Paul Tan on the Automotive Industry
In the spirit of “self-published” spyshots by car manufacturers that have been surfacing lately, BMW has released a spy video of the BMW X1 donning a ridiculous camo pattern on its body having some fun in the snowy terrain of the arctic circle. This particular unit would likely have the xDrive system for sure, but word is the X1 might also come in sDrive rear-wheel drive variants. Watch the “spy video” after the jump.
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BMW has released a teaser video where a narrator uses scribbly drawings to describe what the whole BMW PAS (Progressive Activity Sedan) concept is all about. The BMW PAS is what many consider to be a 5-Series with a coupe-like stationwagon rear end.
You may be wondering what’s the difference between this and taking an X6 and just lowering it and replacing the wheels with more road-like ones? Well, BMW hopes this video will continue to spark your curiosity until the unveiling (in concept form), which is expected to be in the next 2 months or so.
From the video here are some details we can obtain:
It’s somewhat like taking the Audi A6 Allroad or Volvo XC70 concept abit further with a coupe-ish roofline, the special two-in-one rear hatch and the comfortable 2nd row seats.
Watch the video after the jump.
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What happens when you drive a MINI Cabriolet through an automatic car-wash machine, with the top down? Find out in the viral video after the jump.
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AC Schnitzer has announced it will be selling a mechanical LSD kit for the BMW 1-Series, the 3-Series and the BMW MINI. This mechanical LSD will transfer up to 75% of driving power when one wheel slips to the opposite wheel. AC Schnitzer says for the front wheel drive MINI, this helps control steering behaviour.
The MINI Cooper S actually already has an LSD from factory option. If you don’t want that, you can opt for this. The MINI JCW however, does not have any factory LSD option. That’s because BMW considers it to have an LSD. The JCW actually comes with an “electronic LSD”. This is actually an extension of the DSC system.
It essentially uses an open diff, but DSC brakes the slipping wheel, which in a normal open diff causes the power to transfer to the other side. Now the reason why BMW used this new E-Diff is because they found with with a mechanical differential, the MINI JCW experienced “anti-torque steer”.
The JCW has quite a substantial amount of torque, and on full power the mechanical differential tends to kick in too early. This has a side effect – the steering tends to want to center itself on full power. While on a straight road this is fine, but it’s a problem when you want to go full power on a corner and the car keeps wanting to go straight, hence the term “anti-torque steer”. So please just bear this in mind before you decide to equip your MINI JCW with this AC Schnitzer mechanical LSD.
The new BMW Sauber F1.09 Formula One car was unveiled in Valencia, and Robert Kubica was the first to take the car out for a spin at the Spanish circuit. Like its competitors, the new F1 regulations have ruined its aesthetics. The 3-piece front wing stretches across the full width of the car while the rear wing is now slimmer and is unusually high. The front axle has been modified and the rear axle is a new design.
“We have set ourselves the task of further improving our performance relative to the rest of the field. The 1-2 in Canada and a total of eleven podium finishes in 2008 set an exacting standard. In 2009 we are looking to maintain our first-class reliability record while at the same time enhancing our performance levels so that we can be at the front of the pack on a consistent basis. We are aware that we are aiming extremely high. This is the final step in our development, and that’s generally the hardest one to take,” said BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen.
The new car will also have the KERS system, which was developed in Munich under the watch of Markus Duesmann, Head of Powertrain. It isn’t quite ready yet but is expected to be ready by the Melbourne race. Chassis development was the responsibility of Walter Riedl along with his technical team based in Hinwil, Switzerland.
The first shake-down comprised of 73 laps and went smoothly without a hitch. Kubica said they’ve already learned alot about how the car is responding to setup changes, but there was a slight lack of grip than usual despite the slick tyres because there was only one car on the track, so it wasn’t sufficiently warmed up. The car will continue testing in Valencia until Saturday.
Look after the jump for a video of the unveiling and the maiden lap.
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The new BMW 7-Series is now in Malaysia! It is sold here in F02 form only, which means long wheelbase for better chauffeured usage. Now one of the reasons which makes this version of the long wheelbase 7 so special is that it doesn’t look like a long wheelbase car. The E66 and E65 looked similiar from the front all the way to the B-pillar, after of which you can see the E66′s rear door looks abnormally extended, spoiling the sleek look of the car. The F01 and F02 look similiar, with the F02 being a longer version but employing more than just a simple stretch to accommodate the longer wheelbase including having a taller roofline to maintain a resemblance to the F01′s roofline.
Two models are available at launch time, the 740Li and the 750Li. These models use 2 of the 3 engine variants that were unveiled during the global launch, with the third being the single turbo diesel 730d. The 7-Series was launched with a 100% turbocharged engine line-up, which is a stark contrast to just a few years ago when BMW was championing the purity of the normally aspirated engine.
The BMW 740Li is powered by the 3.0 litre twin-turbocharged inline-6 engine from the N54 family. It produces 326hp at 5,800rpm and 450Nm of torque at 1,500rpm, which is slightly higher than the version of the engine installed in the 135i and 335i. 0 to 100km/h acceleration takes only 5.9 seconds. Since the 740Li engine now has a 3.0 litre displacement, this is good news for buyers in Malaysia who can save a massive amount in road tax, we’re talking about thousands of ringgit a year here. The 740Li goes for RM848,800.
The 750Li’s engine is the 4.4 litre twin turbocharged V8 that was first installed in the X6. This engine produces 407hp between 5,500 to 6,400rpm and a peak torque of 600Nm between 1,750rpm and 4,500rpm, which is good for sprinting to 100km/h in 5.2 seconds. This baby goes for RM1,138,800. Both the 740Li and the 750Li are CBU units from Germany, as the F01/F02 are currently only built there. Previously for the E66 our CBU 730Li came from Thailand. Speaking of the 730Li, there isn’t one in existence yet at the moment but a BMW Malaysia official said one is in development that will probably feature the N52 3.0 litre normally aspirated magnesium alloy engine producing about 272hp, as found in the BMW X5 3.0si.
Our 7-Series now also features the option for a rear seat bench that has massage and ventilation functions. The massage function comprises of 12 massage units and 6 rotating elements that focus on the occupant’s upper and lower back.
We also get additional air cond vents on the roof of the car. The 750Li gets its own iDrive system at the rear while the 740Li uses a remote control that looks like the iDrive controller, which oddly seems to look like a better idea despite being a “lower end” option.
Like the new E90 facelift, the new 7-Series gets the new iDrive system which comes with an 8GB hard drive-based navigation system which can also store your music. BMW ConnectedDrive is not available in our country yet, so the NetFront web browser in the iDrive system will be useless for now. Stay tuned for a test drive report of the 750Li, which should serve its purpose as a teaser before the 730Li that potential customers will likely be eyeing makes its debut here.
BMW has phased out its N45 inline-4 engine family, currently used in the BMW 116i. The N45 is a rather basic engine compared to the rest of the BMW line-up, it doesn’t even have Valvetronic, which these days is only absent on turbocharged BMW engines. The only other application has been in the limited edition BMW 320si, which used an N45 engine with displacement increased to 2.0 litres. That one produced 173 PS at 7,000 and 200Nm at 4,250rpm, but the N45B16 in the 116i only produced 122hp at 6,000rpm and 160Nm of torque at 4,300rpm.
From this year on, the 116i will be powered by the more advanced N46, which produces the same 122hp, but torque has been upped to 185Nm between 3,000 to 4,250rpm. This is because the new engine is actually the same 2.0 litre engine that’s found in the 118i and the 120i, only with different tuning. This engine also has Valvetronic, which provides variable valve lift and operates without using a throttle plate.
This is also happening with many other BMW models. The numbers on a vehicle’s badge doesn’t necessarily indicate the displacement of the engine under the hood anymore. Alot of the x25i cars around are now running with 3.0 litre engines, tuned to produce the same power and torque as a 2.5 litre but with torque over a wider spread of RPMs, to improve driveability. This would be a problem in Malaysia because of the displacement-tied road tax (as opposed to power output or emissions tied), so expect the 325i to continue to be offered with a 2.5 litre engine for the moment.
Here’s something a little different from the many E36s here in Malaysia who have Nissan inline-6 turbo engines under their hoods. A Japanese dude decided to plonk in a F20 engine from the Honda S2000 into his 2-door E36 BMW 318is coupe’s engine bay, and Best Motoring featured his car! He must be trying to create the ultimate touge monster, the 50:50 balance of a BMW E36 3-Series combined with the relatively light, compact and high-revving engine in the S2000, and one that had the same cylinder count as the stock engine that came with his car. One that goes all the way up to 9,500rpm, good for 250 PS. Watch the video after the jump (I know some of you won’t be focusing on the car…) and you’ll see the stock BMW instrument cluster’s tachometer needle cross all the way into the area thats used to show the real time fuel consumption. Hardcore BMW fans will slam this as sacrilegious, but it’s insane nevertheless!
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BMW has released another teaser video of one of its upcoming M products, the BMW X6 M. This comes right after another teaser “spy” video was released late last year featuring the X5 M. These two vehicles will be the BMW M division’s first SUVs, and this new video officially confirms the engine that will be installed under the hood, a “V8 M Turbo Engine” with twin scroll turbochargers! This engine will also likely make its way into the next generation F10 BMW M5, so we’ll have to say goodbye to the V10. Now I’m curious what BMW will be doing to make the turbocharged experience unique for BMW’s M cars, other than more power than the non-M turbo engines of course. Perhaps an additional boost meter on the dash or something? Anyway enjoy the video after the jump!
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BMW Web TV brings us a video featuring Timo Gobel, head of development for the new E89 BMW Z4 Roadster, and other members of the Z4′s development team. We get to see the first prototype of the new retractable hard top Z4 roadster that was made a full 2 years before production, and what kind of tests it goes through before the next stage of prototyping, and various other stages of the prototyping process.
Please enjoy the video after the jump.
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