Tokyo Show 2011 Highlights: 2012 Alpina B6 Coupe

The Alpina B6 Bi-Turbo Coupé, revealed at Tokyo motor show today, is the German firm’s variant of the BMW 6-series.

The 4.4-litre V8 in the B6 Bi-Turbo Coupé produces 533bhp and 516lb ft and helps the car to crack 0-62mph in 4.4sec. The top speed is a claimed 197mph.

Two turbochargers configured in parallel, each feeding one of the two cylinder banks, allow the engine to provide plenty of power and torque over a broad rpm range.

The B6 gets an eight-speed sport automatic gearbox developed in conjunction with transmission specialist ZF. It also features a limited-slip rear differential.

Alpina has collaborated with Akrapovic on a lightweight titanium exhaust system for the B6. The unit is half the weight of a stainless steel version.

The B6 Bi-Turbo Coupé comes with electronically adjustable dampers and active roll stabilisation as standard. A choice of four driving modes – Comfort+, Comfort, Sport and Sport+ – can be selected.

Cosmetic changes include a front spoiler with an integrated carbonfibre splitter that reduces the air masses under the car by more than ten per cent, making the front-end more stable and reducing understeer. The rear spoiler is replaced by a more dramatic wing.

The B6 Cabriolet, first seen at Frankfurt in the autumn with 500bhp, has also been given the upgraded 533bhp engine. The car will go on sale in January, with the coupe priced from £92,950 and the cabrio from £97,950.

Thanks to: Autocar

Tokyo Show 2011 Highlights: 2013 Volkswagen Passat Alltrack

Volkswagen will launch this more rugged version of the Passat estate in 2012 after its official unveiling at the Tokyo motor show today. The Volkswagen Passat Alltrack will come equipped with all-wheel drive as standard in the UK and will sit between the Passat estate and the Tiguan in VW’s line-up.

While front-wheel drive and petrol versions will be offered in Europe, UK buyers will only be able to choose from a 2.0-litre turbodiesel with either 138bhp or 168bhp and equipped with VW’s 4Motion all-wheel drive technology. The lower-powered model gets a six-speed manual gearbox and the range-topper a six-speed DSG.

VW claims the Alltrack has genuine off-road capabilities, something emphasised with both its styling and equipment. The visual changes include a new design for the front and rear bumpers inspired by the Tiguan and Touareg SUVs and flared wheel arches wrapped in black plastic cladding. Despite the changes, the Alltrack’s length and width are identical to the Passat estate’s at 4771mm and 1820mm respectively.

The ramp breakaway angle (now 12.8 degrees), approach angle (16degs) and departure angle (13.6degs) have all been increased over the Passat estate, and the suspension has been raised by 30mm for a higher ground clearance, now at 165mm.

Another off-road addition for the Alltrack is VW’s ‘Off-Road Driving Programme’, which is also borrowed from the firm’s larger SUVs. This system works up to 18mph and electronically tunes equipment including the electronic differential, ABS, torque control, hill descent and, in the DSG-equipped car, gearbox shift points to provide a more focused off-road drive.

VW is pitching the Alltrack as an off-road lifestyle version of the Passat and has put particular emphasis on its towing ability. Just one trim range will be offered in the UK and will have equipment including an Alcantara upholstery and 18in alloys as standard.

Order books for the car are likely to open in April 2012 ahead of the first deliveries in July. Prices are yet to be confirmed, but expect it to sit atop the Passat range, priced from around £26,000.

Thanks to: Autocar

Tokyo Show 2011 Highlights: 2012 BMW ActiveHybrid 5

BMW’s new hybrid-powered 5-series, unveiled at the Tokyo motor show today, will cost from £46,860 when it goes on sale in the UK in February 2012.

The BMW ActiveHybrid 5 is based on the current BMW 535i saloon and achieves a 16 per cent improvement in fuel economy compared with that model.

Using the 535i’s 296bhp twin-turbocharged straight-six petrol engine, the hybrid model adds a 54bhp electric motor. Combined, both power sources produce 330bhp and 332lb ft of torque – driven through an eight-speed automatic gearbox - giving the ActiveHybrid 5 a 0-62mph time of 5.9sec.

On the combined cycle, it will achieve 44.1mpg, while emitting 149g/km CO2 and top speed is limited to 155mph.

The lithium-ion battery pack – stowed in the car’s boot - enables the new 5-series to be driven at speeds of up to 37mph on electricity alone. A total electric distance of 2.5 miles is achievable when averaging 22mph.

Features of the new car include brake regeneration, stop-start and hill-start assist.

Bespoke touches include ‘ActiveHybrid 5’ badging on the C-pillars, grille and door sills and 17-inch alloys come as standard. Inside, the cabin is clad with a Fineline Anthracite wood interior trim with integrated satellite-navigation.

Thanks to: Autocar

Tokyo Show 2011 Highlights: Suzuki Swift EV Concept

Suzuki has revealed details of its new Suzuki Swift EV hybrid range extender, unveiled at the Tokyo motor show today. The new concept uses a plug-in hybrid range extender system, which would offer up to 18 miles on electricity alone before the small capacity petrol motor will kick in to charge the lithium-ion batteries.

Hajime Maruyama, general manager of the Suzuki electric drive vehicle design department, described the Swift EV Hybrid as “a global model, that uses technology which we are considering for use in other Suzuki models, too.”

There is no doubt that Suzuki is planning on selling this tech in the future, but senior sources admitted that there is still research needed to confirm whether there is a business case for the UK and Europe.

“With a range of just 18 miles we may need to carry out more development before the Swift would make sense in Europe, whilst in Japan drivers travel less distance on average in cities so the technology is more viable in this state.”

The benefit of having a shorter range is that the Swift takes just 90 minutes for a full recharge of a 200V supply, or four hours off a standard 100V supply so there is no need for a fast charger. The car can also serve as a household power supply via an outlet on the centre consol.

Thanks to: Autocar

Tokyo Show 2011 Highlights: 2012 Subaru Impreza Sport & G4

The new top-of-the-range Subaru Impreza models have been unveiled at the Tokyo motor show.

The Subaru Impreza G4 will top the four-door saloon side of the new Impreza range, while the Subaru Impreza Sport will be the range topping five-door hatchback variant. Both will be sold worldwide by Subaru, including in the UK.

Both cars are powered by Subaru's latest version of its 2.0-litre four-cylinder boxer engine, the first time it has appeared in a production car. This engine is powered to Subaru's latest CVT gearbox and produces 152bhp at 6200rpm.

The two models also sport some minor styling tweaks over the standard car to make them stand out. These include sharper lines for the bumper and front grille and new 17in alloys.

Thanks to: Autocar

Racing car lovers will own BMW M5 next year

"European Crisis hopefully not severely affected in us, who surely now our economic growth (Indonesia) strong,".

Racing car lovers will get a new toy in the next year. BMW will launch a BMW M5.

The launch of this high-performance cars of M series to strengthen sales.

"In the year 2012 we expect sales tomorrow M series continues to rise. And next year we will introduce the M5. Right now we just have the variant of 1M coupe, M3, X5 M and X6 M," .

Since its launch early 2011, BMW M Series family has sold as many as 46 units. The figure rose 2-fold compared to sales of BMW M Series last year.

BMW M Series Unit 46 consists of a BMW M Coupe as many as 24 units, BMW M3 Sedan 4 units, 4 units of the BMW M3 Coupe, and BMW X5 M 4 units and not behind the BMW X6 M 4 units.

it was added for the statement that, with continued growth of economy to make lovers of premium vehicles is increasing.

The BMW officers also hoped the crisis that struck Europe is expected to not be too severe an impact on ground water.

"We will try to push sales of series of M. And we remain optimistic that BMW will be well received. it's seen with economic growth is more improved, stable interest rates remain, the political situation remains safe,".

playing games into rearview mirror of your car

As reported by gizmag, Tuesday (11/22/2011), a company based in Hong Kong namely Chinavasion started selling a device that replaces the usual mirror with entertainment features.

During this one technology that has been frequently used in the car is equipped with a rearview mirror of GPS, and Bluetooth such as Ford, Toyota and Mazda. But now the mirror will have entertainment features, namely, to play the game.

In addition to playing a wide touchscreen of games, mirrors that can play different types of multimedia files. Best of the DVR feature, this mirror can record everything that happens in the car.

There is another camera that helps separate parking. However, Chinavasion also provide inside rearview camera that can record video (AVI, MOV, ASF, MP4, WMV) with a resolution of 640 x 480 at 30 fps. All data were recorded to SD or Micro SD with a capacity of 32 GB.

Standard with a rearview mirror designed to be an ordinary car and requires no installation or setup process. Rearview mirror equipped with a charger that directly connect to the DC connector on the car.

Just because its more sophisticated view mirror is also equipped with a microphone and speaker that makes the rider can call or receive calls from mobile phones connected via Bluetooth.