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Thursday, 08 May 2008 |
Still most successful automaker in the competition
BMW has once again played the dominant role at the International Engine of the Year Awards, whose 2008 edition have just been announced. The Munich-based company took the honours six times in what appears a one-sided contest skewed in favour of the blue and white-propeler outfit.
To top it all, the coveted International Engine of the Year was part of the six that BMW scooped. This category was taken by the 3.0-litre twin-turbo for the second time in a row. It beat Volkswagen Group’s 1.4 TSI powerplant almost by a 100 points to the post and BMW was represented no less than four times in the top 8 for this main award. The awards are presided over by a panel of 65 international motoring journalists from 32 countries across the whole world. They serve to recognize engineering excellence in many of the cars that we all love.
In the categories section winners included the VW Group’s 2.0-litre turbo found in such luminaries as the Golf GTI and SEAT Leon Cupra. Subaru won the 2.0-litre to 2.5-litre category with the 2.5 turbo. But a sigh of relief must have gone to Porsche who took the Performance Engine of the Year Award. This was a hotly contested category with engines like Audi’s 5.2-litre V10 twin turbo, Nissan 3.8-litre twin turbo GT-R and two M engines in the V10 and new 4.0-litre V8. In fact, so close was the competition in this regard that the top three nominees – 3.6 Porsche, 5.0 BMW and 4.0 BMW respectively – were separated by a mere four points!
Other prominent engine makers like Ferrari, General Motors, Ford and Mercedes-Benz (especially AMG division) will now have to take serious stock of their wares to catch up to the ever-dominant BMW and Volkswagen.
Here’s the list of the 2008 winners:
International Engine of the Year 2008
BMW 3-litre Twin-Turbo (135i, 335i, X6)
Best New Engine of 2008
BMW 2-litre Diesel Twin-Turbo (123D)
Green Engine of the Year
Toyota 1.5-litre Hybrid Synergy Drive (Prius)
Best Performance Engine
Porsche 3.6-litre Turbo (911 Turbo, 911 GT2)
Sub 1-litre
Toyota 1-litre (Aygo, Yaris, Peugeot 107, Citroën C1, Subaru Justy)
1-litre to 1.4-litre
Volkswagen 1.4-litre TSI Twincharger (Golf, Touran, Tiguan, Jetta)
1.4-litre to 1.8-litre
BMW-PSA 1.6-litre Turbo (MINI Cooper S, Clubman, Peugeot 207, 308)
1.8-litre to 2-litre
Volkswagen/Audi 2-litre Turbo (A3, A4 Cabrio, A6, TT, Eos, Jetta, Golf GTi, Altea, Leon, Skoda Octavia)
2-litre to 2.5-litre
Subaru 2.5-litre Turbo (Forester, Impreza, Outback, Legacy)
2.5-litre to 3-litre
BMW 3-litre Twin-Turbo (135i, 335i, X6)
3-litre to 4-litre
BMW 4-litre V8 (M3)
Above 4-litre
BMW 5-litre V10 (M5, M6)
Source: WorldCarFans.com
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Thursday, 08 May 2008 |
Following the regular ACS1 comes the ACS1 Cabrio by German tuning specialists AC Schnitzer. Just like its coupe sibling, the BMW ACS 1 Cabrio has gone through some power upgrades resulting in a range topping 135i with 360 hp, 123d with 240 hp and the 120d with 200 hp.
The additional power comes accompanied with a height-adjustable race suspension, exhaust silencer with chromed tail trims and a speedometer which now measures up to 320 km/h. The interior is adorned with silver-carbon details and aluminium accessories, new gear knob, pedals and velours floor mats.
Needless to say that AC Schnitzer also has a body kit available for the new BMW 1 Series convertible. The front skirt is less rounded than the factory spec 1 cabrio and comes with a diagonal grille insert, the rear now features a new rear skirt lip and diffuser giving the convertible a more powerful look. The ACS1 Cabrio sits on 17, 18 or 19 inch alloy or racing wheels.
Source: Worldcarfans.com & AC Schnitzer
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Wednesday, 07 May 2008 |
What can be said about the BMW X3 that we haven't already been through? It's a compact SUV which would be better off as a four-by-four station wagon, just as AMC showed us. Funny thing though when you're developing a new X3 to come out sometime before 2011, you may need to wrap the test power train in something other than the final sheetmetal — like the modified body of an E91 3-series station wagon. Another funny thing about the situation is the resultant car looks freakin' great! With this mule we're really beginning to wonder if the X3 wouldn't be better off this way. What do you think?
Source: (BMW-SG's a fan of) Jalopnik.com
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Monday, 05 May 2008 |
A few readers may have seen a life-like image of what appears to be a low-slung BMW supercar all over the web this weekend. As most of you probably guessed, that image has nothing to do with BMW and is certainly not a uber secret product that BMW has been developing. Instead it’s a rendering based off of an old Ford GT press shot (flipped horizontally). The wheels are from the recent Mazda Kabrua Concept and the details are ripped from the new E90 M3 and even the Audi R8.
Source: www.bimmerfile.com
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Monday, 28 April 2008 |
Performance Motors has launched the 1 Series microsite "1 Place, 1 Time, 1 Chance" letting users register for a launch party as well as for test drives. Do have a visit, register your email, select a "mood/character" and you'll get a password sent to your email address to access the full site again.
Visit the 1 Series microsite"1 Place, 1 Time, 1 Chance"
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Sunday, 27 April 2008 |
The Concorso D’Eleganza Villa D’Este, in the lake Como, in Italy, is sponsored by BMW since it was revived, in 1999, and the German brand always finds space to show amazing concept cars there. Sadly, none of them has made it into production so far. Some of the stars have been the Mille Miglia Concept and the Rolls-Royce 101EX. In this year’s edition of the event, BMW will pay homage to one of its most important cars, the M1, which celebrates 30 years in 2008. But the Bavarian company did not intend only to cherish its creation, it also wanted to present a modern interpretation of that supercar. Meet the M1 Concept. With it, the tradition on Villa D’Este’s concepts may be about to change.
It is not only the concept’s striking looks that may give it a chance to be produced, even if in a small scale. The new car may also have come to life in a proper moment for BMW to give its production a serious thought. Mercedes-Benz has realized it may be a good idea to offer supercars and, when SLR’s production ceases, in 2009, it already has plans to revive the Gullwing, currently being tested under a Viper-like body. Even Audi has given it a try and is not complaining about R8 sales and brand-image benefits. Hence, why would BMW stay out of such a market?
It is obvious no one likes to bet if there is no chance of winning, so BMW will probably wait to see public’s reaction on the M1 to consider production. Expect it to be present in the most important autoshows in the next few years, such as Paris and Frankfurt. Anyway, if BMW demands anything else than enthusiastic reception to give the greenlight to this machine, we are sure thousands of World Car Fans will be willing to know what it is. And to have it done.
For more images visit Worldcarfans.com
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