BMW News
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For an automaker to embark on a new car or other project isn't a simple task. Foremost, it costs money, and developing a car isn't exactly inexpensive. So, BMW has a new way of doing things: it builds "pretertypes" before a prototype. Rainer Daude, head of BMW's forward-looking technology office, coined the term and told Automotive News (subscription required) at the 2017 Los Angeles auto show that it helps gauge interest before a program is in too deep. He also gave an example of a pretertype: a battery trailer to extend the ranges of its electric cars. The company will sometimes build the...
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BMW’s electrification plans mapped outThe BMW Group is committed to launching 25 electrified cars by 2025, 12 of which will be battery-powered electrics. The automaker on Tuesday revealed the full schedule for the 25 cars along with a few tentative details. The first two cars out of the 25 have already been revealed. They are the BMW...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2019 BMW i8 Roadster revealedBMW’s i8 plug-in hybrid sports car can now be ordered as a convertible. BMW took the covers off the new i8 Roadster on Wednesday at the 2017 Los Angeles Auto Show, where the automaker also announced some updates for the i8 coupe. It was all the way back in 2012 when we first saw a concept of...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2018 BMW M5 priced from $103,595A new generation of the M5 goes on sale next spring, one that’s unlike any version of the BMW super sedan we’ve seen before. And BMW has priced the car from $103,595, including destination. That’s quite the jump on the $95k starting price of the last M5, but with the new model you...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
BMW issues stop-sale order and recall on all i3 electric carsBMW last week issued a stop-sale order and recall for every i3 in the United States, meaning from the 2014 model up to the present 2018 car. A total 30,542 cars are affected. The cause? It seems that in a recent round of testing, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration determined that a...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
BMW to build battery labIn yet another sign of the growing importance of electrification, BMW on Friday announced plans to establish a lab dedicated to the development of batteries. To be located in the automaker’s hometown of Munich, Germany, the lab will open in early 2019 and develop technologies to be used...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
When enthusiasts think German sports car, they often think BMW M3, and there's a good reason for that. The M3 came to life as a race car first, and a street car second. Donut Media's latest "Up to Speed" episode focuses on the M3 and traces the iconic sports car's history back to its DTM racing days of the 1980s. DTM, or Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, bound any competitor to homologation regulations. DTM required 5,000 road cars to enter the series. Therefore, after Mercedes-Benz showed up to dominate the series, BMW needed to not only build a race car, but a car it could sell to the public...
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BMW X7 to spawn ultra-posh coupe-like X8?BMW showed the X7 iPerformance concept at this year Frankfurt motor show, previewing the brand's all-new three-row X7 SUV. However, the concept could birth a second derivative in the form of an ultra-luxurious X8 with a coupe-like design. BMW’s head of development, Klaus Fröhlich, didn't...
Sean Szymkowski -
New BMW M5 started life as RWD, next M3 to be AWD?BMW ushered in a new era when it revealed the 2018 M5 with standard all-wheel drive. The system, dubbed xDrive, is capable of varying the amount of rear-drive bias, or switching to full rear-wheel drive. However, BMW didn't originally plan for the F90 M5 to be AWD, but the notable benefits might...
Sean Szymkowski -
2019 BMW M2 Competition spy videoThe BMW M2 is a Motor Authority favorite. The car’s powerful engine, razor-sharp handling and rear-wheel-drive layout ticks all the right boxes. Soon, though, an even better version will be thrown our way. BMW has been testing a more potent M2 for the good part of a year. Previously thought...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
BMW explains what to look for when buying an E34 5-SeriesThe BMW 5-Series has long been a beloved uber sedan. In its most basic form, it represents a powerful and moderately upscale entry in the mid-size luxury sedan segment. At the upper end of the scale you have the mighty M5, which remains the measuring stick by which other sports sedans are measured...
Jeff Glucker -
BMW electric car to debut at 2017 Los Angeles Auto ShowBMW has confirmed its lineup for this month’s 2017 Los Angeles Auto Show, and among the various production models and concepts on display will be a new electric car. Automakers often refer to hybrids as electric cars, so that could mean the mystery car is the new i8 Roadster which is tipped...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
M3 fans can look forward to a quicker, more extreme version of BMW’s sport sedan benchmark arriving next year. The vehicle we’re talking about is the first-ever M3 CS which is limited to just 550 units in the United States. It arrives next spring, as a 2018 model. Yes, BMW seems to be making use of its multiple CS trademark filings which range from “M1 CS” through to “M8 CS.” The first was the M4 CS that BMW unveiled in April at the 2017 Shanghai auto show. Now we have the M3 CS and don’t be surprised if an M2 CS shows up in the not too distant...
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E30 M3 does hill climb with screaming 440-HP E46 M3 engineYou'll often find builders of hot rods and muscle cars talking about upping the displacement on a given engine. Taking a Ford 390 and turning into a 428, for example. Are there times when destroking an engine is more appealing to increasing displacement? Yes, and we have the perfect example for you...
Jeff Glucker -
2019 BMW X4 spy shots and videoThe current BMW X4 was only introduced for 2015 but a redesigned model is already in the works. And judging by the lack of camouflage gear on prototypes, the debut can’t be far. The quick replacement rate is due to the X3, from which the X4 is derived, having just been redesigned itself, as a...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
BMW unveils M3 30 Years American Edition, M5 M Performance Parts range at SEMAThe 2017 SEMA show kicked off in Las Vegas, Nevada on Tuesday and one of the stars is a special M3 celebrating the sporty BMW nameplate’s 30th year in the United States. The car is called the M3 30 Years American Edition, and it comes a year after BMW rolled out a special M3 celebrating the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Steve Jobs' former BMW Z8 heading to auctionAs if the BMW Z8 wasn't enough of a modern-day collectible with its 4.9-liter 400-horsepower V-8 engine and head-turning design, this particular one has a very significant former owner: Apple's original genius, Steve Jobs. And it's heading to auction where RM Sotheby's expects it to fetch beyond...
Sean Szymkowski -
2018 BMW M3 CS spy shots and videoAll you M3 fans can look forward to a quicker, more extreme version of BMW’s sport sedan benchmark. Our spy photographers this week spotted a lightly camouflaged M3 at the Nürburgring, and some subtle modifications made to the tester suggest that it’s for a new M3 CS model. Yes...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Not content with a numerical gap between X1 and X3, on Wednesday we finally saw the 2018 BMW X2 crossover placeholder we knew was coming. The BMW X2 continues the automaker's march toward all things crossover, with no niche unturned. The X2 will go on sale next spring, but BMW hasn't yet announced pricing. Considering the automaker's MO for these types of things, it's reasonable to assume that the 2018 BMW X2 will run roughly $2,000 to $3,000 more than a stock X1, which starts at $34,895, and short of the X3's initial ask at $43,445. Based on the BMW X1, the new X2 hatchback chops a few...
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2018 BMW Alpina XD3 spy shotsBMW has just launched a new generation of its X3 and soon there will be a hotter version cooked up by Alpina. Alpina is a semi-official BMW tuner that’s been in the business of making Bavaria’s best go faster for over 50 years. We only get to sample Alpina’s talents in two...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Your next Mini could come from ChinaYour next Mini could be sourced from a plant in China if a report from Bloomberg proves accurate. Mini’s BMW Group parent is allegedly in talks with Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor over a deal to start Mini production in China, for local sale as well as export. The majority of Minis are...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Germany’s Wiesmann back in businessA niche German sports car marque known for retro roadsters powered by modern BMW engines is making a comeback. Wiesmann, currently led by Mercedes-Benz veteran Mario Spitzner, is working on a new sports car and on Tuesday signed a deal to source V-8 engines from BMW M—most likely the BMW...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant coming to BMWs and MinisThe BMW Group is the latest automaker to announce the addition of Amazon’s Alexa to its cars. The cloud-based voice activation system will start appearing in all BMW and Mini models from mid-2018. Voice activation has been around for years but most systems are still finicky things that more...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
BMW takes to Mars for virtual 2018 X3 test driveBMW believes the technology found in the 2018 X3 is out of this world. The German luxury brand has published a 360-degree video on YouTube for viewers to explore Mars with the 2018 X3 as a rover. In the future, BMW is apparently the official vehicle of Mars. Aside from the fact this particular 2018...
Sean Szymkowski