NEWS
April Fool — how the motor industry pranked us
Carmakers let their hair down with humorous motoring misdirection
From a self-riding motorcycle that sets lap records to skydiving inside a museum, the motor industry came up with some novel April Fool pranks on Monday. And it was the Germans who seemed to have the most fun, giving lie to a long-held perception about Teutonic lightheartedness. BMW Motorrad, the motorcycle division of the German carmaker, claimed to have added a self-riding mode to its S1000 RR superbike that turns any rider into a lap-time hero. The so-called iRace fully autonomous mode would “enable those with less experience to discover the full potential of the RR, without forfeiting either enjoyment or safety”, said BMW. The mode would allow even riders who have just received their motorcycle licences to break lap records with the assistance of the autonomous riding programme. “Whether accelerating, braking, gear shifting or steering, with the BMW Motorrad iRace Kit, the RR is able to perform every manoeuvre fully automatically if the rider so desires, enabling him to enter co...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.