News from the Geneva autoshow, M3 CSL and more

["Paul F. Kunz" <Paul_Kunz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Here on some notes on my visit to the Geneva Auto show.

The only significant new BMW model given a world premiere at the show
is the M3 CSL.  Like it precessor or yore, the 3.0 CSL, it is a
lighten version of the M3.  The BMW reps at the show said it was
designed for the enthusiast who drives a lot on race tracks.  He also
admitted it is perhaps an answer to the criticism that the M3 is great
but burden with too much luxury weight.  The weight was taken out in
areas that would lower the center of gravity and lower the moment of
inertia ( i.e., resistence to turning).  

   Starting from the top, no pun intended, the roof is made of carbon
fibre.  You can see the familiar carbon fibre pattern.  This lowers
the center of gravity and I guess without losing on strength or
stiffness.  It saves 6 Kg.  The seats are also fibre glass and
selected parts of the interior such as the door panels and the
transmission tunnel are carbon fibre.  Some people add carbon fibre
looking plastic inserts in these area, but on the CSL it is the real
thing.

   To attack the moment of inertia, both front and rear bumpers are
carbon fibre.  Only the spoiler tips of them show the fibre pattern,
the rest is painted like a normal steel bumper.  Also the hood is
aluminum and the trunk lid some mixture of plastic.

   Further weight reduction is achieved by using thinner glass for the
rear window.  Also a radio and air conditioning is a no cost option,
they are not installed by default.  No navigation system either.

   The total weight reduction is 180 Kg.  However, there is also some
added weight in bigger brakes and bigger tires.  The standard tires
are 235/35-19 front and 265/30-19 rear.  One BMW person said the 19 in
rims are required to clear the brakes another said standard M3 rim and
tires could be used.  The tires are special "slicks" made by Michelin.
They have essentially no thread depth for the rain and they don't grip
below 6 degress celius.  You have to sign a form saying you wouldn't
attempt to use them under those conditions.

   The engine has been tweaked  slightly to boost the horsepower by 17
HP to a total  of 360 HP.  Foglights are replaced with  an air duct on
the left  side of front  bumper where one  fog light would be.   It is
available with SMG only.

   Now if you are thinking all this weight reduction, lowering center
of gravity and reducing moment of interia is a lot of sales hip, its
not.  I can personally attest to the difference it makes.  When the
E32 7er came out in 1988, I interviewed a BMW engineer about the new
model.  He talked about the same sort of things amoungst others.  When
I took my first autocross run with my 1988 735i seven years later, all
I could say was wow, what a difference.  The newer 7er is so much
quicker than my older 1980 733i.

   With the M CSL the improvement as been measured at the Nurburg
Ring.  A standard M3 does a lap in just under 8.5 minutes.  The CSL is
under 8 minutes.  This is near the performace of Porshes new, and more
expensive GT3 which also debuted at the show.

   The M3 CSL will be available in limited quantiy at about 80K euros,
about 30% more than the standard M3. Now the bad news for those in the
States.  It will not be available at all.  Something to do with
U.S. regulations.  One can speculate if it is engine pollution or the
bumpers, or just plain BMW's marketing judgement.

   One more titbit on the M3 CSL.   Found this graphic on a wall

Model     Kg/Hp
- ------    ------
M3 CSL    3.9
M1        4.6
3.0 CSL   5.6


   The show was the first public showing of the facelift applied to
the 3 series Ti models.  A big difference that I saw was in the tail
lights.  Instead of be encased in plastic with a silver background to
the round tail lights, a la a Lexus SUV model, the background is now
red as well.  Looks much better IMHO.

   The 3 series couple models also have a facelift.  In the tail
lights, there's a round center surrounded by a ring of red LED's.  It
has a new two-step workings.  Step on the brake normally, and you get
normal brightness.  But if you step on the brakes very hard, you get
extra brightness.  This is thought to be a safey feature.  It has
already been approved for use in the U.S, but is waiting approval for
use within the European Union.   

   Transmission wise, a 6sp manual transmission will be available for
the 330i and I guess 330Ci.   I also saw the SMG in a 325Ti.

   Available on all 3 series, except Ti, and on some 7 series models
with be elipsoidal low beam head lights that turns into the turn.
They can turn up to 15 degress outward and up to 8 degres inward.  Of
course, it is computer controlled.  The computer takes as input the
speed of the car, angle of the steering wheel, and the "yaw rate".
The latter is a new term for me but I think it means lateral
acceleration.  So at high speed on the freeway, the lights will not
turn much on a typical curve.  But on the highway, even at moderate
speed, a sharp turn will cause them to trun a lot, helping you see
around the corner.  I noted MB will be offering the same feature on
the E class.

   Need security, but on a low budget?  Try the 330i Security.  It
features bulletproof windows, run flat tires, and a microphone speaker
system so you can talk people outside without opening the windows.
All this adds 200 Kg to the weight of the car.  Money no problem?  Try
the 760Li Security instead.

   The Mini now has a model with diesel moter from Toyota.

   From Alpina, their first supercharged moter.  Its in the new Alpina
B7 which starts out as 745i.  470 Hp and 650 NM of torque leads to
0-100 Km/h in less than 5.5 seconds.  Besides the usual engine and
suspension mods you get from an after market tuner, Alpina does a
beautiful job on the interior.  I was told that Alpina verison of the
Z8 will be available in the U.S.  I think that is what I was told, as
the Alpina people speak neither English nor French so I'm at a servere
disadvantage to understand them.  They've changed their automatic
transmission name from Steptronic to Step-Switch because they have
button for up/down shifting on the back of the steering wheel.

   Everybody is getting into the mini-van or SUV business.  In fact,
most the world premiere of new models were European sized version of
these.  Porshce showed its Cayenne SUV at Geneva for the first time.
A turbo model does 0-100Km/h in 5.6 seconds.  Also some new roadsters
based on low end sedans.  Even Smart has a roadster now.

   The most glamourous dressed ladies running the stands were from the
Italian manufactors, especially Alpha Romero.  The German ladies were
in dark business suits.  At BMW, at least, they knew the technology
they were showing and at least two languages.

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