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BMW Motorad reveals Concept Stunt G 310 in Brazil

BMW has been on a bit of a concept motorcycle bent lately, and each has taken a decidedly different approach from one another. The Motorad division did the Path 22 scrambler concept in June, the Concept 101 custom bagger in May, the Concept Roadster last year, and the Concept 90 retro racer the year before. Now it's at it again with the Concept Stunt G 310. As you might have guessed, the G 310 is a stunt bike. Its compact form is built around a single-cylinder engine canted rearwards with a rotated cylinder head to help optimize the weight balance. The intake was moved forward and the exhaust towards the rear, mounted under the seat, to enable the rider's freedom of movement. It has long travel in the suspension, but still rides on a short wheelbase – perfect for impressing the crowds. To that end, it was designed with collaboration from four-time stunt riding champion Chris Pfeiffer. It's also got a lockable throttle so the rider can take his hands off the controls (not advisable for the rest of us). The beefed-up secondary rear brake can be actuated by a squeeze of the finger. Axle pegs allow for additional foot-placement options, red crash bars protect the mechanical elements, and a specially designed "stunt tail" is milled from solid aluminum and provides an additional foot-hold. The shape is adorned with an eye-catching neon livery designed to give the impression of movement, even when it's sitting still. The bike will be unveiled in Sao Paulo, Brazil, at South America's preeminent motorcycle show. BMW Concept Stunt G 310 – Street. Style. Stunt. 06.10.2015 Munich/Sao Paulo. With the world premiere of the BMW Concept Stunt G 310 at South America's largest motorcycle show, BMW Motorrad is presenting a completely new side: the uncompromising interpretation of an aggressive and agile stunt bike based on a single cylinder study. Thanks to his experience as a four-times World and European stunt riding champion, Chris Pfeiffer, contributed to the realisation of the BMW Concept Stunt 310. "Stunt riding is a demanding and multi-faceted sport. Ideally you need a compact, agile bike which is also stable and robust at the same time. You have to achieve the ideal balance between aggressiveness and control", explains Chris Pfeiffer. Compact proportions, highest-level agility.

BMW negotiates Daimler alliance, buys out car-service partner Sixt

Sixt sells its stake in DriveNow car-sharing to BMW BMW in talks with Daimler to combine car-sharing Combining car-sharing business to aid robotaxi plans FRANKFURT — Germany's BMW has bought out partner Sixt from their joint venture DriveNow, paving the way for a broader car-sharing and driverless taxi alliance with Daimler to compete against Uber and Lyft. Car rental company Sixt said on Monday it would generate an extraordinary pre-tax profit of about 200 million euros ($248 million) in 2018 from the sale of the DriveNow stake to BMW for 209 million euros. "With DriveNow as a wholly-owned subsidiary, we have all options for continued strategic development of our services," said Peter Schwarzenbauer, BMW's board member for Digital Business Innovation. "Our experience with mobility services supports our development of future autonomous, electrified and connected fleets," he said, adding that BMW aims to have 100 million customers for "premium mobility services" by 2025. The Sixt deal comes as BMW moves closer to a deal to combine its car-sharing services with Daimler's Car2Go, a person familiar with the discussions told Reuters last week. The German carmakers want to build a joint business that includes car sharing, ride-hailing, electric vehicle charging, and digital parking services, a senior executive at one of the companies said on Monday. Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler and BMW declined comment on the status of potential talks on their car-sharing business. "This is speculation, we do not comment," BMW said. The senior executive, who declined to be named because the plan is not public, said: "This will create an ecosystem which can also be used for managing robotaxi (driverless taxi) fleets." BMW would contribute its ParkNow and ChargeNow businesses to the common company, the executive said, adding that there were still differences of opinion over the valuation of Car2Go. The market for ride-hailing services currently makes up around 33 percent of the global taxi market, and could grow eightfold to $285 billion by 2030, once autonomous robotaxis are in operation, Goldman Sachs said in a recent research note. BMW and Daimler are now working on developing autonomous cars, vehicles which could enable them to up-end the market for taxi and ride-hailing services.

2016 BMW 7 Series slims down, techs up

BMW is finally pulling the wraps off its sixth-generation 7 Series. The flagship boasts a ton of improvements for 2016, including a smattering of onboard tech and weight reduction of 190 pounds. The 7 Series uses a new internal structure called Carbon Core. Derived from the i sub-brand, Carbon Core uses a mix of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic and ultra-high-tensile steel for the 7's major structural components. It's largely responsible for the 190-pound weight reduction, along with the aluminum doors and trunk lid. The weight savings has allowed BMW to maintain a fifty-fifty weight distribution. That new structure underpins the largest sedan BMW has ever produced. At 206.6 inches in total, the long-wheelbase-only 7 Series is over an inch longer than its predecessor. Its 124.6-inch wheelbase and 74.9-inch width, though, remain unchanged. Even with such a modest increase in size, BMW is claiming best-in-class rear legroom, at 44.4 inches – a tenth of an inch more than the current 7. Unlike the old car, though, this new 7 Series gets with the times in terms of chauffeur equipment. The front passenger seat can be slid forward and folded, allowing a lucky rear passenger to take advantage of the new pop-out footrest and optional 42.5-degree seat incline, available as part of the Rear Executive Lounge Seating Package. iDrive now adds a number of 3D sensors that respond to pre-programed hand motions. The 7 Series will debut here in the United States with two engines, both of which should be familiar to BMW consumers. There's a 320-horsepower, 3.0-liter, turbocharged six-cylinder in the nose of the 740i, and a 4.4-liter, twin-turbocharged V8 with 445 hp on tap in the 750i xDrive. 60 miles per hour arrives in a relaxed 5.4 seconds for the 740i and 4.3 seconds in the V8 model. Once again, ZF provides the eight-speed automatic transmission used with both engines. Joining the 740i and 750i is the new 740e xDrive. The plug-in-hybrid sedan is motivated by a 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder and an electric motor, and is capable of 23 miles per charge and speeds of up to 75 miles per hour in pure electric mode. Tthere's no shortage of tech on the latest 7 Series. While we're familiar with some items, like active grille shutters and BMW's Air Breather system, it's items like the gesture-control-equipped iDrive 5.0 that pique our interest. Alongside the new and standard touchscreen, iDrive now adds a number of 3D sensors that respond to pre-programed hand motions.