Although there has been a gap of several weeks in this year’s World Enduro Championship calendar, the BMW Motorrad Motorsport team riders have been as busy as ever with a training programme that includes racing, racing, and more racing! In fact, last weekend, the new BMW G 450 X was seen in action throughout Europe, with considerable success achieved.

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Not that we promote drinking and driving, but we thought this was a pretty good interpratation of the new Clubman!

Aznom has created its own interpretation of the new MINI Clubman S called the MINI Chateau. There are no power upgrades or crazy aerodynamic packages here, however the limited production of 12 units will feature luxury with wood trims and a mini wine cellar with room for 6 bottles.

Inside the MINI Chateau gets aged leather and Alcantara trim to give a warm elegance feeling. The outside is painted in pearly-changeable brown with sand/gold metallic paint.

The MINI Chateau rides on 18-inch TSW ‘Pace’ alloy wheels and comes with a number plate to show the exclusivity of 12 units and the name of the owner. Our take? We would never buy this and don’t know anyone who really wood, we mean would, by it either.

Click through for more images and the press release.

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A testamet to the Ultimate Driving Experience!

BMW has been named the outright winner of the International Engine of the Year awards for a record-breaking fourth year in succession. A global panel of judges awarded the top honor to the carmaker’s 3.0L twin-turbo straight six petrol engine. The 300hp powerplant is found in a number of BMW models ranging from the compact 1-series up to the X6 xDrive35i crossover and was picked becuase of its flexibility and mix of performance and fuel-economy.

BMW in fact had four different engines in the final top six. Coming in second was Volkswagen’s 1.4L TSI and third place was its 2.0L FSI engine. The 4.0L V8 from the M3 took fourth spot and was followed by the Mini’s 1.6L turbo four in fifth and the 5.0L M V10 in sixth.

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If you haven’t noticed already we are really crazy about the new BMW 1-Series. BMW just launched two new commercials in the US called Canvas (for the coupe) and Cone (for the convertible) to promote its baby bimmer.

The new BMW 1-Series is now at Budds and starts at $33,900!

Click through for the videos.

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In what could be the best thing to happen to iDrive since its inception, BMW on Monday announced it will offer full-blown Internet access in its cars via the controversial interface in North America. Back in February, BMW announced this ability is coming to Europe as part of a ConnectedDrive option package.

The system will only allow web browsing when speeds are below 3mph, but rear-seat passengers, provided the vehicle in question is equipped with a rear entertainment system, can browse the web at all speeds. The on-board computer will be able to send information from the Internet including directions, to portable devices such as cellular phones via the EDGE data network.

ConnectedDrive will start showing up in the automaker’s cars in Germany starting in September, with other European countries and North America shortly thereafter. Pricing of the package itself and any associated monthly fees for the North American market is yet to be determined, though BMW estimates put Europe monthly pricing will be around 15 euros, or about $23.

The BMW X6 has arrived in showrooms and TV campaigns for the new SAV (Sports Activity Coupe) have begun airing. Currently only the X6 xDrive35i is available with a starting MSRP of $53,275. The xDrive50i will arrive later this summer priced at $63,775.

Check out this latest BMW X6 ‘Clay’ commercial that aired last week.

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Although it was only opened on 17 October last year, BMW Welt in Munich, Germany, has already become one of the city’s top five tourist attractions. In fact, the millionth visitor has already passed through the facility, taking less than five months to exceed the 850,000 visitors expected in the first year.

It’s no surprise that the BMW Group’s huge branding exercise has been dubbed the ‘ultimate customer experience’. Situated right next to the company headquarters in Munich, BMW Welt is so much more than a showroom, communication centre and distribution facility for cars – there are motorcycles there too – especially at this time of the year when thoughts turn to spring, summer and two-wheels!

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Five-times World Motocross Champion and BMW rider Joel Smets raced through the Australian Four-Day Enduro (A4DE) field last weekend to finish 6th overall on his showroom-ready G 450 X.

The machine, flown into Australia specifically for Joel’s attempt at the gruelling A4DE, was a stock pre-production machine fitted only with a racing muffler. The result, against a top field of riders on factory-prepared race machinery, was a stunning endorsement of Joel’s talents and that of the new BMW G 450 X.

Over four full-on days, Joel eased himself into the action – his first competitive event in 18 months – with only two demonstration events in the past five months to get his body ready for the 1,000 km of competition.

Thanks to more than 20 years of competition at the highest level, as well as possessing exceptional natural talent, Joel was able to pace himself, and came good right at the end with a blistering attack on the final day’s Moto-X event, where he finished in second position – less than one second behind the winner. A delighted Joel was thronged by the sizeable and appreciative crowd, after pulling a serious wheelie on completion of the final stage.

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So you think that Cadillac Escalate or Lincoln Navigator you have there is a ‘real’SUV? Take a look at this BMW X3 commercial that takes a shot at our domestic SUVs and tells us what really is riding under the skin of your gas-guzzling American icons.

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