In a program that started 40 years, BMW has collaborated with world famous artists to create 17 art cars with each being a historic work of art. The cars are highly valuable but aren’t just for show, many of them have been raced, from Alexander Calder’s 3.0 CSL through to the latest M3 GT2 painted by Jeff Koons (pictured).
While some of the cars have gone on display in museums and exhibitions around the world, seeing all 17 cars at once is very rare. To mark the 40th anniversary of the art car program BMW has put the entire collection online through an impressive new website. On the site each car gets its own exhibit and film that outlines its creation, all laid out in a high-tech virtual museum. Read the rest of this entry »
German tuners Edo Competition are celebrating the outgoing M5 with one final hurrah and have created a special M5 Touring for the occasion. Called the M5 Dark Edition, this wagon is modified with a specially tuned version of the 5.0-liter V10. It’s been upgraded with a recalibrated ECU, high-flow air filters and catalytic converters and a new high-performance exhaust system.
it’s a great chance to see a groundbreaking concept car for free.
grille. It shares this powerplant with the X5M and X6M high performance SUVs and the V8 replaces the previous M5′s exotic 5.0-litre V10 unit. The new high-revving engine packs a heavyweight punch with power output of 415kW and peak torque of 680Nm. This marks a huge 30kW and 150Nm increase over its predecessor. Fuel consumption has also been improved with a quoted figure of 9.9l/100km combined.
Called the Eagle concept car, this mean Mini was pieced together by specialist BMW tuner AC Schnitzer. To prove its ability and take its place as the Asafa Powell of Minis, the concept was taken to the Hockenheim circuit where it turned in a cracking lap time of 1:13.34. To put things into perspective a standard issue Ferrari California achieves a time of 1:13.5 and a Porsche 911 Turbo 1:14.6 – so the Mini was very rapid indeed.