With its latest creation, the CLR 730 RS, it seems that Lumma Design is making a play for the title of Europe’s most garish tuner. However, this two-tone widebody BMW M5 is actually subtle compared to previous Lumma Design models, and we think the title still firmly remains with Mansory.

So what’s special about the CLR 730 RS? For starters, 730 horsepower. The 50% increase in chutzpah comes from a set of twin-superchargers courtesy of G-Power, and Lumma Design claims an impressive top speed of 228 mph. Additional performance upgrades come in the form of a sport suspension, six-piston front and four-piston rear brakes, and an upgraded exhaust system.

The candy cane interior of the CLR 730 RS is even more over-the-top than the outside, with a combination of carbon fiber, leather, and suede. It’s not really our style, but we would probably be more accepting of it in a more subtle color. We have plenty of high-res photos in the gallery below, and Lumma Design’s press release has full details after the jump.

The car was shown at the legendary Nürburgring, which is ideal for the official debut of the BMW M5 CSL, which is precisely designed to ride on the circuit.

The model, built on the M5, is equipped with a modified engine, which, having fine-tuning in the sports department of BMW M, has increased its size from 5 to 5.5 liters and became more powerful. Bavarian concern has not disclosed the official figures yet, but one of the leaders of the court atelier tuning BMW Albrecht Biermann noted that the horsepower is about 580 hp and the vehicle has 540 Nm of torque.

For comparison, 5-liter BMW M5 returns only 407 hp and 470 Nm moment. The 580 unit is paired with a seven-transmission with dual-clutch, which is borrowed from the BMW M3.

In addition, engineers from BMW M managed to reduce the weight of the vehicle up to 1830 kg, using some parts of the body, made of carbon fiber, the rear seats were removed from the cabin and new front seat of an ultra-light material were installed.

Dynamics of a lightweight version of the BMW M5 is kept a secret, but Albrecht Biermann said that the new product is much faster than the standard versions of M5, because the model passes one circle at the Nurburgring in less than 8 minutes, improving the usual BMW M5 by nearly 20 seconds.

“Today we are already in full working on next-generation BMW M5” – said Biermann. According to him they enjoyed when it was created, but the company’s plans do not include to produce the lightweight versions of M5.

The Vision EfficientDynamics is a plug-in hybrid with a three cylinder turbo diesel engine. Engineers from BMW tried to combine the incredible performances of the M3 with an incredibly low fuel consumption and this amazing concept is able to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in just 4.8 seconds while scoring 62.6 mpg (US) on the EU combined test cycle.

The concept car uses a 1.5-liter turbodiesel engine with the output of 163 hp and a maximum torque of 214 Nm. The engine is paired with a six-speed DCT gearbox , used in the M3 and Z4.

The new system represents a further development of the hybrid technology, which will debut in ActiveHybrid 7. As in the ActiveHybrid 7, a one 33-hp electric motor is installed between the engine and the transmission, while the second 80 horsepower electric motor provides the torque to the front wheels. The total capacity of the gear system is 356 hp and 590 Nm of torque. But the use of electric motors requires the presence of an electric power system. BMW Vision disposes lithium-polymer batteries in the center of the car. Net power is 8,6 kW. Nevertheless, the total capacity of the concept vehicle is only 10.8 kW. The vehicle can use 80% of the capacity of batteries, which is much more than 50% more than can be used by Chevrolet Volt. The advantage is that the battery weighs only 187 pounds. When connected to a standard European outlet of 220V, the battery is recharged in just 2.5 hours.

In addition to the power unit, BMW also used a variety of technologies for the concept optimization. The entire aluminum chassis suspension, roof, and many elements are made of photosensitive polycarbonate, which translates into the stated mass of 1400 kg. Another interesting point is that polycarbonate windows are getting darker in the light. Moreover, the use of LED lighting has given more freedom to designers and has reduced energy consumption.

And perhaps, the most interesting feature of the vehicle is the so called “forward looking energy management” system. The idea is to use various systems of the car, to predict events and optimize the use of various elements of the transmission to reduce energy consumption in general.

]]> http://www.carsnext.com/featured-articles/bmw-introduced-vision-efficientdynamics-turbo-concept/feed/ 0 http://www.carsnext.com/by-brand/bmw/bmw-z10-ed-eco-friendly-supercar/ http://www.carsnext.com/by-brand/bmw/bmw-z10-ed-eco-friendly-supercar/#comments Fri, 07 Aug 2009 09:53:27 +0000 InMyCar http://www.carsnext.com/?p=727 BMW Technik GmbH is one of the departments of the Bavarian company’s BMW, which develops new technologies for implementing them in car production. And recently it has introduced a new concept car BMW Z10 ED, which will be ecologically absolutely clean supercar. After all, the letters “ED” in the title of the concept-car indicate the new development of BMW – “Efficient Dynamics”, which is intended to reduce harmful emissions into the atmosphere.

The chassis of the “green” concept car BMW Z10 ED will be made of aluminum, as a material for body panels will be currently fashionable carboniferous. Due to the use of “volatile” materials the new super car will weight 1400kg, which is a remarkable result. A new engine will be made for the BMW Z10 ED supercar. It will be equipped with both turbo blow and direct injection of fuel. But the main feature of the vehicle is that all six of its cylinders are arranged in a row. The maximum power of the unit will be more than 400 hp. A “robot” with the seven stages of transmission will be offered as a gearbox.

New eco-friendly supercar BMW Z10 ED is not an entirely conventional supercar. Indeed, its main task today is to show all the outstanding technology and design of the BMW Company. So BMW Z10 ED will not go to production, but some of its details can be used for the next model of the car from BMW Company.

The top model in the line of engines is represented in the BMW 550i Gran Turismo. This V8 power unit with dual turbo and precision of injection develops maximum power of 300 hp 407kVt ranging from 5500 to 6400 rpm. BMW 530d Gran Turismo is especially economical. Its 3 litre capacity, six-cylinder diesel engine of the latest generation has an aluminium cylinder block and a system of direct injection clled Common Rail. It develops 180 hp 245kVt at 4000 rpm and has an unsurpassed low – for cars of this size and power – average fuel consumption by EU standards: 6.5 liters per 100 km, while CO2 emissions amount to only 173 g/km.

All engines comply with the requirements of “Euro-5”. All versions of the BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo are equipped with 8-speed automatic gearshift, which has an extremely rapid succession, and the highest levels of efficiency.

With a wide variety of qualities BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo focuses primarily on the demands of modern target group for which the vehicle must be harmoniously integrated into the various life situations. It must be representative and elegant for the business environment and active leisure. BMW once again proves its ability to open new road segments. BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo is a new value in the world of automobiles. It enriches the sense of fun behind the wheel by one more point and expands the number of BMW fans.

It’s not a surprise that the exterior of the car is practically not different from the concept, which was shown last year. The only visible difference is the converted back optics.

Photos for the first time provide an opportunity to fully evaluate the design of the car from the outside and inside. The instrument panel of the new model has many new items borrowed from the X3. The central console is slightly inclined to the driver as it is in the latest generation of the seventh series.

Since official information has not yet been provided by the company BMW, the exact technical data of release of the new X1 remains uncertain. We know that the basis for the X1 was the modified platform of the third series. The new model will get a full xDrive and presumably the following engines: 2 litre capacity units at 143 and 170 hp, 3 litre capacity at 265 hp, diesel engines with a 2 litre capacity, which will be available at 143, 177 and 204 horsepower options.

According to the already available information, the X1 will be 110 mm shorter, 60 mm and 140 mm lower than the X3. Its main competitors in the market are expected to be VW Tiguan, Ford Kuga, Toyota RAV-4 and Honda CR-V. The new BMW X1 will be offered for sale in autumn, after the debut at the Motor Show in Frankfurt.

It’s no secret that European drivers prefer diesel engines to gasoline. The new Twin-Turbo diesel six cylinder engine, which gives an output of 306 horsepower and 600 Nm of torque is designed especially for these buyer. With this 740d engine model the vehicle reaches from 0 to 100km/h in 6.3 seconds and develops maximum speed of 250 kilometers per hour.

The appearance of the Bavarian company’s full drive system xDrive on the 7-series is expected for a long time. And this is no wonder, because the controllability of the model with the transmission far exceed manageability classic rear-drive. xDrive distributes torque between front and rear axle at a ratio of 40:60 through a multi-coupling, which at any time can move at the time of the axis, which has better adhesion to the road. You can purchase a full drive system only in combined with eight 4.4-liter gasoline engine.

The new M-package can be a desirable acquisition for owners of BMW 7 Series. It’s no secret that cars with M-package are very different from their serial counterparts. The new package will not make the 7-Series into a sports car, but it will manage to make a flagship sedan look a bit sharp. However, there will also be constructive changes: the package will now include more powerful brakes and tight suspension. The cost of a new package in Germany has already been announced. BMW owners can purchase it for 10000 euro.

According to preliminary data, the new BMW M5 will be different from all other cars by the system energy recovery KERS, which is already used in Formula 1. So far, no production model has received such a system (even in the Formula-1 KERS does not use all the commands – some engineers have put into question the effectiveness of KERS). It is expected that this system will, if necessary “throw” just about 80 additional horsepower.

In addition, it can be noted that BMW M5 will be equipped with the stop-start system, which will muffle the engine at a red light, and automatically start it as soon as the driver presses on the gas pedal. According to the BMW officials, due to this the vehicle will be able to reduce fuel consumption.

In addition, as previously expected, the BMW 7-Series line-up will receive a new turbo diesel 3-liter engine, equipped with two turbines, which will develop 306 horsepower. Maximum torque of the engine will be 600 nm, and engine of the sedan will accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 6.3 seconds. The models will be available coming fall.

In addition, the slightly less powerful version of the same diesel engine (730d), which develops 286 horsepower, will get a new fuel injection system, which would make it slightly more economical (-0.3 liters of fuel per hundred kilometers of the road) and environmental friendly.

Debut of new versions of the BMW 7-Series will be held at the Motor Show in Frankfurt, after which the new items will appear in BMW dealers across Europe.

Except for 1-Series GT and crossovers X1 and X2 models the latter group will also include a new model line, which will receive the code name Y. Presumably, the first representative of this car family will be BMW Y1, addressed to fans of sports and bright crossovers. According to the news, the new model will be similar to two door and two seat version of crossover BMW X6 and will have reduced dimensions.
BMW Y1 is, in fact, the connection of two classes of cars – Bavarian roadster line Z and crossovers under the symbol X. The idea of merging the two categories has previously been demonstrated by car manufacturers in the example of the conceptual model of BMW X-coupe.

In the category of «traditional» Bavarian plan to put the models of the first series, presented in the version with hybrid drive, as well as modifications of sports hatchback.

The family of sports cars will be represented by such cars as the compact roadster BMW Z2, as well as the 1-Series in convertible and coupe versions with SuperSports modifications, which will appear in the near future in  radical super lightweight model called BMW 135i.