idle time can hold for as long as a whole week. BMW has yet to release the prices for their Blueetooth headsets and will only do so when it nears the launch date sometime in December.
The BMW E60 automobile platform is the basis for the 2004 5-series of automobiles. It replaced the BMW E39 for 2004. Models available at launch include the 525, 530, and 545. All models received an engine upgrade for 2006, with a 550 replacing the 545 in the fall of 2005. The exterior of the design by Chris Bangle and Adrian van Hooydonk is controversial, as is BMW’s new iDrive interface for accessing things like the radio and HVAC controls.
From the start, the fifth generation of the BMW 5 Series introduced in 2003 stood out through its impressive design and innovative technology. Once again, both the sedan and the Touring launched in 2004 set new standards in terms of active safety, driver assistance systems, and efficiency. BMW’s typical design language with convex and concave surfaces as well as flowing transitions from the front and side to the rear gave the fifth edition of the BMW 5 Series a particularly characteristic note, the interior with its clear-cut functions highlighting above all the iDrive control system featured as standard.
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The fourth generation of the BMW 5 Series made its debut at the 1995 Frankfurt Motor Show, offering an evolutionary development through its design of the former model with its sporting and elegant style. A particular feature at the front was the dual round headlights behind a glass cover, with the light rings for the positioning and daytime driving lights so typical of BMW being added in the year 2000.
Both the sedan and the Touring introduced in 1997 once again offered even more space within the passenger compartment. Boasting features such as a multifunction steering wheel, a navigation system, active seats and Dynamic Stability Control, the BMW 5 Series was acknowledged as a particularly outstanding high-tech representative of its segment.
In the interest of enhanced driving dynamics and safety, the body came with a significant increase in torsional stiffness over the former model, and the fourth-generation BMW 5 Series was the first large-scale production car worldwide made almost completely of light alloy. The newly developed all-aluminium power units also helped to significantly reduce the weight of the car.
The fourth generation of the BMW 5 Series once again set up a new sales record accounting for 1.47 million units sold up to the end of production in early 2004.
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The next generation BMW 5-Series luxury sedan has just made its world debut. As expected the design of the all new 5 takes cues from both the 7-Series limousine and the 5-Series GT crossover, all coming together to give the 5-Series a a much more elegant and streamlined appearance.
BMW will power the new 5-Series with a V8 as well as an assortment of six cylinder engines burning both gasoline and diesel. The new car’s lineup will range from the fuel efficient BMW 520d making 184 HP, the 535i powered BMW TwinPower Turbo using High Precision Injection and VALVETRONIC variable valve timing that cranks out 306 HP as well as the top of the line 550i powered by a 407 HP eight cylinder engine; just to name a few.
As part of BMW’s new car lineup, every new 5-Series models will come equipped with an eight speed automatic transmission. Aside from the the German automaker’s automatic transmission optimized for efficiency, the new 5-Series will come standard with other gas saving features like EPS Electric Power Steering that takes some stress off the drive train by reducing parasitic drag and frees up a few more horsepower at the same time. One thing that is for certain is that the new 5-Series is guaranteed to impress new car shoppers.
Press release after the jump.
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Even if the demand is present, the German automaker BMW has decided to leave the job of tuning their luxury limousine up to Alpina and discarded the idea of a high performance M7, however they have decided to offer new car buyers a more aggressive looking 7 Series with an optional aero upgrade package. Unfortunately for some, their sales slips were signed before the automaker made the M Sport package available, but have no fear because European Auto Source has come to the rescue with their own version of the 7 Series’ Motor sport appearance package.
Similar to the OEM pieces, ESA’s kit includes an M Sport style front bumper with larger air intakes and matte black trim along the edges. However the genuine article’s stretched out horizontal chrome strips that sit at the edges of the big mouth front bumper are sold separately. But out back the EAS unit is almost identical to the one that comes from Germany. And while European Auto Source’s rolling stock are not quite the same as the split five spoke rims that come fitted to the 7 Series M Sport, these 21 inch alloy wheels finished in matte black with their classic mesh design do the trick.
As part of The Wolfsonian art museum’s “Styled for the Road” weekend of automotive themed activities, we had the pleasure of listening to BMW’s former head of design, Chris Bangle, talk about cars as art. The first question that Mr. Bangle asked the audience is why can’t cars be art? Just because they are a functional aspect of our daily lives doesn’t mean that they don’t evoke emotion much like a painting or sculpture can. As a means of defending his argument, Mr. Bangle spent a bit of time applying the Duck Test, because after all if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and sounds like a duck, then why can’t a car be art.
A common misconception at this point in the story is differentiating between the terms car and automobile. The word automobile has only been around for the past 120 years and is used to describe a vehicle that can propel itself; in other words that thing you use to get from point A to point B as a purely functional part of your life can be considered an automobile. However the word car, which comes from the 2000 year old Roman term “carro” looks at the four wheeled machine in a whole new light. Simply put the car is a much more personal item, it is the thing you get what you wash on Saturday morning, it is the vehicle in which you can make an entrance and let the world know something about yourself.
Chris talks about how the car is an avatar, an object of personal expression that the owner feels a strong relationship with and serves as a significant part of their identity.
Continued after the jump.
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It’s not much, but we’ll take it any way we can get it.
The new 2011 BMW 5 Series won’t be revealed for a few more days, but BMW has given us a sneak peek of what the car – or at least the front side of it – will ultimately look like.
Now, we’ve circled November 24 on our calendars for a while now, but we’re not disappointed that these photos came out two days before the highly-anticipated debut of the new 5-Series. Based from what we’re seeing, the new 5-Series bears some resemblance to the incumbent 7-Series that’s out on the market these days.
But before we get too carried away with our comparisons, we’re going to hold on to our horses until BMW’s official unveiling.
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