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BMW suspends operations in Russia

BMW suspends operations in Russia. The news comes after other carmakers like Ford, Volkswagen, GM did the same. This decision refers to the delivery of vehicles to the Russian market, but also to the cessation of production in Kaliningrad.

“We condemn the aggression against Ukraine and follow further developments with great concern and horror. Due to the current geopolitical situation, we are stopping local production and exports to the Russian market until the next decision,” a BMW spokesman said.

Russia is a growing market for BMW, which in partnership with Avtotor, assembles cars for the Russian market in a joint factory. Also, BMW has subcontractors in Ukraine from whom it gets some car parts. In 2021, about 12,000 cars were assembled, while about 47,000 BMWs were exported to Russia.

The company announced that due to the current situation and the difficult supply of parts, it is suspending work in Russia. BMW’s business is not only affected in Russia but also in other countries, such as the UK, where BMW owns the British automotive marque Mini.

Volkswagen recently announced that it is suspending production in Dresden and Zwickau, also due to problems with the supply of electronic parts from Ukraine, where the company owns two factors.

Source: BMW

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1995 Porsche 928 GTS

In 1978, Porsche began production of the luxury 928, with the intention of replacing the 911. One example of the 1995 Porsche Perlglanz 928 GTS made for the U.S. market is returning home.

It is Porsche’s first production V8-powered model and its only coupé powered by a front-mounted V8 engine. This Porsche 928 is the last ever produced and best equipped. It was painted in Perlglanz, and it is interesting that the owner of the car also received 5.2 gallons (20 L) of paint. The body of the car is made of galvanized steel, while the front fender, front bumpers and hood are made of aluminum to make the car lighter.

Inside, the seats are upholstered in green leather. There’s also a custom deep-pile plum carpet, as well as violet leather upholstered trim, steering wheel, instrument cover, door handles, vents, seat adjustment switches, speaker covers and ashtray covers.

The Porsche 928 GTS is powered by a 5.4 liter V8 engine with 345 hp (257 kW) and 369 lb-ft (500 Nm) of torque. Power is transmitted to the rear wheels via a 5-speed manual transmission (optional 4-speed automatic). It reaches 60 mph in 5.4 seconds with a top speed of 171 mph (275 km / h).

The 1995 Porsche 928 GTS was purchased at Champion Porsche, Florida, for $ 184,938. The current owners, Flüssiger Alexander VanDamme and his brother Sigmund VanDamme, have been searching for the car for years. They found the car in France, and it is not known how much they paid for it.

Source: Flüssig magazine via Facebook

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The cargo ship Felicity Ace has sunk

Felicity Ace has sunk. This information was confirmed by MOL Ship Management spokesman Pat Adamson, who said that due to weather conditions, rough seas and high waves, the ship leaned to the side and sank in 9,840 feet (3,000 meters) deep sea.

It has long been believed that some cars survived the fire on a ship carrying 3,965 vehicles. Now every hope is lost. As a reminder, the ship carried 1,100 Porsches, 189 Bentleys, while the rest were Volkswagen, Audi and Lamborghini, including electric models. Among the cars was an unknown number of Lamborghini Aventador models, which Lamborghini recently stopped producing.

Recently, Lamborghini CEO in America Andrea Baldi said that the company hopes that at least some Aventador models have survived, and that it is possible to restore them. If this is not the case, they will have to produce new ones. It is estimated that owners will have to wait at least six months for their Lamborghini Aventador cars.

Volkswagen and Porsche have not commented on the current situation.

The cause of the fire, which destroyed a cargo estimated at more than $ 400 million, is still unknown. It has been confirmed that the damage to the cars is covered by insurance.

Source: Bloomberg

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