Geneva 2013: Hold onto your lederhosen, new Alpina B3 Biturbo is on its way

For those who aren’t familiar, Alpina is a BMW-sanctioned aftermarket tuner. Although it started off as a small independent BMW performance tuner, Alpina has grown over the years. Now, in fact, Alpina doesn’t even really build its own models. It works alongside BMW designers from the start of a new model to develop performance improvements of its own.

Once Alpina has spec’d out its desired performance modifications, it hands the plans over to BMW. BMW then assembles the Alpina models in BMW factories, painting them in Alpina colors and installing the distinctive 20-inch Alpina rims and then hands them over to Alpina for sale.

News has come from Autocar this morning that Alpina is up to its old tricks again and has a new B3 Biturbo model ready for debut at next week’s Geneva Auto Show.

Based upon the new BMW 3 Series, the B3 produces 404 horsepower from a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder engine. Sending power to the rear wheels is BMW’s eight-speed automatic transmission. If you were wondering why the performance modified BMW 3 Series would include an automatic gearbox, realize that’s just what Alpina has always done. Every Alpina model is an automatic. Just get used to it.

The new B3 will hit 62 mph from a standstill in 4.2 second and reach a top speed of 190 MPH. Autocar is reporting an all-wheel drive version of the B3 is on the way but until we hear it directly from Alpina, we won’t hold our breath.

Pricing has not been confirmed for the B3 but it’ll probably near the $80,000 mark. We drove the Alpina B7 version of the 7 Series last year on the infamous Laguna Seca racetrack in California and were blown away by both its price tag and performance. While Alpinas – like any good German car – don’t look very flashy, they’re very, very fast. And we love them for it.

Nick Jaynes developed a passion for writing about cars working his way through Journalism School as a Volvo mechanic. When he's not writing, Nick can be seen hosting the popular automotive web-show DownForce Motoring. In his free-time, Nick collects vintage cars, trucks, and motorcycles.

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Geneva 2013: Land Rover to introduce first nine-speed automatic transmission – because eight just wasn’t enough

Land Rover has partnered with ZF, a global leader in transmission technology, to introduce the first nine-speed automatic transmission at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show.

The ZF 9HP transmission, considered one of the world’s most advanced transmissions, increases the number of gear ratios from six to nine for significantly improved fuel economy and a reduction in CO2 emissions.

Land Rover says the transmission will also improve response during acceleration, shift quality and the overall drive and refinement of the vehicle.  In addition, the 9HP is also more versatile with a skip-shift function for swifter downshifting under rapid deceleration or for greater driver demands.

A Fast-Off mode measures the rate of throttle release, anticipates the driver wanting more power, then holds the gear if necessary.  

Even more impressive, is that the engineering teams have managed to pull off a lighter load with the additional gears with efficient packaging.  The nine-speed transmission is only about a quarter of an inch longer than the outgoing six-speed and weighs almost 17 pounds less.  

“We are extremely excited about the 9HP which has been tailored exactly to dovetail with the unique attributes of our vehicles,” said John Edwards, Land Rover Global Brand Director, in an official press release statement. “It will add another layer of performance, refinement and efficiency, further enhancing Land Rover’s world class ability.”  

The Land Rover team is working closely with the ZF engineering team to develop the nine-speed transmission for its vehicles. The company already has experience engineering ZP products having integrated the company’s eight-speed transmission with the Range Rover, Land Rover Discovery 4, and Range Rover Sport.  

Marcus Amick has been writing about the world of cars for more than ten years and has covered everything from new automobiles to celebrity wheels. The longtime Detroiter, who now splits his time between Los Angeles and the “Motor City,” has penned works for a number of national publications including Automotive News, Rides magazine and Automobile magazine. Amick also works as a freelance consultant providing insight on automotive and related lifestyle trends.

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Volvo unveils Active High Beam Control technology ahead of Geneva, hints at another safety tech premiere

Volvo has built a stellar reputation for being obsessed with safety. Volvo engineers and designers realize the safest way for drivers to navigate roadways at night is with the brightest possible lights. So the Swedish automaker set to work figuring a way to allow drivers to keep the high-beam headlights on as often as possible without blinding or “dazzling” other drivers – as Volvo puts it. Keeping the high beams on all the time illuminates otherwise unseen road hazards such as parked cars,  pedestrians, and animals.

Using a forward-facing video camera mounted into the space in front of the rearview mirror (at the top of the windshield), which is used for other safety systems such as auto brake, Active High Beam Control watches for oncoming vehicles and those directly ahead in the same lane.

When another vehicle is detected, the system turns a tiny cylinder fitted with metal fins inside the headlight unit, blocking out just the right amount of light. Volvo says the system is accurate up to a 1.5-degree margin.

Just last week we reported on a similar technology – among many others – from Audi. Unlike Audi’s matrix headlights, though, Volvo’s doesn’t involve the intricate fading in and out of LEDs but rather the refocusing of Xenon beams. Just like Audi’s matrix headlight system, however, Volvo’s Active High Beam Control is not currently legal in the U.S. market. We reached out to Volvo and a company representative told us that the system is currently held up due to “legislative restrictions.” So until regulators update or reinterpret decades old headlight laws we won’t be seeing Active High Beam Control on American shores. 

International buyers interested in the Active High Beam Control are in luck, though, and will be able to find the feature on new S60 and XC60 models starting in spring 2013.

At the end of its press release, Volvo hinted it would also be unveiling a brand-new safety technology at next week’s Geneva Motor Show. When we know what that exciting new safety feature will be, we’ll be sure to report on it.

Nick Jaynes developed a passion for writing about cars working his way through Journalism School as a Volvo mechanic. When he's not writing, Nick can be seen hosting the popular automotive web-show DownForce Motoring. In his free-time, Nick collects vintage cars, trucks, and motorcycles.

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Geneva WorldRadio: An update on a radio-era classic

A classic radio is reborn with twenty-first century technology.

Geneva’s new multi-function radio gives new meaning to the concept of world music. This radio features the design of the classic WorldRadio, which could receive all available radio stations of its day using the broadcasting technologies of a bygone era including FM, long and short wave. In other words it was just the thing for being on a deserted island with the likes of Gilligan. But that was then.

Today, for those who want to listen in from home, there is the new Geneva WorldRadio, which can receive audio broadcasts over FM, DAB digital radio in Europe, and via thousands of Internet radio stations. Available in a choice of three metallic finishes, including silver, red and black, it features a retro-looking, streamlined chassis design that offers an aluminum handle and tuning controls. But unlike the old school model, this one is a piece of true, 21st century technology.

It includes a digital color display with touch controls, digital FM tuner, Bluetooth receiver and even an alarm clock. The device can wirelessly stream Internet radio from any Bluetooth-enabled device including a computer, tablet or smartphone, while additional audio sources can be connected via a 3.5mm line input.

Geneva claims its single driver will deliver clean sound from top to bottom with bass extension as low as 80Hz – quite impressive for a 4-inch speaker in such a small box – but we can probably expect some reasonable low end out of this little thing considering the amplifier specs look pretty good. And it should kick out the jams for a while, as it can reportedly provide up to six hours of music playback via a built-in rechargeable battery.

The price: a rather hefty $300. That puts it into competition with some pretty stellar sounding wireless speakers. 

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