BMW showed off a new concept version of their former M1 supercar at the Concorso d’Eleganza supercar show at Villa d’Este. The BMW M1 was in production from 1978 to 1981, with a 273 hp 3.5-litre inline-6 engine, created as a road-going version of the M1 racecar. Since then, BMW hasn’t had a true supercar in their line-up, even though they are arguably the most sporting manufacturer of passenger cars ever.
BMW, Hyundai and Hummer all have new GCC-spec cars lined up for the latest model year.
The 2009 Mazda 6 has finally been launched in the United States. It is interesting to note that the American version is actually a bit longer compared to the GCC model, with unique front and rear designs. Even better are their engine choices.
Ask and ye shall receive! After repeated requests from our readers, asking me to review the old Aurion, I finally caved in and asked Marwa, Toyota’s friendly PR lady, to arrange one for me, even though it is a year old now. She threw me this Sharjah-registered tester for two days, setting up the car for me within a week of my request.
The compact Audi Q5, designed to go against the BMW X3 and the Mercedes-Benz GLK, has been unveiled at the Auto China show in Beijing. While it brings absolutely nothing original to the table, initial unconfirmed reports suggest it will be built in China as well as Germany.
The awesome new Opel Insignia sedan is all set to replace the aging Vectra in Europe by this summer. Opel is sort of an abandoned nameplate in the GCC, as even parent company General Motors Middle East doesn’t bother mentioning Opel in their list of brands any more. Too bad, because this new model has to be the most stunning interpretation of a midsize sedan yet.
Mercedes-Benz is world-debuting the production-version of the compact GLK at the Auto China fair in Beijing on April 20.
Since we hung out at the Times Square Mall after testing the Altima Coupe, I guess it is now a good time to reveal that we’ve reached a deal with auto-accessories superstore, Yellow Hat, whereby they’ll supply or install various car accessories or products free-of-charge on our cars, so we can review them, as well as describe how the install went.
We have a familiar car over here, but only from the driver’s seat. The cabin is shared with the Altima sedan, with the exception of an actual handbrake replacing the sedan’s parking foot-brake and three front cup-holders, so Coupe buyers only have two cup-holders up front. Other differences include cramped rear legroom, a manual passenger seat for quick rear access, possibly less headroom, and very interesting exterior styling, even if a bit bloated-looking.
The Dubai Grand Racing Weekend has drawn to a close. If you are interesting in the highlights, attached is the press release from the Dubai Autodrome providing a good summary.