2004 - Bmw X5 on 2040-cars

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Alpina bringing new B4 Bi-Turbo Cabrio to Geneva

Interested in picking up a new BMW 4 Series with a turbo six? You've got options: you can get the 435i with 300 horsepower or spring for the M4 with 425 hp. But if it's the convertible model you want, we're afraid you'll be limited to the latter as the M division can't help you (at least not for the time being). But that's where Alpina comes in.
The aftermarket tuner closely associated with BMW offers the B4 Bi-Turbo (at least in Europe) with that same 3.0-liter twin-turbo inline-six massaged up to 410 horsepower that starts to pose a threat to the M4. What's more is that the Alpina's 442 pound-feet of torque eclipses the M4's 406 lb-ft, to say nothing of the 435i's 300.
Best of all, Alpina just confirmed via Facebook that it'll offer the B4 in convertible form, bringing the resulting BMW Alpina B4 Bi-Turbo Cabrio to the Geneva Motor Show. We'd expect the weight penalty to knock it slightly off the coupe's quoted 4.1-second 0-60 time, but not by much. If only BMW were to bring this one Stateside like it does with the B7 sedan.

MW's new Driftmob video shows the M235i like you've never seen it before

Last month, we went behind the scenes of the filming of BMW's new Driftmob, web video, bringing you one post from the practice sessions, and another from the shoot itself, which took place in an enormous traffic circle in Cape Town, South Africa. Today, BMW has launched the final version of Driftmob, and it's pretty damn cool.
The plot is pretty simple: just like a flashmob, in which people invade a location and perform choreographed dances to music, much to the delight of surprised onlookers, the "driftmob" features a quintet of red M235i coupes that take over a traffic circle and perform choreographed dances - sideways - to the delight of onlookers. The only differences are that, in this case, the onlookers are mostly paid extras (though there were many unwitting passersby that joined the crowd at times) and the only music is a constant squealing of tires-a sweet song if we ever heard one. Then, after about two minutes of tire-smoking shenanigans, the coupes vanish.
As promised, we will have a more detailed, behind the scenes story about the filming of the video, including insights from Rhys Millen, Samuel Hübinette, Dai Yoshihara, Rich Rutherford, and Conrad Grunewald, the five guys who executed these remarkable stunts. Meanwhile, we hope you enjoy the short flick.

Husqvarna sold to KTM CEO Stefan Pierer

A couple of days ago the UK's Motorcycle News reported that BMW was in the final stages of selling Husqvarna to KTM, with a deal potentially confirmed as soon as this week. Following that came reports that Husqvarna Motorcycles wasn't sold to KTM but to a Pierer Industries, the company owned by KTM CEO Stefan Pierer. Turns out the advance report was true, as was the follow-up: BMW has just announced a "strategic realignment" of its Motorrad division, explaining that it sold Husqvarna to Pierer Industries in order to focus on the urban and e-mobility segments. Husqvarna's off-road machines, obviously, don't fit into those categories.
BMW bought the Italian-based bike maker with centuries-old Swedish roots in 2007 - the rest of the Husqvarna company remains based in Sweden - and has invested huge sums to integrate the smaller company into the larger parent. Six years later, just when dividends should begin to truly pay off, the brand is sold.
Before BMW made its announcement, one of the theories that forum members put forward for Pierer's interest in purchasing Husqvarna was that he wants his own business to run his own way. The parent company of KTM, Cross Industries, is 47.27-percent owned by India's Bajaj Automotive, with Pierer the majority shareholder, and is on a quest for global growth, taking the fight to BMW in Europe and launching new bikes and technology into the Indian market. Compared to BMW's and KTM's 2012 sales of around 100,000 bikes each in 2012, Husqvarna sold 10,751 bikes, which was a 15.7-percent increase over the previous year. Pierer would have a lot more freedom in the running of a company of that size.