Earlier reports said the BMW V-series would go head-to-head with Mercedes’ R-class, but it looks as though BMW will make the V-series more car-like than the van-like R-class from Mercedes. This is probably a good decision for BMW as it better suits the automaker’s values and the R-class has been received with a luke-warm reception at best.

Interestingly enough if you look closely at the front grill, the BMW kidney grills can be seen and they take a great deal of design cues from the CS Concept. Another clear indication that the CS Concept design is the way BMW will be going in the future. Early pictures also indicate a chassis hybrid between the 5 series and X5 when it comes to ride height and dynamics.

As the track welcomes Robert Kubica back from his horrific crash in Montreal, he managed to hold onto a strong 4th place finish just nine seconds back from Lewis Hamilton. A fine job from Nick Heidfeld as well, as he took home 5th for the team reeling in an additiional 4 points to his collection.BMW now dangles a 20 point lead in front of 4th place Renault. With the season approaching the half way point, BMW seems to be pulling out the tricks one by one against some of the toughest competitors in the world.

Don’t miss Silverstone this coming weekend for yet another solid round of Formula one racing.

Written By: Ted Bogle the F1 Expert in our Part’s Team

Clearly seen in the images is the stretched Mini’s split tailgate and rear door line on the passenger side. Other than that, the only major differences to the regular model is the stretched wheelbase and the longer glasshouse. It’s rumored that the rear door will open backwards, suicide style, while the roof might possibly feature dual sunroofs.

The Clubman is set to make its world debut at September’s Frankfurt Motor Show, with the first cars hitting showrooms by November.

With the addition of the Clubman, the Mini range will now consist of the Cooper, Cooper d and Cooper S, plus the new stretched version. Demand for the brand is expected to increase in coming years and there are plans for even more models including a possible crossover version.

Production at its Oxford plant in the UK is expected to top-out at 240,000 units in roughly two years, and BMW now considering either outsourcing to Magna or expanding the Oxford facility.

    

Source: Motor Authority

As for Mr. Kubica, things were not so lucky. On lap 27 as he approached the Casino hairpin, his car clipped the rear of Jarno Trulli and smashed directly into the concrete barriers then rolling all the way down to the hairpin entry point. From what looked to be a horrific and most likely fatal accident, Robert was extremely fortunate to only encounter a minor concussion and a sprained ankle.

USA – On a 94 degree afternoon on a track that is familiar to NASCAR, things were looking very good for the boys of BMW. With 19 year old Sebastian Vettel filling in for Robert Kubica, and Nick Heidfeld starting from 5th spot on the grid, BMW had yet another chance to score big. This was interrupted severely though when Nick’s hydraulic system failed on lap 59 which then led to his retirement. As for the rookie, right at the very end of the race, he managed to pick up the pace just enough to score his first Formula 1 point finishing 8th spot.

Catch the 8th chapter of the Formula 1 circuit as they move to France on July 1st. The race will be shown on FOX Sports and not the reqular Speed TV station. With Robert Kubica back behind the wheel, we hope to see our 3rd place in the constructors championship possibly catch Ferrari for 2nd. They still have a long way to go but anything is possible.

Written By: Ted Bogel of the Budds’ Parts Department

MINI Canada has announced that they’ll reintroduce the MINI Cooper Classic into the Cooper line-up for more price conscious buyers. The Cooper Classic will start at $22,950. Standard equipment includes automatic stability control, traction control, multifunction steering wheel, passenger seat height adjustment, and 15-inch five-start wheels with all-season tires.

The Cooper Classic will join the Cooper, which starts at $25,900, the Cooper S, which starts at $30,600, the Cooper Convertible, which starts at $31,600, and the Cooper S Convertible, which starts at $36,600. The MINI Cooper Classic also qualifies for a $1,000 ecoAUTO rebate.

The Cooper Classic should be in showrooms by July.

[Source: CanadianDriver]

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On a beautiful sunny day in Barcelona, Nick Heidfeld had nothing but a black cloud over his head for most of his race. First with a pit stop error, which left his car with one of his wheels barely hanging on and having to complete an entire lap at a snails pace, to having stubborn transmission problems, which eventually made him throw in the towel.  

Though these little hiccups are annoying to the team, they still remain in third position in the constructor’s championship. Although BMW most likely will not pass this point, it seems like they are going to be the toughest team to beat other than Ferrari and Maclaren.

The next race finishing positions and points will be determined of how you place in qualifying. This Monaco race sees racers basically stay in their race spots for the best part of the whole race as there is essentially no room to pass on this tight course.

This will be a tough race indeed. Not only do Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica have to deal with the pressure of qualifying into Q3 to hopefully be in the points, they also have to deal with Darryl Budd and Carly sitting in the stands watching their every move.  

Tune in May 27th at 7:30am to catch all the action live on Speed TV.