Chris Bangle may be the name most recently associated with design, but he’s just one of many men and women who have sketched and sculpted automobiles for Bayerische Motoren Werke. BMW enthusiast website has to the beginning of the brand, when a BMW was a knockoff of an Austin 7. The names we all know show up in the chronology; giants of post-World War II automotive design world like Michelotti, Bertone, Gandini, Bracq, and of course, Hofmeister.
In addition to the Italian hired guns who sketched for BMW at one time or another, a few surprising names dot BMW’s history. , the largely unsung automotive engineer responsible for much of the original Volkswagen Beetle, also did contract work for BMW. Aerodynamicist Wunibald Kamm based his Kamm-Coupe on BMW 328 mechanicals. Raymond Loewy’s mid-century lines were wrought upon at least one BMW 507, and Albrecht von Goertz was a colleague of Loewy’s before he designed the 507.
In more recent years, it’s intriguing to note the diversity of backgrounds. You’ve got Bangle, Henrik Fisker, current design chief Adrian van Hooydonk (the man actually responsible for the “Bangle Butt”), and Z4 designer Juliane Blasi. Perhaps the most understated of all BMW designers is Jojii Nagashima, the man responsible for the outgoing E90 3 Series, the iconic E39 5 Series, and, along with Boyke Boyer, the E36 3 Series. Taken as a whole, BMW has a pantheon of automotive design big-thinkers, a trend that doesn’t look to be slowing anytime soon.
We’ve gotten various peeks at the Mercedes-Benz A-Class for a few months now, from the to to . Then, of all things in all places, a cyclist with a handlebar-mounted camera of the real deal while riding in Lanzarote, Spain for what we assume is a photo or video shoot.
If you liked the look of the patent drawings, then you’ll be happy with the glimpse here. It even looks close enough to the for us to give Mercedes props for truth-in-concept-car designing. There’s debate as to whether this is the , but regardless, the final version will be shown at next month’s . Until then, watch the video .
is looking to meld the smartphones with the television in a new ad campaign. The automaker is giving fans a chance to win two in new promotion that uses the Shazam mobile app in conjunction with a TV spot. When the commercial airs, viewers simply fire up Shazam and enter the giveaway. (They can also enter the sweepstakes online.) Toyota says the program is the first and largest of its kind to use Shazam.
The “Connections” TV spot is designed to encourage further exploration of the so-called “Camry Effect,” a social media campaign focused on how the Camry impacts people’s lives for the better. Fans can enter the sweepstakes once daily for a chance to take home a Camry for themselves and one for a friend. for the full press release.
Based on the of the , the public hasn’t gotten tired of Hyundai’s “fluidic sculpture” design theme. Based on this commercial for the , we admit that we haven’t either. The five-door sold in Europe and based on the Kia Cee’d platform shows us what we can generally expect from the upcoming replacement.
The last Elantra wagon didn’t get big play here three years ago, but neither the nor Hyundai were in the position they’re in now. In Europe, the i30 five-door will get a choice of four engines and three transmissions, but we shouldn’t expect to be so spoiled for choice. to see the video.
commercial gives good look at coming Elantra five-door
There are very few things that get the unanimous approval of everyone here at Autoblog. One of them is Icon 4×4, which makes impossibly expensive yet worth-every-penny reimaginings of history’s best off-roaders. For this year’s , Icon debuted something new that had nothing to do with off-roading, yet still had our whole team salivating.
Christened a “Derelict” by Icon founder and designer Jonathon Ward, this looks like an abused artifact from a time not worth remembering. Knowing Icon like we do, however, it’s anything but. The Derelict is fitted with a 6.2-liter V8 from producing 430 horsepower and an interior upholstered in gorgeous vintage briefcase leather, but the exterior is as original and rusty as it was when Icon found it. What we didn’t know at SEMA is that the ‘52 Chevy isn’t the first Derelict that Icon produced.
Our friends at have produced an excellent video about how the two Derelicts came to be, including how Jonathon Ward and his company made them. Spoiler alert: It wasn’t as easy as dropping a new engine into an old car and redoing the leather. The Derelicts were meant to be high-performance yet reliable daily drivers, which requires more thought and engineering than we ever imagined.
to be one of the first to watch this latest video from eGarage.
Though the may be a niche player in the North American market, the small van market is big business in Europe. According to , it accounts for some 700,000 units annually, and that’s a pie of which Daimler wouldn’t mind getting a bigger slice. And so it has announced its new Citan.
Taking its name from a combination of City and Titan, the Citan will slot in below the Vario, Sprinter and Vito in order to meet the needs of workers who need to get around crowded city streets and take their gear with them. Mercedes plans to offer it in a broad range of configurations, lengths and engine options once it hits the market in the fall.
The concept was unveiled at a logistics symposium held at the Mercedes-BenzDesign Center in Sindelfingen, and will be presented for the first time in public next September at the IAA Commercial Vehicle Show. In the meantime, you can check out the details in the press release after the jump and the renderings in our high-res image gallery below.
has announced plans to enter the FIA with this, a hot new racer based on the newly redesigned (well, the European five-door, anyway). Details are slim about the new touring car racer, but the automaker has released a statement confirming that the Civic will be powered by a bespoke 1.6-liter turbocharged inline-four, developed by Honda R&D in accordance with FIA’s Super 2000 regulations. Honda has also formed a joint partnership with Mugen and J.A.S. Motorsport to develop the new Civic.
So, how soon will we get to watch the new hatchback swap paint with other WTCC racers? Honda hopes to officially join WTCC this season, with some inaugural rounds possibly held in Japan, China and Macau. Following that, a two-car team will be entered into every race in the 2013 championship. for the full details.
The annals of automotive history are filled with nameplates that weren’t quite able to survive the boom and bust nature of the business, especially here in the United States. One of the most successful orphaned automakers was , for such design gems as the bullet-nosed post-World War II Starlight and trend-setting fiberglass-bodied .
Sadly, Studebaker officially ceased producing automobiles in 1966, though a small portion of its legacy lives today in the form of the ex-Kaiser . But if a Colorado-based business has its way, the Studebaker name will once again appear on vehicles sold in America. Somehow, we’re far from convinced any of its conceptual designs will ever see the light of day.
Looking over the proposed revival, we see a range of so-called Studebaker cars, trucks, motorcycles and scooters. Half the motorcycles are actually Hyosung models from Korea with Studebaker scripting on the fuel tanks, and the other half are nothing but poor renderings. As for the cars, well… there isn’t a single shred of Studebaker DNA in any of them. In any case, the company is reportedly looking for “qualified investor/partners”. We wish them the best of luck… they’re gonna need it.
Forget about all the talk, about the contracts and the lawsuits. The real sign of the Formula One season gearing up to start is when each team unveils its new car. As you may already know, unlike most other series, each team in F1 is not really considered a team. They’re called “constructors”. Each is responsible for designing and crafting the cars they’ll be fielding in the championship.
That process got under way last week when Caterham beat all the others to the punch by unveiling its new Renault-powered . And that’s all well and fine, but we all know that the Caterham is far more likely to finish last than finish first. What you’re bound to see taking checkered flags is the car you see here: the new McLaren MP4-27.
McLaren, you see, is the winningest team on the grid this side of . And with Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton – both world champions – performing the driving duties, the British squad is hard at work on closing that gap. The more immediate challenge, however, is overcoming Red Bull, which returns as reigning champion once again and to which McLaren finished second last season.
The MP4-27 you see here is the car with which McLaren hopes to seize the lead. Although the design looks rather similar to the 2011-spec it replaces, McLaren insists it represents a comprehensive redesign. Fortunately that does not include the stepped platypus nose already shown on the Caterham and which is expected to proliferate across a good part of the grid. Power once again comes from , a relationship that McLaren it is not about to terminate in favor of another supplier or building its own engines in-house.
We’ll have to wait and see as the season gets underway to see if the MP4-27 will be a winner for McLaren, but for now you can check out the high-resolution images from the launch in the gallery above, and for the full press release and the sound file of the Mercedes-Benz V8 cranking over.
The suitably rapid expansion of the Racing division is showing no signs of slowing down. The British marque has its own Formula One team, is supplying engines to the IndyCar Series, oversees both GP2 and GP3 teams, has competition versions of its road cars in various GT and rally championships, runs its own karting program, and offers enthusiasts top-notch trackday programs with the Evora GT and Exos/Type 125 single-seater. But that’s not enough: now Lotus is gearing up to take on Le Mans.
The company was planning to design its own LMP2 racer, and it had snagged the designer of the 908 HDi away from the Peugeot Sport racing program. But that apparently didn’t go quite as smoothly as planned, so Lotus has instead opted to back an independent team to run a second-tier Le Mans prototype on its behalf.
That team is Kodewa, headed up by former HRT F1 team principal Colin Kolles and his father Romulus. They’ll be running a chassis built by Lola and powered by a V8 prepared by Engine Developments – the same arrangement by which Lotus is powering its Indy program. The car, as you can see, features the same iconic black and gold livery as other Lotus racers, penned in this case by Daniel Simon – a former Group designer responsible for the Tron:Legacy lightcycles and the livery run on .
Look for the Lotus LMP2 to debut when the FIA World Endurance Championship kicks off here at Sebring in March, with a second car expected to join at Spa in May. Press release after the jump.
Don’t believe anyone who tells you “they don’t build ‘em like they used to.” Not even us. Because they do, in fact, build them even better, with the benefit of a century’s worth of automotive development. Styling, however, is a matter of taste, and beauty is in the proverbial eye of the beholder. So you could certainly make the case that cars were more beautiful back in the day.
That, you see, is where the Huet Brothers come in. Several years ago, the Dutch fraternity rolled out the HB Special, a retro roadster based on a Triumph TR6, designed for use in classic rallies organized by the Huets but also available for sale in limited quantities. Now Tino and Paul are back with a fixed-roof coupedesign they’ve been working on.
Still in the development phase, the classically proportioned HB Coupe promises to offer the comforts and reliability of a modern car with the style and charm of a classic. Weighing in at little over 2,400 lbs, it packs a 3.0-liter inline-six of unspecified origin – presumably BMW – mated to either a six-speed manual or seven-speed dual clutch transmission. So equipped, the drivetrain is said to be good for 306 horsepower, an anticipated 4.3-second run to 62 mph and a 155 mph top end. A 2.0-liter, 204-horsepower diesel four (with six-speed manual or automatic) is also scheduled to be available for a 5.6-second sprint.
HB is also planning a more performance-oriented version as well as a racing model in the future, but the brothers are taking things one step at a time. In a novel approach to raising capital, HB is selling wristwatches and other gear to help get the project off the ground, and it has two timepieces currently on promotion in a group deal you can . There’s no word yet on pricing, so watch this space for more. In the meantime, you can scope out the video and details and the design renderings in the image gallery above.
You’ve seen the S-Max. You’ve seen the C-Max. Now get ready for the B-Max.
The latest European-focused mini minivan from was at last year’s , but has now been confirmed for production release at the 2012 edition of the same expo this March. Based on the (the C-Max is based on the ), the new B-Max will arrive into a highly competitive segment overseas, so it will need to offer some alluring features to make its mark.
The edgy design should help, but the party piece for this diminutive people carrier is that it has no B-pillars. And we don’t mean that the windows have no frame: we mean the entire pillars are incorporated into the doors themselves, so that when you open the doors there’s no encumbrance to loading and unloading of passengers and cargo alike.
Motivation is provided by a 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine, with Duratorq diesels also on offer. After its unveiling in Geneva, the new B-Max will go on sale at dealers across Europe later this year. for the full press release and click the thumbnails below to view the pair of images released thus far in high resolution.
When 2011 ticked over to become 2012, something changed with the dynamic that had been in place nearly all of last year. We had become so used to the domestics seeing increased sales month after month while and struggled to keep their heads above water while fixing disaster-related production issues. No more.
January saw both Toyota and Honda report strong positive sales figures (up 9.00 and 9.25 percent, respectively). That’s good enough to out-trend (up 8.29 percent) and General Motors (down 6.11 percent), the latter of which saw its new year kick off with a decline after finishing 2011 with 11 out of 12 monthly sales gains. Conversely, Honda kicked off its new year right after posting eight straight months of sales declines to end 2011.
The Chrysler Group was King of the Hill in January, posting a 44.26-percent increase in sales.
Both Toyota and Honda should especially be pleased with how their traditional top sellers performed. The redesigned entered the market without skipping a beat and posted a 55.9-percent increase on 28,295 units sold. Likewise, the , which received a harshly criticized redesign in 2011, bounced back in January with a 49.5-percent increase on sales of 21,883 units. It replaces the aging at the top of Honda’s sales heap, which remained flat in January with just 13,659 units sold.
What about ? Shockingly, the Chrysler Group was King of the Hill in January, posting a 44.26-percent increase in sales compared to 2011, led by an indomitable Chrysler brand that reported an 81.39-percent increase in sales on the back of strong performances by its and sedans. (41.86 percent), (37.40 percent) and (29.37 percent) all reported strong sales, as well.
Additional mentions should be made for (up 68.19 percent) and (up 47.87 percent). Mazda enjoyed a 532.6-percent in sales to 3,032 units, as well as a 118-percent increase in sales to 4,929 units. Meanwhile, the went from selling just 108 units last year to moving 6,318 last month.
Check out the rest of last month’s sales numbers in the table below.
*Brands and companies are displayed in descending order according to their percentage change in volume sales. There were 24 selling days in January 2012 versus 24 selling days in January 2011, so the change in monthly sales volume will be the same as the change in average daily sales rate (DSR) for each brand/company. Also, brands are combined and reported as companies only if their sales figures are released jointly.
has put the under the knife in an attempt to give the maligned A-segment vehicle a few more years of life. The ForTwo now wears a smarter-looking revised fascia with a bolder Smart emblem, more expansive grille and redesigned lower valance. The front clip is paired with more defined rockers and a similarly restyled rear valance. Throw in a few more wheel options and the package helps freshen the vehicle quite a bit. Unfortunately, engineers left the engine bay alone. That means buyers will still be met with the same abysmal engine lineup and automated manual transmission found in the current vehicle.
Smart plans to continue to offer five option packages, including Brabus and Brabus Xclusive. The refreshed ForTwo will land in dealers in the UK in April, with U.S. sales commencing shortly thereafter as a 2013 model.
Word has it the next-generation ForTwo won’t see the light of day for another two years at least. Will the 2013 nip/tuck draw enough buyers into show rooms to keep Smart afloat until then? We imagine it won’t hurt, but the company is facing increased competition from big players like and , and its sales numbers are terrible to begin with. Vehicles like the the more efficient and the Spark probably won’t help the ForTwo’s chances. Hit the jump for the full press release.
Race cars are going hybrid these days. Formula One racers store regenerated brake energy. packs a flywheel into the 911 GT3 R. Just the other day, unveiled its new TS030 Hybrid endurance prototype. And now even Jim Glickenhaus’ one-off -powered, Pininfarina-designed P4/5 Competizione is said to be getting a hybrid powertrain.
Emerging reports from Europe indicate that the GT prototype is preparing to return to the Nürburgring-based VLN series, but this time, it’ll be packing some electric boost. That bit is tipped to come from a system provided by Magneti Marelli that’s similar to the Kinetic Energy Recovery System it developed for Scuderia Ferrari for use in F1. The 4.0-liter V8 will continue providing principal motivation, but the added jolt of power could be just what the team needs to conquer the Green Hell with green(er) propulsion.
The 2001-2003 Z8 is one of the more graceful designs to slip from the design studios in recent memory. With the droptop’s classic roadster lines and plenty of performance on tap, the Z8 may not have sold like gangbusters when it was in production, but its slow-burn appeal has ensured that it has plenty of fans and impressive resale value. Despite a very limited production run of just 5,703 units, Senner Tuning has belatedly turned its attention toward modifying this convertible, which is quickly becoming a classic.
The company’s engineers got started with a new sports air filter and easy breathing exhaust, including low-restriction catalytic converters. Throw in a mild ECU reflash and the vehicle is good for 450 horsepower and 394 pound-feet of torque. Senner Tuning says those figures should be good enough to get the Zed to around 186 mph.
Thankfully, the folks at Senner haven’t messed with the Z8’s aesthetics too much. A set of slick 19×9-inch Work Schwert SC1 wheels ride up front while 19×10-inch rollers out back take care of putting power to the pavement. Senner also spent some time with the vehicle’s suspension. A new coilover suspension with adjustable rebound, new strut bar and reinforced shock mount are all part of the package. If you like the sound of this recipe, Senner Tuning will rework your Z8 for the princely sum of just under $25,000 at current conversion rates. for the full press release.
has a redesigned that it truly believes can compete with the likes of the and . So it’s going where the eyeballs are with , ponying up for the brand’s first-ever Super Bowl ad. Lexus’ commercial is just a 30-second spot, joining the likes of Acura, , Cadillac and other brands buying time during the big game.
Lexus is calling its ad, “The Beast,” which calls to mind both and the . The actual spot, however, has a rather hackneyed sci-fi theme: A GS350 is locked up in a shipping container sized cage in a lab, and uses its new “Lexus spindle grille” to break free in a destructive orgy of CGI.
Perhaps the biggest reveal of 2012 for fans of luxury performance all-electric vehicles (or, perhaps, anyone automotively inclined with a pulse) is when pulls the shroud from its crossover at its new Los Angeles design studio. And now, we have been given a strong hint of what to expect.
The upstart California startup has just sent out a new version of its invitation to customers, and included on the summons is a partially silhouetted image of something seemingly very sleek and very sexy. Indeed, it must be the Model X. While there is some of the same design language used in the sedan, the teaser suggests a vehicle with a shorter hood, a taller roof and less-pronounced creases in its sheet metal.
We’ll have a presence at the event, but you can witness the unveiling in real time from the comfort of your own home. CEO has that the reveal will be shown live on the at 8:00 PM (we presume that’s Pacific Standard Time). He also adds, “Most cars are pretty blah. This is not.”
After seeing the image above and adding the “Quicker than a Porsche 911 and roomier than an Audi Q7″ statement we’ve heard previously to the equation, we’re going to give him the benefit of the doubt. For now.
This year Mopar is celebrating 75 years since its name – a combination of MOtor and PARts – was first trademarked. During that time, Mopar has evolved to become synonymous with performance parts for and vehicles, as well as amp’d-up specialty package vehicles, vehicle service and maintenance, and add to the long list of Chrysler Group brands it supports since the Italian automaker took part ownership in the smallest of Detroit’s Big 3.
Anniversaries usually come with presents, and Mopar is bring four to show and share at the next month. The first, and only one that will be sold turn-key, is the ‘12 Mopar 300, which becomes the brand’s third factory-built model for modern times following the and . While offering no more power than a standard 5.7-liter V8-equipped 300, the ‘12 Mopar does benefit from a new final-drive ratio of 3.91:1 that drops its 0-60 time in the low five-second range, as well as a significantly stiffer suspension, grippier tires and brake system upgrades.
Then there’s the exterior. If the plague’s preferred method of transmission were by car, this would be its ride. It is the Black Death on wheels, which themselves are 20-inch, 8-spoke forged aluminum rollers painted Gloss Black with Mopar center caps. We especially like the tasteful blue striping that appears across the ‘12 Mopar’s sides and around its rims. While we’ve yet to see it, Mopar says the interior is equally void of light save for accents of Mopar Blue.
Only 500 of these ‘12 Mopar 300 models will be built and sold this summer for the price of $49,700, which includes destination charges. Each one will also come with a special box of goodies that includes Mopar-branded key fobs and merch; proof of the vehicle’s exact manufacture date and number built; and a sketch of the car signed by its designer.
Follow the jump for three more anniversary models from Mopar.
Last year was a good one for Harley-Davidson. According to Asphalt and Rubber, the American bike manufacturer saw its sales increase by 5.9 percent globally compared to 2010. Sales in the U.S., meanwhile, were up 5.8 percent. All told, Harley-Davidson managed to move 235,188 units last year, with 151,683 of those heading to owners in the States. Those figures mean the manufacturer managed to post a net income of $105.6 million last year. By contrast, during the fourth quarter of 2010 the company saw a net loss of $46.7 million.
The global recession hadn’t been kind to the company. With a model line designed to cater to the wealthy and their lust for toys, Harley-Davidson suddenly saw itself posting yearly losses. Those at the helm sold off MV Agusta and pulled the plug on Buell all together in an effort to keep Harley-Davidson up right.
Those moves seem to have helped. The company posted $4.6 billion in revenue last year, which marks an increase of 11.6 percent over 2010.
When 2011 ticked over to become 2012, something changed with the dynamic that had been in place nearly all of last year. We had become so used to the domestics seeing increased sales month after month while and struggled to keep their heads above water while fixing disaster-related production issues. No more.
