BMW has launched a new M sport package for its X5, the first time the performance kit has been offered on the SUV model. The kit includes both visual upgrades to the interior and body, as well as performance tuning of its chassis. The exterior features new color-coded bumpers with integrated fog lights, extended wheel arches housing unique 19in wheels or an optional 20in set, plus new side moldings.

Inside, the SUV gets full leather accessories with ‘M’ labeling, sports seats, polished aluminum trim and an M steering wheel. Handling has been enhanced thanks to modifications to the adaptive drive and active steering systems, and individual selection of specific tires that differ between the front and rear axles.

We can’t really say we’re fans of this new look. The X5 SUV is undoubtedly a superb vehicle and in standard form is quite a looker, but this new kit, especially the front bumper, seems to have been hit with the ugly stick. The kit will cost €6,350 with either the 3.0si or 3.0d models, or €4,840 when equipped with the 4.8i V8 model.

US based auto-parts supplier BorgWarner has teamed up with Porsche once again to develop a new AWD clutch and control system, which will be adopted across several Porsche sports cars. You may remember that BorgWarner also supplies the Variable Turbine Geometry (VTG) blowers for the potent 911 Turbo, and now it’ll also supply the new AWD technology.

The new AWD coupling system is the first production unit of its type to feature an active Gerotor pump plus efficient cooling systems and control algorithms.

The system is based on an electromagnetic multiple disk clutch. It consists of a three speed coupling unit with a primary clutch, a closing force amplifier and an actively cooled secondary clutch. Unlike current systems found in most AWD cars, this latest version features a third friction element that allows it to handle torque figures of up to 800Nm.

Production of the W203 series Mercedes-Benz C-class wagon, referred to as the T-Modell, has finally come to an end after a six year run. Mercedes has built more than 360,000 C-class wagons since 2001, with the last vehicle being a right-hand-drive model to be delivered to a customer in the UK.

In the coming months, the Bremen-based plant is to be retooled for production of the new-generation W204 C-class wagon, which will make its world debut this autumn.

The W203 range has not completely been laid to rest. The Sportcoupé model will continue to be produced since a replacement model isn’t expected anytime soon. In fact, developers are planning an updated model with an improved engine range that will be sold alongside the new W204 C-class.

Buick is desperate to add new products to its lineup but an exec has revealed that any new model won’t arrive until the end of the decade at the earliest. GM’s president of North America Troy Clarke, who spoke recently with Car and Driver, explained that Buick could either add a model positioned above the Lucerne sedan or below the LaCrosse.

The new car will either be a large RWD sedan or convertible, with styling based on the Velite concept that was displayed at 2004’s New York Auto Show. Developers will use GM’s global Zeta platform for the car’s running gear, which means its powertrain options will probably be shared with the Pontiac G8 and upcoming Chevy Camaro.

The future of Buick will see more of its models sharing platforms and design efforts with sister models in China. The first of these new-generation cars will be the next LaCrosse, which will be launched in 2009 in both the US and China.

If Formula One does not act, car manufacturers could quit and the very existence of motor sport could be under threat. That is the belief of FIA president Max Mosley, who in an interview with the newspaper Welt am Sonntag justified his tough stance on modernising the rules for the future.

Talks with the carmakers have already begun about revolutionising the rulebook for 2011, with things like biofuel-powered V6 engines on the table. The last carmaker to pull out of F1 was Ford at the end of 2004, but Mosley insisted: “We must continue to cut the costs. My experience is that if one manufacturer decides it has become too expensive, another one could also say goodbye very quickly. We have to remember that the people sitting on these companies’ executive boards are not necessarily F1 fans.”

He admits that recent rule changes like longer-life engines and the new ‘engine freeze’ in 2007 had not dramatically altered the manufacturers’ willingness to spend money. “Only two of them have actually reduced their budgets,” Mosley said. “Instead of enjoying the cost savings they have continued to spend exactly the same sums, to develop maybe three or four more horse power — and that’s crazy.”

Along with cost, Mosley is also desperate to make the rules of the future more road-relevant and environmentally friendly, particularly when he fears a looming world oil crisis. Denying reports that he is considering introducing ’standard cars’, Mosley did admit that the chassis rules will be changed. He asked rhetorically: “Do you know how much carbon dioxide is blown into the air when top teams run two wind-tunnels 24 hours a day, day after day?
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F1’s governing body has cleared McLaren of using illegal team orders in the controversial Monaco grand prix. The FIA conducted an investigation into the team’s conduct, after the British press reacted angrily to boss Ron Dennis’ admission that Fernando Alonso and his British teammate Lewis Hamilton had been asked to ensure a safe one-two finish.

Result-altering team orders were banned in 2002 in reaction to former Ferrari duo Rubens Barrichello and Michael Schumacher’s place-swapping on the Austrian GP finish-line. But the FIA says it found that McLaren’s actions in Monte Carlo “were entirely legitimate and no further action is necessary.”

The statement also suggested that, when one of a teams’ cars is leading a grand prix, it is legitimate for them to “ensure (that) their other car finishes second”. The FIA said: “There is no obligation on them to take (the) risk to overtake their own car. Indeed it would be foolish to do so. “It is standard procedure for a team to tell its drivers to slow down when they have a substantial lead. “(McLaren) did nothing which could be described as interfering with the race result,” the statement explained.

The Woking based team reacted by calling the FIA’s investigation “efficient, professional and thorough”, and insisted that the outcome demonstrated that the press’ scathing criticism had been “not justified”. FIA spokesman Richard Woods, meanwhile, denied that the governing body is the only party that risked bringing the sport into disrepute after Monaco by conducting the inquiry and worsening the negative publicity.

He told The Times: “This was the regulator going through the regulatory process as transparently as possible and reaching a conclusion.” (GMM)

Carmakers in the US have considered implementing fuel economy standards as high as 36mpg for cars and 30mpg for light trucks as an alternative to new regulations that could be voted in by the full Senate the week of June 11. The proposed Senate bill would force carmaker’s fleet average fuel economy rates up to 35mpg by 2020, up 40% on current levels, and additional increases of 4% per annum until 2030.

Most in the auto industry including lobbyists agree that the bill is too harsh, and have instead put forward a draft of alternative legislation prepared by Detroit Senator Carl Levin. Under his proposal, carmakers would introduce a car standard of 36 mpg by 2022 and a truck standard of 30 mpg by 2025, reports Automotive News.

The draft proposal would allow carmakers to circumvent fuel economy standards as long as they show that they’re developing vehicles with lower fuel consumption and emission levels.

Environmental lobbyists are against Levin’s bill, which they say is plagued with loopholes that would lower set standards if they’re deemed too tough by regulators.

Jaguar’s engineers have been very busy with the development of the new XF, renting an entire house and garage behind a fuel station in Austria to work on the new car in privacy. Or so they thought. This latest barrage of spy images reveal several Jag prototypes, including two new XF saloons, an older S-Type test-mule and a production version of the Apex Motorsport prepped XKR GT3.

When questioned, one of the drivers revealed that not only were they testing the new XF, but development work for a high-performance version of the XK was also underway. The gaping holes in the test car’s bonnet are said to send cold air to a newly developed supercharged engine that develop upwards of 500hp. Racing buckets and a complete roll cage meant that this coupe was something special - a genuine rival to the M6.

The images, courtesy of our friends at Autogespot, also reveal one of four S-Type prototypes with widened wheel arches, no doubt a camouflaged mule for a performance version of the new XF. Click ahead for more details and spy images.

Previous reports suggested that Jaguar would release two new supercharged models. One, a 4.2L V8 version with around 420hp on tap, and the other a high-performance flagship with a supercharged 5.0L V8 developing between 460 and 500hp that will be shared with the XK coupe.

Update: These fantastic spy shots were taken by serial car-spotters Riicharrd and Crispijn. You can check out more of their work here.
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To this day, the official top speed record for a production car is 242mph as set by the Koenigsegg CCR. Of course, everyone knows that the Bugatti Veyron can reach 253mph but there’s yet to be an official recording so the Koenigsegg remains as top-dog. To achieve the record and conform to the Guinness World Record guidelines, officials need to independently scrutinize and ensure that the car is a standard production version. The top speed is then verified by an aftermarket dash logger and GPS tracker. The run in the Bugatti Veyron presented in Top Gear was conducted by the show with Volkswagen, there were no officials on hand to verify its achievement.

For these reasons, the record lies in the hands of Koenigsegg, however, the Swedish supercar may not stay long at the top if Shelby Super Cars and its Ultimate Aero TT have their way.

Back in March, SSC ran one of its cars down a stretch of Nevada highway with experienced road racer Rick Doria behind the wheel. Unfortunately, the attempt was called off after just two runs due to poor weather conditions.

According to SSC’s marketing director, Junus Khan, the Ultimate Aero has hit 241.4mph (0.6mph off the record) while undergoing transmission temperature testing. Khan notes that only 71% of the car’s throttle was applied, which means we’re yet to see all of the Aero’s 1183 horses unleashed.

SSC uses independent data acquisition firm Dewetron to confirm its results and are hoping to break the official record very soon. After that, smashing the Veyron’s top speed does not seem entirely implausible.
Via: Autoblog

Binz in the UK has taken its latest stretched Mercedes-Benz E-Class limousine to the Millbrook Proving Grounds for an annual test day with UK’s motoring journalists. On days like this, you’re more likely to see the journos pimping it up in the back seat rather than behind the wheel because that’s the real test of a limo says Binz sales director Kevin Smith.

For most new cars, focus is usually upon the driving experience behind the wheel. But with a limo, it’s the passenger experience that becomes paramount, so you need to pay greater attention to damping, pitch and roll, overall monocoque rigidity, and factors such as noise, vibration and harshness.

For the Binz E-Class stretch, designers had to recalibrate the -Benz AirMATIC suspension to take into account changes in vehicle wheelbase and kerbweight. However, occupants can still rely upon all the passive and dynamic safety systems that come with an E-Class as standard should the worse happen.

Binz offers a vehicle range extending from E-220 or E-270 CDi based diesels, up to the flagship E-350 based V6 petrol model and S-class range.

Governments around the world are bowing down to public pressure to reduce the levels of greenhouse gases their respective countries produce, and more often than not, the first sector they look at is the auto industry. The European Council has proposed a ruling that could see carmaker’s forced to limit fleet averages for CO2 levels at 130g/km by as early as 2012, something that could have disastrous effects for niche players like Ferrari. In fact, the changes have Ferrari so worried that engineers for both its F1 division and road-going cars are hard at work developing methods to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions of its engines.

Ferrari management have maintained that any reduction of CO2 levels will not come at the cost of performance but recognize that they have a tough challenge on their hands. Ferrari technical director Amadeo Felisa, who spoke with El Mundo Motor, explains that the reduction of polluting emissions is a major burden on resources and that when developing the 599 GTB last year, engineers were forced to seek a balance between outright performance and lower emissions.

To meet anything close to 130g/km, Felisa admits it will be extremely difficult using current technology. Instead, Ferrari will turn to its F1 engineers to find a more suitable solution for the prancing horse brand but will also distribute part of its CO2 quotas with that of Fiat Group.

Finally, Ferrari would also consider turning to alternative methods of cutting emissions but according to the director of product development, Massimo Fumarola, Ferrari would “never make a low range model, nor reduce the levels of performance the price of its cars demand, or make motors that run on biofuel or diesel.” However, Fumarola didn’t rule out the option of using hybrid or direct injection technology, or possibly brake-energy regeneration.

The new BMW M3 will arrive with either a conventional six-speed manual gearbox or a newly designed seven-speed double-clutch system with paddle shifters. Called ‘M DCT’ in BMW speak, the new gearbox will be available from March next year in the M3 and will eventually filter down across the 3 and 5-series range in detuned form.

We reported previously about the possibility of a DSG-style box for the M3 a while back but this latest confirmation comes from an official document that was issued to BMW dealers, according to Autocar.

Co-developed with Getrag, the new gearbox will feature a shift lever like the one seen in the new X5 as well as the paddle shifters, and should offer faster and smoother acceleration than the conventional six-speed or the outgoing SMG.

Other options for the M3, which officially starts sales in September, will be 19in alloy wheels and a new electronic damper control.

Earlier this week, Swedish newspapers reported that Ford was in talks with BMW over the possible sale of Volvo and that BMW had gone so far as to order in a set of the carmaker’s latest financial reports. A spokesman for the Blue Oval has revealed in an email sent to Reuters that Ford was not discussing any sale with BMW or any other carmaker for that matter.

Until now, Ford wasn’t willing to comment about reports that claimed Volvo was up for sale. However, Volvo CEO Fredrik Arp told reporters back in March that Ford was committed to the brand and that no sale was likely.

Ford could raise more than $9 billion by selling its Premier Auto Group, which last year posted a combined loss of $327 million. But the Volvo brand is one of the most successful brands in the PAG and its profits offset the huge losses of Jaguar, which amounted to $715 million last year and is expected to lose another $550 million this year.

We wouldn’t be willing to rule out the sale of Volvo just yet. Before the sale of the Chrysler Group to Cerberus, executives on both sides outright denied claims that the sale was imminent, however, we would be very surprised if Ford did let Volvo go.

Porsche specialist 9ff has announced the release of a high-performance tuning pack for the convertible version of the new 911 Turbo. It didn’t take long for the power-hungry guys over at 9ff to transfer their performance know-how from the coupe to the cabrio. The car was only officially launched by Porsche this month, but for some, the thrill of traveling beyond 350km/h with the wind in your hair just can’t wait.

Using knowledge gained from their previous 912hp kit for the Carerra GT and an identical package for the 911 Coupe, 9ff’s engineers then turned to the drop-top. Their previous creation, a 650hp version of the same car managed to reach in excess of 350km/h and Le blog auto believe that this more powerful car will have what it takes to pass 400km/h.

9ff is also concentrating on preparing its custom mid-engined GT9 to challenge the Bugatti Veyron’s title of the world’s fastest production car. Sharing some mechanicals with the 911, the new GT9 is currently being developed at a new facility in Dortmund, Germany, and should be ready in time for a high-speed knock out comp at Italy’s Nardo circuit later this year.

Its makers claim the GT9 is capable of reaching 409km/hh (254mph), 2km/h better than the Veyron’s record of 407.5km/h (253.2mph). Two lucky buyers have already driven away in their own GT9’s, paying upwards of €400,000 for the unique supercar.

Following the demise of Fiat Group’s rescue plan for Bertone, a deal that would have seen the struggling Italian coachbuilder build several new Lancia models for Fiat, senior management were forced to come up with a new survival plan to present to investors at a meeting last month. Part of the turnaround plan was to strengthen operational control by employing Barbara Bertone, the youngest daughter of CEO Ermelinda Bertone, as the new managing director.

Her goal will be to secure work for the firm. Bertone hasn’t had a major job since it stopped building the Opel/Vauxhall Astra coupe and cabriolet in 2005, which meant most of its 1,500 odd staff were left without work and supported with government handouts. Unfortunately, the public handouts are set to expire on July 11.

According to Automotive News, the coachbuilder is considering starting production of a Bertone branded sports car with a BMW powerplant for the US market, as well as assembly of a camper van. A spokesman for BMW stated that the luxury label has no involvement in the development of a Bertone sports car but did not rule out its existence.

Pictured above is Bertone’s most recent concept car, a light weight roadster that was unveiled in Geneva earlier this year.
Via: Autoblog.it