monster

I have to admit, after inspecting every single detail on the CS for a long time, the X6 looks a bit boring afterwards. I am still impressed that BMW managed to pull off such a design. The Porsche display area is right next to the BMW area, and there is a Cayenne not too far away. The X6 just kills it, easily. It has a sense of restrained aggressiveness, and the flared wheel arches gave the X6 a very muscular look. The car looks like it is ready to attack any piece of road ahead of it. There is nothing out there that looks like this for now, and according to the BMW salesman, the X6 will be launched early March, and arrive to Australia in August, with the twin turbo diesel engine and the 4.8 L V8.
As I have mentioned before, there is an ugly barrier surrounding the car, so I cannot get a clear view of it.
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After seeing the X6, I went searching for the X5 for a comparison. It was hiding behind the wall displaying the current BMW alloy wheels range. I was expecting a normal X5 4.8 V8 version with the sportspackage, but what I saw was a nice surprise. Although it is the 3.0i version, the car has the aero bodykit, which I think is the best, and it has 20 or 21inch black rims. It is one of the hottest X5 I have ever seen. The X5 does not look dated by the X6 at all, just have a look at it yourselves.
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I think my friend has more photos of both cars, I will have to wait for him to check his camera.

monster

Thanks mate, I saw the kama The eye brows works very well IMO, it enhance the aggressive look of the CS and it reduce the visual size of the headlights.

bmer

That's great! I was getting a bit unsure about the eye brows because in some angles they seem to stand out too sharpely but I believe you if you say that they work well IRL.

monster

M3 time. I was hoping to see a white one, and I saw it . Maybe it was the indoor lighting, the M3 doesn't look as stunning as the Silverstone silver and black versions I saw today in the Sydney dealer launch. However, the crowd of people were very impressed, there were a constant stream of human traffic surrounding the M3, pointing and knocking the carbon fibre roof. The bonnet was opened and more people surround the car and stare at the engineering masterpiece, also know as the 4.0 L V8. I took a few photos, but they are not as good as the ones I took at the party today. The engine air intake does sit a bit high in the car, and the power doom is necessary. It wasn't obvious under the lighting at all.

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There were other BMW on display, such as a metallic black E92 335i with red leather interior, and a blue 335i Touring with the M-sports package. The 1 series coupe and the 3 series convertible didn't make it, but the combination of the CS and X6 concept more than good enough.

Here ends the BMW section of the review.

Centurion

The more I look at it the more I like. The CS is breath taking, especially the front which looks like an angry rat. The production car will most likely look even better. Can't wait to see it rolling on the roads.

monster

One of the main star attractions is the new Maserati Gran Tourismo. The car looks seriously sexy from most angles. I like how the position of each wheel is emphasised by the gentle curves of the panels. However I am still not too convinced with the slightly odd looking curve of the C-pillar from certain angles. Upon closer inspection, I was disappointed to see there were two major quality issues with this car. 1st of all there is a uneven panel gap between the side skirt and the lower body of the car. Also the side skirt didn't fit well with the body, which caused a slight and unusual shadow around that area behind the rear door. This wasn't as obvious as the seriously miss aligned boot lid. The right side of the boot lid is clearly higher than the left side, there is a clear gap between the lights on the boot lid and the lights on the rear quarter panel. At 1st I thought the boot lid wasn't closed properly, but the Maserati guy slammed shut the boot lid a few times and the boot lid is still out of alignment. I don't think the photos show these quality flaws of the car.

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There are a pair of sensational looking Quattroporte sedans sitting on the side of the Maserati display area. I seriousely want the black one
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monster

For those who are interested, I have more M3 photos in the M3 Sydney launch thread, which is here http://www.germancarzone.com/3-serie...tml#post240908

Hey Bruce, I got a few photos of the Lexus IS-F as well as the Toyota LandCruiser. Give me a few hours to upload them.

Where are you Tycoon, I hope you dont' get a heart attack after seeing those photos of the CS. It is serioiusely f*cking impressive, if you have some spare time and $, and a bit crazy, fly over to Sydney and check it out yourself.

Bruce

Lol Thanks for thinking of me.

And by the way Derek, fantastic shots thus far. Especially those of the GranTurismo; I'm still not a fan of the car, but the photos truly are excellent. Oh, and congratulations on the two year anniversary of your membership on GCZ!

The Artist

I remember when i was one of the very few on this forum loving the CS..
that was cool
but i knew ppl woul eventually understand the greatness

monster

For Lexus and Toyota lovers (Bruce is probably the only one here)

I was a bit curious to see how the IS-F will turn out in real life. It was both good and bad. The electric blue is definitely very eye catching, and the polished metallic grey alloys looks just right, they are probably the best design feature on the car. Those side vents do not look as exaggerated as those in the press release photos, and the rear end styling and the stacked exhaust pipes are actually attractive. The bad new starts when I see the front 3/4 view of the car. The bonnet is seriousely big and it rises too rapidly and too high in the beginning, you can see it in the 1st photo. The car has a swollen front. If Lexus reshape the bonnet, the car will look a lot better. I have these photos in bigger 1600x1200 size, I can send them to you guys if you want.

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There was a new LX570 on display as well. It looks seriously ugly. The car looks too tall and short; it just looks very uncomfortable sitting on the small 18inch wheels. The interior design is not bad, the dashboard design is mildly attractive, but the interior quality is actually not that good. It is true that most of the dash and the doors are trimmed in soft smooth leather, but the plastics around the door handles and the lower part of the dashboard are not up to standard. Some buttons looks cheap as well.

I reckon the new Land Cruiser looks marginally better than the Lexus version, but it still suffers from the same issue. The proportion looks odd, and the 4WD just doesn't look right. The Land Cruiser has the same wheels as the LX 570, which are way too small.
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A black TRD Aurion was on display as well, but I was running out of space in my camera, so I have decided to take photos of the engine instead because not a lot of you guys have seen it. The red supercharger is like a lobster sitting on top of the engine, and the entire assembly is very compact. It sits neatly between the narrow banks of the engine, and the engine itself is small of a 3.5 L unit.

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