BMW Museum: Night of the White Gloves Lets Visitors Touch Exhibits
BMW doesn’t mind if you touch their array of classic cars at the BMW Museum in Munich, but they would prefer that you don’t leave any fingerprints.
For a special, one night only event, BMW will host a “Night of the White Gloves” at its museum that will allow visitors to touch the exhibits on display.
The event is being held in collaboration with the Bavarian Association of the Blind. Those attending will be permitted to touch the 120 exhibits while wearing white gloves provided by their hosts. Visitor will also be able to touch the insides of the cabins, engines and luggage compartments.
Jürgen Steinle of BMW Design will be on hand to expand on the hallmarks of the brand’s design heritage, while Ralf Vierlein, head of the Historic Vehicle Collection at BMW Classic, will speak on what makes a BMW a classic.
BMW will also be putting on display for the first time the GINA Concept Car at the event.
“The Night of the White Gloves” will take place on November the 21st at the BMW Museum in Munich.
Litchfield Subaru Impreza STI Type-20 Makes 400 PS
Subaru STI has always had a reputation as a tuner’s dream car thanks to a number of its “natural” characteristics, such as small turbo engines, AWD and superb handling. Litchfield are a prominent Subaru specialist and they now introduce the world - via Autosport show - to Litchfield Subaru Impreza STI Type-20, a hatch as potent as a previous generation BMW M5. At a fraction of the weight and price.
Litchfield owner Iain Litchfield and team began working on the car early this year. It’s based on the rally-based STI but is actually something of a road-going pocket bullet. Using the Subaru 2.0-litre boxer rocker, Litchfield has squeezed a tremendous 400PS/ 298kW from it, in conjunction with a massive 508Nm of torque, 414Nm of which is available at 3,000rpm. For a turbo this STI Type-20 is quite the screamer, achieving its maximum potency at a woozy 7,500rpm. Zero to 60mph is a matter of 3.9 seconds, top speed reached at 165mph.
Of noteworthy importance are the high performance 245/40/18 Dunlop SP600 tyres, not for their size but for their name, for these are the same tyres used by Nissan during GT-R’s famed Nurburgring record run. Other kit items include a revised STI front grille, revised chassis bushes, revalved power steering system for increased feel and weight and Litchfield front strut brace. The package costs £36,995 OTR.
Audi R8 by Project Kahn
Afzal Kahn is a busy guy. He’s CEO of Kahn Design and head of Project Kahn, which brings us this Audi R8. He’s also working on Kahn Pizza delivery, which promises to deliver your pizza in a supercar over 200,000 dollars in value or your money back.
Anyway, Project Kahn does the Audi R8. Kahn lowers the suspension and slaps on 20″ F1-X rims made of lightweight carbon fiber. There are no more details than that, just the pic.
Project Kahn says on its website that, “You do not need to worry about the engine,” referring to Audi’s 4.2 liter FSI, 414 hp (309 kW) V8. Which we can interpret to mean that there won’t be any engine tuning to this Kahn creation.
But maybe Kahn has a point. Sometimes tuning squeezes too much out of an engine and takes away its suppleness and character. A 3.77kg/hp ratio is very respectable territory for a supercar and, to paraphrase the late Paul Newman, avid race driver, its the driver that makes the car.
Rendered: Mercedes E-Class Coupe Convertible
As you know by now, the CLK has been morphed into the E-Class Coupe. You won’t be seeing that production model soon, since it will likely first be shown either at Geneva in March 2009 or the Frankfurt Motor Show later next September.
But we’ve seen the spy photos and now here is an artist’s rendition of what the final product will probably look like.
The E-Class Coupe cabriolet/convertible will feature a retractable hardtop, if we are to believe what we’ve seen in spy shots, as you cannot tell by this rendition.
It will also come with Mercedes-Benz’s new Bluetec diesel with 204 hp and there will also be a 550 hp V8 AMG version. The rest of the lineup of engines for the E-Class are also expected to power this cabrio.
The new E-Class coupe variants will be based on Mercedes’ C-Class platform, as was the CLK, but will be larger and feature more interior refinement to go with bump up in class.
You likely won’t see this convertible until Frankfurt next year.
JAPAN: Lamborghini Gallardo, BMW M5 and a Lancia Stratos turned into manga cars
See these cars right on these pictures? They are owned by one man, a matured gentleman by the name of Yoshida San. Yoshida is an avid gamer, in fact he is President of AGE SOFT, a videogame software house. Note the three customised cars; Lamborghini Gallardo, BMW M5 and Lancia Stratos are decorated Japan manga style. Manga is a cartoon method modernized and popularised in Japan from the 1950s. The cars are adorned with characters from manga and erotic video games. They were exhibited at an itasha event last weekend (itasha is the art of beautifying cars with anime or manga characters)
Yoshida San’s cars have some international exposure already having been featured on Bloomberg.com and famitsu.com. The man is said to drive his Lambo on a daily basis, and even to business meetings as it doubles as a promotional mobile billboard during events.
Thanks to Frankie from Tokyo for this colourfully fast tip.
Fiat 500 Abarth DA 0 A 100 Limited Edition
Fiat have announced the introduction of a new limited edition 500 dedicated to Karl Abarth and his centenary this year. Named the Fiat 500 Abarth ‘DA 0 A 100′, rather tactfully referencing both the celebratory year and the Abarth’s somewhat spritely performance, the limited edition 500 will see just 101 examples and boast a range of exclusive, classically Abarth tribute modifications.
With exclusive ‘da 0 a 100′ branding, the limited edition Abarth boasts hide colour leather upholstery and steering wheel, aluminium gear lever knob, kick plate and build number plate, while even the key fob acts as reminder to the car’s hommage. The exterior touts Nuvolari Grey paintwork and an Abarth stripe along the body and complements 17-inch alloys featuring the Scorpion in relief and chrome-plated hub covers.
The limited edition model features Fiat’s 1.4-litre turbo T-Jet engine, generating 160 hp at 5750 rpm and 230 Nm of peak torque at 3000 rpm, which in conjunction with a fixed geometry turbocharger can propel the 500 to a top speed of 211 kph or 131 mph, while 0 ‘a’ 100 kph is achieved in just 7.3 seconds. Speeding up in fourth gear from 40 to 100 kph now takes 8.5 seconds - gaining ground on the Essessee model by a whole second. Deceleration is also boosted by way of perforated disc brakes front and rear as well as high performance front pads.
A range of further equipment puts safety high on the agenda, with seven airbags, ABS with Electronic Brake Distribution, ESP, Anti-Slip and the new Torque Transfer Control being among the additions. Automatic Climate Control, a high-tech Hi-Fi system with radio, CD and MP3 capability as well as Blue&Me satnav are the principle equipment highlights in the cabin.
Nissan 370Z Photographed on the street in Los Angeles
In a week’s time the world will be able to get a close shot at the new Nissan 370Z in the flesh at LA Auto Show. If the world cannot wait, there are these sneak peak images from GT-R-World which show the car snapping around in Los Angeles suburbs. Good colour too, Vibrant red, so as not to be easily missed by cameras. Those shiny discs are 19×9″ and 19×10″ Rays Forged aluminium wheels for the premium spec cars, with 245/40R19 tires up front and 275/35R19 at the back.
Up 0.2-litres from its predecessor the 350Z, 3.7-litre 370Z forges a throaty 332hp and 265 lb/ft of torque. True to Z car roots, including 350, the 370Z is a pretty practical coupe said by Nissan to swallow up two golf bags with no qualms. The rear brace has been simplified, resulting in better more space by the boot.
Michelin Develops Lunar Wheel for NASA Moon Rover Vehicles
Michelin; to the moon and beyond? The relationship between tire manufacturer Michelin and NASA goes back more than 20 years, and Michelin is planning for another possible 20. Announcing a new lunar wheel for the next generation of NASA moon rover vehicles, Michelin’s David Stafford, chief operating officer of Michelin Americas Research Company, said:
“Michelin has partnered with NASA for more than 20 years to provide tires for the space shuttle, and now we are taking our involvement a step further in support of the next generation of space exploration. This project demonstrates Michelin’s ability to engineer advanced technology that meets the mobility needs of the world’s most demanding customers, including NASA.”
The new wheel is made of breakthrough composite materials and is expected to benefit more than just NASA missions. It maintains flexibility and constant ground contact, and can keep a move through loose soil and craters associated with the moon. Traction is also maintained even at very low temperatures.
First Image of 1120hp 9ff GT9-R hits the Web
The folks over at 9ff have a serious addiction to speed. They spent the best part of a year developing the original 987 hp GT9. A monster of a machine that they managed to beat down the track at a death defying 409km/h, a good 2km/h faster than the Bugatti Veyron but just shy of the world production car speed record currently held by SSC Ultimate Aero which stands at 411.71km/h(255.83mph).
Now the German Tuner has released the first image of the GT9 R which boasts a massive power output of 1120 horsepower(835.18kW) and 1050Nm (774.34lb-ft) of toque. No further details have been released yet, but with the Essen Tuning Show coming up at the end of the month, a betting man may have a flutter at more juicy details surfacing around the said time.
2009 Detroit Auto Show loses Ferrari, Rolls-Royce and Land Rover
With the financial crisis in full swing and bankruptcy rumors continuing to dog the big three, the North American International Auto Show in Detroit was already expected to have a rather somber tone this year. Now reports indicate that Ferrari, Rolls-Royce and Land Rover won’t be attending the show at all.
This is just the latest setback for the NAIAS as it has continued to lose major automotive brands in the past few years. Last year Porsche decided against attending due to their low sales volume in Michigan and more recently Suzuki was planning to be a no-show this year. If the show keeps losing high-interest brands such as Ferrari, Rolls-Royce and Land Rover it could jeopardize the legitimacy of being a truly international show.
The show has faced stiff competition from auto shows in Chicago, LA, and New York as of late and plans to upgrade Cobo Hall have been stalled due to funding issues and the uncertainty that surrounded former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. It remains to be seen if the brands skipped out on the show due to lack of new product or as a way to save cash in this time of economic uncertainty. Their presence will surely be missed.
