BMW reveals 5-series facelift

New 5-series comes with refreshed styling and more engine options

Following the launch of the updated 7-series recently, BMW has now revealed a facelift for the smaller 5-series sibling.
The facelifted 5-series receives styling updates in the form of added contour lines around the kidney grille, restructured air intakes up front, added chrome surrounds for front fog lamps, extra crease chrome strip on the rear apron, restyled tail-lights and new alloy wheels.
On the inside, iDrive control screen comes bordered with a chrome strip and the carmaker claims the storage spaces have been increased.
In terms of features, Xenon headlights now come as standard on all models while adaptive LED headlights are offered as an option. There’s also new LED foglights and the wing mirrors come with integrated indicators. An optional comfort access system lets you open and close the boot lid with your foot under the rear bumper. New cabin ambient light option can alternate between orange and white. There is also a new coasting mode on offer that disengages the powertrain when coasting to improve fuel consumption.
A new entry-level diesel variant 518d has been added to the international line-up. This car comes equipped with a four-cylinder motor good for 143bhp. However, there is no news on it making it to our shores yet. The facelifted BMW 5-series is expected to get to our shores sometime later this year.

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Lamborghini unveils Egoista concept

Lamborghini's 50th anniversary celebrations conclude with the unveiling of a wild concept car.

Lamborghini's 50th anniversary celebrations have concluded with the unveiling of a wild concept car, the Lamborghini Egoista.
The Egoista was dramatically revealed by brand boss Stephan Winkelmann at a dinner held to mark the end of the week-long drive by 350 Lamborghinis through Italy, organised in celebration of the marque's 50th birthday.
Lamborghini has confirmed that the Walter De Silva designed car takes its name from the fact that it has just one seat. The styling is said to be inspired by that of an Apache helicopter, and early reports suggest the lightweight car is extensively made of carbonfibre and that the cockpit canopy can be removed to save weight. Power comes from a 5.2-litre V10 engine.
De Silva is quoted as saying, "This is a car made for a single person, to have fun and to express their own personality. It is designed for people who want the most extreme and most special things in the world. This car represents extremes of hedonism; it is a car without compromise. In a word, it is selfish."
Few details of the Egoista concept are currently available, with Lamborghini having released little information and just a single official picture. The live launch pictures shown here are courtesy of Luxury & Supercar Weekend, which posted them on Facebook from the event.
At the Geneva motor show earlier this year the Lamborghini Veneno was revealed as an initial part of the firm's 50th anniversary celebrations.

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Why Elon Musk is hurting the electric car debate

As Tesla takes on The New York Times, its CEO could be leading a respectable discussion on battery technology. Instead, he's fueling an unnecessary fire.

Few test drives turn into overnight sagas like the drawn-out battle that is Tesla versus The New York Times.

On one hand, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has enough line graphs printed from his car’s onboard data box to feed a horde of lawyers, while reporter John Broder has a few “casual and imprecise notes.” But this spat is not simply a war of words, nor is the relevance of a major media outlet in question, as Road and Track so eloquently detailed. At stake is the perceived quality and reliability of a new product.

In recap: The New York Times publishes a review on Feb. 10 stating that its Model S test car, in a drive from New York to Boston, suffered range shortages in below-freezing weather and had to be towed. The following day, Musk tweets that the story is a “fake” and goes on CNBC Monday afternoon to dispute the story. The next day, Broder responds on the Times’ Wheels blog that the newspaper supports the story and writes that had he known then “what I know now about the car, its sensitivity to cold and additional ways to maximize range, I certainly would have treated the test differently.”

One day later, Musk writes a lengthy point-by-point critique, supported by charts and graphs, that appears to contradict each of Broder’s claims. On Valentine’s Day, Broder responds again, poking some holes into Musk’s claims. Then the media go back and forth, discovering the tow-truck driver was telling the truth and questioning the speed data Musk had cited. CNN successfully recreates Broder’s journey – as so do a handful of Model S owners – in the following days. Then on Tuesday, Musk responds again, this time to a blog post from the Times’ public editor Margaret Sullivan, who on Monday said in a headline that the test had “problems with precision and judgment.”

Admittedly, Broder could have studied how the car worked before setting out, something he did not dispute. Tesla employees assigned to assist Broder could have studied how the car worked, too, something Musk did not dispute. What’s odd is that Musk called Broder to tell him Tesla’s Supercharger stations should have been spaced in closer intervals to account for the Northeast’s more extreme weather – before blasting him on national television.

By now, you’ve formed your own opinions on the Times story. Here's mine: I haven’t bought Tesla’s explanations. And as a CEO, Musk’s behavior is intolerable and potentially damaging for his company’s future.

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Bertone-Bodied Aston Martin DB4GT Offered This Weekend at Bonhams Newport Pagnell

 An important Aston Martin DB4GT with unique coachwork by Italian design house Bertone,
 and which was the last off the production line, will be offered for sale this Saturday, May 18. Bonhams' 14th annual auction of Aston Martin and Lagonda motor cars takes place at Aston Martin Works in Newport Pagnell, U.K.
The "one-off" car, which has been fully restored by Aston Martin, will go under the hammer in the manufacturer's 100th anniversary year, and is expected to realize between $4.3 million and $5.8 million.

In 1960 Aston Martin commissioned Bertone to conceive and build a special Gran Turismo version of the DB4GT to be premiered at the 1961 Geneva Motor Show. The finished design – with its strikingly angular lines – was penned by a young Giorgetto Guigiaro, who would go on to become one of the most celebrated automotive designers of our time.
The final DB4GT to come off the production line, the car was named "The Jet" and debuted as planned in Geneva alongside Jaguar's new E-type.
The car is offered from a deceased estate, and comes to market for the first time in over 25 years. Its late owner owned several other Aston Martins, before falling for The Jet in 1986.
He had it restored to concours condition by the factory, since which time it has won 12 awards including First in Class at Pebble Beach and the Hurlingham Club, and Best in Show at Villa D'Este.
Tim Schofield, Director of the U.K. Motor Car Department, said: "Over the 14 years Bonhams has been holding dedicated Aston Martin auctions in Newport Pagnell we have sold many examples of the marque's most celebrated models as well as a number of motor cars like this one – that are completely unique. It gives us great pleasure to offer this important Aston Martin in this most important of years for the factory."

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