BMW wins 2008 International Engine of the Year

By Ben Pulman

08 May 2008 10:21

BMW’s petrol twin-turbo 3.0-litre straight six has won the 2008 International Engine of the Year award. It’s the engine’s second successive victory and BMW’s record-breaking fourth consecutive win. BMW has scooped the top award in six of the last ten years. Is there something in the water in Munich?

BMW also picked up awards for its 4.0-litre V8, 5.0-litre V10 and the Best Newcomer trophy for the twin-turbo 2.0-litre diesel. The BMW-PSA 1.6-litre engine also won its category, but BMW missed out on the Performance Engine award as Porsche picked up its second-ever trophy, for its twin-turbo 3.6-litre.

The Green Engine award was won by Toyota, which has won the eco gong every year since 2004, while the Japanese company also won the sub-1000cc category. VW’s 1.4 TSI Twincharger and Subaru’s 2.5-litre turbo also picked award in their respective categories.

BMW M1 Hommage concept

By Tim Pollard

27 April 2008 12:47

The new BMW M1 Hommage was a surprise debutant at the Concorso d’Eleganza 2008 di Villa d’Este this weekend. No prizes for guessing what it is: this is an official concept car to mark the 30th anniversary of the original M1 supercar.

The Hommage is a clever reinterpretation of the 1978 coupe, bristling with echoes of the original. The low-slung coupe stance, the slatted deck where a rear window should be, those polished, sink-strainer alloy wheels - it's an unambiguously direct bloodline connected to BMW's first proper supercar.












BMW M1 Hommage: not all retro

Don't expect a Mini-style trip down memory lane. The M1 Hommage is brought bang up to date with the latest design trends: there's the (now compulsory on any sports car) rear diffuser, the usual lack of any visible door handles and typically tiny door mirrors. We like the BMW roundel sitting on the extremities of the rump though.

The official line is that the M1 is a celebration pure and simple, but the July 2008 issue of CAR Magazine reveals BMW is deadly serious about the project.












A rare BMW surprise

It's rare for a manufacturer, and especially BMW, to throw a complete surprise, but few outside Munich's HQ even knew this show car was coming.












BMW M1 Hommage: Mid-engined, rear-drive

The M1 Hommage's designers say they took inspiration from the 1972 Turbo concept by Paul Bracq, which led to Giugiaro's M1 production car. Naturally, the 2008 version is still mid-engined and rear-drive - and it's roughly the same size as the original M1, although the wheelbase is stretched.

Even the paint job is retro inspired - the 'liquid orange' reminds us of the orange and black of the Seventies original - but the extrovert surface language, and its interplay of concave and convex forms, is nothing but pure BMW of today. You even get the trusty BM kinked window graphic.












That front end...

The rather sketchy German press release doesn't spell out too many details, but it talks about the recessed headlamps and the surrounding black that masks them. It's an attempt to mimic the pop-up items of the 1978 M1 - you're only supposed to notice them when lit, you see.

It's clearly an aerodynamic snout, designed to cleave the air cleanly rather than look beautiful.












Just remind me about the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este thingy...

Ah yes. No glitzy motor show debut for this BMW. As with the Mille Miglia concept, BMW has turned to a smaller, upmarket event to unveil the M1 Hommage. It's a concours d'elegance where beautiful classics of the past mix with design studies of the future.

BMW's design overlord Chris Bangle said: 'It's important to be conscious of your past. Following in the footsteps of Giugiaro and Bracq, the BMW M1 Hommage combines the values of design and technology in a highly emotional and exciting interpretation.'












Will they build the M1 Hommage?

BMW sure could do with a flagship car like the Hommage to spice up its everyday range, and BMW is exploring how to make it a reality.

It's worth remembering that the Turbo was also 'just' a design study in 1972, but it inspired the M1 production car and its influence is still highly visible 30 years on.

BMW tii models are go

By Georg Kacher

02 April 2008 17:06

BMW chief Norbert Reithofer has confirmed to CAR Online that a range of tii performance options will be launched soon on the company's smaller models. He has finally ruled out a rumoured M1 version of the 1-series and said the tii spec would be the most performance-oriented model, claiming the the twin-turbo 135i was quite fast enough (it does 0-62mph in 5.3sec, after all).

The tii concept shown at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show points accurately to the approach BMW is developing: performance kits for the 1-series coupe and hatchback, an aero package, carbonfibre details, fatter wheels and tyres, sports seats and instruments. There's even talk of a new M-style steering wheel with integrated LED rev counter.











A tii for the masses

BMW is the past master at offering huge choice in spec and trim; subtle nuance of alloy wheel size here, and Sport spec there is the stuff of workplace car park folklore. The tii spec will slot above today's M sport spec in the multi-faceted pecking order.

However, BMW plans for the tii models to be proper performance cars in the longer run. For instance, the next-gen 1-series, dubbed F20 and due in late 2011, will offer a tii version with a downsized twin-turbo four-cylinder petrol engine and a radically lighter body and chassis, we hear.












The 3-series tii

We'll see the facelifted 3-series this summer - with mild revisions to the lights and bonnet - but there is likely to be a tii model, too. Expect the brakes from the M3, 19in wheels, sports suspension and a new twin-clutch transmission. Again, though, a harder core tii is likely with the next 3-series, codenamed F30 and due in late 2011.

Q&A with Norbert Reithofer

CAR: In Tokyo, BMW showed a vision for a 1-series coupe with tii genes. Fact or fiction?
Reithofer: 'The response was positive. Expect to see tailormade tii packages in the very near future.'

Q: But the original tii was much more than a cosmetic equipment package...
A: 'True. On the other hand, the 135i already plays kind of a tii role within the 1series.'

Q: What about an even stronger M1 as new top-of-the-line version?
A: 'It´s not in the plan.'

Q: The tii approach epitomises core brand values for BMW. Are your smallest models most likely to get the tii treatment first?
A: 'In terms of sportiness and vehicles dynamics, both the 1- and the 3-series are already well positioned.'

Q: Isn't the danger that the tii suffix could be seen as just decorative? CAR thinks there should be substance to back up the badge...
A: 'I don´t disagree. But we need a bit more time - to define the evolution of the tii theme and to physically develop it.'