BMW adds a hallowed model label to its 1-Series Coupe, along with carbon fiber components and a sport interior. The tii concept takes the 135i, which should already be an incredible performer, and tricks it out for the race track.
While car companies want to show off their environmental credentials, they also realize that performance never goes out of style. We spent quite a bit of time going over these sporty concept cars at the 2007 Tokyo auto show. They range from small, fun performance cars from the likes of Honda and Peugeot, to big sport luxury concepts from Nissan and Suzuki, and all the way up to pure design plays like the Mazda Taiki.
Click here for photos of sport concept cars at the 2007 Tokyo auto show.
Fisker Automotive. Think of it as a marriage between the Chevy Volt and the Tesla Roadster.
The company is planning to come to market in about 18 months with a high-performance, high-end, plug-in hybrid sedan. The car will cost $80,000. It will go about 50 miles on a battery charge, which isn't far, but the car will also come with a built-in gas engine that exists primarily to charge the battery. With the charging capability, the car can go hundreds of miles, according to Henrik Fisker, the company's CEO.
With a range of hundreds of miles, the … Read more
BMW showed an interest in mining its past with the CS concept, first shown at the 2007 Shanghai auto show. The company follows this theme with the tii concept here at the 2007 Tokyo auto show. This concept is based on the very real and very exciting 135i Coupe, BMW's new small car with the very big engine. If the 135i Coupe isn't enough car for you, the tii concept should certainly be. BMW didn't bother to change the engine or interior electronics for the concept, instead opting for some bodywork. The tii gets a lightened load … Read more
Two months ago, Lenovo competitive analyst Matt Kohut wrote a blog post, Thinkpads are Ruggedized Machines, explaining why the laptop brand favored by many corporate wonks isn't available in a box you can drive over with your 7 Series. But it's not like the company is a stranger to expensive laptop packaging: It's releasing a $5,000 version of the X60 that's swaddled in leather and coddled by a special support staff.
On a recent trip to Lenovo HQ in Beijing, Kohut was shocked--shocked--to see a Lenovo-branded fully-rugged PC on display in the company's Innovation … Read more
Mini? Mini who?
Audi has released photos of its Audi A1, aka the Audi Metroproject Quattro concept car that it plans to debut at the 2007 Tokyo auto show next week.
The Audi wins hands-down in terms of a sophisticated and elegant look for a sub-compact, inexpensive car compared with its intended rival, the BMW Mini Cooper.
The Audi A1 makes BMW's Mini Cooper look like Minnie Mouse, a colorful, fun and quirky friend you once thought was cute as a child. But now that you're an adult your interests lie more toward Heidi Klum or Seal.
My … Read more
I wrote recently (here) about the One Laptop Per Child project's plan to begin selling the XO laptop in a special one-for-two deal: buyers pay $400 for two, receive one, and get a tax deduction for the other, which is then delivered to a child in a developing nation.
As I said, I think that's a good deal--the XO is likely to be a pretty interesting machine, even though its price is twice its original $100 target, and battery life isn't likely to live up to OLPC's original projections (I covered that issue here and here).… Read more
A Ford/Chevrolet NASCAR team; a Toyota/Honda hybrid; a post-race hug between Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton; a BMW/Mercedes-Benz engine. There are some things in the automotive world that you just never expect to see. The latter, however, may become a reality. BMW Chief Executive Norbert Reithofer has followed up last week's new model announcement with confirmation that BMW has offered to include its cross-town arch-rival on a joint engine development program with PSA Citroen. According to a German newspaper, Reithofer said that the door is open to Daimler--parent company of Mercedes-Benz--and that a third partner in … Read more
At its management board meeting powwow in Munich yesterday, BMW shed some light on its plans for future models, revealing that it plans to launch four new models by 2012. According to Dr. Norbert Reithofer, Chairman of the Board of Management at BMW, the new models include:
The BMW X1, a mini SUV, which will presumably be based on the same platform as the 1-Series coupe that is scheduled to go on sale in the U.S. next year. A four-door Gran Turismo sedan, based on the BMW CS concept from this year's Shanghai auto show. A coupe version … Read moreMunich's most exciting car in years will remind us why we love BMWs. BMW puts its best engine, the twin turbo 3-liter straight six, into its smallest coupe, the 1-series. Previously, the 1-series hasn't been available in the U.S., and used smaller engines, but for the 2008 U.S. launch, BMW pumps up the power considerably.
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