We don’t know what it is about MINI, but somehow, someway, our favorite little car always finds itself in the headlines.
This time though, there are no funny commercials or unique calendars, just a tie-up between BMW and Rolls-Royce to produce a luxury version of the MINI.
Now, it seems that a BMW-Rolls partnership is something that we wouldn’t have thought of, but these guys have proven time and again that nothing is impossible for them.
According to Autocar, the ‘Rolls Mini’ is likely to come with added features unique to itself, including the commission of genuine coachbuilt features such as new interior fittings.
Details behind the partnership have yet to be released but sources have said the program will be announced sometime in the next year. If we can use history as a precedent, we can go back to the 60’s when bespoke coachbuilt MINIs became such a hot item, a number of celebrities like Peter Sellers and the Beatles commissioned tuners to make them luxury MINIs that had high-spec wood and leather-trimmed interior.
John Surtees holds the distinction for being the only man in history to become world champion in two-wheel and four-wheel racing competitions by achieving this feat with a Grand Prix motorcycle road race championship and a Formula One championship.
And now, decades after his racing career ended, Surtees has achieved another distinction to add to an already impressive resume: becoming the first man to drive an electric sports car through the Channel Tunnel.
Surtees’ feat occurred as part of the 37th annual Beaujolais Burlington Run, which coincides with the 15th anniversary of the opening of the tunnel that connects the United Kingdom with France and the rest of the European continent.
Surees’ car-of-choice was a Ginetta G50 EV electric sports car and he began his 31-mile run at the Folkestone terminal in the UK all the way to Calais terminal in France. Surees’ momentous achievement also marks the first time a production sports car – electric or not – has been given the opportunity to drive through the Channel’s service tunnel.
For anybody to accomplish that feat is remarkable enough, but for a 75-year old man - never mind that he’s a former F1 champ - to do it without even breaking a sweat is simply awe-inspiring.
Congratulations Mr. Surees!
Photos via Daylife
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BMW has secured the rights to become the exclusive automotive sponsor of the 2012 London Olympic Games. As part of the partnership, BMW will be tasked to provide over 4,000 low-carbon vehicles to be used during the Olympic Games to transport, athletes, officials, media members, operations staff, Olympic committee members, the ISF, the IOC, and all of its other marketing partners.
The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games’ (LOCOG) choice of BMW as the official automotive partner for London 2012 came down to BMW’s capability to provide vehicles with low-carbon emissions, which coincides with the Games’ central theme of ‘healthy living’.
LOCOG Chairman Sebastian Coe stressed the importancfe of securing an automotive sponsor this early so that they could put forth a shared vision of staging a green and eco-friendly Olympics. “Operationally, an automotive deal is vital for any organising committee and so I’m thrilled BMW is on board,” Coe said. “They share our vision to stage a sustainable ‘Games’ in 2012 and will be a valued partner. We welcome BMW on board and look forward to working with them over the next three years.”
Continued after the jump with press release.
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We know that Eastern Europe is one of the world’s biggest underground gambling hotspots so you can expect that those kooky folks over there to make the silliest and weirdest of wagers.
It turns out that in Bulgaria, they’ll bet over anything – even at the cost of their lives.
Recently, a group of whack jobs decided to play a betting game that involves running intersections on a red light to see if they can hit a car or an innocent bystander. We’re not making this up. It’s straight out of Grand Theft Auto, only this time, successful drivers can be rewarded by as much as $7,000.
The game has come to be known as ‘Russian road roullete’ and an increasing number of Bulgarians have been participating in this deadly game. Authorities have begun to launch an investigation as to who runs this game, especially since a growing number of incidents have been reported since the game took off during the summer.
Among those that have been caught in the crosshairs of this game, include two people that met untimely deaths after being hit by motorcycles in two separate incidents.
So let this be a warning if you somehow find yourself in Bulgaria in the future; just crossing the street in that country has become a life or death experience.
Volkswagen’s new Audi mega dealership in London will soon be joined by an equally enormous facility across the pond in New York City.
The German auto conglomerate recently purchased a vast expanse of land – reported to be around 256,000 square feet – to be the site for the brand’s new state-of-the-art dealership that will feature a slew of Audi and
Volkswagen cars. The soon-to-be dealership, which is located between 55th and 56th street and is along 11th Avenue, is the latest indication of VW’s intent to cross-over to the US and establish a strong footing in one of the most high-profile cities in America.
VW purchased the land from its current owners, Potamkin GM for an undisclosed amount although it’s being reported that VW has shelled out a whopping $125 million for the purchase and renovation of the area. As one of the most recognized dealers in the New York area, the Potamkin family’s GM dealership will remain in the area where it will be moving just a few blocks south of its current location.
Press release after the jump.
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After three quarters of 2009 have come and gone, it looks like Volkswagen’s mission to become the world’s largest automaker is coming along sooner than anyone thought.
Thanks to a number of benefits from state-backed stimulus packages around the globe, Volkswagen has overtaken Toyota for the title of largest automaker after producing over 4.4 million cars for the first nine months of 2009 as opposed to the Japanese giant’s 4 million cars produced in the same span.
A big part in Volkswagen’s rise to the top involves the company’s infiltration of the Chinese market, which is also now the world’s largest car market. After launching a fleet of tailor-made VWs for the Chinese market, the company sold over 128,000 cars in the month of July alone – a sign that the Chinese seem to be warming up to buying imported cars like Volkswagen. In addition to their strong showing in China, VW also benefited from a number of cash-for-clunkers schemes in countries like Germany and in the UK.
As far as Toyota is concerned, the Japanese brand’s reign at the top didn’t last as long as it hoped after upstaging General Motors for the top spot just last year. It didn’t help matters when Toyota decided to ease up on the production of their cars as it continues to struggle in regaining its form after the global financial crisis.
Toyota’s decision to ‘decelerate’ production was the opening Volkswagen needed to seize the title of ‘world’s largest automaker’. Whether it retains that title longer than Toyota did is still up in the air, but if there’s one thing Volkswagen is confident of, it’s the fact that it has a lot of momentum on its side compared to its Japanese counterparts.
Legal battles involving trademark claims are nothing new.
This one, however, is a little surprising considering that the two protagonists come from completely different industries.
In the blue corner is German carmaker Porsche. On the red corner, it’s footwear designer Crocs.
Their squabble: the rights to use the name ‘Cayman’ in their products.
Porsche is claiming that the name ‘Cayman’ is trademarked for its exclusive sports car and that Crocs, which sells a plastic cog bearing the same name, should refrain from using ‘Cayman’ again. Predictably, Crocs is staying on course and in a statement that was filed in their quarterly reports, the footwear brand has stated that they will “vigorously defend themselves against these claims”.
We haven’t gotten further comments from the two squabbling brands although if you ask us, we don’t think that these two are risking anything by just letting things go. Apart from catering to distinctively different markets, it must be pointed out that a Porsche Cayman costs around $50,000 while a pair of Crocs Cayman sells for just a shade under $30.
Big difference, don’t you think?
For an exotic Italian automaker like Ferrari – yes, those people that have produced some of the fastest and most expensive cars in the world – you would’ve thought that they’d have turbocharged engines by now.
But contrary to what a lot of people think, the Italian stallions have yet to take that route, and news that they are finally considering using turbo-charging in their future engines might be a little surprising to some people.
But before Ferrari fully commits to turbocharging, the carmakers still have to work around some kinks with the technology, particularly with lagging that usually comes with these types of engines.
According to Jean-Jacques His, Ferrari doesn’t compromise with their engines and that any delays of any kind before the power arrives is something that in the world of the Prancing Horse, is completely taboo. “Turbocharging will come eventually, but we need to solve the issue of turbo lag,” the Frenchman said to Autocar.
Continued after the jump.
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A few days after Renault announced that two of its new concept cars, the Zoe ZE and the Twizy ZE Concept would be scheduled for launch in a few years, the French-based automaker has also announced that it would once dust-off the Gordini brand and add it to the Renault Sport range.
The announcement of the expected debut of the Twingo Gordini RS will be held at the L’Atelier Renault on the Champs Elysées on November 25.
The Gordini brand rose in popularity in the 60’s where over 200,000 units were sold at that time. The brand’s popularity crossed mainstream thresholds after the car appeared in a number of French films during the decade.
After riding off into the sunset shortly thereafter, Gordini is motoring back to give a new generation of car buyers the chance to sit behind the wheel of one of Renault’s most popular cars. To retain the classic look of the compact car, Renault has made it clear that it would uphold the Gordini tradition. What this means is that the cars styling – including the off-center double stripes that was a trademark of Gordini back then – will likely stay the course. Renault has still to shed light as to what drivetrain the new Gordini models will have and the announcement will more than likely happen on the 25th of November, the day the Twingo Gordini RS is unveiled in France.
Press release after the jump.
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One of Australia’s few supercar exports is now headed to the UK.
Coming in two different engine packages, the Australian rally car Skelta is
looking to the UK by storm. Named after the famous Beatles song “Helter Skelter”, the Skelta will make its formal debut in the UK at the Autosport International show in Birmingham, England in January of next year.
Among the car’s main selling points is the fact that prospective customers can choose what type of engine they want on their ride. They can choose from a supercharged, 2.0-liter Honda four-cylinder engine that can churn as much as 340 horsepower or opt for the more powerful option: a Hartley 3.0-liter V8-engine that pumps out as much as 480 horsepower.
While the engines are up for choice, the rest of the car comes with the same stylistic and technical packages, including a carbon fiber body that keeps the weight of the car to just around 750 kilos, making the car quick on its feet in and around the block. In addition to that, the Skelta also comes with a rear wing, a diffuser, and front air intakes that allows the car to pack 200 kilos of downforce to stabilize it when speeds reach 90 mph.
In addition to the engine choice, buyers can also choose the type of two-seat versions they’d want on the Skelta. The choice includes a gull-wing, removable targa top, called "G-Force" or a wide-bodied, open-topped two-seater, called the "Spyder."
No word yet as to how much the car’s are being sold so we’ll all have to wait for its official unveiling at next year’s Autosport International Show to find out how much the Skelta is going to cost.
Press release after the jump.
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