BMW Concept M135i brings the entry level 1 Series

BMW puts a lot of stock into its 1 Series motor cars. As its entry level line, the 1 Series was meant to both eradicate the memory of the failed BMW Compact and to lead first-time BMW owners toward more prestigious performance models, such as the M class. The BMW Concept M135i, which is slated to be put before the public at the 2012 Geneva International Motor Show on March 7, 2012, is BMW's latest attempt to create a hot hatchback that combines and expands on both the 1 Series and the M lines.

A three-door compact, the M135i is unique in its vehicle class in that it is rear-wheel drive. It's also the first BMW M Performance car to feature a straight-six turbo-charged petrol engine producing 300 bhp. Like all BMW M Performance cars, this engine was specially designed for the M135i. It also has modified suspension technology, improved aerodynamic characteristics, an M sports braking system and 18-inch light alloy wheels with a double-spoke design.

But the centerpiece of the M135i is its design, which BMW describes as "emotional". Its stretched, low-slung appearance and wide doors tries to infuse a hot hatchback with the characteristics of an M-class car. Its front apron finished in Dark Shadow metallic deliberately draws attention to the M135i's width and the large intakes to cool the engine and brakes stand out with their three-dimensional flaps.

Dark chrome trim is also used on the rear apron that holds the M135i's dual tailpipes and the side mirrors are trimmed in Ferric Gray. Even the rear side panels have been designed to show off the flaring wheel arches.

The M135i certainly looks aggressive in a way one normally doesn't associate with three-door compacts. It's not quite the hot hatchback equivalent of their traditional M-class, but it does strive to look the part. Every line implies that this is a hatchback that could, theoretically, go like stink. It's emphasis on size and power shows that BMW is trying to redefine that "entry level" is.

Information from BMW is lacking on the details of the technical specifications of the M135i and its performance is still very much a mystery, but hopefully more will be revealed in Geneva.

Read more »

World's most famous traffic outlaw giving away his 499-horsepower turbo motorcycle

Of all the colorful characters in the motorcycle world, few polarize opinion as strongly as Sweden's mysterious "Ghost Rider." It's not hard to see why - with five DVDs full of heinous traffic law violations, including 300 km/h (180 mph) wheelies, police baiting and near-suicidal top speed time trials around the Swedish freeway system, he's probably the most famous flaunter of road rules the world has ever seen. And now, his most famous steed, a 499-horsepower turbocharged, naked Hayabusa, is being given away through a website lottery. Only ridden to church on Sundays, it's the perfect practical getabout to take down to the shops.

A little background for the uninitiated: Ghost Rider (widely believed, but never legally proven to be Swedish Wheelie Team member Patrik Furstenhoff, or possibly an amalgam of Patrik and his friends) is an ex-racer, stunt rider and generally rather handy chap behind the handlebars of a motorcycle.

He shot to Internet fame back in 2002 with the release of Ghost Rider: The Final Ride - a DVD video featuring an anonymous rider, clad in black leathers, black helmet and a dark visor, pushing a black GSX-R1000 to top speeds of around 300 km/h on public highways around Uppsala, Sweden. The images of this maniac weaving between traffic and almost magically avoiding lane changing cars and trucks that could never possibly have seen him coming were an instant sensation, for better or worse.

To some, he signified the pinnacle of skill and sheer cojones, an ethereal figure flashing through the grey mass of law-abiding commuters, flipping the bird at traffic police and leading them on high-speed chases until either he tired of the game or the helicopters came out, at which point he'd stop hanging around, hit the gas and vanish.

Of course, to the vast majority of people he was viewed as the worst kind of road menace - the kind with the genuine potential to cause serious harm to others and not just himself. To people looking to demonize the motorcycling community at large, he was a symbol of every reason why these damned deathtraps should be banned from public roads. As a result, the majority of the riding fraternity hate him for the way his actions reflect on bikers in general, while perhaps just being a tiny bit impressed.

But there's no questioning his skill or bravery - even in the legal world, Furstenhoff holds the official world record for high speed wheelstands, hitting a blistering top speed of 215 mph (346 km/h) on the back wheel. Anyone who's taken a sportsbike on a racetrack knows how powerful a force air resistance can be as you approach 180 mph (300 km/h) - the idea of raising the front wheel at those speeds is frankly terrifying. The air itself would be like a brick wall - you'd be hanging onto the bars for dear life, let alone trying to deal with that force getting under the bike and trying to flip it over backwards.

There's also no questioning the credentials of his machinery. The Suzuki Hayabusa was not only the fastest bike ever produced, with early models able to hit 200 mph (320 km/h) before they were reined back in to a governed top speed of 180 mph (300 km/h) in subsequent years - it was also massively over-engineered to make it a tuner's delight.

With relatively few modifications to strengthen engine internals, you could turbocharge a 'Busa engine and draw very serious power out of it - and that's what Ghost Rider did to build his most famous ride - the 499-horsepower, naked Hayabusa turbo in the photos here.

You can see the bike in full flight by searching "Ghost Rider BusaTurbo" on YouTube - we're a respectable publication, we won't link to such shenanigans here, but you can see the bike in question, painted flouro yellow, pulling ultra high-speed wheelies down a runway and then doing similar stunts on the highway.

Read more »

Purdue University students develop high performance electric motorbike

It doesn't seem too long ago when we were reporting on breakthroughs in battery technology that would allow electric motorbikes like the Brammo Enertia to travel as much as 45 miles (72 km) on a single charge. These days, we're seeing most of the recent arrivals (such as the 2012 Zero S range, for instance, or the gorgeous custom-built Brutus 2.0) flying past the 100 miles (160 km) barrier with relative ease, a range long enough to quieten even the most fervent of petrol-heads. Two Purdue University engineering students have recently completed the conversion of a Yamaha YZF600r to electric power that further pushes the envelope to more than 120 miles (193 km), using batteries cooled by phase change material.

Sean Kleinschmidt and Jim Danielson are no strangers to electric vehicle conversion. In 2009, the students transformed a red 1987 Porsche 924S (with a blown engine) into an electric-powered head-turner - with a lead-acid battery, and a forklift truck motor. It's fair to say that its top speed of just 55 mph (88.5 km/h) and range of 50 miles (80.4 km) didn't quite match its sporty looks, though. The pair then went on to co-launch the Purdue Electric Vehicles Club with fellow enthusiast Tony Coiro in 2010. The students also took possession of a 2000 Yamaha YZF600r with a bad transmission that same year.

The bike's engine and transmission were subsequently ripped out to make room for a battery pack, an electric motor, controller and other components, while the gasoline engine was sold to help fund the conversion project. While working on the Model S battery pack during an internship at Tesla Motors in California, Kleinschmidt managed to secure a donation of 1,512 Lithium-Ion batteries to make up a 10.6 kWh/117V peak battery pack. An internship at the Delphi Corporation was also of benefit to the project.

"Delphi was able to help out with not only a knowledge base but also by donating some of the electrical components such as the SAE J1772 standard EV charge plug," Kleinschmidt told Gizmag.

To help extend the life and the range of the battery pack, the build team began working with AllCell Technologies to incorporate the company's phase-change thermal management technology into the design. AllCell's custom phase change material-graphite composite surrounding each battery cell is said to absorb and distribute heat during discharge or when the motorbike is exposed to increased ambient temperatures.

"AllCell provided its phase change material (PCM) to thermally protect the batteries and we allowed them use our battery assembly facility to build the modules," said Greg Albright, Project Manager at All Cell Technologies. "PCM absorbs and distributes heat generated by the battery cells to maintain a low, uniform battery temperature, which is critical for cycle life. If one cell goes into thermal runaway (think Sony laptops, Chevy Volt) it prevents the neighboring cells from being triggered in a domino effect."

The electric YZF600r features a Battery Management System donated by Linear Technologies, and the battery pack delivers up to 72 kW of power to the 3-phase AC induction motor, resulting in around 100 horsepower and a top speed of over 120 mph (193 km/h).

As for the build pair's immediate plans - Kleinschmidt told us that he's just partnered with Purdue's Andrew Westrick and Tony Coiro to work on an electric bicycle for the Clean Energy Trust 2012 challenge. Danielson has started work on a new electric motor design with funding from the Thiel Fellowship.

Read more »