1.
Touring car racing
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Touring car racing is an auto racing competition with heavily modified road-going cars. It is popular in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Britain, Germany, Sweden, while not as fast as Formula One, the similarity of the cars both to each other and to fans own vehicles makes for entertaining, well-supported racing. Aerodynamic aids are added to the front and rear of the cars. Regulations are usually designed to limit costs by banning some of the exotic technologies available. Touring cars share some similarity with American stock car racing governed by NASCAR, however, touring cars are, at least notionally, derived from production cars while todays NASCAR vehicles are based on a common design. For the casual observer, there can be a deal of confusion when it comes to classifying closed-wheel racing cars as touring cars or sports cars. In truth, there is very little technical difference between the two classifications, and nomenclature is often a matter of tradition. Touring cars are based upon family cars, while GT racing cars are based upon more powerful and expensive sports cars. More recently, there has been a push to make GT cars closer to the road cars with the GT3 set of regulations. Most sports car championships only allow rear-wheel drive cars, while touring cars generally have a lower technical level than sports cars, there are some exceptions. Over time Touring Cars has drifted from its role as racing cars based on road cars with categories like NASCAR. This in turn has led to the rise of Production car racing to fulfil the role performed by Touring Cars. Worldwide Modern World Touring Car Championship started in 2005, evolving from the reborn European Touring Car Championship, running at major international racing facilities, this series is supported by BMW, SEAT and Chevrolet. The latter fields a team, whereas the other two only sell racing kits to be installed on their cars, providing technical support to their customers. In 2011 Volvo also entered the championship, fielding a team as an evaluation for a possible heavier commitment to the series. The World Touring Car Championship features 1. 6-litre cars built to Super 2000 regulations based on FIA Group N, following the trend of recent FIA rules, cost control is a major theme in the technical regulation. In 2011 the rules concerning the engine capacity have changed, switching from 2000 cc to 1600 cc turbo engines, Cars equipped with the old 2000 cc engines are still eligible in the championship. Many technologies that have featured in production cars are not allowed, for example, variable valve timing, variable geometry, ABS brakes
2.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
3.
BMW
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Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, usually known under its abbreviation BMW, is a German luxury vehicle, motorcycle, and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It is one of the luxury automakers in the world. The company is a component of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index, headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, BMW owns Mini cars and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW was established as a business entity following a restructuring of the Rapp Motorenwerke aircraft manufacturing firm in 1912 named Aerowerke Gustav Otto, after the end of World War I in 1918, BMW was forced to cease aircraft-engine production by the terms of the Versailles Armistice Treaty. The company consequently shifted to production as the restrictions of the treaty started to be lifted in 1923. BMWs first significant aircraft engine, and commercial product of any sort, was the BMW IIIa inline-six liquid-cooled engine of 1918, known for good fuel economy, with German rearmament in the 1930s, the company again began producing aircraft engines for the Luftwaffe. The factory in Munich made ample use of forced labour, foreign civilians, prisoners of war, the few Me 262 A-1b test examples built used the more developed version of the 003 jet, recording an official top speed of 800 km/h. The first-ever four-engine jet aircraft flown were the sixth and eighth prototypes of the Arado Ar 234 jet reconnaissance-bomber. Through 1944 the 003s reliability improved, making it a power plant for air frame designs competing for the Jägernotprogramms light fighter production contract. Which was won by the Heinkel He 162 Spatz design, the BMW003 aviation turbojet was also under consideration as the basic starting point for a pioneering turboshaft powerplant for German armored fighting vehicles in 1944–45, as the GT101. Towards the end of the Third Reich, BMW developed some military aircraft projects for the Luftwaffe, the BMW Strahlbomber, the BMW Schnellbomber and the BMW Strahljäger, but none of them were built. By the year 1958, the division of BMW was in financial difficulties. It was decided to carry on by trying to cash in on the current economy car boom exploited so successfully by German ex-aircraft manufacturers such as Messerschmitt, BMW bought the rights to manufacture the Italian Iso Isetta. BMWs version of the cars were to be powered by a modified form of BMWs motorcycle engine. This was moderately successful and helped the company get back on its feet, since 1959, the controlling majority shareholder of the BMW Aktiengesellschaft has been the Quandt family, which owns about 46% of the stock. The rest is in public float, BMW acquired the Hans Glas company based in Dingolfing, Germany, in 1966. Glas vehicles were badged as BMW until the company was fully absorbed. However, this factory was outmoded and BMWs biggest immediate gain was, according to themselves, the Glas factories continued to build a limited number of their existing models, while adding the manufacture of BMW front and rear axles until they could be closer incorporated into BMW
4.
Motorsport
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The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two-wheeled motorised vehicles under the banner of motorcycle racing, and includes off-road racing such as motocross. Four- wheeled motorsport competition is governed by the Fédération Internationale de lAutomobile. In 1894, a French newspaper organised a race from Paris to Rouen and back, in 1900, the Gordon Bennett Cup was established. Closed circuit racing arose as open road racing, on roads, was banned. Brooklands was the first dedicated motor racing track in the United Kingdom, following World War I, European countries organised Grand Prix races over closed courses. In the United States, dirt track racing became popular, after World War II, the Grand Prix circuit became more formally organised. In the United States, stock car racing and drag racing became firmly established, motorsports ultimately became divided by types of motor vehicles into racing events, and their appropriate organisations. Open-wheel racing is a set of classes of vehicles, with their wheels outside of. However, in North America, the IndyCar series is their pinnacle open-wheeled racing series, more recently, new open-wheeled series have been created, originating in Europe, which omit the Formula moniker, such as GP2 and GP3. Former Formula series include Formula 5000 and Formula Two, the formula regulations contain a very strict set of rules which govern vehicle power, weight and size. In the United States, Indy Car is a class of single seat paved track racing and its premier race is the Indianapolis 500. Enclosed wheel racing is a set of classes of vehicles, where the wheels are primarily enclosed inside the bodywork of the vehicle, sports car racing is a set of classes of vehicles, over a closed course track, including sports cars, and specialised racing types. The premiere race is the 24 Hours of Le Mans which takes place annually in France during the month of June, sports car racing rules and specifications differentiate in North America from established international sanctioning bodies. Stock car racing is a set of vehicles, that race over a speedway track, while once stock cars, the vehicles are now purpose built, but resemble the body design and shape of production cars. NASCAR was organised in 1947, to flat track oval racing of production cars. Daytona Beach and Road Course was founded where land speed records were set on the beach, touring car racing is a set of vehicles, modified street cars, that race over closed purpose built race tracks and street courses. Motorsport was an event at the 1900 Summer Olympics
5.
BMW 02 Series
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The BMW02 Series is a range of compact executive cars produced by German automaker BMW between 1966 and 1977, based on a shortened version of the New Class Sedans. The 02 Series caught enthusiasts attention and established BMW as an international brand, the first 02 Series produced was the 1600-2 in 1966. In 1975, the 02 Series was replaced by the E213 Series, the 1600-2, as the first 02 Series BMW was designated, was an entry-level BMW, and was smaller, less expensive, and less well-appointed than the New Class Sedan on which it was based. BMWs design director Wilhelm Hofmeister assigned the project to staff designers Georg Bertram. The 23 cm shorter length and wheelbase and lighter weight of the sedan made it more suitable than the original New Class sedan for sporting applications. As a result, the two door sedan became the basis of the sporting 02 Series, beginning in 1968, a convertible based on the 02 body was built by Karosserie Baur. A hatchback, called the Touring model, was developed from the 02 body, only 25,827 Touring models were sold, therefore the models were discontinued in 1974. The 1600-2 made its debut at the Geneva auto show in March 1966 and was sold through 1975, the 1.6 L M10 engine produced 63 kW at 5,700 rpm and 130 N·m at 3,500 rpm. In 1968, Road & Track declared the US$26761600 a great automobile for the price, a high performance version, the 1600 TI, was introduced in September 1967. With a compression ratio of 9.5,1 and the dual Solex PHH side-draft carburettor system from the 1800 TI, kerb weight for the 1600 TI is 960 kg. The 1600 TI was not sold in the United States, as it did not meet their emission standards, also introduced in September 1967 was a limited-production cabriolet, which would be produced by Baur from 1967 through 1971. A hatchback 1600 Touring model was introduced in 1971 but was discontinued in 1972, helmut Werner Bönsch, BMWs director of product planning, and Alex von Falkenhausen, designer of the M10 engine, each had a two litre engine installed in a 1600-2 for their respective personal use. When they realized they had made the same modification to their own cars, they prepared a joint proposal to BMWs board to manufacture a two litre version of the 1600-2. At the same time, American importer Max Hoffman was asking BMW for a version of the 02 series that could be sold in the United States. The 2002 Automatic, with the engine and a ZF 3HP123 speed automatic transmission. In 1971, the Baur cabriolet was switched from the 1.6 L engine to the 2, the 2002 tii used the fuel-injected 97 kW engine from the 2000 tii, which resulted in a top speed of 185 km/h. A2002 tii Touring model was available throughout the run of the tii engine, the 2002 Turbo was launched at the 1973 Frankfurt Motor Show. This was BMWs first turbocharged production car and the first turbocharged car since General Motors brief offerings in the early 1960s and it produced 127 kW at 5,800 rpm, with 240 N·m of torque
6.
Silverstone Circuit
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Silverstone Circuit is a motor racing circuit in England next to the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. The circuit straddles the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire border, with the current main circuit entry on the Buckinghamshire side, the Northamptonshire towns of Towcester and Brackley and Buckinghamshire town of Buckingham are close by, and the nearest large towns are Northampton and Milton Keynes. Silverstone is the current home of the British Grand Prix, which it first hosted in 1948, the 1950 British Grand Prix at Silverstone was the first race in the newly created World Championship of Drivers. The race rotated between Silverstone, Aintree and Brands Hatch from 1955 to 1986, but relocated permanently to Silverstone in 1987, the circuit also hosts the British round of the MotoGP series. However, the Donington Park leaseholders suffered economic problems resulting in the BRDC signing a 17-year deal with Ecclestone to hold the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Silverstone is built on the site of a World War II Royal Air Force bomber station, RAF Silverstone, the airfields three runways, in classic WWII triangle format, lie within the outline of the present track. Silverstone was first used for motorsport by an ad hoc group of friends who set up a race in September 1947. One of their members, Maurice Geoghegan, lived in nearby Silverstone village and was aware that the airfield was deserted and he and eleven other drivers raced over a two-mile circuit, during the course of which Geoghegan himself ran over a sheep that had wandered onto the airfield. The sheep was killed and the car written off, and in the aftermath of this event the race became known as the Mutton Grand Prix. The next year the Royal Automobile Club took a lease on the airfield and their first two races were held on the runways themselves, with long straights separated by tight hairpin corners, the track demarcated by hay bales. However, for the 1949 International Trophy meeting, it was decided to switch to the perimeter track and this arrangement was used for the 1950 and 1951 Grands Prix. In 1952 the start line was moved from the Farm Straight to the straight linking Woodcote and Copse corners, for the 1975 meeting a chicane was introduced to try to tame speeds through the mighty Woodcote Corner, and Bridge Corner was subtly rerouted in 1987. The track underwent a major redesign between the 1990 and 1991 races, transforming the ultra-fast track into a technical track. The reshaped tracks first F1 race was perhaps the most memorable of recent years, following the deaths of Senna and fellow Grand Prix driver Roland Ratzenberger at Imola in 1994, many Grand Prix circuits were modified in order to reduce speed and increase driver safety. As a consequence of this the entry from Hangar Straight into Stowe Corner was modified in 1995 so as to make its entry less dangerous, in addition, the flat-out Abbey kink was modified to a chicane in just 19 days before the 1994 GP. Parts of the circuit, such as the grid, are 17 metres wide. After a new pit building, the Silverstone Wing, was completed in time for the 2011 race, almost flat out, the right-hander of Abbey leads immediately into the left-hander of Farm before cars brake heavily into the second gear, right-handed turn three, Village Corner. Turn 6, the left hander of Brooklands, is taken by drivers in second gear and leads immediately into Luffield, another second gear curve, a right-hand hairpin
7.
Brands Hatch
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Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit near Swanley in Kent, England. First used as a dirt track circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently hosts many British and International racing events. Gerhard Berger once said that Brands Hatch is the best circuit in the world, Paddock Hill Bend is a renowned corner. The longer Grand Prix layout played host to Formula One racing, including such as Jo Sifferts duel with Chris Amon in 1968. Noise restrictions and the proximity of residents to the Grand Prix loop mean that the number of race meetings held on the extended circuit are limited to just a few per year. The full Grand Prix Circuit begins on the Brabham Straight, an off-camber, slightly curved stretch, despite the difficulty of the curve, due to the straight that precedes it, it is one of the tracks few overtaking spots. The next corner, Druids, is a bend, negotiated after an uphill braking zone at Hailwood Hill. After the straight, the circuit climbs uphill though the decreasing-radius Surtees turn, the most significant elevation changes on the circuit occur here at Pilgrims Drop and Hawthorn Hill, which leads into Hawthorn Bend. The track then loops around the woodland with a series of mid-speed corners, most notably the dip at Westfield and Dingle Dell, the British Rallycross Circuit at Brands Hatch was designed and constructed by four-times British Rallycross Champion Trevor Hopkins. 0.9 miles long and completed around 1981, unlike earlier rallycross courses at Brands Hatch, cars start on the startline then veer right and downhill on the loose at Paddock Hill Bend. From Cooper Straight, the cars swoop up the old link road, Brands Hatch was originally the name of a natural grassy hollow that was shaped like a amphitheatre. Using the natural contours of the land, many cyclists from around London practised, raced, the first actual race on the circuit was held in 1926, over 4 miles between cyclists and cross-country runners. Within a few years, motorcyclists were using the circuit, laying out a three-quarter-mile anti-clockwise track in the valley. They also saw the advantage of competing in a natural arena just a few hundred yards from the A20, and with the passage of time, the first motorcycle races were very informal with much of the organisation being done on the spot. Initially the racing was on a strip approximately where Cooper Straight came to be when the track was tarmacked. In 1932, four local motorcycling clubs joined forces and staged their first meeting that March, motorcycle racing quickly resumed after World War II and in 1947, Joe Francis persuaded the BBC to televise a grass track meeting, the first motorcycle event to be televised on British TV. Following World War II, cinders were laid on the track of what was by then known as Brands Hatch Stadium and that was until 1950 when the 500 Club managed to persuade Joe Francis, that the future for his stadium lay in car and motorcycle road racing. The group behind 500 c. c. single-seater racing cars was the 500 Club and it, together with the owners, amongst those giving the demonstration was a very young Stirling Moss
8.
British Touring Car Championship
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The British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by TOCA. It was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and was renamed as the British Touring Car Championship in 1987. The championship has run to various national and international regulations over the years including FIA Group 2, FIA Group 5, FIA Group 1, FIA Group A, FIA Super Touring. A lower-key Group N series for production cars ran from 2000 until 2003, the championship was initially run with a mix of classes, divided according to engine capacity, racing simultaneously. The new one-class system was popular with manufacturers from the beginning with six manufacturer supported teams from BMW, Ford, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Toyota, to this day, the super touring era during the 1990s is still looked at as the most successful period of the BTCC. The high number of manufacturer-backed teams provided very close competition, close and hard fought racing on track, in order to reduce the costs to compete in the championship, the organisers introduced new regulations for the 2001 season. The BTC Touring regulations cut costs dramatically but both manufacturer and spectator interest was low, however, the Super 2000 rules were observed for the overall championship from the 2007 season. The 2000s saw cheaper cars than the later Supertouring era, with factory teams. In 2009, the BTCC released details of its Next Generation Touring Car specification, the NGTC specification also aimed to cut costs by reducing reliance on WTCC/S2000 equipment, due to increasing costs/complexity and concerns as to its future sustainability and direction. Currently, the cars used are a mix of 2, S2000 cars continued running in the Jack Sears Trophy until the 2014 season. BTCC teams are a mixture of manufacturer entries and independent teams such as BTC Norlin, in 2010, following Vauxhalls decision to pull out of the series, there were two new works teams, Chevrolet, run by RML, and Honda, run by Team Dynamics. This included finishing all 30 championship races that year, something no other driver has achieved before or since and this ended Vauxhalls run of 4 victories in the drivers and teams championships between 2001 and 2004. Neal and Dynamics were also victorious in 2006, before Vauxhall won the 2007 title with Italian Fabrizio Giovanardi. Team Dynamics also achieved the first overall race win in the Supertouring era when Neal won a round of the 1999 BTCC at Donington park. These cost reductions saw a rise in independent entries – teams or individuals entering cars purchased from the teams when they update their chassis. With the introduction of the NGTC rules, all share a number of common components provided through a contract with RML Group. This has allowed many independent teams to enter without the need for manufacturer support, and negating the need to source ex-works cars. Teams can install an engine from their marques broad family of cars, or opt to lease an engine from TOCA, to further keep costs in check, the BTCC uses a single tyre supplier, with Dunlop the current supplier of rubber to all the teams
9.
Oulton Park
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Oulton Park Circuit is a motor racing track in the small village of Little Budworth, Cheshire, England. It is about 5 miles from Winsford,13 miles from Chester city centre,8 miles from Northwich and 17 miles from Warrington with a rail connection along the Mid-Cheshire Line. It occupies much of the area which was known as the Oulton Estate. The track is set in the grounds of Oulton Hall, which were used as a staging camp by General Patton prior to the Normandy landings. At this time the famous boxer Joe Louis gave exhibition bouts at Oulton Park in the vicinity of the Deer Leap section of the circuit, the track is characterised by rapidly changing gradients, blind crests and several tight corners. The full circuit is 2.8 mi, the highest part of the course is Hill Top. Paddock facilities are reasonable in size with large areas of hard-standing, the race track can be adapted for shorter courses. The British Touring Car Championships uses all of the Cascades Corner and Lakeside and this hairpin cuts out all of the Island section of the circuit and takes the cars straight back over Hill Top. Beginning in 2007, all the circuits marshalling stations were redesigned with protective cages and this was to prevent incidents similar to those seen in the 2006 season when cars had collided with marshalling posts. A cage-protected marshals station was built at the bottom of the back straight near the chicane preceding Knickerbrook. In the early 18th Century the Oulton Estate comprised a manor house, by the end of the century this farmland was converted into a park, which now is the site of Oulton Park. Some buildings that were part of the estate still exist to this day, by the early 1950s England had a goodly number of motor racing tracks but the northwest was not well served. The members of the Mid-Cheshire Car Club took it on themselves to rectify the situation, the circuit they developed was on the estate of the Grey-Egerton family. With Sir Philip Gray-Egertons permission, a circuit was mapped out starting early in 1953 and by August the new track was in existence, measuring a sinuous 1.504 miles, almost rectangle in shape. The main event of the day as the 33-lap 49. 6-mile Formula Two race which was won by Tony Rolt driving Rob Walker’s Connaught A Type, the supporting Formula III event was divided into three 10-lap heats and a 17-lap final which went to Les Leston. It was a joint motorcycle and car event, the Wirral 100 Motor Club joining the Mid-Cheshire Car Club in organising it, the car side of the day was confined to three Formula III races and a final which was won by Glaswegian Ninian Sanderson from Ken Tyrrell. By April 1954, the track had grown to 2.23 miles in length, at Easter 1975, another circuit layout measuring 1.654 miles came into use. Oulton Park is unique amongst the new post-World War II circuits in that it is true road circuit whilst its contemporaries were, with one exception, converted airfields
10.
Mallory Park
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Mallory Park is a motor racing circuit situated in the village of Kirkby Mallory, just off the A47, between Leicester and Hinckley, in central England. Originally used for grass-track until 1955, a new, basically oval hard-surfaced course was constructed for 1956, with the car circuit measuring only 1.35 miles it is amongst the shortest permanent race circuits in the UK. However, chicanes introduced to reduce speeds in motorcycle events mean that the Superbike Circuit is now slightly longer, shorter UK circuits are Lydden Hill, Brands Hatch Indy circuit, Scotlands Knockhill and Silverstones diminutive Stowe circuit. The circuit has a number of formations, founded on a basic one-mile oval, with the majority of configurations including the extension to the tight. At the other end of the lies the long right-hand Gerards Bend. Gerards is about a third of a long and turns through nearly 200°. It was named after local racing hero Bob Gerard, who opened the newly reconstructed circuit on 25 April 1956, unusually, there are a number of large lakes occupying approximately half of the circuit infield. Despite its short length and Shaws Hairpin, the tightest corner of any UK track, to reduce speeds for motorcycle racing a pair of chicanes have been introduced, together with a revised exit to Gerards. In 2003 a new complex was added toward the end of Gerards curve and this sequence of bends was designed to reduce speeds on entry to Edwinas, and to prevent motorcycles from colliding as they jockey for position into the chicane. Mallory Park does not have any true permanent garage facilities, although there are a handful of open garages in the pitlane. The estate at Mallory Park has many connections, the oldest being the unique Anglo-Saxons defended moat which is now known as Kirkby Moats. Fast forward to the 18th century, when in 1762, Sir Cleoberry Noel became Viscount Wentworth, the title descended on the distaff side. Lord Byron married into the Wentworth family and it is said on his visits to Mallory, the last occupant of Kirkby Hall was Herbert Clarkson who died in 1941, when it was sold. During the Second World War, the circuit started life Royal Air Force Station Kirkby Mallory, a standby landing ground during WWII and closed in 1947. The hall was a house which was demolished in 1952, leaving only the stable block. The estate of 300 acres was sold by auction in 1953 and was bought by a Mr. Moult of Derby who planned to have horse racing on the disused pony trotting track. Following the war, Mallory became a pony trotting circuit in the late 1940s, after the financial collapse of the equestrian club responsible for the circuit, the track was hired by various motorcycle clubs for grass track motorcycle and motorcycle sidecar racing. For example, between September 1949 until 1954, the Leicester Query Motorcycle Club held grass track races, in 1955, the estate was purchased by Clive Wormleighton, under whose influence, the present tarmac was constructed at a cost of £60,000 in 1956
11.
BMW i
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The BMW i is a sub-brand of BMW founded in 2011 to design and manufacture plug-in electric vehicles. The companys initial plans call for the release of two vehicles, the i3 all-electric car and the i8 plug-in hybrid, concept versions of both these vehicles were shown at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show. Series production of the BMW i3 destined for retail customers began in September 2013, the BMW i8 was launched in Germany in June 2014. The United States, Norway, Germany, and the UK are the markets for both models. In February 2016, BMW announced the introduction of the model designation. The aim is to provide an indicator of the transfer of technology from BMW i to the BMW core brand. BMW i sales reached the 50,000 unit milestone in January 2016, global i3 sales achieved the 50,000 unit milestone in July 2016. Combined global sales of BMW i and iPerformance plug-in hybrid models achieved the 100,000 unit milestone in early November 2016, BMWs leading electrified model is the i3 with more than 60,000 units sold globally. Two years after its introduction, the BMW i3 became the worlds third best selling all-electric car. BMWs Project i is a program created to develop lightweight eco-friendly urban electric car designed to address the mobility and sustainability needs for people who live in megacities. According to BMW, Project i has three phases, the Mini E demonstration was the first phase of this project, and it was followed by a similar field testing that began in January 2012 with the BMW ActiveE all-electric vehicle. The ActiveE was based on the BMW1 Series Coupe and built considering the lessons learned from the Mini E trial, the last phase of Project i was the development of the i3 and i8 electric cars. BMW expected high sales of the i3 to allow the company to continue selling several of its high-performance cars with low fuel economy in the U. S. In February 2011, BMW announced a new sub-brand, BMW i, BMW i vehicles are to be sold separately from BMW or Mini. Production of both electric cars was scheduled to start in Leipzig in 2013. Global i3 sales passed the 25,000 unit milestone in May 2015, combined global sales of the BMW i brand models passed the 30,000 mark in June 2015, and the 50,000 unit milestone in January 2016. Global sales of the BMW i3 achieved the 50,000 unit milestone in July 2016, BMWs next electric development is expected to be the self-driving iNext in 2021. The first BMW i store opened in June 2012 at BMW’s London Park Lane showroom, the carmaker premiered an updated version of the BMW i3 concept electric car and unveiled its i Pedelec electric bicycle concept
12.
BMW M
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BMW M GmbH is a subsidiary of German car manufacturer BMW AG. BMW M, M was initially created to facilitate BMW’s racing program, as time passed, BMW M began to supplement BMWs vehicles portfolio with specially modified higher trim models, for which they are now most known by the general public. These M-badged cars traditionally include modified engines, transmissions, suspensions, interior trims, aerodynamics, all M models are tested and tuned at BMWs private facility at the Nürburgring racing circuit in Germany. BMW M also remains the only performance based company to cater motorcycles at the same time, established in May 1972 with 35 employees, it grew to 400 employees by 1988, and is currently an integral part of BMWs market presence. The first racing project was BMW’s 3.0 CSL, after the success of BMW M products like BMW3.0 CSL in racing venues and the growing market for high performance sports cars, M introduced cars for sale to the public. The first official M-badged car for sale to the public was the M1, the M1, however, was more of a racecar in domestic trim than an everyday driver. The direction of the M cars changed with the 1979 release of the M535i, BMW Motorsport GmbH supplied the 6. At present, BMW M has offered modified versions of nearly every BMW nameplate, except for the Z1,7 Series flagship luxury sedan and the X1 and X3 compact crossover SUVs. So far the unofficial BMW M7 is the Alpina B7, which is produced on BMWs assembly line though its engine, the BMW X5 and X6 sport activity vehicles received M derivatives for the 2010 model year onwards. These are the first M vehicles with xDrive four-wheel drive and automatic transmissions, however, the E70 and E71 X5 and X6 M were actually developed by BMW Group rather than by BMW M. Although these are considered the most well known in-house tuning divisions, BMW M has emphasized tuning only vehicles with Lateral agility, while AMG has created high-performance versions of many of its nameplates, including flagship sedans and SUVs. Accordingly, an M car has to be responsive and fundamentally keen on turning as well as accelerating, the M5s technical spec is all about connecting the driver to a car that reacts blindingly fast, whatever request the driver hands down. BMW M vehicles typically used manuals and semi-automatic transmissions, in contrast to Mercedes-AMG which largely has automatic transmissions, however, the BMW X5 M and X6 M were the first M-vehicles offered with automatic transmission, a 6-speed Steptronic unit, since this works with xDrive. BMW M engines were traditionally large displacement naturally aspirated high revving engines, particularly the S85 V10 in the E60 M5 and E63 M6 and the related S65 V8 in the E90 M3. As late as the early 2000s, BMW regarded forced-induction as low-tech shortcuts to boosting horsepower, stating that this adds weight and complexity while reducing throttle response. Starting with the X5 M and X6 M, and featured in the F10 M5, BMW used the twin-turbocharged S63 which not only produces more horsepower and torque, but is also more efficient than the S85 V10. Also unlike the S85 and S65 which do not share a design with non-M BMW engines, at the present, BMW has not considered supercharging yet. There are several BMW models which BMW Motorsport made changes on and this succession of styling and performance cues came from BMW Motorsports, e. g. BMW 530i M packet or 325i M packet etc
