BMW Group’s MINI has something cool to show off ahead of this year’s IAA, or more commonly known as Frankfurt Motor Show. The first is a MINI that will delight MINI-adoring speed demons, a ride called MINI John Cooper Works GP Concept and the other, should please tree hugging MINI fans, designated as MINI Electric Concept. As always, these two lovely compact hatch are a peek into the future of the marque and what it has installed for the market. It is also no doubt a lesser speak about agenda of testing the market reaction. Continue reading MINI John Cooper Works GP Concept and Electric Concept Heads To IAA
Tag Archives: Compact Hatch
New Nissan LEAF Unveiled, Wants You To Drive With Just One Pedal
Well, this is it. Nissan has taken the wrap off the new 2018 Nissan LEAF, the follow up to the grandaddy of modern day mass produced electric car which was first introduced to the world seven years ago and it is pretty damn awesome in both looks and specs. Also, it has one crazy idea up its sleeve: it wants you to drive with just one pedal. Yeah. You know how automatic transmission car helped eliminate one pedal? Well, the new LEAF did not actually eliminate yet another, but it does pretty much relegate the brake pedal to cold storage because Nissan’s new innovative e-Pedal kind of does it all in respect to acceleration and braking. Continue reading New Nissan LEAF Unveiled, Wants You To Drive With Just One Pedal
BMW i3 “Spaghetti Car” by Maurizio Cattelan Sold For A Cool €100,000
First of all, I have no idea why a German car is decorated with Italian definitive symbol of cuisine, spaghetti, and presented in an auction by BMW France. Quite a mix, don’t you think? Anyways, the car you see here is the BMW i3 “Spaghetti Car” as touched by artist Maurizio Cattelan, the same artist behind the solid 18-karat toilet bowl. For some reasons unknown to our non-artistic minds, Cattelan and photographer Pierpaolo Ferrari, collectively called TOILETPAPER (!?), have decided to use the duo’s signature style spaghetti close-up imagery to decorated a BMW i3 and the result is, to us, both quirky and strangely alluring. Continue reading BMW i3 “Spaghetti Car” by Maurizio Cattelan Sold For A Cool €100,000
VW Has A 400 HP Hybrid Golf GTI With An Electric Drive That Will Surprise You
Look what we have here! It’s a VW Golf GTI with a dose of electric power and when we said “a dose,” we do really mean ‘a dose’. How? This particular Golf here, dubbed Golf GTI First Decade, has 410 PS, or about 404 HP, but that impressive number is solely from its petrol engine. You must be thinking, “oh wow, then it must have a lot more ponies under the hood when combine with the electric drive?” Ermmm, no. The thing is, the 48V electric motor, which drives the rear wheels, only produces a very modest 12 kW (16 HP). As you can imagine, that’s really nothing to shout about. Continue reading VW Has A 400 HP Hybrid Golf GTI With An Electric Drive That Will Surprise You
‘High Performance Derivative’ Of The 2017 Toyota Yaris Looks Kinda Hot!
Toyota Yaris is all youthful and fun, but it is never a ride closely associated with high performance and that’s probably because it isn’t, or at least it never is in most parts of the world that gets this cute little hatch from Toyota. However, in Europe, 2017 Toyota Yaris may not as tame as we believe it to be and rightfully, it shouldn’t be tame at all since it already has developed a race homologation Yaris destined for 2017 World Rally Championships. Sitting in between the super hot Toyota’s WRC contender, the 375 horsepower 2017 Yaris WRC and a regular 106 horsepower Yaris, is a high performance derivative that has 207 horses (210 DIN hp) packed under the hood. Continue reading ‘High Performance Derivative’ Of The 2017 Toyota Yaris Looks Kinda Hot!
John Cooper Works Touched 2017 MINI Clubman Gets 231 Horsepower
Big MINI like the Countryman and Clubman are exactly huge, but they are still practical. Practicality may have won’t some while others are less than satisfied with its performance. If that’s what stopping you from appreciating a MINI, or in this case, a Clubman, then perhaps the new MINI John Cooper Works Clubman should entice you with 39 horses more over the MINI Cooper S Clubman. Powered by a 2.0L 4-cylinder petrol unit with TwinPower Turbo Technology and mated to a 6-speed stick shifter (or an option 8-speed Steptronic sports transmission) which puts the 231 horses produced to good use on all four wheels, propelling it from naught to 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 6.3 seconds and sending it on its way to a top speed of 238 km/h (148 mph). Continue reading John Cooper Works Touched 2017 MINI Clubman Gets 231 Horsepower
All-New MINI Countryman Unveiled Along With A Plug-in Hybrid Variety
BMW Group has unveiled a spanking new MINI Countryman model which, not surprisingly, got a bump in size – making it the largest MINI yet. Also introduced was an electrified Countryman, a plug-in hybrid model MINI Cooper S E Countryman ALL4, the marque’s first electric drive since like when? 2010? Whatever is the case, the SE is still officially the British marque’s first plug-in hybrid. Anywho, the plug-in hybrid model is a welcome addition for those who love upsized MINI with a lower carbon footprint. Speaking of upsized, the 2017 MINI Countryman is a good 20 centimeters (7 7/8 inches) longer and 3 centimeters (13/16) wider than the outgoing model. Continue reading All-New MINI Countryman Unveiled Along With A Plug-in Hybrid Variety
Craftsman Built Bamboo Electric Car, Plans To Take It On A 620 Miles Journey
Even an electric car we see today is not 100 percent sustainable. If you truly believe in sustainability, you should be driving an electric made out almost entirely bamboo like what this bamboo craftsman, Yoshi from Susaki, Kochi Prefecture, did. Yoshi is no ordinary craftsman; he is the fourth generation bamboo craftsman to run the Taketora Bamboo in Western Japan. However, he did not enlist his outfit to create this one-of-a-kind bamboo on wheels; instead he looked to crowdfunding to realized his dream. Being a bamboo craftsman, Yoshi has the dream of making a bamboo electric car where he managed to garner support from 115 folks, rolling in $30,000 for the project. Continue reading Craftsman Built Bamboo Electric Car, Plans To Take It On A 620 Miles Journey
In The Next 100 Years, MINI Will Be A Semi-Autonomous Shared Car
You have seen BMW Vision Next 100 and more recently, Rolls-Royce Vision Next 100. Now meet the MINI Vision Next 100 – the last of the three BMW Group’s marque (excluding Motorrad). If you don’t already know, MINI Vision Next 100, like the other two Vision Next 100 Concepts, is a look into what lies ahead for the marque in terms of design and technology. In the case of MINI Vision Next 100, it leans toward car-sharing which the automaker describes as “every MINI is my MINI.” But it won’t be the car-sharing as you have known. MINI users of the future will be able to access and tailor the ride to their own personal likings, wherever and whenever they desire. Continue reading In The Next 100 Years, MINI Will Be A Semi-Autonomous Shared Car
Renault Gave Twingo A Boost With 110 BHP, Aptly Calls It ‘GT’
Some car enthusiasts will tell you that a ‘real’ car is one that’s rear-engined, rear-wheel driven and on stick shift. Now, with such strict prerequisites, you’d be hard pressed to find a ride that fits the bill and yet not break your bank. Well, that’s not entirely true if you are in Europe, where for significantly less dollars, you probably can drive home a rear-wheel drive, manual gearbox rear-engined car with turbocharger to boot – thanks to Renault’s new Twingo GT. The French automaker describes the Twingo GT, an obvious performance variant to the lesser Twingo, as “genre-busting” and there’s no reason why it isn’t – especially when it has 110 bhp and 125.38 lb-ft wrung out of its 898cc Energy TCe turbo engine, a revised manual gearbox and of course, rear-wheel drive. That, my friend, sure sounds like the ultimate recipe for a smoking hot hatch. Continue reading Renault Gave Twingo A Boost With 110 BHP, Aptly Calls It ‘GT’