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Geneva 2009: Alpina B7 Biturbo launched

March 7, 2009 at 10:17 am By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under 2009 Geneva Motor Show, BMW, Cars

Considered by many as the M7 without the M, the Alpina B7 is set to take BMW’s flagship luxury sedan into a whole new arena. Starting off with a 4.4 litre V8 which is capable of 507HP and 700Nm of torque thanks to its twin turbos (1.0 bar of maximum turbo boost), the B7 can hit the 100 km/h mark in 4.7 seconds and can deliver a top speed of 280 km/h.

The power plant is mated to ZF’s 6 speed automatic transmission which is fitted with Alpina’s Switch-Tronic system that adapts to different driving situations. It has been programmed to shift exceptionally smooth in Automatic mode and it also offers different shift characteristics in the additional Sport and Manual modes.

Suspension wise, the B7 features shorter and uniquely calibrated springs which reduce front and rear ride height by 15 mm and 10 mm respectively, 21″ wheels and conventional tires instead of fun flats, among others. The electronic suspension system with Dynamic Damping Control and Dynamic Drive (active roll stabilization) enables the driver to choose between Comfort, Normal and Sport modes. Overall, the suspension is more responsive, but softer than a race suspension.

Design wise, other than 21 inch 20-spoke wheels, it is treated to an Alpina bodykit which gives the 7 Series a wider and lower stance. While getting into the B7, you are welcomed with Alpina’s door sill trims which are finely illuminated in blue, and once you are in, you are treated to a SWITCH-TRONIC steering wheel that is gloved and hand-stitched in Lavaline leather, red pointers over a field of blue dials grace the instrument cluster and exclusive luxury wood trim in the form of Myrtle Burl. You can also opt for Alpina’s Piano Lacquer interior trim. Continue reading to view an image gallery.
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Geneva 2009: Alpina B6 GT3

March 6, 2009 at 9:34 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under 2009 Geneva Motor Show, BMW, Cars, Motorsports

Alpina has launched its FIA European GT3 contender, the 530HP and 725Nm of torque Alpina B6 GT3 after 20 years standing in the grand stands. Up against 12 other competitors such as Aston Martin and Porsche, the Alpina B6 is expected to put up a good fight with its 4.4 litre V8 under the hood.

Recently, the B6 GT3 performed its first 300 kilometers track test in freezing temperatures which went through trouble-free. Alpina will field two race cars in the FIA GT3 European Championship while negotiations to confirm driver lineup is underway. Alpina also plans to participate in the endurance race in Nurburgring with the B6 GT3.

Alpina also revealed that the Alpina B6 GT3 will also be made available for other racing teams and will compete in additional circuits including national GT3 races in Germany, Britain, France, Italy, Belgium and Brazil. Continue reading to view an image gallery.
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Understanding Formula 1: a series of videos by the BMW Sauber F1 Team

March 3, 2009 at 2:27 am By Paul Tan Filed Under BMW, Cars, Formula 1, Motorsports, Videos

BMW Sauber F1

Formula One is a seriously expensive sport but it’s really hard to visualize how expensive it really is by just looking at the race cars battling it out on the circuits. There’s a tremendous amount of hard work, time and money put into the development of Formula One cars, and to even begin to grasp the idea of how much equipment and etc it takes, you will have to take a stroll behind the scenes to check out the development and manufacturing of the car. Look after the jump for a series of videos released by the BMW Sauber F1 Team called “Understanding Formula 1″. It looks like there are plenty more to come but these are the few released so far, so please enjoy!
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AC Schnitzer kit for the F01 BMW 7-Series

March 1, 2009 at 11:17 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under BMW, Cars, International News

ACS F01

Alpina will not be the only one showing a tricked out F01/F02 7-Series at the Geneva show, AC Schnitzer doesn’t want to be left behind, though it differs from the B7 offering in that the B7 is likely to be tuned up in the engine bay and transmission as well while this AC kit is just an aesthetics kit for now. What you have is a bodykit and Type V or Type VII wheels in a massive 22 inches size! Yes, there’s excess all over, but there will always be takers despite the slowing global economy.

For the rest of us, admire the photos after the jump.
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2009 BMW Alpina B7 leaked ahead of Geneva

February 28, 2009 at 12:53 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under BMW, Cars

Its finally here! The above is a leaked image of Alpina’s latest project; the Alpina B7 which is set to make an official debut at the Geneva Motor Show. Based on the ultra luxury F01 BMW 7 Series sedan, BMW’s top tuner (other than its in-house M GmbH) has made the 7 look a little more aggressive with a wider and lower stance.

Unfortunately, since its a leaked image, not much information has been released along with it. Thus far we only know that its 4.4 litre twin-turbo V8 is able pump out an M5-like 507 Bavarian horses and chassis twisting power which is rated at about 700Nm of torque.

The above can help propel the car to 100 km/h in 4.7 seconds to a top speed of 278 km/h. More information will be released along with its official launch in Switzerland. Alpina will also reveal the Alpina B6 GT3 which is based on the BMW 6 Series at the motor show.

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BMW 3-Series E90 LCI M-Sport Kit

February 23, 2009 at 2:59 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under BMW, Cars

BMW E90 LCI M-Sport

Just in case you were wondering what the new BMW 3-Series E90 LCI facelift looked like kitted up with M-Sport parts, here are a few shots. Though the overall shape of the front bumper especially the curve of the central lower air intake on the bumper is similiar to the standard E90 LCI, BMW has made the intake alot more larger and prominent. I believe the bumper also extends lower than the standard E90 LCI. The side air intakes on the bumper also loses the plastic horizontal strips on the standard look. The rear end looks pretty similiar to the outgoing pre-faclift E90′s rear bumper, with a little integrated diffuser-like design emphasizing the car’s sporty intentions. Look after the jump for a few more shots of the E90 LCI M-Sport kit.
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Speculation: Mini roadsters from Mercedes and BMW to hit the market between 2011 and 2012?

February 23, 2009 at 11:04 am By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under BMW, Cars, Mercedes Benz, Rumours

Rumors are circulating that both Mercedes Benz and BMW are planning to develop mini roadsters to taken on other similar-sized roadsters such as the Mazda MX 5 / Miata. Mercedes’ hot little convertible is said to be based on the platform from the 2011/2012 Mercedes A Class and B Class, and is expected to a feature front wheel drive setup, instead of a typical rear wheel drive arrangement.

According to Auto, Motor und Sport, the mini roadster from Stuttgart which could hit the market sometime in 2012 is also expected to feature design cues based on the Mercedes SLA project, which is an 8 year-old concept. Power plant wise, there may be at least four engine options to choose from, with a diesel unit being one of them. The roadster should also carry a fabric convertible top, instead of a more fashionable foldable hard top to save space.

Over at Munich, the BMW Z2 mini roadster is said to be based on the current BMW Z4 platform, and may hit the market a little earlier in 2011. The Z2 should retain the rear wheel drive setup and feature a 150hp 4 cylinder engine, while there may also be a range topping 300hp variant with twin turbochargers.

BMW will most probably also offer an electric powered model of the Z2, but there is no news if Mercedes will offer a similar emissions free version of its mini roadster. Mean while, you can expect the BMW Z Vision Concept to be previewed sometime towards end of the year which will showcase potential design cues for the baby Z4.

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F01 BMW 7-Series: 1 hour long USA webcast

February 19, 2009 at 4:32 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under BMW, Cars, Videos

BMW 7-Series

BMW USA held a 1-hour long Webcast on the 2009 BMW 7-Series (F01 and F02) on the 17th of February 2009 from San Diego, California, where BMW held a media drive for the American press. The webcast videos are now available to view as an archive.

They’re split into 8 chapters, with the first 7 chapters ranging between 2 minutes to 6 minutes long that feature various BMW personnel explaining the new 7-Series product features and design language choices, and the final chapter being a Q&A session that’s 24 minutes long.

Look after the jump for an index of the videos, as well as a new batch of hi-res photos of the 7-Series shot in the US!
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BMW Routes: load scenic routes onto your iDrive

February 19, 2009 at 2:49 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under BMW, Cars, Technology, Videos

BMW Routes

The next time you plan a holiday in Europe, you may want to rent a BMW and make it a road trip holiday. BMW’s new BMW Routes feature (currently still in testing and might be offered on BMW Online services soon) has 25 routes in 5 European countries, designed to run over the course of multiple days with detailed information including photos and even the opening hours of the various stops for interesting sights or food etc you can make along the way. It’s an online portal where you can choose your route and have it sent to your BMW’s iDrive system via ConnectedDrive.

Future plans for BMW include the ability for customers to define their own routes and even share them with other BMW Routes users. This will be useful not only for great sightseeing trips but I can see people mapping out their favourite twisty B-roads for others to have a fun go at. I can’t wait for features such as BMW ConnectedDrive to come to BMWs in Malaysia, but as it is a telco dependant service BMW Malaysia is still in discussions with potential mobile telcos on implementation.

It’s all pretty neat, check out the video after the jump!
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LEAKED: Is this the new F10 BMW 5-series?

February 19, 2009 at 2:39 am By Paul Tan Filed Under BMW, Cars, Spyshots

If this image above is truly a leak of the front end of the F10 BMW 5-Series, then BMW is moving back to the days of the E46/E39/E38 where all its 3 sedans look pretty much like different sizes of each other. The supposed 5-Series in the photo above (that found its way onto the 5Post forums) features the new F1-inspired hood from the E90 3-Series LCI (facelift) and the large kidneys from the 7-Series, albeit less squarish but in a more appealing slightly rectangular shape. It has a very aggressive and muscular look. If this is the standard F10, can you imagine what the M5 will look like?

Related Posts:
F10 BMW 5-Series Sedan Artist’s Impression
BMW Concept 5-Series Gran Turismo

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