2004 Bmw X3 3.0i Sport Utility 4-door 3.0l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

BMW M boss denies supercar collaboration with McLaren

The first time there was a McLaren Honda Formula 1 team, McLaren did some moonlighting with BMW on a supercar for all time, the F1. It just so happens that McLaren Honda is a thing again, and Car magazine recently ran a piece saying McLaren and BMW would get back together on another hopped-up coupe with roughly the same working agreement as before: BMW supplies a screaming V8, McLaren builds the body to go around it. Only this time the car would be a BMW model, not a McLaren, and be BMW's version of the next-generation McLaren 650S. The Car piece said that BMW head of R&D Klaus Frolich first got in touch with McLaren nine months ago, however, the head of BMW's M division, Frank van Meel, said he doesn't know anything about it. Mentioning every BMW exec referred to in the story, van Meel told Australia's Motoring, "I haven't had a phone call, [CEO] Harald Kruger hasn't had a phone call, and Klaus Frohlich hasn't had a phone call." The Car story said the reason BMW hasn't done a conventionally powered exotic recently is that former CEO Norbert Reithofer didn't want anything to eclipse the i8, the i brand, and the eco credentials the brand is charged with promoting. Changes in the executive suite – new CEO, new M boss, new R&D chief – were thought to meant changes in approach. Not according to van Meel, who gave those same i brand reasons to Motoring as then reasons BMW has no interest in a 750-horsepower, quad-turbo coupe. On top of that, after spending billions to move the game forward with in-house carbon fiber technology, van Meel asked, "I don't understand why we would need to work with McLaren for a supercar anyway. All of the technologies the story suggested are technologies that are core competences here at BMW and at M. Nobody in the world is more advanced with carbon-fibre than we are." The extent of the denial is so detailed that we're inclined to believe BMW on this one; cover stories usually stop at curt phrases like "We have no knowledge of that" or "We don't comment on future product." So you can put away your dreams of a McLaren F1 Part Two. For now. Related Video:

Tesla in talks with BMW about batteries, charging collaborations

With Toyota and Daimler no longer holding Tesla shares, the electric vehicle company might be looking for a new partner – possibly a Bavarian one. In a new interview with Germany's Der Spiegel, CEO Elon Musk confirmed that he has had talks with BMW execs about future collaboration. "We are talking about whether we can collaborate in battery technology or charging stations," Musk said in the interview, according to Reuters. However, a Tesla spokesperson has tempered things by saying no formal agreements are in place at the moment. In the same interview, Musk reportedly praised BMW's use of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic in its i sub-brand offerings, and said he would like to have a battery factory in Germany in the next five or six years. The possibility of technological cooperation between Tesla and BMW has been a hot topic this year. In June, Musk reportedly met with BMW execs, and the two companies were also rumored to have met with Nissan to discuss charging technology. When Daimler sold off its shares, there was talk of it opening the way for possible collaboration between the two automakers, as well.

Germany is finally getting serious about self-driving cars

Germany cleared the way for its giant automotive industry to develop and test self-driving cars, when the upper house of its parliament approved on Friday a law setting out the conditions under which they could take to German roads. Under the law, first mooted by Chancellor Angela Merkel last year, a driver must be sitting behind the wheel at all times ready to take back control if prompted to do so by the autonomous vehicle. Germany is home to some of the world's largest car companies, including Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW, all of which are investing heavily in a technology seen by transport minister Alexander Dobrindt as the "greatest mobility revolution since the invention of the car." That's not to say that German automakers have been standing still in the face of autonomous technology. VW recently outlined its vision for autonomous vehicles. BMW has already demonstrated self-driving vehicles in the United States, and Mercedes-Benz has partnered up with German auto supplier Bosch on autonomous technology. The new legislation allows German car companies to road-test vehicles in which drivers will be allowed to take their hands off the wheel and their eyes off the road to browse the web or check e-mails while the vehicle handles steering or braking autonomously. The legislation requires that a black box record the journey underway, logging whether the human driver or the car's self-piloting system was in charge at all moments of the ride. This will be crucial for apportioning blame in accidents. The driver will bear responsibility for accidents that take place under his or her watch, under the legislation, but if the self-driving system is in charge and a system failure is to blame, the manufacturer will be responsible. The law will be revised in two years' time in the light of technological developments, with data protection and the use of the data collected during rides a key point that has yet to be fully addressed. Companies around the globe are working on prototypes for self-driving vehicles, but such cars are not expected to be available for the mass market before 2020. (Reporting By Markus Wacket; Writing by Thomas Escritt; Editing by Toby Davis) Related Video: Image Credit: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Government/Legal Audi BMW Mercedes-Benz Volkswagen Technology Autonomous Vehicles