For 42 years, the Essen Motor Show has been regarded as one of the biggest – if not the biggest – car tuning show in Germany.
While the show has seen some of the most remarkable range of perfectly-tuned supercars, tuning cars, classics, F1 cars and so many more, there are those rare occasions when a car shows up and draws attention for the wrong reasons.
This year, a number of attention-grabbing rides were present, but none drew as many curious looks as this pink Chrysler 300C.
Sporting a Bizzaro Hello Kitty – appropriately dubbed ‘Hello Bitchy’, with matching eye patch to boot – on the front doors, the pink Chrysler 300C is definitely something that ought to have come straight from Paris Hilton’s garage. Making things a little more creepy…err…interesting, the car also comes with tinted windows, a large ‘69’ – what else could it be? – on the front hood, a police siren on top, and a list of names on the side panel of people that have ‘presumably’ taken a ride in the car.
We won’t spare any more details because we’re pretty sure your imaginations are doing it for you.
Sports and cars. Cars and sports. You can interchange the two things but if you’re a card-carrying member of the male specie, you can never have one without the other.
Apparently, for Audi, that holds true too.
The German automaker recently announced that it will buy a 9% share of one of the most successful German football clubs, FC Bayern Munich. As part of the two parties’ agreement, Audi will be buying 2.5 million shares of Bayern Munich worth about $135 million and will pay the football team in three stages, with the first instalment coming on March 2010.
It’s not the first time Audi has been involved with FC Bayern Munich in some capacity in the past. Back in 2003, a number of Audi employees began the “Audi FC Bayern Fan Club”, a dedicated group of Audi-driving Bayern Munich fans that is now considered as the biggest fan club in Germany with over 5,000 members.
> More
We thought we left the witch-hunting back centuries ago, but as it turns out, in Germany, a whole new form of burning-at-the-stake is taking place. A group of protestors from Berlin that support leftist organizations in the German capital have taken their whole approach of getting noticed to a new level, and they’re doing it by burning down luxury cars.
Yes, this is the 21st century and apparently, hooligans still do exist. More than 200 cars have been reported to being burned by these people, most of which include local luxury brands like Mercedes, BMW, and Volkswagen. They burn these cars in an attempt to send a message that the growing increase in rent due to the ongoing urban development in the city isn’t sitting too well with the blue-collar folks that can’t keep up with the gentrification of their city. So, in an attempt to get their points across; they burn down any luxury car that is unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of their wrath.
Making things worse is that they’d leave a note after the poor car has been burned to a crisp, even claiming responsibility for their fiery rage. So, if you’re in Berlin with a brand-new luxury vehicle, make sure you keep a close eye on it, especially during weekend nights, before it gets toasted – literally.
Ok, for the record, they aren’t officially-sanctioned police cruisers making a routine check at the Nurburgring.
But they sure look believable, don’t they?
A pair of vehicles – a BMW M3 Coupe and an Audi S3, to be exact – was recently spotted at the ‘Ring sporting some pretty intimidating police wraps. From what we’ve heard, these two cars are owned by civilians that are part of a group called the ‘Ring-Police’.
We don’t know a good deal about these guys, but judging from the website stickered on the two cars’ rear bumpers, it looks the Ring-Police is a group of custom tuners that have been getting quite the following in Germany.
Photo courtesy of Martijn Mezger.
It’s not much, but we’ll take it any way we can get it.
The new 2011 BMW 5 Series won’t be revealed for a few more days, but BMW has given us a sneak peek of what the car – or at least the front side of it – will ultimately look like.
Now, we’ve circled November 24 on our calendars for a while now, but we’re not disappointed that these photos came out two days before the highly-anticipated debut of the new 5-Series. Based from what we’re seeing, the new 5-Series bears some resemblance to the incumbent 7-Series that’s out on the market these days.
But before we get too carried away with our comparisons, we’re going to hold on to our horses until BMW’s official unveiling.
When some manufacturers think that building one million cars is an achievement in itself – well, in some cases, it is – they should nonetheless try to take a page out of BMW’s remarkable output.
The German automaker’s 5-Series line, which began production back in 1972, has produced well over 5 million units. To be exact, this particular 525 xDrive Touring became car no. 5,555,555, which, if you’re keeping count, is a mind-boggling number.
The historic car will not be for sale but will instead be donated to the Bavarian Forest Naitonal Park, the oldest park reserve in all of Germany since it was opened in 1970 - two years before the 5-Series went into production.
To prepare car no. 5,555,555 for its new enclave, BMW outfitted with its xDrive all-wheel technology with a power output of a little under 200 hp and an average fuel consumption of 6.9 liters per 100 km.
We know that success is relative, especially when it comes to an industry as big as the auto biz. Nevertheless, you don’t come across a lot of manufacturers that can claim that they’ve built over 5 million cars from the same line. Props to BMW for achieving a great milestone!
Porsche’s state-of-the-art museum in Stuttgart, Germany will have a special guest in the coming weeks in the form of the new 2010MY 911 Turbo. The exhibit, which will be held from November 21 to 29, will showcase the new 911 Turbo alongside some of its predecessors, in addition to the never-released prototype of the 911 Turbo, which, incidentally, was the same car that was used during the 911’s testing and development stage.
If the special exhibit isn’t enough to make Porsche enthusiasts wallop in excitement, the German automakers are also in the process of releasing a new coffee table book – the fourth one from Porsche’s in-house publishers – entitled, “Porsche Turbo Stories”.
The 224-page book will be available from the Porsche Museum shop for
around €15 in both English and German versions. The latest book from “Edition Porsche-Museum” chronicles the storied history of the 911 Turbo including the release of never-before seen photos of the sports car that were dusted off from the company’s archives. In addition to that, the book also highlights every 911 Turbo ever built – from the first 911 Turbo 3.0 that rolled off the lot in 1974 to the latest incarnation, which was revealed at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
If you’re a Porsche fanatic and you happen to be near the area from the 21st to the 29th, you have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to relive the history of one of the most iconic cars of our time.
The LEGO BMW X1 has now been completed, and while there’s a stark difference from a real X1 – for starters, it doesn’t move – it does look remarkably similar to the real one.
Over 800 children between ages 5 to 13 years old – with the help of some BMW staff – worked on the project over the course of four days. It’s a remarkable feat for these young ones, a lot of whom worked tirelessly to create this 165,000 LEGO blocks masterpiece.
We especially like the BMW badge nestled on the front of the X1, which adds a touch of realism to the finished product. Good work kiddos!
.
The Mercedes-Benz Musuem in Stuttgart, Germany will host two special exhibitions over the next few months that’s sure to captivate the imaginations of Mercedes-lovers and car freaks everywhere.
The first of these two exhibits will run from November 2009 to March 2010 and is being called “A Journey of Innovations”. This exhibit will highlight the evolution of the Mercedes brand from its humble beginnings more than 100 years ago to its current status as one of the premier carmakers in the world. Among the cars that are scheduled to be displayed includes a Benz Patent Motor Car of 1886, a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL from 1955, a 2009 E 250 CDI, and one of the brand’s latest creations, the S 400 HYBRID.
The museum’s other new exhibit – which will run from December 2009 to January 2010 – is all about the future of the Silver Arrows. Titled as ‘Concept BlueZERO’, the exhibit will highlight three unique vehicles that Mercedes hopes to launch sometime in the future. Taking advantage of its new BlueZERO technology, the brand will display a BlueZERO E-CELL PLUS with an electric motor and an auxiliary internal combustion engine, a BlueZERO E-CELL that comes with an exclusive battery electric drive, and a BlueZERO F-CELL, which is equipped with a fuel cell technology. All three cars are being displayed to show the remarkable gains Mercedes has achieved in their efforts in developing vehicles that come with alternative drive systems.
Both exhibits are bilingual – a choice between English or German – so you won’t have any problems keeping up with the guides. The Mercedes Musem is open from every day except Mondays, from 9 am to 6 pm. If you happen to be in Stuttgart at the time when these exhibits are open, it might be worth your time to give it a look-see.
Press release after the jump.
> More
Beginning last November 6 and ending today, November 9, BMW hosted a unique family activity at the Welt Center: build a BMW X1 out of LEGO blocks.
Yes; LEGO blocks.
As another ingenious product of BMW’s ‘Joy’ campaign, the car maker has invited families and children anywhere from age five and above to participate in building a full-scale X1 from 2,000 LEGO blocks, where, as part of Beamer’s CSR initiative, each LEGO block used in the event will correlate to a sum of money BMW will donate to the Munich Children’s Foundation.
As soon as the unconventional build is finished, the LEGO BMW X1 will be proudly displayed by the company alongside real life Beamers on the grounds of the BMW Welt Plaza.
The finished product
And if things start to get too complicated, educationally trained staff will help you with the construction – which will carried out according to an exact plan. The finished BMW X1 made of LEGO® bricks will then stand proudly as a real eye-catcher among the BMW automobiles on the BMW Welt Plaza.
Pages: 
Post a comment
Picture Gallery
RSS -
Webmaster free news |