Inside running by Citroen
Citroen is preparing to launch a new
small luxury car in 2010 as it looks to move up market and
take on small cars from Audi, BMW and Alfa Romeo.
Citroen
DS Inside
The DS Inside concept car will make its public debut at next
month’s Geneva motor show as a forerunner to a production
version to be launched at the 2009 Frankfurt motor show
towards the end of this year.
The car, based on the same platform as the current C3, will
be the first of three new Citroen DS cars, with C4 and
C5-based versions to follow in 2011. European websites are
speculating that up to six models are on the drawing board
for release in the next three years.
The new car line marks the revival of the legendary DS badge
of the fifties and heralds an image revamp for the 90 year
old auto maker.
The presumed stimulus to build this new line is to attract
customers who want to downsize, but still keep a high level
of creature comforts.
BMW, Audi and Alfa Romeo all have small cars either on the
drawing board or in production. BMW is looking at a city car
to sit beneath its current Mini Cooper, while Audi has the
A1 and Alfa Romeo the MiTo.
While the DS concept car is a three-door, the production
version will be a five door powered by diesel, petrol and
eventually hybrid engines. Engine choices will include a 1.4
liter diesel and the 1.4 liter turbo engine developed in
conjunction with BMW used in the Mini Cooper S.
The original DS was meant to be a play on the French word
for goddess, but Citroen says the new badge stands for
“Different Spirit”.
Bangle’s Beemer
The styling director of BMW, Chris Bangle, has
finally left the building. Polarizing the auto styling world
with his (in)famous ‘Bangle Bottom’ which was introduced on
the 7-Series and then flowed down to the 6, 5 and 3-Series,
the reaction from BMW owners was a website dedicated to
getting rid of both the bottom and the designer.
Chris
Bangle
I have to say that I was not a fan of the styling either,
but like most things, you get used to it in the end.
However, the Bangle designs have never been beautiful like
Henrik Fisker’s Aston Martin DB 9, for example. Head of BMW
Design has now gone to Adrian van Hooydonk, Bangle’s
right-hand man for 17 years.
BMW, with their usual disregard for the voice of their
customer base - has refused to admit that Bangle’s styling
has been unpopular, but they have gradually toned it down,
perhaps hoping that we hadn’t noticed!
(Another example of BMW’s attitude is the despised “iDrive”,
with a sample of a blog saying, “All auto journalists talk
about it. They all complain about it. It’s the dreaded
iDrive, BMW’s electronic interface that controls virtually
every aspect of the company’s vehicles through a central
knob and display screen. It also drives most of us nuts for
one reason or another.” So what did BMW do? Rather than
admit that it wasn’t a great idea, they progressively
modified it, but even now on its fourth incarnation, it
still makes driving a BMW far more difficult than it needs
to be.)
The
last Bangle Bottom
The official notification of Bangle’s departure was issued
by BMW in a press release stating “Christopher Bangle has
had a lasting impact on the identity of BMW Group’s brands
(you can say that again). His contribution to the company’s
success has been decisive, and together with his teams he
has mapped out a clear and aesthetic route into the future,”
said Dr Klaus Draeger, BMW AG’s Board Member for
Development.
Born in the USA, Christopher Bangle, aged 52, has been head
of BMW Group Design Development since October 1992. After
studying at the University of Wisconsin and the Art Center
College of Design in Pasadena, he began his working life in
Rüsselsheim, where he worked for Adam Opel AG. In 1985 he
joined FIAT, where he became director of the FIAT Centro
Stile in 1992. Shortly afterwards he left the Italian
automaker to come to Munich. (And not long after that we got
the Bangle Bottom.)
Autotrivia Quiz
Last week I mentioned the Lotus S7’s. I
asked when did Colin Chapman make the first Lotus? The
answer was not 1957, as that was the Lotus 7. The first
Lotus, an Austin based special was built in 1948 and the
first Lotus victory was in 1950 with the Lotus 2.
So to this week. Which F1 driver broke the lap record nine
times in ten laps? And when and where?
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be the first correct
answer to email [email protected]
Good luck!
Bob Lutz, the GM guru
steps down
General Motors respected product boss Bob Lutz
will step down from his corporate role in April. Lutz has
spent 46 years in the industry, working for GM, Chrysler,
Ford and BMW.
Lutz is credited with reinvigorating GM’s vehicle range when
he re-joined the company in 2001 after a long stint at the
helm of rival Chrysler, which ended in 1998. While at
Chrysler, he built a reputation for delivering exciting and
innovative vehicles, including the Dodge Viper. Lutz was a
true ‘car man’.
He is famously quoted as saying that global warming was a
“total crock of shit” (I agree); however, he has been a
great proponent of GM’s Chevrolet Volt low emission plug-in
hybrid vehicle.
Lutz started his career at GM in the sixties, moved to BMW
in 1972, sat on Ford’s board of directors, and moved to
then-ailing Chrysler in 1986.
Bob Lutz and
Chevrolet Volt
The best drivers are in
F1
It is often thought that the best drivers are in
F1, having made it through the ranks of the minor formulae
to make it to the top. Whilst there are some very good
drivers in the top echelon, there is another factor as well
as talent. And that is money.
Interesting to read the words of Takuma Sato’s manager,
after Taku lost the last race seat (Toro Rosso) to Sebastien
Bourdais. “Taku had showed tremendous speed and commitment
during the three tests he did for the team and I believe he
proved to be the faster driver. Unfortunately, however, the
team made no secret about the fact that they would need the
driver to bring a substantial amount of funding to the team
to secure the drive.”
There are some drivers this year who have ‘bought’ their
race seat, and I believe that one of those is at Renault.
I’ll leave you to work out whom.
A Mini SUV or a
Maxi-Mini?
BMW have announced a Mini version of an
all-wheel-drive SUV, which will make it one of the world’s
smallest crossovers.
Still without a production release name, it is likely to go
on sale in Europe and the United States late next year.
It had been tipped that the Mini SUV would be shown at the
Geneva motor show in March, but Mini is denying this. This
will be the first Mini not to be built at its traditional
home in Oxford, England. Instead it will come off the same
production line as the existing BMW X3 at the Magna Steyr
plant in Austria.
The X3 will soon shift to Spartanburg to make way for the
Mini crossover which will be built on an all new and larger
4.1 meter platform. It had been tipped Mini would use BMWs
new X1 platform but Mini insiders say this has been
discounted as not practical.
The crossover will use a modified version of BMW’s full time
xDrive system which proportions drive between front and rear
axles. Mini engineers have had to convert it from having a
rear wheel drive bias as in BMWs X3 and X5 to fit Mini’s
primarily front wheel drive layout.
Andreas Hofmann, the head of Mini’s marketing communications
said the engine range is expected to match those of the
existing Mini line-up but a diesel was more than likely for
selected markets, including Australia.
Production costs will mean the crossover will come as a
conventional four-door wagon which is cheaper to build,
although the design of the tailgate whether a single door,
two barn doors or a split lift up, drop down design still
has to be signed off.
Green Life on Wheels
Bangkok
International Motor Show
In line with the general direction of the
motor car industry, the 30th Bangkok International Motor
Show has ‘Green Life on Wheels’ as the theme for this year’s
show.
The show will run from March 26 until April 6, but the first
two days are usually reserved for media and VIPs.
The motor show will be held as usual at the BITEC exhibition
halls at Km 1 Bangna and despite the downturn in the
automotive production, organizers Grand Prix International
expect that the industry will be there in numbers to support
the Thai economy.
Tech specs for Red
Bull’s RB5
Australian Mark Webber and Germany’s new young
driver Sebastien Vettel are pinning their F1 hopes on the
new Red Bull 2009 challenger, the RB5. This F1 car has come
from the drawing board of famed designer Adrian Newey.
The chassis is a composite monocoque structure, designed and
built in-house, carrying a Renault V8 engine as a fully
stressed member.
Transmission: Seven speed gearbox, longitudinally mounted
with hydraulic system for power shift and clutch operation
and using an AP Racing clutch.
Suspension: Front: Aluminium alloy uprights,
carbon-composite double wishbone with torsion bar springs
and anti-roll bars, Multimatic dampers. Rear: Aluminium
alloy uprights, carbon-composite double wishbone with
torsion bar springs and anti-roll bars, Multimatic dampers.
Wheels: OZ Racing, Front: 12.7 inch x 13 inch, Rear:
13.4 inch x 13 inch.
Brakes: Brembo calipers, Brembo carbon discs and
pads.
Engine - Renault RS27
Capacity: 2400cc
Max rpm: 18,000
Cylinders: 8
Power output: Not disclosed
Number of valves: 32
Vee Angle: 90 degrees
Construction: Cylinder block in cast aluminium
Engine management: FIA (MESL) standard control unit
TAG310B
Fuel: Total Group
Oil: Total Group
Weight: FIA minimum weight for engine of 95 kg
Electronics: FIA (MESL) standard control unit
