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.

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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According to Turin and Detroit insiders, the famous Italian coachbuilder Zagato has just completed the new (and rather unusual) Alfa Romeo TZ 3 “Stradale” that was expected to be unveiled in May this year at the Concorso d’Eleganza di Villa d’Este but instead it will be seen in public for the first time at Pebble Beach in August. And that is for a good reason and a good cause, as we shall see in a moment.

Last year at Villa d’Este Zagato exhibited the Alfa Romeo TZ3 Corsa as a celebration of the 100^th anniversary of the Italian carmaker and won the Design Award of the event.

On that occasion, Andrea Zagato promised a TZ 3 Stradale as a completion of the Alfa Romeo celebrations.

What is indeed surprising today is that the new Alfa Romeo branded “fuoriserie” has actually been built on the bones and mechanics of an existing Dodge Viper ACR. Not the one that Dodge designers are finalising for regular production next year, but one of the old generation, which production was stopped last year, after 18 years in the supercar market. There are some unsold Vipers at the Dodge’s dealers and they could well be dress-up to become fuoriserie by Zagato, according to a long lasting tradition.

Now, the iteration of the thinking behind this Viper/Alfa Romeo TZ 3 Stradale follows a step-by-step logic that is hardly convincing but a convenient fantasy. Viper is a Dodge creature and part of its recent heritage. Dodge is about to share platforms with Alfa Romeo for new cars in the C and D segment, such as the Giulia due to follow late in 2012. Dodge and Alfa Romeo have certainly a common future.

There is more: the Viper itself will share major components “made in Italy” and here is the point. Just like the limited production Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, the 2010 Zagato TZ 3 Corsa fuoriserie is powered by a V8 Maserati engine of some 420 HP and share several more components sourced from Modena. As such it seems that the TZ 3 Stradale can well establish a spiritual bridge between the past and the future Viper to be exclusively “designed in Detroit” but possibly built in Italy and be for sale around the world. Will it also generate a successor to the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione? Please ask Ralph Gilles the question the first time you meet him.

It may well be that he, and his talented designers, has had some fun actually designing one.

You can’t be mistaken: the show car that Smart is presenting in Geneva with the name of “forspeed” proves that the company’s designers have taken a ride on the roller-coaster and had a lot of fun in creating an EV Roadster so full of curvatures, shapes and colour that in its full-size dimension attract teen-agers with a driving license and, in a smaller scale, would be the dream of their younger brothers and sister under ten.

The two-seater has no roof or side windows but a low wind deflector instead of a windscreen. Perfect for fresh air driving experience around Miami or the French Riviera and a masochist delight in Dubai from April to October.

According to Smart, the responsive electric drive of the Fortwo has been further developed with a boost function that adds, for a few moments, 5 kW of power to the normal peak of 30 kW delivered by the magneto-electric motor installed at the rear and driving the rear wheels.

Certainly a great fun in Paris or Rome, from spring through autumn. There the latest development of the electro-propulsion grants the forspeed unique acceleration and agility through traffic and a lot of smiling faces when it comes to park it.

No doubt: this is a very unconventional design, spoken in the over-excited language of a child. A sort of toy on four wheels that expands the range of zero-emission EV projects being proposed by the Mercedes-Benz daughter company as the next move beyond the Smart Fortwo ED now on sale.

Prof. Dr. h. c. Gorden Wagener, Head of Design remarks that: “The cult brand smart has always taken an unconventional approach with bold design. The forspeed now carries purist sportiness to extremes and in terms of form it is also a pioneer for a new paradigm of mobility.”

Dr. Annette Winkler, Head of smart, says the smart forspeed combines responsibility and emotional appeal in a new and pleasant way. She adds:”The smart forspeed is a completely new take on how much fun it is to drive electric: it boasts a superb design with a powerful drive system and, needless to say, locally emission-free. And if you put the smart forspeed next to our ebike, escooter and smart Fortwo electric drive you’ll see that smart has realised all kinds of variations of electric driving – demonstrating that smart is not just a practical city car, but a great idea.”

With its improved performance and charge management the concept vehicle offers a look at the performance potential of future generations of the electric smart.

For example, the smart forspeed accelerates from 0 to 60 km/h in just 5.5 seconds and reaches a top speed of 120 km/h.

Pressing a button in the centre console activates a boost function that provides an extra 5 kW of power for a short time and is ideal for overtaking manoeuvres on urban highways, for example.

A lithium-ion battery that delivers 16.5 kWh of electrical energy powers the smart forspeed. It is simple to charge at any conventional 220 Volt socket. The charging device is located in the third brake light behind the smart logo and features a simple push/push opening mechanism. A fully charged battery is sufficient for 135 kilometres of driving fun (NEDC). Quick charging from 0 to 80 percent takes just 45 minutes.

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Highlights:

• high-gloss white metallic paintwork as for the two-wheel escooter and ebike studies presented at the 2010 Paris Motor Show
• the outer rings of the front and rear lamps are illuminated by a large number of rod-shaped LEDs whilst the centre of the lamps is white.
• the indicators seem to push outwards like arrows – like drops on the cockpit window of an aeroplane as it takes off
• in the front and rear bumpers numerous holes with a honeycomb structure serve as air inlets and create an interesting progressive pattern.
• 205/35 R 18 front tyres and 235/30 R 18 at the rear.
• exterior and interior of the smart forspeed designed as a formal unit
• the tridion safety cell flows from the outside behind the roll-over bars towards the front to the cockpit and forms the centre tunnel as a load-bearing part
• the outer and inner door sections connect seamlessly to form a single component,
• just like the floor and side walls
• the leather seats also have a one-shell design and are a modern interpretation of sportiness.
• sporty four-point seat belts for driver and passenger
• load-bearing structural components such as the tridion safety cell or the curved trims on the instrument hoods are in matt platinum silver
• water drainage channels in the vehicle floor ensure that water is channelled outside
• the seat surfaces also have water drainage channels and all interior equipment has a waterproof coating for fun behind the wheel regardless of the weather.

MINI is far from being tired of launching newer and sexier ideas in spectacular show-cars. In Geneva they will we unveiling their shortest and possibly lightest (for the millenium) Mini so far. It will be also the fastest from zero to 100 thanks to its hybrid technology since, according to a company statement “it is designed to allow the integration of a drive system which combines further enhanced sprinting ability with average fuel consumption of just three liters per 100 kilometers (94 mpg imp).”

Called the MINI Rocketman Concept, it comes with a shorter wheelbase doubled-hinged doors and a two-parts hatch that opens wide into the roof to allow greater access to the cargo area. The interior architecture is affected by the new dimensions and reflects a 3+1 layout. A company press release claims the new Concept “just add few extra centimeters to the front and rear of the brand’s founding father born in 1959” but indeed the volume of the 2011 Mini concept, 9,11 cubic metres, is far greater (3.419×1,907×1.398 metres, lenght, widht and height) that the 5,76 cubic metres of the 1959 Mini (respectively 3.050×1.400×1.350) and the weight is far from any possible comparison. Just as the car’s world of yesterday and today are …….worlds apart.

What MINI is committed to preserve  is the fun to own and drive a very unique motor car. This can clearly be seen in the 2011 Concept.

Once again pictures tell the story better than words so let me just point out the main highlights of the project that is very like to evolve into a regular production car for 2012.

• lightweight design principles
• interior geared to maximum driving fun and unbeatable variability
• carbon spaceframe construction (front end, around its doors and in the interior) for a weight-minimizing construction.

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• Wide-opening doors with double-hinge joints and integrated sills.
• lightweight seats contoured in customary MINI style
• can be arranged in a variety of different positions



• adaptable capacity of the luggage compartment
• two-part tailgate consists of one section which is attached to the roof and opens extremely high, and a lower section which extends out of the body in the form of a drawer. The drawer represents the further development of the downward-opening tailgate seen on the classic Mini.
• extensive connectivity

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• the central control unit can be taken out of the car and configured on a computer before the journey begins to update navigation destinations, the music playlist or contact details for mobile communications.
• Tight surfaces, large wheels and a basic form dictated by straight lines give the MINI Concept a resoundingly solid structure.
• While the exterior contours of the headlights fit the familiar visual template, their inner structure has been further developed for the new study.

  

• The dimensions of the headlights reflect those of the current MINI, which means they come across as particularly large when set against the smaller face of the study car.
• 18-inch wheels
• the doors pivot outwards complete with their sills, enabling the driver and front passenger to climb in right next to their seats and get settled in comfort.

  

• Entry to the rear seats is also made much easier by the car’s unusual door concept.
• The rear lights of the MINI Rocketman Concept have a trapezoidal stirrup design – into which all the light functions are integrated – and work using projector technology.

  

• The roof puts on an extraordinary light show.
• The full-surface glass roof is segmented by illuminated braces to recreate the look of Britain’s Union Jack flag. When not illuminated, the longitudinal, horizontal and diagonal braces glow a bright Porcelain White. In darkness the integrated optical fibers give the interior of the MINI Rocketman Concept a pleasantly indirect illumination and, as a result, a more effective nocturnal appearance.
• Three individual seats slide fore and aft, allowing a high level of comfort. There is also an additional seat in the rear, whose backrest can be folded down fully to serve as a stowage surface.

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• all the controls are concentrated on the steering wheel.
• In addition, a trackball is integrated into the right-hand steering wheel spoke.
• the driver uses his thumb to move the cursor around the display in any direction to select functions such as in-car internet.

  

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