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CNET.Com
By: Daniel Terdiman
June 10, 2011




The great BMW 'Art Cars' come home to Munich.

Artist Frank Stella joined Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, David Hockney,
Robert Rauschenberg, and many other leaders of the pop art movement
in creating a BMW art car.

They all shared a medium ... But it wasn't canvas.

In fact, it was the metal surfaces of a group of BMW cars, and together,
for more than 35 years, they created one of the most unusual
and unlikely collections of all time.

The collection of 17 vehicles is on display at the BMW Museum
in Munich through late September.

The Art Cars

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BMW's Tricked-Out M3 Coupe

Performance technology makes the 2011 BMW 3 Coupe a
thoroughbred performer, yet it can be optioned with plenty of cabin gadgets.

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Let's head to the race track with professional driver Randy Pobst to see if
Ford's reborn Mustang GT can keep up with Bavaria's finest,
the BMW M3 Coupe.

America's M3, the Mustang GT 5.0,
takes on the BMW M3 Coupe at the drag strip,
but this time it's the Bavarian in hostile territory...[/b][/size][/color]
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BMW builds a luxury hybrid sedan
By: Wayne Cunningham
September 23, 2008

BMW's 7-series concept uses a mild hybrid powertrain.
Following on the recent announcement by Mercedes-Benz
of its mild hybrid sedan with lithium ion batteries,
BMW announced its own mild hybrid sedan
with lithium ion batteries.

Although it may sound like cutthroat competition, it's more conspiracy, as Daimler and BMW co-developed their hybrid components. And where Mercedes-Benz announced a production car, BMW is still at the concept stage with its Concept 7-series ActiveHybrid. But in keeping with its sport aspirations, the BMW shows no compromise in power, using a twin-turbo V-8 assisted by the mild hybrid system. The twin-turbo V-8 delivers 407 horsepower and 442 pound-feet of torque, while the hybrid system's electric motor, integrated into the transmission, adds 20 horsepower and 155 pound-feet of torque. [/size][/color]

The hybrid system was co-developed by Daimler and BMW.

As a mild hybrid, the Concept 7-series ActiveHybrid can't run under electric power alone--the electric motor merely adds thrust when needed and is an essential part of the idle-stop system. At a traffic light, the engine shuts down to save gas, with the electric motor cranking it back up when the driver hits the gas, and adding its power to make up for the initial shortcoming of the engine. BMW claims a 15 percent improvement in fuel economy.

The lithium ion battery pack sits over the rear axle, and gets recharged through regenerative braking. Along with providing electricity for the motor, this battery pack works as a 120 volt power source for the car's onboard electronics.

BMW has previously shown the X6 ActiveHybrid concept, an SUV using a full hybrid system based on technology co-developed by BMW, Daimler, and GM. We first saw a version of that hybrid system in the GMC Yukon Hybrid. BMW promises two cars using some form of its hybrid technology will reach production in 2009.

The company might want to hurry up, as Lexus already dominates the segment
for powerful luxury hybrid sedans with the LS 600h.

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With two new vehicle concepts
BMW i creates a new world of visionary mobility.

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On the one hand there is the BMW i3 Concept. [/center]Previously known as the Megacity Vehicle, the BMW Group's first series-produced all-electric car focuses on the mobility needs in urban areas and, as the first premium electric vehicle, reinvents the BMW attributes for the future.

The second concept is the BMW i8 Concept.
The most progressive sports car modern in design, intelligent and innovative.

Its unique eDrive plug-in hybrid design brings together a combustion engine and an electric drive system to create an extraordinary driving experience complemented by extremely low fuel consumption and emissions.[/size][/b]

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