BMW M3 Coupe

German styling house Cam Shaft has wrapped up (literally) work on its latest project car based on the current generation of the BMW M3 Coupe. Being a company that specializes on car wraps, the highlight of Cam Shaft's M3 tune is the mat space-gray metallic foiling that costs €1,785 (US$2,230, including 19 percent VAT/Tax) for the body and an extra €715 (US$890) to cover other visible areas of the coupe such as the door and cabin surrounds.
Cam Shaft didn't stop there, however, as the tuner has also added a new front bumper with a protruding central air vent and larger side air inlets from Racing Dynamics, side skirts from Hamann Motorsport and 19-inch BBS alloy wheels wrapped around 245/35ZR19 rubber at the front and 265/35ZR19 at the rear.
Other available extras include an Akrapovič stainless steel exhaust system with 100 cell cats, a sports suspension plus carbon-fiber trim parts and aluminum pedals for the interior.

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MINI Clubvan is Concept

Proving that there's no end to the BMW Group's thirst for growth in any given segment, Mini has introduced the production version of the 2012 Geneva Motor Show Clubvan Concept.
Billed as "the world’s first premium compact delivery van", the seventh addition to Mini's lineup is based on the longer Clubman but does away with the rear seat bench and boot floor to gain a continuous loading area.
If filled up to the roof, there's 860 liters of load space. Mini says that the cargo area is 1,150mm long (45.3 in.) and at its narrowest point behind the rear doors, 1,020mm (40.2 in.) wide, while the van's maximum payload capacity is 500 kilograms (1,102 lbs).
Other changes over the Clubman include the fixed partition between the passenger compartment and load area while in order to be classified as a commercial vehicle and therefore, be taxed at a lower rate in select countries, the Clubvan is equipped with blocked-out rear side windows.
Mini's first commercial vehicle is offered in three engine flavors starting with the One that gets a 1.6-liter petrol engine delivering 97hp (98PS) for a 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) acceleration in 11.1 seconds, a top speed of 185 km/h (115 mph) and an average fuel economy of 5.5lt/100km (51.4 mpg UK / 42.8 mpg US).
Next up is the Cooper Clubvan sporting a 1.6-liter petrol with 121hp (122PS) allowing for a 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) sprint time of 9.8 seconds, a top speed of 201 km/h (125 mph), and a combined fuel consumption of 5.5lt/100km (same as the One).
Finally, there's the Cooper D model equipped with a 110hp (112PS) four-cylinder diesel that accelerates the van from standstill to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 10.2 seconds, on the way to a top speed of 197 km/h (122.4 mph). Mini quotes an average fuel consumption of 3.9 liters/100 km (72.4mpg UK / 60.3mpg US), corresponding to CO2 emissions of 103g/km.
All three models get a standard 6-speed manual gearbox while the Cooper D Clubvan can optionally be fitted with a six-speed automatic transmission.
The new Clubvan will make its first public outing at next weekend's Goodwood Festival of Speed with sales to start in the autumn.

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GSC Makes the Mercedes-Benz G-Class

So what if the G-Wagen was initially developed as a military vehicle before Mercedes-Benz began offering it as a rough n' tough civilian model back in 1979; tuners continue to see a street racing potential in the G-Class, despite the fact that everything about this model screams "4x4 off-roader". Then again, Mercedes itself has gone down this path with its insane and utterly pointless AMG variants spearheaded by the new G65 AMG, which sports a…603bhp 6.0-liter bi-turbocharged V12.
Consequently, we doubt anyone will be surprised with this new styling package for the G-Class series from German Custom Specials (GSC). For now, we only get a set of teaser renderings and some initial details, but the tuning company plans to bring it to life within this year.
The package is named GoldStorm after its brassy paintwork and includes a wide body kit made from carbon fiber, new headlamps that reminds us of those found on the Rolls Royce Ghost, new circular tail lamps, and five-spoke alloy wheels wrapped in low profile sport tires.

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Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione

German aftermarket specialist Wheelsandmore believes it can convince at least a few of the 500 owners of the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione to make the plunge and shop its new tuning package for the Italian sports coupe. First up is the hard-to-miss matte white foil wrap with black and red racing stripes running from bumper to bumper, and the 21-inch 6Sporz2 forged alloy wheels shod in Hankook S1Evo tires size 245/30 21 on the front axle and 345/25 21 on the rear.
The new look is finished off by the black tailpipes of the new hand-made sports exhaust system.
Underneath the 8C Competizione's curvalicious body, Wheelsandmore added a new coilover suspension and tweaked the V8 engine's software to bring output from 444hp (450PS) and 480Nm (354 lb-ft) to 474hp (480PS) and 520Nm (383 lb-ft).
Wheelsandmore did not announce pricing details on the 8C tuning package.

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Aussie Billionaire Wants to Build Titanic II but Refuses to Pay $333

At the end of April, Australian billionaire Clive Palmer made world headlines when he announced plans to launch a full-size replica of the Titanic that will make its maiden voyage from England to New York in 2016. Fast-forward a few weeks to today, and the Australian Mining magnate is once again in the news, but for a very different reason.
The 58-year old businessman from the sunny state of Queensland was ticketed by Australian police back in January for going 87km/h (54mph) in a 60km/h (37mph) zone in his Mercedes-Benz. The police officer issued him an AU$333 (US$329 or €258) fine and deducted four demerit points from his driving license.

New BMW ActiveHybrid 5 Priced from $61,845, Nearly $10k more than the 535i

If you want a little more power (but slightly worse performance) and a little better fuel economy and don't mind paying US$9,345 over the price of a regular 535i, then you may want to take a look at BMW's new ActiveHybrid 5 sedan. If you live in Europe or in any other region where BMW offers diesel variants of the 5-Series, then you're probably better off with one of those models – we'll explain why later on.
BMW today announced that the ActiveHybrid 5 will go on sale in the States in March with a base MSRP of $61,845 (€47,800), which includes an $895 destination and handling fee.
The ActiveHybrid 5 brings together BMW's 3.0-liter turbocharged inline 6-cylinder gasoline engine with 300hp and 300 lb-ft (EU-spec: 306hp and 400Nm), an electric drive system producing 54hp and 155 lb-ft, and an 8-speed automatic gearbox.
The hybrid drive system generates a combined output of 335hp and 330 lb-ft (EU-spec: 340hp and 450Nm), which allows the car to be driven on electric power alone up to 37mph (60km/h) for 2.5 miles (4km), and accelerates the sedan from 0 to 60 mph in 5.7 seconds (0-100km/h in 5.9 seconds).
In comparison, the 535i completes the 0-60mph sprint in 5.6 seconds (0-100km/h in 5.8 seconds) and returns up to 31mpg highway EPA.
While BMW has not yet announced EPA estimates for the U.S. model, across the pond, the ActiveHybrid 5 is claimed to return between 6.4 and 7.0lt/100km on the combined European driving cycle (33.6 - 37.8 mpg US).
The European market 535d that's powered by a 3.0-liter turbocharged straight-six diesel delivering 313HP and 630Nm (465 lb-ft), does the 0-100km/h sprint in 5.5 seconds and returns a combined fuel consumption of 5.4-5.6lt/100km (42 - 43.6 mpg US) with CO2 emissions of 142-148g/km.
So basically, the 535d is not only faster, but also more fuel efficient and with lower CO2 emissions than the EU-spec ActiveHybrid 5 (149– 163g/km) – which is why we said before that the Europeans are better off looking at BMW's diesel range.
You can chip in your thoughts in the comments section below.

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