Toyota’s chief test driver was killed recently in an incident that occurred just outside the Nurburgring in Germany. The Lexus LFA Nurburgring Edition, still in development phase, crashed head on with a BMW driven by fellow test drivers.

The driver of the LFA, Toyota ‘master driver’ Hiromu Naruse, is the same person that helped developed Toyota Motor Corporation’s race cars, including the MR2 and the Supra, ever since he joined the company in 1963. He will be missed by all.

It’s really sorry to be killed by your own creation. R.I.P. Hiromu Naruse.

Source: Jalopnik

BMW driver on fire

This video shows just how shallow some drivers are. Considering this guy’s driving a BMW, and the one chasing him is a MazdaSpeed3, stopping midway and screaming his head off is truly a show of douche-ness. Why the hell would you lead foot it and not expect at least one driver behind you to pick up the pace? It’s all in the name of good fun. So why ruin it? If Mr. BMW had any balls he would have just tried to outrun Mr. Mazda, or at the least slow down and let his challenger pass instead of spilling Hate-rade all over the road. This guys a nervous wreck!

Source: Jalopnik

How much is too much? For this BMW E90 3-series, the recent storm was just too ultimate of an experience to handle. When the storm cleared out, the unsuspecting owner found it buried underneath six feet of snow. To add insult to injury, the bimmer’s window got smashed by a petty thief, apparently before the storm came to bury it. Perhaps he was seeking for shelter? Nah.

Fortunately, its owner had enough concerned associates to help him unearth it, but only to find its interior frozen to the core. Well, one thing’s for sure. He’s going to need more than interior detailing to fix this bimmer.

Source: Jalopnik

Sweet. Sporty. Economic. Whatever. If there’s any concept car out there deserving to take an award for anything, BMW’s latest creation bags the prize for sheer good looks.

Dubbed as the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics Concept, this sleek, futuristic bimmer represents BMW’s corporate philosophy about being economic and all. With a turbocharged three-cylinder engine swapping roles with two electric motors, the concept promises to be the ultimate hybrid driving machine, if it ever does enter production.

We all know that BMW will be exiting Formula One racing come the 2010 season. They’ve vowed to focus their interests in taking a more economic and sustainable path of development.

It looks like they’re on the right trail. With this concept, a lot of car enthusiasts are going to be pleased.

Aside from its 1.5-liter, 163hp engine, the electric motors are paired at midship, each churning out 33hp and 80hp respectively. The amazing part is that the first electric motor sits between the engine and the transmission, while the second electric motor powers the front axle.

So what you get is thus an essentially all-wheel drive hybrid which maxes out at 356hp and 590ft-lb of torque with its three engines. All this power is delivered to a six-speed dual clutch tranny.

If the lithium-polymer battery pack runs out, just two and a half hours of charging would give you another 31 miles on pure electric power. 400 miles are in courtesy of the 6.6 gallon diesel fuel tank.

Other details of the concept are as impressive, including its lightweight chassis and suspension parts, which weighs the car at a total of 3,076 lbs. It also has the Forward Looking Energy Management System, which shuts down the cars engines when it detects slow or still traffic and activates the regenerative KERS braking system.

So watch out this coming September 15 as BMW debuts its concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show. It will surely delight all you bimmer fans.

http://sportscarforums.com/f9/bmw-vision-efficientdynamics-concept-356hp-plug-31318.html

Here’s some sad news from the BMW Headquarters in Munich. The car maker is no longer returning in the 2010 Formula One grand prix season.

BMW Sauber F1 head honcho Mario Theissen was definitely disappointed with the decision the Munich board of directors came up with. Nevertheless, Theissen promises to go all out in the seven remaining races of 2009.

Board of directors’ chairman Dr. Norbert Reithofer says the move comes in line with BMW’s plans for its future, which involves drastic realignment strategies. Reithofer states that in lieu of the company’s visions, BMW is pulling out of Formula One and focus instead on “sustainability and environmental compatibility.”

In simpler terms, they want to stop spending on Formula One, which happens to be the most expensive of all motor sports. Reithofer further stresses that their efforts in Formula One are doing little to promote their brand.

BMW will, rather, keep spending money on developing more sustainable drive train technologies as well as keep racing in the American Le Mans series. As for the team, however, rumors are going around that their base in Hinwil, Switzerland will be taken over by BMW’s partner, Peter Sauber.

At least there’s some glimmer of hope that the team will still race, although under a different name most probably. FIA’s Bernie Ecclestone believes, though, that the decision came from the team’s lackluster performance.

One can’t help but think of it in terms of the whole crisis the automobile industry is facing. It’s a sorry loss for BMW which, like Honda, has chosen to leave the sport with little to be proud of in the current season.

They’re currently eight in the constructors’ championship standing. BMW is pulling out with a total of 19 grand prix wins and 33 pole positions before coming into partnership with Sauber.

http://www.worldcarfans.com/109072920776/bmw-confirm-f1-exit

There’s a lesson to be learned from bad experiences. Although Susanne Klatten, Germany’s richest woman, has learned her lesson, her fans apparently have not. The Quandt heiress of BMW has just fought off another attack from copycat villains. The crime – blackmail.

If you’re not aware, Klatten is the victim of a blackmail attempt by her ex-lover, Helg Sgarbi. Her ex, who seduced her into a two month relationship, video-taped their romantic escapades in some resort in Europe (probably around Germany). Sgarbi then threatened to give out copies of the tapes if she didn’t give him 50 million Euros in blackmail money. Klatten, who’s not afraid of controversy, reported the crime to police. Thus, Sgarbi ended up in prison for six years. That wasn’t the end of it, though.

The mother of three has just recently fended off another blackmail attempt by three copycat goons trying to shelf out money in exchange for not revealing the same scandalous videos. They demanded around 800,000 Euros from the BMW heiress to be placed in – you guessed it – a BMW. A BMW X5 to be specific. Klatten, who already learned her lesson, again reported the crime to police. The three copycats got caught while arguing in the X5 who was going to drive.

It seems bad guys never learn their lesson. The next time you want to blackmail Germany’s most powerful woman, make sure not to choose a bimmer as your runaway vehicle. (Just kidding.)

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/07/22/report-bmw-heiress-susanne-klatten-blackmailed-again-in-sex-tap/

The next M5 could be more than you can handle

Are you a bimmer fan? Then here’s news for you on the next up and coming M5 model. There have been reports of BMW keeping the V10 powerplant. And here’s something extra – twin-turbochargers. Just like in the X5M and X6M, the new M5 will have its fair share of turbo, unlike older models which were naturally aspirated. It’s expected to give you at least 600 horses from its stable and Audi something to worry about.

As if a more powerful engine isn’t enough, BMW is likely to grant the new M5 the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) which their Formula One team scrapped for the rest of the 2009 season. Plus, it’s going to feature BMW’s automatic start-stop technology and an eight-speed (yes, eight) dual clutch for fun times on the Autobahn.

Excited? You should be. It’s likely to make its first appearance two years from now, but it won’t be in production until 2012. So keep your fingers crossed and your bank accounts topped up, because this is going to be one hell of a M5.

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/25/report-next-bmw-m5-to-feature-twin-turbo-v10-with-600-hp/

BMW grounds KERS for lack of show

Things aren’t looking good for the Kinetic Energy Recovery System’s (KERS) use in Formula One.

The BMW-Sauber team has just announced its decision to skip using the system for the rest of the races this season. Why? Because the team itself hasn’t had enough luck from using it.

That would be expected. With Formula One’s current rules governing the use of KERS, there isn’t much the system can do to boost the performance of the current cars. So, to avoid sinking further down the standings ladder, the team is sticking back to tradition.

But BMW-Sauber head honcho Mario Theissen says he does not plan on scrapping the system altogether. KERS development has been shifted to BMW’s production cars, in preparation for their upcoming models.

We’ll just have to see how the system turns out once it’s off the track and on the street. With all the hybrid car models popping up, the KERS would be quite appropriate.

But the question is, would drivers and mechanics be prepared for it? Working on a hybrid or electric car alone entails tons of precaution to prevent from shocking yourself to death. What more with a KERS system that involves much of a car’s drivetrain?

One thing is for certain, though. Cars are further becoming more than meets the eye.

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/22/bmw-gives-up-on-kers-for-the-remainder-of-the-2009-f1-season/

"Look, honey. This is how you do it.. erm, well, maybe not."

Now, this is embarrassing, from a purely male perspective. Just a tip: if you want to impress your girl, don’t do everything she says, especially if she tells you to drive a non-off road vehicle, well, off road. Such is the lesson learned by this driver in Istanbul with this rented BMW X5.

The X5 is a Sports Activity Vehicle, not a Sports Utility Vehicle. This driver should have kept that in mind before burying the X5’s road tires past the beach sand and into the water. So in vain attempt to reclaim his pride and lost glory, the driver ends up losing traction on the spot, and stood at risk of shaking himself further underwater. Just like a person caught in quick sand, the more you try to jerk yourself free, the deeper you sink.

That’s exactly how this X5 was captured on video. Fortunately, the waves weren’t strong enough to pull it further off the coastline. This serves as a reminder for all you know-it-alls out there. Respect a car until you get a feel for it. And never drive it off the beach even if your date tells you so. There ARE other ways to impress the ladies.

Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/01/video-just-because-it-has-awd-that-doesnt-make-it-an-off-roade/

"So there you are!" - safety car Chevrolet Cruze to crashed-now-wrecked BMW 320si

Of all the stupid mistakes you can make in racing, this has got to be one of the worst. The purpose of a safety car is to slow down and guide race cars if there’s been an accident or the track needs to be cleaned up. However, for this BMW 320si, it turned out that the safety car brought out more mayhem and destruction.

The FIA WTTC safety car, a Chevy Cruze, was deployed immediately after Franz Engstler’s BMW hit a wall. Engstler could have finished the race in his crippled BMW if not for the Cruze which, upon deployment, quickly veered towards the inner turn right into Engstler’s path. The Cruze ended up hitting the BMW so hard that its right rear wheel was torn off.

Without Engstler in the race, the top podium was claimed by Alain Menu, who ironically, drives a Cruze as well. Talk about faith.

If you want to see the video of this professional blunder, just hit the link below.

Source:

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/05/18/video-when-the-safety-car-isnt/