With the Paris auto show around the corner, you get many automakers testing models and concepts to get ready. Here are some shots of the X1 released by Xbimmers.com
Autocar.co.uk reports that BMW has confirmed–in a statement by CEO Norbert Reithofer–that it is developing a tiny city car in response to increasing demand for more fuel-efficient vehicles.
Reithofer states that the vehicle will be drastically different from any of BMW’s current offerings and that it will be motivated by either of two powerplants: a small, efficient internal-combustion engine or an all-electric drivetrain with a range of 200 miles. The electric drivetrain will be created to meet California’s requirement that all major automakers offer a zero-emissions vehicle by 2012.
Finer details are still up in the air. BMW hasn’t decided whether the microcar will even wear a BMW propeller badge. According to Reithofer, “It could be BMW, Mini, or another name.” While we think that an electric Mini would fit right into the brand’s quirky image and probably make the most sense, speculation is that the “other name” in question could signal the revival of the Isetta brand, which has been retired since the 1960s.
The next-generation BMW Z4 has been scooped driving in and around the Bavarian automaker’s central offices in Munich. If you check out the spy shots you can see that the prototype is equipped with a hardtop, and from the looks of it, it’s a two-piece folding metal roof. So do we need any more proof that the new Z4 will indeed be equipped with a retractable hardtop instead a conventional, but lighter soft top like today’s model?
If it were any other automaker we’d say no, but since BMW is known to explore various solutions on its prototype test cars, we wouldn’t be too hasty to completely write off the canvas top. Who knows, maybe the Bavarian’s will go both ways as Mazda did with the current generation Miata / MX-5. Leaving the roof options aside, the new Z4 will be built on the latest 3-Series underpinnings, remaining similar in dimensions to the current model growing on an inch or so in length and width.
>Under the hood, we’ll see the new Z4 getting the latest powertrains from the 3-Series including BMW’s latest generation 3.0-liter bi-turbo straight six that develops 326 HP in the new 740i (from 306 HP in the 335i) and the M3’s 420 HP 4.0-liter V8 in the range topping Z4 M model. Just like the current Z4, the new Bavarian roadster will also be offered (at least inEurope), with an entry-level, no-frills 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine.
>So when will we see the new Z4 arriving in BMW’s dealerships? The production BMW Z4 will make its first appearance at the Detroit Show in January 2009, but we wouldn’t be surprised if the Bavarian automaker presents a pre-production model the Los Angeles Motor Show this November. In any case, the new Z4 that will be made in Germany.
[source: CarScoop]
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