News for 22/02/2012

We start the day with some stunning news, a man who was driving home got stuck in the snow.
He didn't get his car out so he decided to stay there and wait for help.
Unfortunately that help came two months later!
The man survived by eating the melted snow and trying to keep himself warm.
With temperatures up to -30 and below it is a true miracle that this man survived.
This again shows what the human body is capable of, two months without food.

Today Infiniti announced that their first JX has rolled of the production-line in Smyrna, Tennessee.
Power comes from a 3.5L V6 unit that produces 265hp and 336nm of torque.
Inside you get leather seats, a Kasane Washi trim and an infotainment system with a 7-inch screen.
Other highlights are the tri-zone automatic climate control, electric windows/locks and a 6-speaker audio system.
Pricing will start at 30.522€ for the JX35 front-wheel-drive, and 31.353€ for the JX35 AWD.
Infiniti will start delivering the first JX's in the beginning of next month and customers can already place a reservation online.

Wheelsandmore does more than wheels alone, like the name says, but this time they hit a soft spot with this McLaren MP4-12C.
Labeled as the "Toxique Evil" the tuner installs a sports-exhaust system and an optimized ECU to get the power up to 675hp and 640nm of torque.
And if that isn't enough to make you dreams come true, then there is a second package which includes a new turbo's and a new intercooler.
These tweaks catapult the power up to 811hp!
The tuner also installs a full-length body-stripe, lowered springs and 20-/21-inch lightweight alloy wheels wrapped in Continental Sport Contact 5P.
Pricing details aren't available at the moment.

While the Alpina B5 Bi-Turbo was already a pretty potential vehicle the Bmw-house tuner squeezed some more German horses under the bonnet.
Taking the standard 500hp and 700nm output from the Twin-Turbo 4.4L V8, to end at an astonishing 540hp and 730nm of torque.
This enables the saloon to get from 0 to 100km/h in just 4.5 seconds and hit a top-speed of 319km/h or 198mph.
And that's not all, the power goes up but the fuel-consumption goes down 10.5L/100km is more than enough for the B5 Bi-Turbo.
The CO2 output is 244g/km.
The updated B5 Bi-Turbo will most likely make its debut at the Geneva Motor Show next month.

Volvo, the brand that is known for its supersafe vehicles has unveiled plans to enter the Swedish Racing Elite League.
The car they will use is this S60 TTA, it has a body made of carbon fiber, a ventilated hood, special aerodynamic side-skirts and a huge rear-wing.
Other highlights are the high-performance brakes with four-piston brake calipers who are surrounded by 18-inch wheels.
Under the hood is a hybridized V6 power-plant that develops 426hp, its paired to a 6-speed sequential transmission which send all power to the rear wheels.
The car will enter the league with two teams, Volvo Polestart Racing and Volvo Polestar Performance.
Three drivers are confirmed already, Robert Dahlgren, Fredrik Ekblom and Thed Björk.

In the weekend of the 9th of February BMW Verstraeten officially unveiled and welcomed the BMW F30 3 series in their dealership.
At the official welcome party BMW Verstraeten invited their clients and also us to see how to new BMW F30 3 series, which is the 6th generation 3 series coming from Munich, looks in real life and up close.
We were able to cover the whole party and the unveiling.
During the official day mr. Erwin De Bruycker spoke to the public and said:

"Today we present to you the New F30, 3-series which will be available in 4 variants (see below).”

And after some explanation of the various models they offer he stated;

“An absolute record is the 320D Efficient Dynamic version which has an emission of 109g CO2, produces 161 HP, a torque of 380NM and uses 4.1L/100km. That’s not all because in april this year we will welcome three more engine variants and this car is unique in its market!!
All models come with an 8-speed automatic gearbox and start-stop system.
As far as we know there is no other manufacturer we know of offering these systems in this segment”.

Finally ending with unveiling the car!
Officialy BMW unveiled the car in october 2011, 14th to be exact, and we also have some stunning footage of that event.
the model range is:

320i with a 2.0 L 181 HP @5000 and 270 N•m @1250-4500 topspeed 235 km/h (146 mph)
328i with a 2.0 L 242 HP @5000-6500 and 350 N•m @1250-4800 topspeed 250 km/h (155 mph)
335i with a 3.0 L 302 HP @5800-6000 and 400 N•m @1200-5000 topspeed limited 250 km/h (155 mph)
316d with a 1.6 L 114 HP @4000 and 260 N•m @1750-2500 topspeed 202 km/h (126 mph)
318d with a 2.0 L 141 HP @4000 and 320 N•m @1750-2500 topspeed 210 km/h (130 mph)
320d with a 2.0 L 181 HP @4000 and 380 N•m @1750-2750 topspeed 235 km/h (146 mph)
320dED with a 2.0 L 161 HP @4000 and 380 N•m @1750-2750 topspeed 230 km/h (143 mph) ED is Efficient Dynamic edition.

Again rumors hit the market!!
The Swedish website; http://www.saabsunited.com, stated that the bankrupcy administrators came out with some news that beside Youngman, BMW came around and showed interest in the former manufacturer.
Could this be another step for BMW to establish itself even more in the market after taking over Rolls-Royce, Mini and Rover of which the last one died too early after they took it over.
We have no idea really as to what steps the administrators of Saab will take because beside Youngman and BMW there are others interested in the former manufacturer.
Who will eventually is going to do business is not a matter of who puts the biggest offer on the table!!
Meanwhile we were thinking about a coorperation between Saab and BMW.
If this should happen then Saab will continue under it`s own name and still will produce cars in Trollhättan but with BMW technique, according to the website.
Meanwhile we could see the final picture if that is going to happen, see the images below.
Instead of seeing the backend of a Logan, Dacia Logan which has a small badge “by Renault” we could maybe see this in the future;
Saab 9.5 powered by BMW M-Performance???????

Maybe you remember the “Growler”, which featured in Topgear`s show and was in fact a modern day build version of the Jaguar E-type.
This homage to the 50-year-old Jaguar E-Type was unveiled early last year and was created by Swedish designer Bo Zolland.
The company Classic Factory, that wants to market the car , comes from Switzerland, so very British we cannot say this car is anymore but….. production of handbuild car is done in Coventry, England.
The platform used is that of the Jaguar XKR which explains immediately the 5.0 V8 with 550 horsepower and 680 Nm under the hood.
On the downside the first 50 Lyon Heart K's have a starting price of 495,000 euros without taxes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And you have ot wait 18 months for it!!!!!!!!!
Is that maye too much to ask for an upgraded jaguar XKR??
Anyway words must be said that this truly is an astonishing car and according to what we have seen, it drives amazingly.
The design is absolutely timeless with those lines of the old E-type.

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