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Ruby celebrates 90 years of BMW Motorrad with special helmet collection

BMW isn't the only one celebrating its own 90th anniversary building motorbikes. So is Atelier Ruby, that French manufacturer of jewel-like motorcycle helmets.
Ruby has just released a capsule collection of helmets marking BMW Motorrad's 90th anniversary, and we want them almost as much as a Bimmer bike itself. The Munich 90 collection includes three new designs available in three helmet styles, including the signature blue and red stripes on a white background worn by BMWs of two wheels or four on the racing circuit.
Of course, these helmets, being made by Ruby as they are, won't come cheap, with jaw-dropping prices ranging from $980 to $1,450. Of course there are more cost-effective ways to protect your noggin, but few more stylish.

BMW M2 is proof good things come in small M-badged packages

BMW released the new M2 several months ago. But it wasn't until today that we got to see the new sport coupe in the metal here on the floor of the Detroit Auto Show. The spiritual successor to the legendary BMW 2002 Turbo from the 1970s, the new M2 packs a potent inline-six up front driving the rear wheels. That 3.0-liter turbo six is good for 365 horsepower and 343 pound-feet of torque, paired to either a six-speed manual or available seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. In a package weighing just 3,500 pounds (a little less with the stick, a more with the DCT), that's enough to send the M2 from a standstill to 60 miles per hour in as little as 4.2 seconds (4.4 with the manual) and on to an electronically limited top speed of 155 miles per hour. That's enough to make us forget all about the M235i that packs 45 fewer horsepower and the previous 1 Series M Coupe with 30 less – and makes us second-guess the prospect of the costlier M4 and its 60-horse advantage. Throw in other goodies like 19-inch Michelin Pilot Super Sport rubber, an active differential, and a seriously aggressive-looking body kit, and the new M2 suddenly looks like a world-beater that we can hardly wait to drive. BMW at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) 2016 in Detroit. BMW is set to enter its anniversary year of 2016 on a powerful note. With the centenary of its founding just around the corner, the company is using the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), taking place in Detroit from 11 – 24 January, to host the world premieres of the new BMW M2 and BMW X4 M40i performance models. Joining the two new cars at the stand will be the trailblazing BMW i models and innovative services covering every aspect of electric mobility. BMW ConnectedDrive, meanwhile, is showcasing its latest range of applications and systems, such as Remote Control Parking. The BMW Group's successful involvement in North America dates back more than 40 years. Bayerische Motorenwerke has been represented in the USA by its subsidiary BMW of North America since 1975, and the company went on to build its own production facility in Spartanburg, South Carolina in 1992.

BMW reminds us what made the original M3 so great

Just because many are slavering for the global debut of the 2016 BMW M2 at the Detroit Motor Show doesn't mean BMW will let us forget the coupe that gave the letter "M" its global moxie: the M3. The Roundel has posted the first in a five-part series devoted to that seminal M, the 1987-1991 E30. Built as a homologation requirement for the race car BMW needed to beat Mercedes 190E 2.3/16V in the German Touring Car Championship, it was 1.5 times more expensive than the 325i of the time and company sales heads had doubts about being able to sell all 5,000 of them. As we know, that story had a happy ending. The first models came with a 2.3-liter four-cylinder with 195 horsepower, a chopped and tuned combination of the four-cylinder M10 block first used in 1962 and in Formula 1, with a cylinder head from the six-cylinder M88 that did duty in the M1. By the time the M3 Sport Evolution models marked the end of the first-gen production run, displacement had risen to 2.5 literz and output to 238 hp, but more important than those numbers were the phenomenal handling and relentless race victories. You should definitely check out the video above for BMW's peek into the backstory of the fourth M car after the M1, M535i, M635 CSi, and M5, and arguably most important. But if your M-centric tastebuds prefer a more modern take on the German brand's most driver-friendly vehicles, take a look at the videos below. Related Video: