2001 Bmw X5 4.4 on 2040-cars

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BMW Z8, Lambo LM002 sell for $192,500 apiece in Detroit [w/poll]

Think a car are a bad investment? That all depends on what kind of car you're talking about. Because while most cars depreciate in value as soon as you drive them off the lot, others can do even better than hold their value. The cars that appreciate tend to be pretty high-end exotics, but they don't have to be multi-million-dollar classics to command a premium at auction. Just look at the results from RM Sotheby's Motor City sale in Detroit this past weekend. The auction house moved a solid $7.4 million worth of metal, which is pretty impressive when you consider that – unlike events at Lake Como or Pebble Beach – not one of the lots dipped into seven figures. 1930s-era American classics performed the strongest, with Duesenbergs, Packards, Auburns and the like all fetching hundreds of thousands. But what intrigued us most were the European exotics that rounded the top ten results. Amidst the Depression-era American steel were a BMW Z8 from 2001 and a 1988 Lamborghini LM002, each of which sold for an equal $192,500. Hardly the highest figures paid for European exotics this year, but considering how much they were worth just a few years ago, they've proven solid investments. BMW only made 5,703 examples of the Henrik Fisker-designed retro Z8, of which only 2,543 were brought to the United States, where they originally sold for $128,000. The most anyone had ever paid for one at auction, according to Sports Car Market, was $184,082, just this past March at Silverstone. That makes the price achieved this weekend a new record for one of the slinkiest vehicles the Bavarian automaker has ever made, representing an impressive 50-percent increase in value over the course of fourteen years. This particular example – chassis WBAEJ13481AH60437 for those keeping track – is decked out in silver over black, with less than 15,500 miles on the odometer. This Rambo Lambo was produced early in the 301-unit production run, with the sought-after carbureted engine and 32,000 miles on the clock. It didn't set any records at the same price, other examples of the LM002 having traded over the past few years for over $200k. But considering that Sant'Agata originally charged around $120-130k for the SUV when it was new, its selling price still represents about 50-percent appreciation (leaving inflation aside).

BMW pitting self-drifting car against drift champion

The BMW M235i certainly makes a capable drift machine. Last year, the Bavarian brand had five of them with the tail out in unison in South Africa for the Driftmob. The coupe even proved that it could slide without a driver's intervention. For the latest sideways stunt, the company wanted to know which was the better drifter: an autonomous car or a human. This clip is just the trailer for BMW's entire drift challenge video, and it seemingly gives away the ending of the whole thing. We're sure, though, that there must be something more to the stunt than what's on display here. The driverless Audi TTS from Stanford University was reportedly slightly faster than an amateur racer around Thunderhill Raceway Park recently, and BMW has also been working at this problem for years with things like its Track Trainer. Regardless of how you feel about driverless cars, it's amazing how quickly autonomous tech is progressing – even on the track. Related Video: News Source: BMW via YouTube BMW Technology Emerging Technologies Coupe Autonomous Vehicles Performance Videos drifting bmw m235i bmw connecteddrive

BMW Motorrad showcases Konzept eRR electric sport bike

At one end of the BMW spectrum are its electric vehicles like the i3 and i8. At the other, the motorcycles from BMW Motorrad. Now the Bavarian manufacturer is bringing those two areas of competence together in one vehicle. And it only has two weels. It's called the eRR, and it's an experimental electric motorcycle created in conjunction with the Technical University of Munich. It's based on the frame of the S 1000 RR sport bike, but ditches the 199-horsepower four-cylinder liter engine for an all-electric powertrain. Unfortunately, the company has yet to release any technical details, but promises it will do so at a later date. It's not the first time BMW Motorrad has tinkered with electric power. We've already seen the C Evolution electric scooter. But this is the first time it has packaged an electric motor into a sport bike this aggressive. If BMW were actually to build this thing, the eRR could prove a suitable foil to the Brammo/Victory Empulse, not to mention any other electric motorcycle that may find its way onto market in the coming years. BMW Motorrad presents the experimental vehicle eRR. Supersport dynamism and zero emission thanks to electric power. Munich. BMW Motorrad has a long tradition in pointing out new ways and thoughts for the topic „mobility on two wheels". For that, again and again many studies were presented in the past giving views to the future. The experimental vehicle eRR, created as a project with the Technical University of Munich, embodies an idea of an electric powered supersport motorcycle made by BMW Motorrad. Already a couple of years ago, BMW i showed the BMW Group's visionary and sustainable approach with the vehicles BMW i3 and i8 and their revolutionary design principles (aluminum chassis and passenger cabin made from carbon fibre) and BMW Motorrad's C evolution proved, that zero emission, riding fun and practicability do not exclude themselves. With presenting the experimental vehicle eRR BMW Motorrad goes one step forward and shows the possibilities of an all-electric drive in a supersport motorcycle. Regarding design and chassis technology the eRR leans on the supersport motorcycle S 1000 RR, however using an all-electric drive. Stephan Schaller, Head of BMW Motorrad, emphasizes: „Since their market launch, the RR is giving the creeps to motorsport athletes. If acceleration, handling or topspeed – the RR is setting standards.