Bucket Seat: BMW Concept 4

Yesterday at the 68th annual Frankfurt Motorshow saw BMW unveil their Concept 4 which their upcoming 4 Series model line up will be heavily based on. IAA being one of the biggest motor shows on the European continent, and with it being in Germany serves as the ideal platform for German brands to flaunt their latest ideas and models. On Monday we saw VW and Audi flaunt their showcase, with the show stopping RS7 being unveiled and VW's electric model ID.3. With BMW eager to get the crowds just excited, they could not have chose a better model to do it with, the Concept 4 is simply stunning, the design harks back to BMW racing legends in the past, molded by heritage and sculpted by the future. It's sharp angles and straight lines give it that racing stance which is required on a sports coupe but still maintains that level of elegance that BMW somehow always achieve. 

The high door line gives the overall vehicle a sleek look and with the sides flaring to the wheel arches adds bulk to the waist of the car. The roof is more sloped than what we're used to with BMW Coupes and the elegant window line outlined in metal give the car added dimension. However, the major talking point about this car is the rather large vertical kidney grilles, personally I think it works well with the car. As mentioned before, the design draws lots of inspiration from BMW's of the past and if you look at the 3.0 CSL, the 2002 GT, all had vertical kidney grille's, granted not as large but vertical none the less. It's the not the first time we're seeing massive grille's from BMW and it's a sign of the direction their design language is heading. I don't see why many are making it a big issue, other manufacturers also have large grilles on their cars but don't get as much flack, in fact, the likes of Lexus are applauded for it. 

Anyway, Adrian van Hooydonk, who is the senior Vice President of the BMW Group Design says "The BMW Concept 4 embodies the aesthetic essence of the BMW brand. It combines perfect proportions with clear and precise design." BMW say that up to 85% of what we see in the Concept 4 will be what the production model 4 Series will look like, and I love it, I hope they keep the flares that adorn the sides which have carbon moldings that are in a shape of a 4. No imagines of the interior has been shown as yet but it should be very similar to the 3 Series. Overall the Concept 4 is a very exciting model and hearing that significant amount will be kept for the next generation 4 Series does excite many. 

Bucket Seat: BMW i Vision Dynamics

The Frankfurt Motorshow is always a buzz, with most of the German manufacturers using this platform to stage their greatest models and concepts, while there was smorgasbord of great cars to chose from at IAA 2017, my pick from the bunch was about the future of motoring. Yes while most manufacturers showed of their great tech in cars for present and future, with the world of motoring's immediate future looking to electricity for power, BMW lifted the covers on it's BMW i Vision Dynamics Concept. A year on from displaying their NEXT 100 vision at last years show, the i Vision gives the consumer a more realistic vision of what they can expect from the company in the coming years. 

The car is Future Mobility in a nutshell, it's an all electric, four-door Gran Coupe with a range of 600km, a top speed of over 200km/h and an acceleration of 0-100km in just four seconds. With BMW already one of the leaders in e-mobility with two models on sale worldwide in the i3 and i8 Hybrid, not forgetting the various plug hybrids offered across their range, the technology they have works and perfecting this technology and only do more good, not only for their cars but the future of motoring. Harald Kruger, Chairman of the Board of Management at BMW AG says that by 2015, BMW will be offering 25 models with an electrified drive system, of which 12 will be pure-electric. "With BMW i Vision Dynamics we are showcasing how we envisage future electric mobility between the i3 and i8: a dynamic and progressive, four-door Gran Coupe. We are therefore electrifying the heart of the BMW brand and, at the same time, elevating BMW i into a totally new dimension" - says Kruger. 

The design of the i Vision Dynamics borrows a lot from the Next 100 Vision, with tweaks to make the car more the standard of car that we have today. It's massive fused twin kidney grille design is a prominent feature of the car with even part of the bonnet lid molded to it's shape. The adaptive LED lighting is minimalistic but still offers that great character that is known to BMW design. The side profile of the car is extremely sleek, with it looking very similar to early concepts of the BMW i8. The frame-less windows also take the shape of the kidney grille. The roof of the car is an all glass panoramic roof which ties into the rear window, falling into the back with it's straight line boot lid and angled tail lights. The tiny lights and details in the design add to the progressive and elegance of the car. This car is basically what we can expect from the upcoming BMW i5, a first family sedan coming from the BMWi brand and one that would be welcomed into the market. 

2015 Frankfurt Motorshow

In it's 66th year running, this years Internationale Autombil-Ausstellung, better known as the Frankfurt Motorshow has again played host to some remarkable reveals in the motoring world. Being Germany's premier motorshow, giants such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz and the VW Group compete for the best stand at the show. 

This year with multiple launches taking place it was a difficult one to call, visitors to the show all agreed that the Mercedes-Benz stand was probably the best but interms of showstoppers, it had to be the VW Groups with new models being launched by Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, Bentley, Audi and VW themselves. 

We've selected the cars that caught our eye over the past few days, at the show and summarised it in this post. 

We start off with Bentley, who have decided to join the SUV market with their new Bentayga. Odd looking thing but even more odd is that it works. First delivery is said to be going to her magesty the Queen of England, wonder if she'll pimp it up. 

Honda brought their new 2&4 concept, no idea whats the thinking behind this one. Similar to the Ariel Atom and the KTM XBox its a single seat, open cockpit racer. It's nice but doubt it will see the production line

Next up, Alfa Romeo, the darling of the Italian car market. Their new models are as rare as a blue moon which is why many were quite excited by the arrival of the Giulia, this week at IAA they released a much meaner version called the Quadrifoglio. It's not going to scare the likes of the M3 or C63S but it's a nice variant to have in the market. 

Not much more can be said about this car, it's truly a magnificent piece of engineering by the Bavarians, with more gadgets than inspector gadget and a neat disappearing act by parking itself in the garage on its own. It's got a big task to unsettle the Merc S Class but it has the ammunition to do it.

What's a motorshow without a sexy Ferrari? The 488 GTB Spider is just that. I mean look it, its brilliant!

Porsche unviled their latest four door car with a spark, the Mission E is the beetles take on electric cars, could be the next Panemerra? 

After 50 years or so, Bugatti have finally brought a new car to a motorshow thats not a Veyron! Okay maybe not 50 years, say 49 years. The Vision GT is a pure bred racer, not only does it look fast but you can bet your bottom dollar it is fast!

Lamborghini lifted the covers off two new arrivals, the Huracan Spyder and the Aventador Supervolce Roadster. Both epically good looking cars and both accompanied but some fine ass ladies. Well Played Lamborghini, well played. 

Merc brought 3 show stoppers with them, first being the new C Class Coupe with the range topping C63S, that car looks menacing! The much anticipated S Class Cabriolet was also on display, it almost looks like a yacht on the road but the main talking point from Mercedes-Benz was their Concept IAA (Intelligent Active Aerodynamics) car. It's a first by the company as it is their first functional autonomous car. A car that can drive itself. Not sure how I feel about that now, I buy a car because I want to drive it, not for me to be driven in it.