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.

Complete Photo Gallery

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 ©.

Just 21 days ahead of the Auto Shanghai 2011 show, BMW has officially released the news concerning the very unique and amazingly fast M3 Pick-up developed by a task force in a very short period of time.

Considering the speed of the entire development, today I prefer to let the press-office tell you the entire story by reproducing here the full press release, issued just few hours ago.

Media Information 01 April 2011

Unique: BMW M GmbH develops the world’s fastest pickup. Drive and suspension technology from the BMW M3 – comprehensive testing completed on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife – 420 hp and 450 kg load capacity – world premiere on 1 April 2011.

Munich. Following the BMW M3 Coupé, BMW M3 Convertible and BMW M3 Sedan, a fourth body variant of this globally successful high-performance sports car is about to cause a stir. Under the strictest secrecy, the world’s first high-performance pickup has been created at the BMW M GmbH development centre. The sportiest example by far in this vehicle category, the BMW M3 Pickup will fire the imaginations of all motorists with a deep appreciation of top performance matched by a keen practical bent. 309 kW/420 hp under the bonnet and a rear-axle load capacity of up to 450 kilos take the hallmark BMW M relationship between race-oriented driving pleasure and everyday utility to an entirely new level. This unique vehicle has already completed extensive test and set-up drives on the Nürburgring’s Nordschleife in advance of its global unveiling on 1 April 2011.

With this vehicle, BMW M GmbH once again furnishes evidence of its exceptional competence in developing and building high-grade, individual dream cars. With a high-revving V8 engine at the front, a generously sized load area behind and a removable Targa roof above, driver and passengers in the BMW M3 Pickup will relish an unprecedented take on the familiar M feeling. Yet this spectacular new development is unmistakably recognisable as a member of the BMW M3 model family. Corroborating this kinship are not just the inimitable power of the engine, but also fine-tuned aerodynamics and a tailored suspension set-up. Measurements in the wind tunnel at the BMW Group’s Aerodynamic Test Centre showed a Cd factor on a par with that of the BMW M3 Coupé. Like every BMW M model, the BMW M3 Pickup has also demonstrated its dynamic potential on the North Loop of the Nürburgring. Official lap times have not yet been released, but the needle in the dial vouched for a top speed of 300 km/h.

The kerb weight of the world’s fastest pickup undercuts that of the BMW M3 Convertible by around 50 kilograms. Removing the Targa roof shaves off a

further 20 kg while at the same time lowering the car’s centre of gravity. This most unusual experience of top-down driving pleasure in a BMW M3 thus goes hand in hand with further optimised dynamic handling.

The practical features of the BMW M3 Pickup are no less impressive. Maximum load capacity has been raised to 450 kilograms. The load bed of the BMW M3 Pickup is clad in high-grade structured aluminium sheeting and provides the biggest cargo capacity ever offered on a BMW M vehicle. In terms of the unit of measurement generally applied to premium automobiles, that gives the loading area of the BMW M3 Pickup the capacity to carry up to 20 standard 46-inch golf bags. What’s more, the BMW M3 Pickup is the first BMW M3 variant in the 25-year-plus history of this model range to come with a trailer tow hitch.

Notwithstanding these unquestionable stand-out qualities, the BMW M3 Pickup will not be heading for the golf course or series development, but will retain its status as an exclusive one-off. It is earmarked for use as a workshop transport vehicle for BMW M GmbH. With this in mind, the current BMW M3 Pickup – unlike a similar predecessor built back in the 1980s – has gone through the requisite procedures to earn its road certification. Which makes it officially a truck – but one that puts a whole new spin on the meaning of the word.

With their Vision Efficient Dynamic unveiled at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show and to enter limited production at the end of 2013, BMW designers gave form to a series of innovation focusing on fuel efficiency and reduction of CO2 emissions through a very attractive, lighter and more compact, four-seater, supercar, with high performance hybrid technology.

In Geneva this year the BMW team of innovators will repeat the exercise with a new show-car called Vision Connected Drive that is focused on the visualisation of the exchange of information flowing from, through and to, the driving environment, the car, the driver and the passenger. They are all and always connected.

The designers used light, shape and asymmetric architecture to visualise the change and the innovations in a trend-setting two-seater roadster. Natural light does highlight the complex and yet fluid surfaces of the sport car show-casing the concepts, whereas the asymmetric architecture of the cabin, with the cockpit dedicated to the driver taking a new race-style approach and the area for the passenger being wider and more comfortable.

The difference is emphasized by the different solutions for the two bucket seats and the facia.

The concept–car takes forward the BMW design language with its long wheelbase, set back seating position and long bonnet to combine solid surfaces with typical flowing lines in a dynamic sculpture.  This results in an interesting play of light and shadow. In addition the sliding doors, inspired by those on the BMW Z1, disappear into the body of the car and add a touch of exotic style.

Similarly, artificial light is used to enhance multifunctional applications of lighting technology, i.e. the headlights and rear lights also works as sensors monitoring the traffic and the environment around the car.

The interior concept focuses on three areas: comfort, infotainment and safety. Each area is outlines by its own combination of color, shapes, motion and texture and transparent surfaces showing the path the information flow via fiber optic lighting.

Safety is “visioned” through a red flow of safety-specific information and the driver’s focus on the road ahead.  The second conceptual areas, outlined by a ribbon of blue light, encompasses the safety layer and extends to the passenger cell, focusing on infotainment.  The aim here is to favor interaction between the driver and passenger.

The third area highlighted in green, focus on the interaction between the car and the world around it.  The emphasis is on the outside of the vehicle, starting and ending with the two antennas, in place of wing mirrors, providing the data link to the surrounding environment.

In addition to Advanced Head-Up Display the BMW Vision Connected Drive is equipped with a freely programmable instrument cluster to provide the driver with additional information, optically emphasized to a greater or lesser degree.  While for the first time passengers get their own information display, out of the driver’s field of vision, allowing them to evaluate information, music or navigation details and pass them onto the driver with a simple touch of a finger.

Photo Gallery

By Giancarlo Perini ©

The official unveiling is just a week away. It will take place in Milano at the Pirelli Headquarters.

The pictures of the most exclusive among the best performing supercars that more than 1 million Euros (1.35 million dollars) can buy make it clear: this is really the ultimate cars to have or Maharajas and Sultans, but Hollywood producer, pop stars, finance and industrial tycoons, and well established royalties.

Indeed this is the first Pagani that will be officially approved for the U.S.A.

The look is positively that of a Pagani, the natural evolution of a unique species created from stretch by the Italo-Argentinan Horacio Pagani with the Zonda. The DNA is there, 100%, but there is a new refined treatment of the surfaces, an even strikingly dynamic silhouette, sitting on a longer wheelbase and offering a roomier interior with access through two gull-wing doors, à Mercedes-Benz SLS.

According to Horacio Pagani: “Elegant and muscular the Huayra merges the past, present and future in a timeless interpretation of automotive art.

The styling of the car was perfected over the course of 5 years to find each line’s beginning and end. During this study, eight scale models were created, as well as two 1:1 models, each an evolution of the previous in a never-ending quest to perfect the form and refining the substance.

The bi-xenon headlamps are just one of the many precious gifts from the Zonda R, and LED daytime running lights are seamlessly integrated in the elliptical shape of the design. The rear bumper integrates with the diffuser and is dominated by an elliptical frame that surrounds the four central exhaust outlets, now becoming a characteristic Pagani element.

If a link to the German car-marker is only suggested by the door opening, the technical specification makes a positive statement. The powertrain of the new Pagani Huayra is a 6.0 litre Mercedes-AMG V12 Twin-turbo claiming an “over 700” HP output and a shocking “more than 1000 Nm” torque. It sits ahead of the rear axle and – via a 7-speed Xtrac sequential transmission – drives the rear wheels, and meets EU5 and LEV2 emission standards.

The car has no four-wheels drive but a weight distribution splitting 44% on the front axle and the balance on the rear.

The carbon-fibre two-seater supercar is 4.6 metres long and 2036 mm. wide (2356 with rear mirrors) and comes with a dry weight 0f 1350 kg, reportedly the lightest sports car in its class.

The new central monologue on the Huayra is an entirely new design made from carbon-titanium.

However, with the gull wing doors cutting deep into the roof, much research was focused on achieving the highest levels of rigidity through the application of new advanced composite materials and technologies first tested on the Zonda R. The fuel tank is located integrally in the best-protected area of the monocoque, behind the driver, reinforced by safety cell made of different composite and ballistic materials.

Pagani does not provide data for acceleration or top speed but said that the Pirelli P Zero tires fitted to the Huayra can travel at speeds above 370 kph and stand lateral acceleration of 1.5g.

More details in a week.

by Giancarlo Perini ©

The name sounds very familiar and recalls the mid-ship supercar designed by Giugiaro that actually marked the birth of the M (for “Motorsport”) branch of BMW.  That was 32 years ago.

Comes January 2011 and a “second generation” M1 Coupé will makes its World premiere at North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit.

The return to the future is only in the name though. This time the new “affordable supercar” has its powerful engine in the front, sits 4 instead of two and has quite a large luggage compartment in the back.

The 3.0 litres, six cylinders in line engine, grants 250 kW of power at 5900 rpm and as much as 450 Nm from 1500 to 4500 rpm. This translates in 0-100 times of 4.9 seconds and 0-200 in 17.3 seconds. The top speed is electronically limited to 250 kph as usual.

According to BMW M strategy the M1 is a muscular evolution of the very classic BMW 1 series coupé with its typical notchback architecture. However, whereas the BMW 1 series coupé is just a coupe which style belongs to past decades, the M1 has the soul and nostalgic look of a classic racer that young generation (in the U.S.A. China but Europe as well) may not be familiar with. As such it may be received as a fascinating car and I expert it to be very successful, as the first M3 generation has been for years.

The new M1 coupe has the characteristic proportions of a coupe and the familiar design language of a BMW M car, front section with clear cut air ducting including air curtains, athletic side section with typical M gills, strikingly flared wheel arches, a powerful rear end, dual tailpipes on both sides. And big wheels.

To make the M1 Coupe easily recognised at long distance, BMW M will be available only in a choice of three exterior paint finishes, with interior design based on set configuration and extensive individualisation options available for the BMW 1 Series.

The new M1 coupé will be produced at the Leipzig plant and is to be launched in Germany in May next year at prices starting at € 50.500.