The Motor Report has confirmed BMW’s 2012, 2013 Electric City Car. The “Megacity” vehicle, which is rendered above by TMR, is part of the German Auto make’s plan to introduce several electric vehicles over those two years. It is rumored BMW’s microcar will be part of their 1-Series.

According to reports, ” Development costs could be cut by sharing the small platform with the next-generation MINI range, stretching it for five-door models and providing a better basis for small roadster models. If built, the small new BMW could draw power from four and three-cylinder engines. One question is whether BMW would stick to its no-front-wheel-drive credo, or allow a lower entry price by offering a FWD model.”

What’s the most adorable thing you can do with a BMW X1? Let a bunch of kids create one out of Lego bricks! A group of 800 kids, ages 5 to 13, got the chance to create a BMW X1 model, piece by piece, in Germany.

The model was built to scale – 4.5 meters long, 1.8m wide and 1.5m high. We would have gone with a separate color (colour) other then yellow, but it’s still cute!

A total of 165,000 LEGO bricks were used in creating the 2010 X1. BMW initiated the artwork fundraiser for socially disadvantaged children. For every built-up LEGO block the company will donate money to the Children’s World “Die Arche” in Munich. If you’re in Munich go check it out in person at BMW World.

via worldcarfans

Press Release | “Wash Me” Ten MINI cars. Ten artists. To mark its 50th anniversary, MINI launches the book “Wash Me”

Zurich. It’s always tempting to write “Wash Me” on a dirty car or to draw something on a fogged windscreen with your finger. Everyday situations like this were the inspiration for this publication, says Nico Ammann, art director and photographer of the works featured in the book to be published by MINI Switzerland in a limited edition of 2,000.

The upshot is a colourful volume depicting a wide range of subjects, and one that will appeal not only to MINI fans. The common thread is that none of the ten artists has ever before worked with the automobile as a medium, and each has transformed it into a transient work of art.

The following artists and authors contributed to the book project: Smash137, Fabian Bertschinger, Marisa Pichler and Gigi Burn, Tika, Euro, Aurèle Sack, Stefan Ege and Seak, August, Rémi Jaccard and, last but not least Dieter Meier, also famous as the singer in the band Yello.

Designer Alfredo Häberli provided two sketches and an article. The author and journalist Michèle Roten and Prof. Dr. Jacqueline Otten, director of the design department at Zurich University of the Arts, likewise made creative written contributions to the book, which will be out in early November.

Art always was, and remains, a key aspect of the MINI brand. MINI is, for example, the exclusive partner of the “Ludlow 38″ exhibition space at the Goethe-Institut in New York, located in the heart of the thriving gallery district in the Lower East Side, near Chinatown and not far from the New Museum of Contemporary Art. Since its inauguration in 2008, this gallery space has presented contemporary artistic projects in collaboration with various cultural partners in Germany. Through its partnership with brands such as Bisazza and its involvement with FIAC 2007 or the International Talent Support / MINI International Photo Award in Trieste, MINI also remains true to its traditional involvement with unconventional cultural projects. Reason enough to welcome the launch of a vibrant photo book that is bound to delight MINI fans as well as design, art and photographic enthusiasts.