Tag Archives: bmw

The new BMW Zagato Coupé is awesome

May 31, 2012   simon

BMW unveiled the Zagato Coupé at the Villa d’Este Concours, Italy, the other day. It’s beautiful, so we thought we’d show it to you. Here it is.It follows the Aston Martin V12 Zagato, and like that car is a quite reserved take on the base car – unlike some of Zagato’s other work.

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BMW reveals all-new 3 Series Touring

May 16, 2012   Ian

BMW has shown the 3 Series Touring for the first time, adding a welcome dose of dog carrying ability to its most popular car. It was only ever a case of when BMW unveiled the estate version of its most popular car, rather than if. In the same way, we’ll get a Coupé at some point, and a Convertible.That said, it’s almost certain that those two cars will be badged 4 Series, so that BMW can make them sound posher; the same principle makes Audi A5 drivers genuinely believe their cars are superior to A4s.
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Something for nothing – cars with performance and economy

May 13, 2012   Ian

Generally speaking, we assume that more powerful cars will use more fuel – after all, that extra power has to be generated by burning fuel. However, the fast pace of engine technology means that it is not quite so straightforward. A rather clever little website called www.cleanbhp.co.uk has worked out the amount of CO2 each car produces to generate each bhp – and the results are a real eye-opener.Some of the latest-generation petrol engines produce more than twice the power for the same CO2 or fuel consumption as older designs. For example, the Citroen C3 1.1 produces 139 g/km of CO2 in return for a measly 61 bhp, whereas the Mini Cooper S with 136 g/km of CO2 produces 181 bhp. Ironically, the two engines are even distantly related – BMW’s 1.6 litre engine in the Mini was originally jointly developed with Peugeot, owners of Citroen. So how can there be such a big difference?
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BMW updates the X1

May 04, 2012   Ian

Is it that time already? It doesn’t seem too long ago that was first unveiling its smallest – and incongruously rear-wheel drive – SUV, but it’s just been revised. The top and bottom ends of the range have been made more appealing – cleaner at the one end and quicker at t’other. The sDrive20d EfficientDynamics boasts 62.8mpg and 119g/km, while a new xDrive25d develops 215bhp and can hit 62mph in just 6.8 seconds.The 25d replaces the old 23d. It’s powered by a four-cylinder 2.0-litre diesel engine, and despite its pace can still manage 51.4mpg and 145g/km.

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15-minute electric car charge system unveiled

May 04, 2012   Ian

A fast-charging system that promises to fully charge an electric car in 15-20 minutes will be demonstrated for the first time at an electric vehicle show next week.  The Electric Vehicle Symposium will see eight major car manufacturers (Audi, BMW, Chrysler, Daimler, Ford, GM, Porsche and VW) throw their weight behind a standardised DC-fast charging system. It will, according to a Volkswagen Group press release, “accelerate more affordable deployment of electrified vehicles and charging infrastructure.”
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