+++ BMW has invited itself to a party that Porsche started. Someone trolling through patent filings found drawings submitted by BMW for 2 slightly different takes on a 7-speed manual transmission. The first take is a more conventional setup that provides an honest clutch pedal. The second variant uses a shift-by-wire system to swap gears through an electromechanical actuator. To prevent drivers from accidentally engaging an engine-damaging gear in such a closely spaced pattern, both rely on an electromagnetic fluid inside a shifting module that can change viscosity to prevent the 'lever' from making a shift. According to the filing, the system can work with up to 8 (!) gears. +++ The European Union could relax the way CO2 emissions targets for car makers are measured if proposals put forward in a new report are adopted. EU Industry Commissioner Antonio Tajani and Fiat’s Sergio Marchionne (who is also head of European car industry association ACEA) are to present a report recommending a change in the way measurements are made. German car makers have long been pushing for more flexibility in the way that the EU measures the progress they are making in cutting CO2 emissions. The brands want factors such as driver behaviour and national infrastructure to be taken into account, rather than simply tailpipe emissions from new cars. There is also concern among car makers that the stringent targets that are currently in place are pushing up research and development costs and rendering their vehicles less competitive in price against overseas opposition, a factor that is accentuated by the difficult economic climate. Car manufacturers are supposed to meet an average of 130g/km across their model ranges by 2015, or face financial penalties. A further target of 95 gram/km by 2020 is expected to be rubber-stamped by the EU in July. Tajani will present the report in a meeting of the CARS 21 High Level Group, a body of key car industry figures and politicians over which he will preside. Another likely topic on the meeting’s agenda is overcapacity, a problem that has prompted the likes of Fiat boss Marchionne to call on the EU to offer help in rationalising the industry. +++ The all-new, third generation MINI hatchback will come in a family-friendly 5-door guise when it goes on sale early next year. The new model is thought to be the result of customer demands for a Mini that is more practical for drivers with young children. Despite speculation that the new Mini would use Clubman-style ‘suicide’ doors, the new model will have 2 conventionally hinged rear doors. BMW engineers have managed to squeeze them into the sub-4 meter-long car by slightly lengthening the wheelbase of the 5-door car and by shortening its front doors, but even with these measures the rear doors cut right around the rear wheel arches and close up against the C-pillars. Although access to the rear will be tight for an adult, the primary purpose of the rear doors is understood to be to allow easy access for children. The shortened front doors will also make it easier for the driver and front passenger to get in and out in tight spaces. The 5-door version of third generation Mini, codenamed F56, will join the 3-door hatchback as the first of the new-generation Mini models to be launched. BMW engineers are currently putting the finishing touches to both body styles, including a 3-door Cooper S version. Entry-level and mid-range models, including the Cooper versions, will be powered by BMW’s new turbocharged 3-cylinder petrol engine. This state-of-the-art unit, which is directly related to the N20 4-cylinder engine in the new 3-series, will deliver much-improved economy and emissions. The Cooper S and JCW versions are expected to get the newly updated 4-cylinder ‘Prince’ engine. Despite the Mini’s enviable brand image and relatively affordable entry-level pricing, sales have not expanded as quickly as predicted. Just 50,000 Minis of all types were sold in the UK last year, with 285,000 sold globally. This was partly a result of the Mini’s niche market positioning and the declining popularity of 3-door cars. This trend is reflected in sales of the 5-door Mini Countryman. Despite initial scepticism, sales in the first quarter of this year were 22,000 units; 37 per cent up on the same period in 2011. The new Mini will be longer than the current car, even in 3-door form, with a much longer front overhang. In turn, the bonnet is longer and flatter and the front wheels are positioned further forward. This change is thought to be a result of the need to improve crash protection and pedestrian safety and to accommodate BMW’s own requirements for its new range of front-wheel-drive cars, which are based on the same UKL1 platform as the Mini. It is thought that more than 10 different Mini and baby BMW models will be based on the new UKL1 architecture, which will transform the profitability of the Mini. With a unique platform, expensively engineered components (such as the multi-link rear ‘Z-axle’) and global sales of less than 300,000 units, it’s thought that the Mini operation wasn’t profitable enough for BMW to have commissioned a new stand-alone Mini platform. However, by introducing a front-drive BMW family to the mix, and with the global trend for downsizing, BMW bosses estimate that the UKL1 project will be good for well over half a million profitable sales each year, possibly even rising to as many as 800,000 a year by the end of the decade when the third generation 1-series switches to front wheeldrive. +++ General Motors' struggling European unit OPEL has emerged from its worst-ever sales crisis in Germany and now expects to gradually expand its slice of the market back into the double digits, a level not seen since 2005. "Upcoming models will allow us to occupy segments where Opel so far has not been present. We will then have the necessary products in the showrooms to crack the 10 percent market share ceiling in the mid to long-term", Germany sales chief Imelda Labbe told in an interview. Nowhere did Opel sell more cars in 2011 than in its domestic market, Europe's largest. Yet its share has steadily eroded in recent years to record lows; a key factor that has contributed to Opel's incessant flow of red ink. Despite winning 2 of the last 4 prestigious European Car of the Year awards with the Insignia and Ampera, the brand has been unable to shed its working class image in Germany and move upmarket where debilitating incentive wars are less common. Chronic speculation over a possible sale or even controlled bankruptcy partly stoked by GM itself has not helped. Opel, which now needs to drastically lower its breakeven point by once again cutting thousands of jobs, plans to present a long-term business plan on June 28 that will likely entail the closure of its Bochum manufacturing plant in Germany. Higher sales are an absolute must for Opel, but official data for May showed new car registrations falling twice as fast as the overall German car market compared to the previous year. Given figures were even worse earlier this year, Labbe believes the downward trend has stopped: "May was a good month for us. Official data shows our market share rose (over April) to 7.9 percent and currently we expect this to improve further". The new Zafira Tourer, built exclusively in the endangered Bochum plant, has played a crucial role. Opel nearly doubled its share of the domestic van market to 20 percent in the first 4 months of this year thanks to this model. Labbe played down speculation that Opel was artificially inflating sales, a claim recently made by Ferdinand Dudenhöffer at the CAR-Centre Automotive Research in Duisburg. According to his research firm, Opel had the highest number of tactical registrations of Germany's 10 largest car brands. These are new cars registered under the name of the automaker itself or its dealers, sometimes to "sugarcoat" sales volumes. Many are sold shortly thereafter as used cars at hefty discounts. Adjusted for this effect, he estimated Opel's market share at just 5.8 percent in the first four months of this year. "Over a third of all new cars in Germany are registered either by rental companies, dealers or the manufacturers themselves", Labbe said, when asked if tactical registrations indeed comprised 42 percent of Opel's domestic sales. "It's a sales tool for every manufacturer. Overall we do not intend to engage ourselves any more heavily than our competitors and we are not buying market share", she added. Labbe sees growth potential in serving more of Germany's small and medium-sized corporate customers, dominated by rival Volkswagen, but warns that making major inroads could require as much as 2 years. "We are supporting our dealers' efforts to add salespeople dedicated to building up key account relationships with corporate customers. But it will take time before we will see the first result", she said. Helping her will be a steady stream of model launches in the next months. Come September, Opel will expand its Astra line-up to include a new saloon version of its popular Astra family in addition to the hatch and estate derivatives. "Notchbacks haven't played an important role in Germany in the past, but we're convinced the Astra sedan will give this market segment a real push", she said. Opel will also begin selling in October its Mokka, the first subcompact SUV by a German brand. Early next year the new Adam lifestyle minicar hits dealerships and later on Opel will unveil an all new convertible that will positioned above the Astra. +++ PORSCHE is stepping up development of its all-new 911 GT3, the most focused version of the ‘991’ generation of the iconic sports car yet. The new model is set to be unveiled at the 2013 Geneva motor show next March and the order books will open soon after that. The new GT3 looks set to be powered by the latest evolution of Porsche’s motorsport-derived normally aspirated 3.8-litre flat six, rather than adopting the larger 4.0-litre powerplant used in the 997-generation GT3 RS 4.0. Porsche insiders have hinted that the power output will be in the region of 450 hp in the new GT3; some 15 hp more than in the outgoing model. That should translate to a 0-100 km/h time of less than 4.0 sec and a top speed approaching 320 km/h. The new GT3 is likely to have just the one transmission option: a PDK 7-speed, dual-clutch automatic. The lack of a manual option in the GT3 is sure to cause controversy among 911 purists, especially after the 911 switched to electric steering. The PDK transmission is also heavier than the manual, something at odds with the GT3’s lightweight approach. Nevertheless, insiders claim that about 40 kg has been shed from the GT3 compared with its immediate predecessor, which had a kerb weight of 1395 kg. Although the choice of gearbox is heavier, Porsche has shaved off weight in the new GT3 by increasing the use of lightweight materials for the bodywork. Interior trim and equipment levels will also be reduced compared with standard 991 models and the rear seats will be deleted. Visually, the GT3 will be easy to distinguish from the base Carrera and Carrera S models. The GT3’s bodywork will be totally overhauled compared with the standard models. At the front, a new splitter will be added, as has a new, more sculpted front bumper. Wider air ducts also feature at the front of the car to improve cooling to the more powerful rear-mounted engine. There is an extra air intake between the bonnet and the top of the front bumper, too. Wider sills and flared wheel arches also feature. Housed within the arches are larger, 20-inch alloy wheels, which are centre locking. The most distinctive element of the rear is a large, fixed wing. The rear bumper has been reprofiled and twin rear exhausts sit in the car’s centre. Insiders have confirmed that the even more hardcore GT3 RS will return in 991 guise, but not before 2015. Its power is said to be about 480 hp. Before the 911 GT3 is revealed, Porsche will launch all-wheel-drive versions of the Carrera and Carrera S. The Carrera 4 and Carrera 4S are expected to be revealed in both coupé and cabriolet guises at the Paris motorshow in September. +++ The collaboration between TOYOTA and Subaru on the GT86/BRZ project has opened the giant Japanese manufacturer’s eyes to the benefits of collaborating with other car makers, according to Toyota’s GT86 development chief, Tetsuya Tada. Toyota has previously pursued the occasional joint venture, most notably the Aygo/107/C1 city car project with PSA (Peugeot-Citroën) and a joint manufacturing initiative, now dissolved, with General Motors in the US called Nummi. But it has traditionally preferred to operate in relative isolation. Although the Subaru venture was initially difficult, with scepticism and a lack of trust on both sides stalling development, an early prototype engine breakthrough bonded the teams and led to what Tada now sees as a fruitful tie-up. Tada says Toyota is now keen to attract fresh partners “if we can jointly produce something exceptional”. The company is now actively hunting for potential ventures, but in the meantime it will develop a convertible version of the GT86 with Subaru, and the next-generation Aygo, again in conjunction with PSA. +++ The all new, 7th generation VOLKSWAGEN Golf GTI has been spied undergoing final testing before an expected showroom launch early next year. The all-important GTI is rumoured to be powered by a 265 hp turbocharged 2.0 litre petrol engine and will get the firm’s new VAQ front differential for “more agile steering behaviour”. Insiders say this VAQ unit, which consists of an electronically controlled Haldex clutch of the kind usually found in four-wheel drive systems, would allow the new car to lap the Nürburgring faster than today’s GTI even if it didn’t have any extra power. VW bosses have already revealed that they are working on a lightweight version of the Mk7 Golf structure with aluminium floor pressings and an aluminium roof, and this is expected to be used as a base for the GTI. However, the more potent Golf R is expected to get a super-light carbonfibre roof. VW engineers have come up with a way of incorporating steel flanges into the panel, allowing it to be welded to the car’s steel side structure. The 7th generation Golf is the second model (after the Audi A3) to be based on the VW Group’s new MQB architecture. It will be unveiled at the Paris show in September before reaching showrooms early next year. +++