Russian Truck Manufacturer Kamaz

Ah yeah, this could be fun. Fun? About one truck biz buying a chunk of another truck biz? How the Hell could that be fun? Look at the picture above. That is one of the Kamaz trucks racing in the Paris-Dakar race. For the uninitiated, Paris-Dakar is about as out there as you can get. Most of the normal off road stuff applies. Rocks, sand, dunes the size of skyscrapers, navigational hazards, cliffs, that sort of thing. But the Paris-Dakar also features such novelties as guerilla factions armed with AKs (abducted and killed two competitors in the mid-80s) and the occasional mine field.

One of those mine fields caught out the factory Kamaz team a few years back. They wandered off course and onto the edge of a WW II era mine field. BOOM! One of the things blew the right rear completely off. I mean the tire, the wheel, the upright, the brake & caliper
and the suspension bits - gone. The Kamaz team response? Pull out the spares and carry on. I believe that particular truck finished either 3rd or 4th that year.

Volkswagen Scirocco

Good news: the Volkswagen Scirocco, VW’s new hatchback-like coupe, will arrive in Europe in August. In Europe, the VW Scirocco will be offered initially with two petrol engines, the 1.4-liter TSI that combines a supercharger and turbocharger developing 160Hp and the Golf GTI’s turbocharged 200Hp 2.0-liter TFSI. Shortly after the Scirocco’s engine range will be enhanced with the addition of a supercharged 122Hp 1.4-liter TSI petrol unit and a 140Hp 1.4-liter turbo diesel. Depending on the powertrain
, the Scirocco???s average fuel consumption ranges from 5.4 to 7.7 litres per 100km (30.6 to 43.6 MPG).

BMW Hurrican based on a 2002 Ti

In 1966, a BMW Hurricane turned upside-down Germany's car scene. "Use a serial chassis, serial technology and serial components to built an exclusive double-seated sports car which should be as low-cost and high-tech as possible" the BMW representative Werner Bönschtold the 'Meisterschule of Karosserie- und Fahrzeugbau' in Kaiserslautern, Germany.

BMW urgently needed a 2-seated sports coupé at this time. Bönsch just had to supply the material which was way cheaper than employing BMW's own engineers. In case the car should turnout to be apt for serial production he could still buy it afterwards.

With permission of BMW, in 1964, a Swiss Student Max Seelaus created an unique car body, using BMW's technical components. As it was his final year project on the way to achieving his degree as 'Konstruktions-Techniker', Max Seelaus went about the project with enthusiasm. His car should be a masterpiece. And indeed, it has become one. When the contract was signed, Seelaus started scetching and calculating. Soon it became clear that the car was to feature a self-supporting sheet steel body with integrated steel tubes as lateral cross beams.

BMW Hurrican based on a 2002 Ti


BMW Hurrican based on a 2002 Ti


BMW Hurrican based on a 2002 Ti


BMW Hurrican based on a 2002 Ti


BMW Hurrican based on a 2002 Ti