After proposing a series of concepts and teasers, Mini is now ready to launch on the market its sixth member of its range: the Mini Roadster. The charming kid is the first open-top two-seater in the brand history and to so me extent it links to the British tradition of open sports cars, with a light and simple manual soft-top roof.

Conceive and designed as a twin, with a different character and mission, of the Mini Coupé the roadster is an addition not a replacement of the 4-seater Mini Convertible.

As such it banks on new proportions and its somewhat classic three-box body structure with more raked A-pillars the strikingly stepped rear end.  The design language is 100% Mini, with short overhangs, powerful over-the wheel stance and high waistline typical plus the usual catalogue of design features and hallmark details uniquely Mini.

Despite its big wheels, the Roadster sits more than 20 mm closer to the ground and comes with a stiffer and slightly heavier structure that adds weight and grip to the front axles.

To add down force (up to 40 kg) on the rear axle a spoiler (normally integrated into the tailgate) extends automatically when the speed reaches 80 km/h (50 mph) and retracts when the speed drops below 60 km/h (37 mph). The active rear spoiler can also be operated manually at any speed.

With two-seater less the Roadster has a larger, 240-litre, stowage with a through-loading system access behind the seats wide-opening tailgate. Finally, a wind protection insert between the roll-over bars is available as option.

Another distinctive feature of the roadster are the stainless steel rollover bars, the front of which are padded. Together with the reinforced windscreen frame, they provide optimised occupant protection in the event of the car turning over.

From launch time, the MINI Roadster will be available with a choice of four powerful yet efficient petrol and diesel engines from launch. The model line-up ranges from the MINI Cooper Roadster (90 kW/122 hp), via the MINI Cooper SD Roadster (105 kW/143 hp) and MINI Cooper S Roadster (135 kW/184 hp), to the sharpest performer of all, the 155 kW/211 hp MINI John Cooper Works Roadster.

The EU average fuel consumption of Cooper SD Roadster (the most fuel efficient but not the least performing) is down to 4.5 litres of diesel per 100 km (62.8 mpg); with CO2 emissions down to118 g/km and yet accelerates to 100 kph (62 mph) in 8.1 seconds, with a potential top speed of 212 kph (132 mph).

The Mini Roadster will be making its official prémiere at the Detroit Motor Show (NAIAS) next January.

First deliveries are due to start on February 25 at price starting from € 22.600 (and up to 31.900) in Germany.

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By Giancarlo Perini ©

BMW Board of Directors,  managers and employees have presented their all-new 3 series limousine to the press gathered in Munich for an event that has been broadcasted on line for all car enthusiasts, in sometwhat retoric yet appropriate cerimony celebrating the BMW team at large and the Munich factory that produce the company most iconic and profitable range.

The new BMW 3 series is at ist 6th generation and the first units are going on sale next as of next Feebruary.

The new classic notchback is some 93 mm. Longer and sits on a 50 mm. longer wheelbase that the model it replaces but is nominally (4 mm.) narrower, despite its much wider tracks,. Yet, the car is some 50 kgs lighter and in some istances faster. Still it is more fuel efficient than its equivalent predecessor. The new dimensions do indeed set new proportions and deliver improved dynamics and aerodynamics.

The side and front views show the benefits of those additional 93 mm. length, with the long, flowing and very dynamic bonnet that does not sacrifice beauty and meets with pedestrian safety standards. The overall heigth just increases 9 mm.

The drag coefficient (Cd) is as low as 0.26 thanks to streamlined underside covers which create a diffuser effect at the rear and „Aero Curtain“ air channels in the front apron which reduce the turbulence created by the revolution of the front wheels in their arches.

The new look seems to be somwehat „typical“, indeed the new 3 is quite a step forward.   Give sometime to your eyes to see the cacr on the road and in daylight for few days and the difference will become obvious and, once again, trend setting.

Exterior design is back to a slightly wedge-shaped silhouette but with a the side highlight splitted in two sections that „work in harmony“ along the whole side and in combination with the charachter line front and rear.

Statements from the company´s officials have pointed to the key theme of the new generation: efficient dynamics delivering top fuel efficiecy and record low CO2 emissions. The premium carmaker is proposing four different engine options at lunch time but the range will eventually reaches 8 different powertrain versions, all turbocharged, gasoline or diesel and whether some will come only with 8 speed automatic geaboxes, a couple of them will be available both with standard manual 6 speed and optional 8 speed transmission.  As in the U.S.A.

In March 2012, when more engines are added to the four at launch, BMW will offer eight different versions, with CO2 emissions at or below 120g/km while competitors can presently offer only one each. In markets such as the U.K. this brings clear benefits to owners in terms of Benefit-in-Kind company car taxation and Vehicle Excise Duty, while the 320d EfficientDynamics model, with CO2 emissions of less than 110g/km, allows businesses which outright purchase, to write off 100 per cent of the cost of the car against tax in the first year.

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Here is a summary of the engine specifications.

Combining creativity with complete know-how and modern technology.

I would like to share with you this report recently published in Japan by Car Styling magazine. A special issue dedicated to the Italian Designers and “Carrozzeria”.

Within the territories of one-man-design-show, resisting in and around Torino, Paolo Martin keeps his creativity and design work running in many directions. As usual.  His hairs are whiter than ever but his genius is evergreen, just as it is the case for secluded Marcelo Gandini and public-persona Giorgetto Giugiaro.

He is one of the very few talents left that has a complete understanding of car design and body construction. One of the few men who can tackle any aspect of the process. As such he is a very precious heritage of the traditional art of coach building.

It is for this reason that he regrets that he receives less commission from the car, yacht and motorcycle industry these days of decline. He still has plenty of good ideas that could be turned into a successful project. Even more relevant he regrets he has few chances of passing over to the young generations his past experience, just as Maestro Giovanni Michelotti did with him when he was 16 years old.

On the other side, he is happy to take commissions from private investors and enthusiasts. He loves the human relations with them and the exchange of cultural input, be it from the Arabian Peninsula, the Far East or the Americas.

On the projects he develops for private customers he must keep the secret, unless authorized by his patron.

Recently, he was allowed to release some interesting design works he developed in the past couple of years.

Three projects he had a lot of fun to work with.

One for a multifunctional “Desert Running Suite” that combines a carry-on tent of some 100 square meters blossoming from a sort of very large 6×6 all-road heavy-duty vehicle carrying a small living room with all comfort and all the most sophisticated equipment that tycoons, VIP, government officials may want or need to take with them in the desert for a mission, a week-end excursion or a party.

One derivative also considers a sort of moving “ceremony hall on wheels for the desert”.

A sophisticated mechanism develops the huge tent in minutes and displays solar cell panels providing plenty of energy for the satellite communication centre and other amenities. The execution of the vehicle has been put on hold after the recent turmoil in Nord Africa.

The second project is a typical “coachbuilder” sportcar that is clearly inspired to the popular De Tomaso mid-engined V8 two-seater that the new “De Tomaso” company is to unveil at the Los Angeles auto show later this year. His project has not been commissioned by the company but by a private collector who was eager to see what could done at this time to revive the myth of the affordable supercar and have one built for himself.

The layout, dimensions and proportions are very modern and yet there is the de Tomaso DNA in this car.

This second project shows how Paolo Martin has kept up with the CAD and virtual modelling technologies and indeed he has developed the “2 Posti Sportiva 2012” in few weeks on his PC with all the technicalities integrated into the project and the basic data for quick and economical milling.

Probably Paolo Martin is the only star designer who emerged in the great old times (the 60ies and 70ies) of Italian coachbuilding and has developed his skill to confirm and visualize his design ideas through contemeporary virtual technology.

See his renderings for self-speaking evidence. Obviously we need not to comment on his own, very elegant and dynamic design for a modern mid-engined sport car.

We would simply add that we would love to see it in the real world.

We can show also a third project that Paolo Martin has developed on his own after the instigation of a journalist who asked him how he would design the Modulo of the third millennium.

In no time Martin penned what he calls the “Modulo Enzo”. A design that is absolutely up to the mythical name of “Modulo” and of Ferrari. Again, the project is not just a beautiful rendering created on a PC but a realistic vision (though futuristic, like he Modulo) of a super Ferrari. The car is feasible, with few concessions, and recently a famous connoisseur and collector has shown interest in having one built for himself.

That would certainly be a dream of millions enthusiasts coming true and a fantastic promotional vehicle for a high-tech company.

End of this report by Giancarlo Perini ©.

Now I realise I have made a mistake to give up a visit to China for Auto Shanghai 2011. At least I would have been able to see the Volvo Concept Universe and offer you my opinion.

An opion I cannot make by just looking at the images Volvo has released with its press-release that say not many words but says nothing at all, showing a sense of embarrassment.

The poor quality of the images allow those who have not seen the Concept yet to hope for a more convincing design.

For the time being all I can say that they remind me of the famous sentence: “There is something good and something new in it. Trouble is that what is new is not good and what is good is not new”.

Here is all Volvo had to say in its press-release:

At the Shanghai International Auto Show on Tuesday, Volvo Car Corporation presented Concept Universe, a design study for a future luxury Volvo sedan.
”Shanghai is the perfect place for the world première of a superb car that is tailor made for the most demanding luxury car buyers”, said Stefan Jacoby, President & CEO of Volvo Car Corporation.

Stefan Jacoby also revealed that the first quarter of 2011 was one of the best global sales quarters in the history of Volvo, sales figures up 13.7 percent to 106,827 cars.

”This is the next step in the proud history of luxury Volvo sedans”, said Stefan Jacoby before revealing the Concept Universe.

He continued:
”We will listen very carefully to what the Chinese car buyers think of the design. Later, we will also show the Concept Universe in other parts of the world. This brings it into the global context we are aiming for with all our cars.”

At the press conference in Shanghai Stefan Jacoby also announced that Volvo Car Corporation is developing an all-new platform architecture for the next generation cars from Volvo: SPA – Scalable Platform Architecture.

”When our next luxury sedan arrives in a few years, it will be among the first Volvos built on our new Scalable Platform Architecture. All our large and mid-size cars will eventually be based on SPA.”

Stefan Jacoby also revealed that the 2010 full year result for Volvo Car Corporation will show a profit when communicated in a few weeks time.

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Today Volkswagen has eventually released the first official pictures of its third generation Beetle. The official images show that the grand child has grown up and aims at developing a personality of its own, on line with the tune of the mature-internet generation.

It is longer and wider, comes with a more raked windscreen and a lower roof. Proportions are all new and so is the car’s character.

The 2011 VW Beetle aims at being the most fuel-efficient car in its class. Volkswagen, quote a top fuel efficiency of 4.3 l/100km from the best performing unit within the range of new engines that go underneath the front bonnet.

VW plans a 2.0 litre turbodiesel and a 2.0/2.5 litre petrol engines for the U.S.A. and other markets such as Asia, Australia.

In Europe The New Beetle will be offer a choice of five engines including the 1.2 ‘Bluemotion’ and a turbocharged four cylinder 2.0 litre in both petrol or diesel format.

Deliveries around the world are planned to take place between September and November this year.

The car maker does not say much more about its new iconic and fashionable Beetle to focus its attention on the “show” business it associates the car (and its business) with.

Whereas in Shanghai it is motor show business in and-of-red-lantern style, but “with an exclusive MTV Sound System”, in two other continents the focus is on sound and music, with the complicity of the popular MTV broadcasting stations around the world. Thus the 21^st century Beetle goes on stage with The Black Eyed Peas at the MTV World Stage Concert live from New York. The same day the car is introduced in Shanghai and Berlin. In the German top city the MTV concert will feature DJ music played by the Belgian duo “2manydjs”.

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The 2011 Auto Shanghai motor show, opening in a week time, will not be business as usual. Indeed it will mark a new era of the entire world car industry, the one steered by the Chinese market and industry. China is the biggest car market, and the one that is growing faster worldwide. The leading premium brands are betting on for most of their growth in the decade.

For VW China is by far the biggest market. Last year they sold 2 million cars there, twice as much as they did in Germany. For the German premium-car makers, China already is their top export business and might soon become their biggest market too.

So much so that makers such as Audi and Peugeot have approved investment for classic notchbacks that they their traditional markets would not buy in numbers big enough to justify the investment. The new Peugeot 508 is the first example: half of the project production and sales are for, and from, China.

Next will be the Audi A3 Limousine and the all-new Volvo four doors, 5-metres, long-wheel-base Luxury Coupe. This one is just of the many new cars (and some surprises) to be unveiled at the latest hour.

Within this scenario, with their world-premières the top European brands will steal just a share of the public attention from the dynamic home players, which will unveil an overwhelming number of attractions of all sorts.

In addition to the newcomers unveiled in Geneva last month, visitors to Auto Shanghai will be delighted to be the first ones to see in full metal the new Audi Q3 and the Mercedes-Benz’s vision of their A-Class replacement that goes on sale next year. Both in high performance and luxury equipment settings. Both come with “small” 4-cylinder engines with output in the area of 200 hp. The A class is front wheel drive only whereas the Q3 is available also with “quattro” transmission.

Next is the new generation of the VW Beetle that must be up to the design standard of the superlative VW Bulli Concept presented in Geneva, to really catch the young generations it is hunting for. The new Beetle will be launched worldwide from Shanghai and broadcast from MTV World Stage Parties in Berlin and New York, with dedicated exhibitions.

MTV is the world’s premier youth entertainment brand. With a global reach of more than a half-billion households,

BMW reacts to the attacks of its competitors in many ways: with a typical “made for China and built in China (with Chinese partner Brilliance)” hi-tech luxury concept that combines the status and comfort of a long wheel base 5 Series with the advanced, high performance, plug-in hybrid technology.

For a green 5 Series for tycoons sitting in the back, there is another one for those who love driving themselves: the new 560 hp BMW M5, it is called a concept car but indeed it just preview the newcomer due to go on sale this year.

The answer from Porsche comes with the name of Panamera Turbo S, also a four door limousine that now come with some 550 hp and a top speed close to 310 kph.

On its turn MINI has reserved to Shanghai the new ultra-luxury MINI Inspired by Goodwood and designed with the help of they Rolls-Royce team takes the highest quality standards of the traditional, all-leather -and-wood, British design. Production is based on craftsmanship and is limited to 1000 pieces, with deliveries starting in one year time. Luxury can be small and is trendy in megacities.

The Germans are dominating the scene in China but Peugeot and Citroen are challenging them and are very serious at improving their performance there. While Citroen has in store a surprising long-wheel-base luxury flagship Peugeot will not do just with the 508 Sedan and its hybrid concept.

They will also tease the public with the concept of a cutting edge 4×4 crossover with hybrid technology (petrol engine this time, not diesel) reportedly called Peugeot SXC, designed by Peugeot’s design team in China

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