Autos

With the debut of the BMW Vision ConnectedDrive Concept at the Geneva Auto Show in March, BMW is aiming at developing an advanced social network on one slick set of wheels.

The exterior boasts a design between a stealth fighter plane with its sharp angles and a classic roadster accompanied by a long bonnet and shortened windshield.

The roadster’s interior is accented in fibre optic lighting in what can only be described as an optical symphony. A three-dimensional Heads-Up Display fuses virtual content with the road for the driver that delivers up to the second data from environmental conditions, locations, and even mood.

We were expecting the new for 2012 BMW 1 Series to be making its debut this year but didn’t think we’ll see it this soon.  It was supposed be shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September but a German website called Motor Traffic somehow got their hands on the pictures and some specs on the 2012 BMW 1 Series 5-door.

The current BMW 1 Series is an okay looking car (I’m feeling very generous today) but the 2012 model shown here makes the previous generation car look really good.  The 2012 BMW 1 Series 5-door looks very bloated and a bit bigger, I guess I’ll have to see it in person; maybe it doesn’t look as good in pictures?

Over the last two decades, China has become an economic powerhouse thanks in part to a great number of manufacturers setting up factories in China and producing most of the world’s goods.  With all this economic activity, money is flowing into China and there are a large number of wealthy people that are willing to spend on luxury items.  Many of these factory owners, CEO’s, and upper management love to spend their money on luxury automobiles such as Bentley and others.  But merely having a Bentley is not enough, these guys need something special to set them apart from their neighbors.

Seeing the demand, Bentley decided to produce a special edition car only for the Chinese market.  Bentley has teamed with up British high-end furniture makers Linley to produce an ultra-luxurious Bentley Continental Flying Spur.

Since it was first introduced in 1963, the Porsche 911 has had many design changes but to the average Joe it still looks like the same car.  True car fans know the car’s design has evolved over the year and has gotten better with age like a fine wine (we’ll pretend the 996 was never produced).  However, there are some people that want their modern Porsche to look like the original but with a lot more power and creature comforts; we have a solution for those people thanks to Swedish car designer Bo Zoland (we wrote an article on his custom 1955 Thunderbird here).

Bo Zoland has teamed up with Custom Concepts from Holland to create a 1960’s 911 inspired body kit for the Porsche 911 997 (2005 to 2011).  The kit is still a work in progress project but is pretty close to being completed.  It includes an all-new front bumper that has new turn signals and vents and a duct-tail wing in the back that makes the car look very retro. 

I’m a huge fan of small cars; most of them are lightweight which makes them super fun to throw around in corners.  The small cars available in North America do have one major problem, lack of power, I did own a Cooper S but the 175 HP didn’t seem enough.  There is a new small car on the market that takes care of that problem, the car is the Audi A1 Quattro and it comes with 256 ponies, unfortunately it won’t be sold in North America, so we’re back at square one…

During the Moab Easter Jeep Safari event earlier this month, Jeep revealed six different concept vehicles with two of them stealing the thunder.  And based on the feedback Jeep has received, I’m not the only one that has two favorites.

The first vehicle that caught my attention is the Jeep Mighty FC which is inspired by the Jeep Forward Control which was built between 1956 and 1965. The Mighty FC is loosely based on the Wrangler Rubicon but the cabin has been repositioned over and in front of the front axle as well as receiving a lengthened wheelbase.