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BMW M760i all dressed up for hundredth birthday festivities

BMW is the latest automaker to be celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. So to mark the occasion, the Bavarian automaker is rolling out a special anniversary edition of its flagship 7 Series sedan. Somewhat awkwardly labeled as the BMW Individual 7 Series THE NEXT 100 YEARS, the celebratory edition features a number of special touches to set it apart. The bodywork is painstakingly painted in a unique shade of Centennial Blue metallic, with two-tone 20-inch wheels and handcrafted emblems. The interior meanwhile is highlighted by off-white, fine-grain leather – quilted and trimmed with hand-woven piping – with matching Alcantara headliner and piano-black trim. Of course there are the requisite special badges inside and out, and each sedan comes with a specially made Montblanc fountain pen. Only 100 examples will be made for distribution worldwide, with three different engine options depending on the market. The US market will only get five examples based on the recently revealed M760i xDrive performance model, complete with 6.6-liter twin-turbo V12 driving 610 horsepower to all four wheels. As a special version of Munich's top-of-the-line luxury sedan, pricing will surely fall within "if you have to ask" territory, so we'll just wish BMW a happy birthday and rest assured that each of the hundred individually numbered examples will find a good home. The BMW 7 Series centennial models "BMW Individual 7 Series THE NEXT 100 YEARS". Woodcliff Lake, NJ – April 19, 2016...Today BMW announced the "BMW Individual 7 Series THE NEXT 100 YEARS" models to mark the company's centenary, representing the historically evolved technological competence of the world's leading manufacturer of premium automobiles and emphasize the exclusivity with which both luxury and innovation are expressed. The BMW 7 Series centennial models are being produced in a limited quantity with only 100 units available worldwide with three different engine variants. The US market will receive 5 units and it will be exclusively available as the "BMW Individual M760i xDrive Model V12 Excellence THE NEXT 100 YEARS" centennial model, featuring a 12-cylinder engine producing 610 hp (preliminary) and a unique combination of state-of-the-art comfort, luxury and dynamic agility. This centennial model will be available by the end of 2016.

Germany is finally getting serious about self-driving cars

Germany cleared the way for its giant automotive industry to develop and test self-driving cars, when the upper house of its parliament approved on Friday a law setting out the conditions under which they could take to German roads. Under the law, first mooted by Chancellor Angela Merkel last year, a driver must be sitting behind the wheel at all times ready to take back control if prompted to do so by the autonomous vehicle. Germany is home to some of the world's largest car companies, including Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW, all of which are investing heavily in a technology seen by transport minister Alexander Dobrindt as the "greatest mobility revolution since the invention of the car." That's not to say that German automakers have been standing still in the face of autonomous technology. VW recently outlined its vision for autonomous vehicles. BMW has already demonstrated self-driving vehicles in the United States, and Mercedes-Benz has partnered up with German auto supplier Bosch on autonomous technology. The new legislation allows German car companies to road-test vehicles in which drivers will be allowed to take their hands off the wheel and their eyes off the road to browse the web or check e-mails while the vehicle handles steering or braking autonomously. The legislation requires that a black box record the journey underway, logging whether the human driver or the car's self-piloting system was in charge at all moments of the ride. This will be crucial for apportioning blame in accidents. The driver will bear responsibility for accidents that take place under his or her watch, under the legislation, but if the self-driving system is in charge and a system failure is to blame, the manufacturer will be responsible. The law will be revised in two years' time in the light of technological developments, with data protection and the use of the data collected during rides a key point that has yet to be fully addressed. Companies around the globe are working on prototypes for self-driving vehicles, but such cars are not expected to be available for the mass market before 2020. (Reporting By Markus Wacket; Writing by Thomas Escritt; Editing by Toby Davis) Related Video: Image Credit: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Government/Legal Audi BMW Mercedes-Benz Volkswagen Technology Autonomous Vehicles

BMW Z8, Lambo LM002 sell for $192,500 apiece in Detroit [w/poll]

Think a car are a bad investment? That all depends on what kind of car you're talking about. Because while most cars depreciate in value as soon as you drive them off the lot, others can do even better than hold their value. The cars that appreciate tend to be pretty high-end exotics, but they don't have to be multi-million-dollar classics to command a premium at auction. Just look at the results from RM Sotheby's Motor City sale in Detroit this past weekend. The auction house moved a solid $7.4 million worth of metal, which is pretty impressive when you consider that – unlike events at Lake Como or Pebble Beach – not one of the lots dipped into seven figures. 1930s-era American classics performed the strongest, with Duesenbergs, Packards, Auburns and the like all fetching hundreds of thousands. But what intrigued us most were the European exotics that rounded the top ten results. Amidst the Depression-era American steel were a BMW Z8 from 2001 and a 1988 Lamborghini LM002, each of which sold for an equal $192,500. Hardly the highest figures paid for European exotics this year, but considering how much they were worth just a few years ago, they've proven solid investments. BMW only made 5,703 examples of the Henrik Fisker-designed retro Z8, of which only 2,543 were brought to the United States, where they originally sold for $128,000. The most anyone had ever paid for one at auction, according to Sports Car Market, was $184,082, just this past March at Silverstone. That makes the price achieved this weekend a new record for one of the slinkiest vehicles the Bavarian automaker has ever made, representing an impressive 50-percent increase in value over the course of fourteen years. This particular example – chassis WBAEJ13481AH60437 for those keeping track – is decked out in silver over black, with less than 15,500 miles on the odometer. This Rambo Lambo was produced early in the 301-unit production run, with the sought-after carbureted engine and 32,000 miles on the clock. It didn't set any records at the same price, other examples of the LM002 having traded over the past few years for over $200k. But considering that Sant'Agata originally charged around $120-130k for the SUV when it was new, its selling price still represents about 50-percent appreciation (leaving inflation aside).