It’s raining prizes for BMW who, keeping to its traditional commitment in excellence, has again in 2008 cleaned up at the 10th International Engine of the Year awards. In an article dedicated to the 2007 edition, BMW won prizes in five of the 11 categories.

The best engine of the year is the 2.0 twin Turbo Diesel at 240 hp for the moment utilised on the BMW 123d. But the Munich company has also won in the 1.4-1.8 litre category with the 1.6 petrol turbo, fruit of collaboration with PSA. Then there was also the best in the 2.5-3.0 litre category with the 3.0 twin turbo petrol. A specific mention also went to BMW Motorsport that came off with awards in for the M3 four-litre V8 in the 3.5-4.0 litre category, and also the M5’s V10 five litre.

Continue reading: 10th International Engine of the Year: BMW dominates

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At the Concorso d’Eleganza 2008 at the Villa d’Este, BMW has presented its M1 “Hommage”, a tribute to the 30-year-old unforgettable supercar, designed by Giugiaro.

This concept is set to be a synthesis of the shape and proportions of the 1978 M1 and the current BMW design style. In the first images of the gallery you can see side-by-side the original M1 and the Hommage: a more extreme form, wider in the body, the bonnet “hump” more distinct and generally a decidedly larger car.

The M1 Hommage seems destined to remain a pure exercise in style, but we can already imagine the clamour of fans of the brand if a production followed.

Continue reading: BMW M1 "Hommage" Concept

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Rumours regarding a possible M version of the X5 have been doing the rounds for some time, but it appears that the “nastier” versions photographed are nothing more than vehicles equipped with the twin-turbo V8 4,400cc power of the X6 50i.

According to expectations from BimmerFile, the rear camouflage shows off new bumpers, destined to look very similar to the rear of the X6. The quad exhaust terminals demonstrate a tangibile sporty nature, rather than relying on other aesthetic aspects to confirm this.

Continue reading: Bmw X5: no "M", "just" a twin-turbo V8

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Edmunds’ Inside Line has published some new spy shots of the RR4, the baby-Rolls Royce that will be positioned halfway between the Phantom and a BMW 7 Series.

According to rumours, there will be some similarities to the BMW 7 Series, although the RR4 will be wider, longer and taller than the flagship BMW. Even the wheel base will be longer. The RR4’s main competitor will be the Bentley Continental Flying Spur. For the engines it’s likely we’ll see a more underpowered version of the Phantom’s V12, 6.75-litre, possibly a 6-litre 441 hp or a 4.4 litre twin-turbo at 408 hp that will debut on the BMW X6 50i. All these engines though, suffer from a marked power deficiency compared to the Flying spur whose W12 comes in at around 560 hp.

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While the BMW 1 Series Cabrio will debut over the next few days in dealerships, closing the updated cycle of the current model, for some weeks on various automobile sites and forums the first possibilities of the next generation have been seen.

Munich’s baby, originally met with by scepticism by competitors (and perhaps BMW management who had their fingers burnt with the previous 3 Series Compact) has managed to cut a niche for itself and create its own affectionate public. It is now travelling towards maturity, supported and cared for by the company who has realised that it’s much better to reveal new consumption-reducing technology (l’Efficient Dynamics for everything) on its smaller and lighter models, than on the heavier top-range products.

Continue reading: BMW 1 Series - first ideas on the next generation

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We’re curious to know how the news was received around the Ingolstadt traps. Auto, motor und sport has announced today that if the news is true (and it comes from a reputable source) Audi’s rivals will be in a league of their own. And this after Audi has only just revealed the new 6.0 V12 TDI, soon to be under the hood of the SUV Q7.

Audi risks portraying an image inconsistent with the “ecology” with which car companies have become obssessed over recent years. Neither the 4.4 V8 BMW nor the 4.0 V8 Mercedes will have heirs, being considered too big and polluting, according to the German companies. The units will be substituted with new six cylinder concepts, characterised by lower capabilities (around three litres) and drastically reduced consumption and CO2 emissions.

“The 4.4 V8 will be substituted by a straight-six cylinder twin-turbo”, Norbert Reithofer, General Manager BMW has revealed, underlining that they haven’t changed their tune for the current range. A similar discussion regards Mercedes, who in addition to exchanging the V8 will also gradually substitute the 3.0 V6 CDI with a 2.1 four cylinder twin-turbo. This engine is expected to debut next year on the C250 CDI in a version that will have both 204 hp and 480 Nm. Following will be versions taking a step further for higher power.

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More than batteries and hybrids: for the third millenium we’re still in high seas for fuel sources. Or at least this is as much reported by the British publication the Sunday Times, in which a Toyota Prius and a BMW Series 520d were put to a long highway test. And the results are surprising.

Everything stemmed from some readers notes who sustain that the consumption declared by the Japanese company is 15 miles per gallon (six km per litre) higher than comparable values on the road. And at this point the experiment took off.

The test was conducted on the road from London to Geneva, taking in nearly 700km of highway and more than 150km of urban and suburban roads. Although we need to admit that high speed cruising penalises hybrid cars, and the German car weighs 230kg more, the comparison was quite stark.

Continue reading: The Bmw 520d challenges the Toyota Prius on consumption: are the results given?

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Known by know to all long-term Autoblog readers, Chris Harris does a road test of the new Lotus Elise SC, the 220hp supercharged version of the English sportscar which finally adopted the compressed engines from its coupè cousin Exige. On the Elise volumetrics are different, developed exclusively by Lotus and in particular the Exige’s intercooler, which completely closes the driver’s rear vision, is not included.

Positive notes include the performance, combined with reasonable consumption, but of particular attention is the handling, supported by a feather-light weight (although a long way from the Elise S1), and the Yokohama tyres specific to this version.

Chris, in love with the SC, doesn’t take long to praise Lotus’ choice of persuing the aim of lighter and less powerful cars, in such a way as to maintain the sporty characteristics, adapting to the ever more stringent laws on consumption and emission, compared to the German counterparts.

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The name Project i is a bit disturbing although we’re not talking about a bad Hollywood film or a secret spy project. Perhaps not even BMW is clear on what’s behind this code, even if the aim is to produce a product to put to the city test (and pollution). This is a hot topic these days, given we’ve already discussed a possible BMW city car and a utility vehicle for emerging markets.

Norbert Reithofer, general manager, has discussed the desire to develop a highly innovative product, independent of the BMW brand, and ready to debut by the middle of the next decade: it is still undecided however, whether to create a fourth brand just for this model.

Uncertainty also surrounds the engine technology to be employed: the possibility of using an electric engine - Reithofer has concluded - is being assessed, as it would allow for driving pleasure together with low emissions.

Via | Motorauthority.com

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Rumors from Germany that have BMW wanting to segment the arm of its smaller cars are ever more frequent. Yesterday we spoke of the electric city car and the chat between Reithofer and Auto, Motor und Sport. The same magazine today, returns to the topic of the flirt between BMW and the smaller segments of the market.

This “smaller” proposal from Munich will most probably include more individual designs exuding BMW personality, and not the classic utilitarianism of smaller cars. As said, the much-talked about model will be paying some attention to the environmental theme: the car will be smaller than the series 1 and the Mini, and will offer in 2012 (a year after its debut) a no-emission version. No fear though from the German manufacturer about driving pleasure, according to Auto, Motor und Sport, because the power produced by the electric motor will be enough for a city car, with added autonomy supplied by a lithium ion battery.

There’s more: the version equipped with a combustion engine could be an option for emerging markets. Management is ready to bet that in four years time, in countries like China, a new rich generation will be born and will be very interested in new forms of transport. In short, there would be many a premise for a “cultmobile” along the lines of the Mini in Europe. On the topic of Mini, there remains only the puzzle of the brand: in Munich they have yet to decide under which brand to commercialize the new citycar.

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