It may be one of the most awesome ideas to hit a car in a long time, but BMW’s got a line of cars–specifically, the 7-series Sedan–with a whole slew of options, the most interesting of which is easily the night vision option.

Why is it so interesting, you ask?  Well, it’s not REALLY night vision at all, not in the conventional sense.  See, in standard night vision, specialized components collect and amplify ambient light, thus allowing one to see where there was entirely too little light to see by before.  While the BMW night vision DOES get some augmentation from the headlights, its primary imaging source is a thermal camera, making this more of a heat-detection system rather than a night vision system.

I’m not saying that this isn’t useful–far from it!  Living in an area that sees HUGE amounts of car-deer collisions every year, I’d love to be able to see those stupid things coming by something a little more reliable than my high beams.  But it’d cost more to get the device than it would to replace my car…it’s part of an option package that can add upward of twenty six thousand bucks to the price of an already-salty BMW.

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While we broke the tale of the BMW Vision Efficient Dynamics way back in September, some fresh news has emerged to make the whole thing a lot more interesting.

Specs have recently hit, and they’re downright amazing: it’s a plug in hybrid with a three cylinder turbo diesel, it gets zero to a hundred km/h in 4.8 seconds, and its total gas mileage is right around sixty two miles per gallon.

Frankly, this car is amazing no matter how you slice it.  it’s got incredible numbers on its side, and it’s easily one of the sexiest plug-in hybrids on the market.  After looking at the frumpy hausfrau that was the Toyota Prius (which will, by all accounts, still look like a shaved brick on wheels for the next couple of years at least), it’s downright liberating to get a look at the shapely, vaguely Lamborghini styled BMW Efficient Dynamics.  A sixty two mile per gallon car that looks like that?  Almost too good to be true.

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Showcased in the above video is the BMW Simple Concept vehicle that apparantly reaches “200 km/h, while using less than 2 liters of fuel per 100 km.” The concept now calls the BMW Museum in Munich its new home where it will be put on display for all to see.

Anyways, there isn’t much I could tell you that isn’t said in the above video so just check it out and be sure to tell us what you think of it in the comments.

via worldcarfans

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Recent reports have surfaced that BMW has a brand new 0 Series in the works based on the Mini platform. Seeing as the entire Mini lineup is, well, mini we’re going to guess that this new 0 Series will be a quite small one.

The need for such a series apparently came about by the demands of consumers looking for increasingly smaller vehicles. You know, the smaller the car, the better gas mileage? Yeah, that kind of thing. Further reports suggest that there will be several vehicles in the 0 Series lineup including a 3-door and 5-sdoor hatback along with some sort of convertible model.

As always, we’ll keep you posted.

via motoringfile

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You know, I’ve taken a look at my car more than once and, despite the fact that it gets a decent twenty eight miles per gallon highway, I’ve said that most of the time, I don’t need the whole car to do things.  I live maybe five miles from the nearest post office.  Almost ten from the nearest video store and about twelve from the movie theater.  Don’t get me started how far I have to go for a decent plate of Olive Garden.  I can’t just walk or bicycle everywhere, but I don’t need the cargo space my car affords half the time.

But the boys at BMW have apparently heard my lament, because they’ve come up with the half-car, half-motor scooter C1-E.  This all electric vehicle doesn’t require a helmet to drive (at least in Europe) because of its roll cage and reinforced front nose.

I doubt you’ll be able to get this in the US any time soon, but it’s still pretty awesome, either way.

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Recent reports suggest that BMW is gearing up to send the V10 engine featured in their current generation M5 to the great beyond and instead replace it with a turbocharged V8.

Sure, the V10 is fast, that’s not secret, but the fact that it’s just about everything besides environmentally friendly has left BMW with no choice but to turn towards greener alternatives such as the above mentioned turbocharged V8.

If these reports are true, we should be seeing the a turbocharged V8 engine appear in the next generation M5 with right around 555 HP and 500 lb-per-feet of torque.

via autoblog

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I suppose it might come as a surprise, if you haven’t read a newspaper or watched any TV in the last six months or so, that the luxury car market is collapsing.  But what’ll really surprise you is the depth to which it’s falling.  For instance, the total sales for luxury car sales this year has fallen fully one third from this time last year.

A third of the market, just gone.  That’s bad enough for anybody, but he luxury car makers aren’t taking this lying down, no sir or ma’am as the case may be.

A recent BMW marketing push, for example, pointed out that its diesel sedans were the most fuel-efficient in their class.  And Bentley offered up incredible financing rates on its catastrophically priced car that was almost the same deal as a GM pickup’s rate.

I’m not really surprised that luxury car makers are finding things tough in the new economy–when pundits bust out lines like “frugal is the new black”, you really have to wonder about the whole mess.  But this may be a sign of much more systemic weakness in the overall economy, and that’s something we’ll all have to watch for.

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I don’t know about you guys, but the BMW M3 has long been one of my favorite cars considering it good looking, luxurious and above all else, fast. Evidentally, Manhart Racing has decided the vehicle is not fast enough having recently announced a tuning kit for the vehicle.

Just how much of a tuning kit this is remains arguable considering Manhart Racing has actually swapped the M3’s stock engine out for the V10 engine found in the BMW M5 and M6. They coupled that beast of an engine with a 7-speed SMG transmission, DMW steering system, quad exhaust in addition to removing the speed limiter.

In conclusion, all of these advancements makes for a 550HP V10 BMW M3 capable of reaching speeds up to 208 mph and sprinting from 0-100km/h in just 3.9 seconds.

via wcf

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Here is something interesting that is perhaps aimed for VIPs and the people who love to live dangerously. International Armoring Corporation has announced that they have designed a bulletproof version of the 2010 BMW 750i that should be appealing to the ones holding government or are in need of heightened security.

With these new armored BMWs, potential attacks against powerful handguns and high-powered rifles can bolster the security measures needed by personalities such as celebrities or politicians. IAC has been known to produce lightweight armor (ARMORMAX) which should address issues concerning suspensions and car performance as far as the BMW 750i is concerned.

Aside from the standard armor for the vehicle body, people who avail of this bulletproof package will also include fuel tank, battery and ECM protection as well as run-flat tire bands. Standard Base Armoring packages are priced at US$52,500.00 for the B4 level of protection and US$82,350.00 for the B6 level.

(Source) Press

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Earlier this week BMWgave us our first look at their Vision Efficient Dynamics Concept hybrid behicle via a promotional video. Sure, the car was prominently displayed but the chances of us seeing it in the wild anytime soon were slim to none, or so we thought.

What you see above is a spy shot, taken by a Car and Driver reader, of the Vision Efficient Dynamics Concept as it was set up for a photoshoot. As you can see, the car looks absolutely stunning but like I said before there’s almost no chance that it will look like this if/when it enters production.

Anyways, head here to peep the rest of the pics and then sit tight until the Frankfurt Motor Show later this month where BMW will showcase the car.

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Those who fanc electric vehicles, MINIs and live in the UK will be happy to hear that BMW has begun accepting applications to lease one of 20 of their MINI Es.

What’s even better is BMW will be offering the £550 monthly lease for just £330 courtesy of a £25 million grant from the Technology Strategy Board. According to the press release, those who lease the car will be supplied with a 240V/32 amp charging unit that will make for a total charging time of just 4.5 hours. Additionally, BMW will supply a 13 amp socket adapter for those who request it.

The application to lease the above vehicle is located here.

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Just yesterday we were givenour first glimpse of BMW’s Vision EfficientDyanamics Concept and were wowed by the futuristic look showcased in the pictures. Today, BMW has gone ahead and released a video showcasing the same car along with some of their employees breaking it down.

The unfortunate thing about this car is that if/when it does hit the streets it will most likely look nothing like this.

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BMW is really looking to blur the boundaries between the present and the future with they new Vision Efficient Dynamics Concept hybrid vehicle. As you can see from the above picture this car features a super futuristic design with glass gullwing doors and other components making for an ultra light vehicle.

Under the hood is a 356 hp diesel/electric engine capable of 590 lb-ft of torque and a top speed of 155 mph. To car is to pull power from regenerative brakes that will juice 98 lithium polymer cells making for a range of ~31 miles on electricity alone.

Chances are we’ll see more of BMW’s Vision Efficient Dynamics Concept at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show which is right around the corner.

via press

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The BMW Z4 isn’t a slow car by any means, considering it has a full 306HP stock, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement. BMW has yet to announce any tuning kits for the car and has kept generally quiet about whatever they have cookin’ in their labs.

Luckily, a tuning firm by the name of Manhart Racing has managed to give Z4 owners exactly what they are looking for, a boost of 244HP. They have managed this by dropping a reworked V10 engine, found in BMW models such as the M5 and M6, into the Z4 effectively giving it a huge boost. All of this additional power will give the Z4 a 0 – 62 mph sprint of just 3.9 seconds in addition to getting the 150MPh electronic speed limiter removed.

Couple all of this with an M5 6-speed manual transmission and differential and you have yourself the baddest BMW Z4 on the road.

via wcf

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If recent reports are to be believed, we may be seeing two different hybrid versions of BMW’s newest 5 series models. Speculation comes to us from BMW Blog who says a company insider has notified them that the 2011 5 Series models will feature 2 different hybrid power trains. One model will reportedly feature the same power train used in BMW’s X6 ActiveHybrid while the other will feature the power train found in BMW’s latest 7 series vehicles.

Whatever the case, BMW is sure to have a hit with high level consumers who are looking for a fuel efficient and stylish looking vehicle.

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