Autoblog

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BMW is gearing up for the online unveiling of its latest design study, the GINA Light Visionary Model. Unlike the BMW M1 Homage concept, this one's actually a runner, as evidenced by the video posted below the fold, showing the concept being driven from the studio into a car carrier then unloaded at the BMW Museum in Munich.

No details about the roadster are available from the BMW-web.tv site, but judging by the open cockpit and massive width, we're expecting something akin the M1, sans roof and sporting many of the design cues found on the homage. Check back for more when the BMW GINA Light Visionary Concept is unveiled on June 10th.

Germany may still have a few stretches of autobahns unrestricted by speed limits, but local law enforcement stick rigidly to noise pollution regulations. That's what one student found out, the hard way, when he had his Ferrari impounded by police in Munich for producing too much noise: nearly 110.5 dBa, twelve and a half decibels over the 98 dBa limit.

The student happened to be 25-year-old Seif al-Arab, the second youngest of Libyan dictator Col. Muammar Gaddafi's seven sons. (Somewhat ironically, Seif's younger brother Khamis is himself a police officer in Libya.) Coughing up the fine, reported at ₤100, shouldn't be a problem for a student with a trust fund big enough to buy a Ferrari F430 in the first place, but he might have to play the diplomatic immunity card over a reportedly expired international driver's permit.

Uh, Baba? Can you send me some more cash and a new license?

[Source: Telegraph via Winding Road]

When news broke of Michael Schumacher's adventure behind the wheel of a taxi in Germany, most of us chuckled at the thought of the multiple-champion driver hustling a cab through the streets of Munich. German police were evidently not quite so amused, and have reportedly launched an investigation into the matter.

Both Schumacher and Tuncer Yilmax, the cabbie whose taxi Schumacher commandeered in exchange for fare plus a 100-Euro tip, are under investigation by the Coburg traffic authority for their respective involvement in the erstwhile-amusing affair.

"That was an offence against transport laws. We will have a hearing," said a local law enforcement official. Schumacher's response: "You just have to laugh about it". We'll go with Michael's approach, but keep you posted on what couldn't very well turn into the court-room drama of the year.

[Source: Autosport, photo by Lars Baron/Bongarts/Getty]

It's official. Everyone loves a HUMMER. What else are we supposed to think when we get word of a big HUMMER rally in -- get ready -- Munich! You know Munich, that would be in Germany, which is in Europe, where we're repeatedly told no one wants a big, ugly gas-guzzling Suburban Assault Vehicle like a HUMMER.

Clearly, this is just some marketing stunt by GM, right? Wrong.

The 2006 HUMMER World Run is the brainchild of GeigerCars, Europe's biggest HUMMER dealer and one of the biggest HUMMER tuner/customizers you'll find in any country. If the name rings a bell, you probably remember their recent contribution to the American law enforcement community -- a 700-horsepower H2 that went to an unnamed County Sheriff in Texas.

Said to be the first international meet for HUMMER owners, the two-day extravaganza is scheduled for October 7-8, during which over 150 HUMMERs and mil-spec HMMWVs will be on display and testing their mettle on an off-road course designed to showcase their capabilities. As of press time, we were not able to find out if the course has been altered to include a simulated US fast-food drive-thru lane complete with poles. Clearly, that would make it the most challenging HUMMER test course of all time...

Regular visitors to the festival will be able to test drive the HUMMER range, be eligible to win a 1-year HUMMER lease, and go for rides in GeigerCars' 10-meter-long H2 limousine -- allowing them to experience what it's like to go to to an American prom, albeit with better beer. It is Germany, after all.

(More pimped HUMMERs and a press release after the jump)

[Source: GeigerCars.de]