Category: BMW

According to InsideLine, BMW will reveal a green concept car at the next Geneva Motor Show. At this stage, information remains scarce and one does not know if the concept car will be a production ready concept or a pure concept car.

Indeed, BMW is getting used to unveil production ready concept cars such as the X6 at the latest Frankfurt Motor Show in September before unveiling the production model at Detroit a few weeks ago. This time, the Geneva Motor Show might be an opportunity for the car maker to display the eagerly-awaited Progressive Active Sedan.

The green concept car might also be a real concept car intended to show where the car maker is heading in terms of innovation and design in the future. The concept car might also announce a change in design. This is pure speculation and the next weeks will likely reveal more information about this concept car.

With a goal to sell 2 million vehicles annually by 2020, BMW has to go where the growth is: in China. After a 42% sales increase last year, the german car maker has announced it will raise its local production by 45% over the next few months.

The current production of 30,000 vehicles will be raised to 44,000 vehicles in the Shenyang factory owned by BMW and the Chinese car maker Brilliance. Chinese media have also reported that the venture planned to build a second factory capable of making 20,000 vehicles per year.The Chinese plant produces the 3-Series and the 5-Series models although BMW sells the whole range on the Chinese market.

Last year, BMW sold 51,588 cars there and expect a similar growth for 2008.

In an attempt to shorten the development cycle and cut cost, BMW has decided that the future Mini Crossman will share components with the upcoming BMW X1 model, which means the Mini SUV will get some 1-series components.

Due to be unveiled in 2010, the Crossman won’t be built by Mini as its production capacity can’t even satisfy the current demand but by Magna in Austria. Exact spec of the vehicle remains unknown although it likely be powered by current engine family, except perhaps by the diesel unit which might not powerful enough to power a heavier vehicle than the current Mini. Like the small hatchback, the Crossman won’t be cheap and it is rumoured that it will start at roughly £16,000.

The next-generation BMW’s flagship will go on sale from 2009 and has been caught a few times under testing by soy photographers. Motorauthority has released speculative rendering of the future executive saloon.

One does not expect a styling revolution as the current model did in 2001. This time, BMW doesn’t want to create a row over the design of the car and prefers to offer an evolution of the Flame surface design, denigrated at first and then acclaimed by almost everybody. As it has already been reported, the short and limousine bodies will be different. While the short wheelbase will feature a sporty design, the long wheelbase will get a more conservative and luxurious treatment.

From 60,486 vehicles being sold in 2002, the 7-series has suffered a bit from the arrival of the Mercedes S-class. Last year only 49,771 units were sold. BMW hopes the next-generation will do better than the current model with a target of 65,000 vehicles by 2010. The German expects the German market to make a difference. Indeed, 5,710 7-series found an owner there last year while it hopes it will sell 11,000 cars by 2010.

Click here to see all the pictures

Source figures: CSM Worldwide

Mini CEO Kay Segler has given more details about the future Mini crossover in an interview with Auto Motor und Sport. It will be christened Crossman and will be available with a choice of FWD and AWD versions.

It was originally thought that the Mini Crossover will be called Colorado but that is the codename for the project. Crossman features the family characteristic by starting with a ‘c’ and starting by ‘man’. Due to appear in 2010, it will be built at 45,000 units per year while earlier rumours reported a 65,000 target.

The Crossman will be manufactured by Magna in its Austrian factory, formerly owned by Steyr Puch.

BMW has officially revealed its latest model, the X6 model, which will make its debut at Detroit in a few weeks. The car doesn’t differ from the concept shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show in last September and inaugurates the crossover coupé segment. It comes with a new twin-turbocharged V8 petrol engine which has an output of 407bhp.

With the X6, BMW has gone wild and the coupé crossover will surprise company’s aficionados by its roofline similar to the Ssangyong’s Actyon’s. From the B-pillar, the roofline plunges to the rear edn and despite a higher waistline, rear passenger’s headroom might be limited. Longer but lower by 3.3 inches than the X5 model, the X6 will be roomy enough just for 4 people. The interior will feature a sporty feeling with a three spoke steering wheel and gearshift paddles as standard. The exterior paintwork comes with a choice of ten exterior colors, while eleven leather options and three trim options are available inside.

Oddly, BMW has decided to christen the range in a convoluted way. Forget the traditional scheme, the model name and the engine’s displacement, as BMW has thaken keywords from its whole line up. The ranage will start with the X6 Xdrive35i for the petrol engine and the X6 Xdrive30d for the diesel unit, followed by the X6 Xdrive35d and topped by the X6 Xdrive50i which features a all-new twin-turbo V8 petrol engine. This is the second company’s engine to come with twin-turbocharger architecture and is intended to replace the current 4.8-litre V8 petrol unit. A 4.4-litre unit, it pumps out a power of 407bhp and a torque of 443lb ft between 1750rpm and 4500rpm. It enables the heavy X6, 2190 kg to run the 0-62mph in 5.4s! Other engines are already known and featured on current models.

Future will say whether BMW was right or not by launching the first coupé crossover in an attempt to increase its sales. Land Rover will likely join the German car maker with the baby Land and other car makers will follow, but scepticism remains strong.

Due to be unveiled at the next Paris Motor Show in September 2008, the spyshots of the next-generation 7-Series are starting to emerge on Internet. With its future flagship, BMW will make a return to normality with a sportier design, but will innovate with a differentiated long wheelbase version.

Internally known as ‘F01’, the standard version will be focused on sports and will adopt a more classic look abandoning the controversial current boot design. Dubbed ‘F02’, the long wheelbase version will offer a different style expected to be more conservative than the standard 7-Series. The two cars will be powered by the current engine range and will feature the 4.8-litre V8 petrol engine and the 6.0-litre V12 petrol unit.

The 7-Series will also provide the underpinnings of the future small Rolls Royce saloon.

Click here to see the whole picture