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BMW says SUVs killed the sports car market

In many ways, we're living in a golden age of automotive performance. After all, it's possible to show up at a Dodge dealer, hand over about $60,000 and storm away with a 707-horsepower Challenger Hellcat. Or for those who prefer a touch more luxury, the BMW M4, Mercedes-AMG C63 and latest Cadillac ATS-V offer between 425 and 503 horsepower, depending on your pick, with a bit more poshness. However, none of these powerful vehicles fit the classic definition of a two-place, droptop sports car, and according BMW head of sales Ian Robertson, that's because the segment is very much in the doldrums.
According to Robertson, two factors seriously wounded the classic sports car market. First, the global economic crisis of a few years ago put a serious hurt on sales, according to Bloomberg. Further worsening the situation, the boom in popularity of luxury SUVs and crossovers in the past few years hasn't allowed for much recovery. Even car-hungry China hasn't helped much because of the smog in many cities and preference among some of the very rich there to be chauffeured.
Combined, Audi TT, BMW Z4 and Mercedes-Benz SLK sales peaked around 114,000 units a year in 2007, but they are only expected to reach 72,000 annually by the end of the decade. Robertson is pretty pessimistic about the market's comeback too. "Post-2008, it just collapsed. I'm not so sure it'll ever fully recover," he said to Bloomberg.

BMW reveals R NineT Scrambler at EICMA [w/video]

BMW Motorrad has rolled into the EICMA motorcycle show in Italy with a new version of the R NineT. While the existing version has proven a fast favorite among customizers with its cafe-racer style, the new version takes the classic Scrambler approach that recalls off-road dirt bikes from the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. And it looks at least as hot as the existing Roadster. The new R NineT Scrambler is powered by the same 1.17-liter boxer twin as the Roadster, good for 110 horsepower and 85 pound-feet of torque. What separates it from the Roadster is the rest of its feature set. The exhaust is positioned higher alongside the swingarm and 17-inch rear wheel, while the front features an over-sized 19-inch wheel with a longer-travel telescopic fork. The seating position is more upright than the Roadster as well, with higher handlebars and foot-pegs moved slightly down and back - all for a more relaxed ride. Up front there's a circular headlamp, with analog instruments. Four-piston calipers grip 320-millimeter discs up front, with 2-piston calipers on 265-mm discs at the back. The Scrambler comes in a matte silver finish with a brown saddle, but like the Roadster, it's designed to be customized. So the accessories catalog is filled with parts to make it your own, and the modular frame is meant to be disassembled and reconfigured to the rider's specifications. BMW R NineT Scrambler debuts this week at the Milan fair grounds alongside the new single-cylinder G 310 R and the eRR electric sport bike concept. The new BMW R nineT Scrambler – a down-to-earth character beyond established conventions. They were ridden by action heroes on the screen and scores of hobby racers entered mountain and beach races on them: the Scramblers. With deep-treaded tyres, a raised exhaust, somewhat extended spring travel and a relaxed seating position, Scramblers offered their riders in the 1950s to 1970s not just motorcycling fun on winding country roads but also great off-road capability and therefore an extended range of use. Like the motorcycles themselves, the people who rode Scramblers were not bound by established conventions. And they could be seen virtually everywhere: on winding country roads, stony mountain passes and - where it was allowed - even on sandy beaches. The history of BMW Motorrad is also rooted in the Scrambler concept.

2015 BMW S 1000 RR looks to retain sportbike supremacy

The BMW S 1000 RR is already a pretty potent member of the superbike ranks, but BMW is revealing a host of upgrades for this two-wheeled lightning bolt at the Intermot 2014 motorcycle show that should make it even faster.
The biggest additions to the latest 1000 RR are its new cylinder head, lighter valves and different intake cam to tweak even more power from the bike's 1.0-liter, four-cylinder engine, and BMW now rates it at a claimed 196 horsepower (or 199 horses if you go with the European measurement, converted from 146 kilowatts), a boost over the first-gen's 193 ponies, and 83 pound-feet of torque through a six-speed gearbox. Those adjustments would probably be enough to make the cycle a tick faster alone, but the Bavarian engineers also cut 8.82 pounds (4 kg) to bring the motorcycle's weight with a full tank of fuel to a feather-light 450 pounds. Much of that diet comes from the redesigned exhaust that cuts about 6.6 pounds off the scales.
Cradling that tweaked engine is a redesigned, lighter frame with fully adjustable springs. The bike also comes standard with Race ABS, stability control, seven-step variable traction control and three riding modes. In terms of styling, all of these changes are communicated through an updated fairing with repositioned, though still asymmetric, headlights.