BMW’s secret new sports car
BMW’s secret sports prototype is out in the open. But instead of being snapped by one of our spy photographers, the German firm has taken matters into its own hands by creating an official website aimed at revealing the progress of the project using a host of social networking tools.
The site is called dontblogaboutthis.com and features pictures hosted on Flickr and videos hosted by YouTube of a matte black prototype. The car uses the rear bodywork of the current 6-Series with the nose of the Vision EfficientDynamics concept car which debuted at last year’s Frankfurt Motor Show.
No further information is given, apart from a note that the car is “more than a 6 Series. But the car is not yet in its final stage.”
The pictures and videos do give away that the mule is running on narrow 195-section tyres which dramatically reduce rolling resistance, mounted on aerodynamic wheels.
The videos confirm that the car uses electric power, thanks to its silent running, but features a conventional powerplant too, which can be heard in one of the videos and is hinted at by the car’s small exhaust pipe.
The mule will be the focus of BMW’s future efficiency technology, which was previewed by the Vision EfficientDynamics concept, and will spawn a production sports car in 2012.
The concept featured a compact, 1.5-litre three-cylinder diesel engine boosted by a 60kW electric motor at the front, and a further 38kW motor which formed part of the double clutch gearbox. A variant of this is likely what’s hiding beneath this prototype’s Frankenstein bodywork.
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