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"This is going to be the car that everyone wants" he says, although that largely depends on the price point. Let's just hope the Germans won't get greedy. In any case, Harris' input is a very valuable one and it seems that BMW's engineers are on a good path with the upcoming 1-Series M Coupe.
The newest M family member will arrive in showrooms in the first half of 2011 and it will be smallest Bavarian car ever to wear the coveted M-Technik badge.
By Csaba Daradics
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We have videos aplenty, including a first taste of the Vorax's sonorous V10 soundtrack and a look behind the design process that features an interview with designer Fharys Rossin himself (albeit in Portuguese).
On display at the show was a white coupe and red convertible, though there was no word on whether one of them was the barnstorming 750 hp (559 kw) supercharged variant or whether this would be visually different to the "standard" 570 hp (425 kw) model.
The brainchild of a 37-year-old ex-GM designer, the R$700,000 (US$409,836) Vorax is set to go into production in either late 2011 or early 2012. Carscoop has its fingers crossed that this Brazillian heavyweight champion is more God than dog.
By Tristan Hankins
Source: Youtube
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She earned these nicknames for lapping the German race track more than 20,000 times (according to her own estimates), mostly behind the wheel of the famous BMW M5 Ring Taxi. Other highlights of her carrier include two wins (in 1996 and 1997) and a third place finish (2008) at the 24 Hours Nürburgring.
Sabine got involved in the world of racing as a young child, when many famous drivers and motorsport personalities stayed at the Schmitz family hotel in Nürburg. As a result, all three Schmitz sisters started racing, but only Sabine had real success.
Charismatic and very natural on camera, Sabine pursued a television career as well, co-hosting a number of German motoring shows. Perhaps her most memorable moments in television are linked to several appearances on BBC’s Top Gear.
By Csaba Daradics
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The "rally racer and ultimate DIY enthusiast" made news in March when he took on $100,000+ competition in an old 318i during Rally Mexico. While at SEMA, Bill will be converting a 1989 BMW 3-Series coupe [E30] into an off-road Baja blaster in order to compete in the SCORE Baja 1000's Sportsman class (starting November 17th). Now that's hardcore.
Here's a breakdown of Bill's SEMA welding schedule prior to tackling the rally: roll cage on day 1, front cage/suspension on day 2, rear cage/suspension on day 3, and "accessories" on day 4. Day 4's work will include finishing the main cage and crafting other Baja racing necessities such as a front brush guard, fuel cell, light bar, and more.
Miller Electric Mfg. Co.'s marketing VP Tim Swanson says, "Bill's passion for racing combined with his desire to create fits nicely with our vision...Rally and Baja racing requires a diverse skill set, from detailed fabrication and welding to high-speed driving. We're looking forward to watching Bill build and race the Miller car."
If you're interested, definitely follow the live updates on Bill's build during SEMA (which can be found at the link below).
By Phil Alex
About Bill Caswell (from Miller Electric Mfg. Co.):
Formerly a finance banker from Chicago, Caswell left his job in 2009 to focus on rally racing, competing in several races in the U.S. in cars that he built, modified and fabricated himself. Caswell made a name for himself in March of this year by placing third in the Rally America class of Rally Mexico, an FIA-sanctioned event run concurrently with World Rally Championship in Corona, Mexico.
Link: Miller
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According to this video, BMW's xDrive is vastly superior to Audi's quattro - at least when driving up metal inclines built by BMW... In the clip, we get a glimpse at what appears to be some sort of BMW press event and a hill climb-off between two small-ish diesel-powered premium soft-roaders: Audi's Q5 and BMW's X3.
Although the X3 depicted here may not be the first pick on a lot people's lists, the comparison below is just used as an example. After all, xDrive is now available on a variety of products in BMW's lineup. Could it be that BMW has bested Audi at its own game?
By Phil Alex
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This green '86 BMW 3-Series E30, built by Croatia's VST Conversions, is the brainchild of Mate Rimac; he wanted to go fast in an electric car, and now he can.
After working through a few power setups, the current version of the VST "bi-moto EV" puts down 500 horsepower through the wheels and can run the quarter in 12.1. The word you're looking for is DAMN. As in "Damn, this thing is awesome."
It only helps that the car's coated in a juicy shade of green and its graphics pay homage to BMW's 1-Series ActiveE concept. Now, I can't make any sense of the parts and other jazz used, but if you can, enjoy more info and pics of the build at DIY Electric Car.
By Phil Alex
Source: DIY Electric , Via: Green.Autoblog
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