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BMW Pininfarina Gran Lusso Coupe and Concept 90 pics from Villa d'Este

Royalty and the ultra-wealthy rubbed damp shoulders at this past weekend's Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este on the shores of Italy's Lake Como, but even the rain couldn't extinguish the excitement generated by the millions of dollars of cars and bikes on display. Nowhere was this more true than with BMW, which marked the occasion with the reveal of two stunning concepts with six wheels between them - the shark-nosed Pininfarina Gran Lusso Coupe and the retrosexual Concept 90 motorcycle.
Conceived with Italian design house Pininfarina, the Gran Lusso Coupe is a power broker on 21-inch wheels. While we're not completely sold on every element of its design, this twelve-cylinder two-door concept moves us more than the current 6 Series, and not just because it has four more cylinders underhood and 48,000-year-old kauri wood paneling inside. BMW is sadly mum on production hopes, but we're not entirely optimistic - the company has graced us with a number of attractive concepts at Villa d'Este before, only to pack them away again without ever affording them a production future.
If one of these concepts has a better shot at finding its way into dealers, we have to believe it's the Concept 90 under the BMW Motorrad umbrella. Designed to celebrate the 40th anniversary of BMW's R 90 S, we think this Roland Sands Design air-cooled boxer would look fantastic on today's streets, especially with the rising popularity of vintage motorcycles and cafe racers.

BMW i creates high-design solar charging carport

With the first deliveries of the i3 under way, and the recent i8 press launch, the marketing push in the US for the BMW electric sub-brand has begun. These i vehicles are supposed to have a completely different feel from the rest of the brand's lineup. To complement their earth-friendly ethos, the Bavarian company commissioned BMW Group DesignworksUSA in California to create a solar carport concept that could keep the models sustainably topped up on power. It premiered alongside the i8 in Los Angeles at the electric sports coupe's media launch.
At first glance, the BMW i Solar Carport Concept looks like a pergola from a winery or a well-groomed garden, but like the i vehicles, the deeper you look, the more high-tech features there are. The sides feature carbon elements in a similar way that the i3 and i8 have a carbon fiber-reinforced plastic body. Bamboo forms the uprights because its quick-growing nature makes it rather sustainable, and the solar panels are strung along the top to harness energy.
Obviously the sun can't provide all of the energy that the electric cars need, and a BMW Wallbox Pro charger is also connected to the power grid as a supplement. It includes a readout telling users the amount of solar energy versus municipal electricity it's using.

BMW discussing supercar collaboration with McLaren

BMW is reportedly considering a new halo supercar. But rather than go it alone, word has it that the Bavarian automaker is discussing a potential partnership with McLaren to make the idea a reality. This according to Britain's Car magazine, which suggests that negotiations are well underway. The proposal would see the BMW supercar based on the same architecture that will to underpin Woking's P16 project that's set to replace current 650S. Rather than use the 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 that McLaren developed together with Ricardo, the Bimmer version would use Munich's own engine: a 4.0-liter V8 with quad turbochargers – two conventional spools and two more electrically driven chargers. Their combined effect would net an expected 750 horsepower. Further differentiations on McLaren's carbon monocoque architecture for use in the BMW would include custom bodywork, aerodynamics, and interior fitments to include a unique instrument panel. Production, however, would be handled at the McLaren Production Centre in Woking, to the tune of several hundred units per year. The project would take the place of several aborted programs undertaken internally at BMW. One called for an entirely unique supercar developed in-house, referred to internally as the M100. When that project was aborted so that BMW could concentrate on the i sub-brand, BMW's own skunkworks shifted its focus to developing a more performance-focused version of the i8, known by some as the i8 CSi. When that project was canned as well, discussions with McLaren commenced. It wouldn't be the first time BMW would outsource development of its own supercar, or even the first time BMW would collaborate with McLaren on such a project. Initial development work on the original M1 in the 1970s was undertaken by Lamborghini before being taken in-house. And, of course, BMW provided the engine for the legendary McLaren F1. Meanwhile McLaren performed a similar function for Mercedes-Benz with the SLR, demonstrating Woking's experience in building flagship supercars for German automakers. This latest project could suffer the same fate as the M100 and i8 CSi programs. But if it is approved, it could yield both coupe and convertible versions, with the first slated to surface at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2017 and reach dealerships in 2019.