Starting 2015 BMW has announced plans to roll out different designs for its next generation of core models. Many people are criticizing both mainstream and premium automakers for launching cars with very little styling differentiations within the range but now it seems at least one of them will address this issue. According to BMW brand design director Karim Habib, next-gen cars will look more different than one another as the Bavarian marque says each model is going "to have its little world."
I’m beginning to wonder if BMW’s Abu Dhabi dealership has too much time on its hands. In the past week, the dealership has unveiled three personalized BMW vehicles. First we saw the stunning BMW M235i. That was followed by the equally alluring BMW M3 with M Performance Parts. Now, it has a BMW i8, or to be more specific, the i8 Sophisto Grey.
The BMW M4 is arguably one of the most enticing sports coupe you can buy nowadays, but Munich seems determined to take its new compact up a notch. The Germans are doing so by reviving the GTS nameplate, which was introduced on the 2010 model year M3 Coupe. Only 250 units were built that year, and the entire series sold like hotcakes. Although BMW has yet to confirm the return of the GTS with the M4 Coupe, testing is already underway, albeit with a prototype disguised as a MotoGP Safety Car.
In the early ‘60s, Carroll Shelby took an ordinary AC Ace roadster, yanked its plebian engine out, and slung a burly V8 motor in its place. While it certainly wasn’t the first V8-engine conversion, it’s undeniably one of the most famous.
We recently had the opportunity to experience the latest in night vision technology on a BMW 7 Series. Though we have evaluated night vision systems in the past, this one proved to have far clearer images and was also able to highlight animals and pedestrians. Today’s systems utilize advanced infrared cameras to “see” heat, not light, making anything that has a “thermal” image visible even through darkness or fog. If the system determined that an animal or pedestrian was dangerously close or approaching the car’s lane of travel, it gave an audible beep and a visible warning in the car’s head-up display. This added warning proved important as the normal night vision view is on the screen in the dash and not in the driver’s normal line of sight—our only complaint.
BMW has confirmed the appointment of Roberto Fedeli, the former R&D chief of Ferrari who had a sparkling 26-year technical career at Maranello.
It’s a further sign of change at the top of Ferrari, in the wake of president Luca di Montezemolo’s departure. He quit this week, squeezed out by Fiat overlord Sergio Marchionne in a shake-up of the corridors of power of Italy's biggest car making conglomerate. What will Roberto Fedeli do at BMW?
No news yet. CAR magazine contacted BMW today to ask what role he would be fulfilling in Munich, but it has yet to announce the nature of his job.
