At a ceremony in Munich last night, BMW launched the sixth generation 5-Series. In more ways than one, it is a scaled down version of the 7-Series launched a year earlier. The two luxury sedans have a similar chassis and boast the same styling language. Compared to its class rivals the new 5-Series has the longest wheelbase. A variety of engines will be available for the standard model, topped by the 4.4 litre, direct-injected, twin-turbocharged V8, which powers the 550i. The BMW Motorsport department is already working on the new M5, which is expected to use a further developed version of the 550i's V8.
After a very difficult time, General Motors is ready to look ahead. At the upcoming Los Angeles Auto Show subsidiary Cadillac will unveil the CTS Coupe. Like its four-door siblings, the new coupe uses a direct-injected V6 engine that produces 304 bhp but also great consumption figures. Whether a high performance 'V' version will be added to the line-up is not certain yet. The CTS Coupe will be available in the Spring of 2010 as a 2011 model.
This coming Saturday the annual tuner and motorsport extravaganza that is the Essen Motor Show will open its doors for the public. One of the star attractions will no doubt be this 9ff Speed9. Using a Porsche 997 Turbo Cabriolet as a basis, the German tuner created a modern-day version of the legendary Speedster model. In 9ff terms, the 650 bhp produced by the tweaked engine is modest but it suits the car. Customers can order a complete Speed9 or send their own car in for a conversion.
Earlier this week we reported on the upcoming Bufori CS road car and now word has reached us that the Bufori BMS R1 competition version successfully competed in this weekend's Macau GT Cup event. Built in less than 10 weeks, the R1 was driven in the event by former F1-racer Alex Yoong. Starting in 28th, he was up to 23rd when debris picked from the track caused his throttle to stick open, resulting in a close encounter with the barriers. The racing car will be further developed at Sepang and the road car is expected to make its official debut at the Beijing Show in 2010.

Every year several new supercar projects are launched but only very few come to fruition. Today we take a closer look at three that have made it beyond the paper phase. From Canada comes the spectacular Pléthore LC-750, which incorporates a McLaren F1-style centre-seat driving position. Using a supercharged, 750 bhp Corvette sourced engine and a carbon fibre chassis and body, it ticks all the supercar boxes. A 1300 bhp engine is optional, which would make speeds of well in excess of 400 km/h possible. The base LC-750 was first shown at the recent SEMA show and first deliveries can be expected in 2010.
Arash Farboud has been responsible for various new supercar models and brands over the last few years. He latest creation is the Arash AF-10. This two-seater coupe also combines a readily available Corvette engine with a carbonfibre tub. The styling is somewhat reminiscent of Ferrari's Enzo.
Although not a supercar like the first two cars, we could not ignore the Bufori CS, which was launched at Macau over the weekend. Not much is known yet about the Malaysian sports car other than that it will have a carbon fibre body and a turbo-charged four cylinder engine.
With the 2009 racing series hardly concluded, it is already time to look ahead to next year. Among the most interesting sports car news of recent weeks was that the Courage-Oreca FLM09 will be eligible for all races of the Le Mans Series and the ALMS. Used this year in a one-make championship, the Corvette engined prototypes will hopefully attract interested gentleman racers into the two series, who don't want to compete the big teams in the existing classes.
Porsche faced very stiff competition in the GT3 championships around the world from the new Alpina B6s and Audi R8s. To give its customers a fighting chance, the brand new 997 GT3 R was developed. Using the latest 4-litre engine, it packs 30 bhp more than its predecessor.
In 2010 the hotly contested S2000 class can welcome the Ford Fiesta S2000. Built by M-Sport, alongside the WRC Focus, the new Fiesta is powered by a 280 bhp 2-litre engine. Among the first races on the calendar of the small Ford is the Rallye Monte Carlo in January.

On December 12th 1959 Jack Brabham pushed his Cooper T51 across the line at Sebring for a fourth place finish in the United States Grand Prix. That gave the Australian enough points to win his first World Championship. It also secured the Constructor's Championship for the Cooper team. History was written that day as it was the first World Championship for a mid-engined car as well as the first time a customer engine beat major manufacturers the likes of Ferrari and Maserati. Cooper's revolution had immediate effect as no other front-engined machine ever won the championship again. The T51 represented the fourth evolution of the single seater introduced halfway trough 1956. The lack of a proper engine prevented the team to compete in Formula 1 on a relatively level playing field until 1959. This was finally made possible by the arrival of a 2.5 litre version of the Climax engine, which proved to be the final piece of the puzzle. Today we celebrate Cooper's revolution and Brabham's heroic efforts at Sebring with a detailed look at the highly influential Cooper T51 Climax.
This year's Formula 1 season also saw a new team take home the trophies at their first attempt. News of a Mercedes-Benz take-over earlier this week also means it was Brawn GP's only attempt. Their Mercedes-Benz engined BGP001 propelled Jenson Button to six wins in the opening seven races. Rubens Barrichello added two more victories during the team's fairytale season. For most of the pre-season, it looked like there would be no team at all after Honda had announced its withdrawal from Formula 1 at the end of 2008. Team principal Ross Brawn eventually found enough funding to take over the team and just a few weeks ahead of the first Grand Prix the BGP001 was rolled out. It immediately impressed during testing and Button and Barrichello caused a major upset by finishing first and second at the team's debut. The BGP001 was the big star of the most surprising Formula 1 season in many years. As a 'Silver Arrow', Brawn will enter the 2010 season with two new drivers as Barrichello and Button will move to Williams and McLaren respectively next year. It will be very interesting if the impressive form can be maintained.

Although the Ferrari F40 LM was developed by Michelotto in the late 1980s, it was not seriously raced in Europe until half a decade later. The arrival of the GT1 class and the BPR Championship finally provided the racing F40 with a podium to shine on. Its closest competition was the brand new McLaren F1 GTR but the Ferrari nevertheless proved hugely competitive. One of our feature cars won a BPR race in 1995 and finished 12th at Le Mans. For 1996 Michelotto developed an even wilder 'GTE' version of the F40, which was even more competitive and often outpaced the McLarens. A year later both the Ferrari and McLaren faced purpose-built racing cars from Porsche and Mercedes-Benz and gradually lost touch. The ultimate development of these GT1 machines was the Mercedes-Benz CLK-LM that was used in the second half of the 1998 season. Although it failed at Le Mans, the V8-engined racer won all subsequent rounds of the FIA GT Championship. It very effectively killed off the GT1 class that very briefly saw the world's finest supercars go head-to-head. Both the F40 LM and CLK-LM are pictured earlier this year during the Modena Trackdays.
In 2010 four new teams look set to join Formula 1, which is in part made possible by the readily available Cosworth V8 engine. It is a repeat of the 1970 season when a host of new manufacturers tried their luck at Formula 1 with a car built around the Cosworth DFV engine. The most successful of these was March, who aimed at selling their new 701 at customers. Among them was Ken Tyrrell, who entered his Marches for World Champion Jackie Stewart. The Scot scored three pole positions and won one race in 'his' 701 before switching to the first Tyrrell. Our extensive gallery features four of eleven 701s built, including the example used by Stewart. A little less fortunate was DeTomaso's efforts with the Dallara built and Frank Williams run 505. The car was too heavy and Williams' lead driver Piers Courage suffered a fatal crash. One of the surviving chassis has recently been fully restored by Hall & Hall and was driven up the hill at the most recent Festivals of Speed. For 1971 Williams switched to a March 701, which is also featured in our article.