BMW Alpina B7

There was never a BMW 7 series made by the M division, there was no M7 badge, except for cheap sellers, somewhere around the world. There is though a small BMW tuner, who does the job for the 7 series, and they make it exquisite. The name of this tuner company is of course Alpina. The model in question is the BMW Alpina B7, presented in the Monterey Car Week

The original car was the 750i, Alpina added power, sportiness and class to it. Alpina did some work on the twin turbocharged 4.4L V8, working on the turbochargers, air intake and cooling systems, and the exhaust system. They came with more developed turbochargers with twin-scroll turbines and larger compressor wheels. They placed all of it in the V to ensure a more effective use of the exhaust gas even at low speed, and it resulted at better engine responsiveness. The total boost now is around 20 psi from the twin-turbos system. In addition to that, Alpina did modification to the air intake and cooling system. All components (raw air intake ducts, air filter housings and clean air intake manifold) guarantee maximum effectiveness. The cooling system uses new larger radiators and optimized piping. The Alpina B7 has an indirect intercooler system (air/water/air) to ensure better thermodynamic exchange, and higher performance. It has also a new stainless steel twin-pipe exhaust system that guarantees weight loss, better sound, better exhaust of the gas with less pressure. The new tweaked engine produced 608 bhp between 5750 and 6250 rpm, while the maximum torque of 800 Nm is available from just 3000 rpm. Power is put to the ground via the new generation 8-Speed Sport Automatic Transmission with ALPINA SWITCH-TRONIC from ZF and an all-wheel-drive system which is an improvement to BMW’s x-drive system. The transmission comes with a stronger torque converter, reinforced planetary wheels, increased cooling, and unique software, and works in three modes : Automatic(D), Sport (S) and Manual (M). Racing from 0 to 100 kph takes just 3.7 seconds (big improvement compared to the 750i engine that does it in 4.3 seconds), and the top speed is around 330 kph.

On the exterior, Alpina left its mark, and came with new aerodynamic and aesthetic elements. The body is reinforced with Carbon-fiber, steel and aluminum for weight reduction but also for better mechanical resistance. The Alpina B7 has new and rear front spoiler, that reduce drag, and increase lift on the front tires, also to cool the front brakes. It also had an active grille that plays a good role in the cooling. Also, as you can see, this is a long-wheel-base model, and sits on Alpina classic 20 inches wheels.

On the interior, Alpina fitted the B7 with luxurious equipment. The seats are covered in Hand-finished LAVALINA leather. Alpina promises luxury and comfort. The instruments panel uses LED technology that reacts with the driving mode, either in comfort, or in speed and dynamic view.

BMW M4 GTS Concept

BMW haven’t been quite active when it comes to beauty concours, except for the 3.0 CSL homage. In this year’s Peeble Beach Concours d’Élégance, BMW came with two models, a race version of the 3.0 CSL Homage, and a GTS Concept of the M4 model. It is a concept per say, there is an actual prototype for it, but many features will come later with the production model.

The M4 GTS Concept, is a more track focused version of the M4, launched a year ago. It features the same water injection system introduced in the M4 MotoGP Safety car. It has a lightweight carbon-fiber rear wing, a manually adjustable front splitter, and larger front air intake.

“While the BMW M4 Coupe embodies the ideal combination of motor sport genes and unrestricted everyday usability, the BMW Concept M4 GTS previews an emotionally powerful and exclusive special model conceived with an eye for trailblazing technology and a keen focus on the race track,”
“Despite its outstanding track ability, it is still fully road-legal. This is racing technology for the road in the truest sense.”Frank van Meel, BMW M president.

Despite being a race model, it is still road-legal. And because it is exceptional, the GTS owners will be remarkable through grey body paint and orange wheels. There is no date for production yet, and once more, competition amongst German constructors is fierce.

Infiniti Q60 Concept

It is like one can’t get enough of Japanese cars. They are sexy, good looking, astonishing, infinitely good performant, luxurious. They are the whole package. And when you think to yourself that they will stop there, they surely outdo themselves. Take Infiniti for example, it produces nice cars, even better with F1 tech from the Red Bull team. The new car they are presenting, have been teased before, and now the wait is over, and it has been unveiled.

Power :

Unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show, the newest Infiniti comes with style, luxury, and yes, power. It is named : The Q60 Concept. It is powered by the new generation of v6 engines, a 3.0L v6 turbocharged generation with direct injection, and these do come with all the power needed to fight big cars even that they are small, courtesy to Infiniti. The engines are announced to be more efficient and more powerful. It is expected that they’ll develop 550 bhp, coupled to a hybrid power unit. Power will be transmitted to the rear wheels via a seven-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters. Being smaller, they have reduced fuel consumption and C02 emissions. Infiniti is really following the saying “with great power, comes great responsibility” to the point. They are really responsible towards earth.

Design : 

One of the most remarkable features of the Q60 is its sporty, muscular look. The car is 184.6 inches long. It sits on 21 inch wheels with contrasting black and silver spokes. From the behind, it looks like Mercedes latest coupe, the S class coupe, but, its front and sides are inspired from the Infiniti Q50 and the Q80. It has the same strong, front grille as the Q50, the same angry look Infiniti offers to its cars now. However, the car has it own styling, it has a long nose, but a shorter deck, it is quite wide (73.4 inches wide). Lines, and shapes define the direction of the car’s design.

Interior :

The 2+2 interior offers a great luxury, and looks really elegant. It is based on the Q50, already, it has many of its instruments. The instruments panel has hand-stitched leather wrapping, it has also two tones, black, that offers a contrast feature to the sporty inside look, and white. Leather is present on the seats too, with personalized stitching. The doors are carbon-fiber.

Materials used to make the body are mostly aluminium alloys. Some strong steel and carbon-fiber parts do exist, but, the body is mostly aluminium.

The Infiniti Q60 will surely compete against Japanese car number 1 rival, the M4 Series by BMW, that car is really getting on the Japanese people’s nerves. Of course, the Lexus RC, the Audi A5 coupe will be in Infiniti’s visor.

source : Infiniti press release

Lexus GS-F

We all love Japanese cars, they have their own styling, their own market, they are pleasing to the eye, and honestly, they are impressive toys. There are some flaws, but the Japanese are working on that. They took a lot of confidence in them, with the Skyline, the Godzilla, and all the tail gliding cars. Now it is time to take the German luxuries, one in particular is BMW. Lexus, announces its new model, the GS-F who is serious enough to claim throne to both the 5 and the 3 series by BMW.

It is not clear yet who it is going to compete against, it has a 100 bhp less than the M5 and the C63 AMG, a bit more than the 3 series, it weighs less (nearly 150 Kg less than the M5 and 200 more on the M3), it is supposed to be more serious, so even with numbers, its direct opponent won’t be clear. The GS-F is powered by the same 5.0L V8 found under the RC-F hood. It produces 467 bhp @7,100 rpm and 389 lb.ft of torque. It is a rear-wheel-drive saloon car. Power will be channeled to the rear wheels via an 8-speed automatic Aisin torque-converter transmission with a paddle shifters gearbox.

 

Like the RC-F, it is fitted with torque vectoring differential, to allow it to go nuts on the tracks, playing with its tail like any Japanese car does. The car has all sort of electronic assist program like the electronic controlled clutch pack, . It has a more adapted suspension based on those from the regular GS. The car has, like Lexus says, a twin-identity, it is based on a GS platform, with an RC-F drivetrain, and brakes (Brembo six-piston monoblocks). It will be fitted with a carbon-fiber rear spoiler. a quad-tailpipe exhaust system. There are three driving modes that clients will enjoy : Standard, for family drive, Slalom, for crazy people drive and Track, for a more precise driving.

It will be revealed in the next Detroit Auto Show, next to its competitors, so, we’ll see who will steal the lights.

Source : Lexus.

BMW i8

BMW, maker of mean looking cars, well known drifters, thanks to their stability control, and the mighty M1, started in 2008 the i program, for hybrid, urban cars, and started with the compact i3, later on in time, it came with a car, in the same program, with supercar performance, and efficiency of a compact car (BMW)

The least that can be said about the i8 is that it is elegant, charming, devilish looking, just amazing. If one drives anywhere, you will find phones and cameras flashing at it, everyone will try to have a chance to take a picture of it. It is like dating a super hot model, everyone will want to see her, they won’t care about you. In the case of the BMw i8, they might, because, the price ticket put on it, is 300,000 $, and frankly, it is not affordable to anyone. It comes with a design that, besides its attraction, keeps you waiting, while asking the question, when is it going to transform? The body, which is made of 56 separate carbon fiber pieces, and the choice of color, keeps only reminding me of that.

Under the body, lays the power unit of the car, which is a combination of an electric motor, delivering 128 bhp and 250 torques, and a twinpower turbo 3-cylinder engine that produces 227 bhp and 320 torques. The total of all that, is 355 bhp and 570 Nm. It is close to supercar performance, from a small engine. The 1485 kg of electric gadgets, carbon-fiber body and aluminium chassis goes from stop to 100 in 4.4 seconds. The i8 sit on 20-inches alloy wheels, that have independent suspension. It has all-wheel-drive, power transmitted to the 4 wheels through a 6-speed transmission. Fuel consumption is estimated at 5.2L/100km for the urban and 2.1L for the combined mode.

The i8, was the first production car in the world to used laser headlights, they have 600m range, which is twice as the LED’s and consume 30% less energy. A laser diode weighs around 10 times less than a LED diode, so, BMW did well using them, better range, less weight and less energy consumption. Energy consumption matter due to the fact that the heart of the car being the battery, that has a 37 Km range, which is good to take one from home to work, or for enjoying a ride. the battery comes with a warranty of 8 years or 100,000 km. BMW does really trust its product.

(to be updated in the future)