BMW News
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The long, sad, failure-ridden story of what used to be England's auto industry has filled many books, and drained many pints of both ale and oil. But next Wednesday, a new car will roll off the lines of the former Austin factory in Longbridge, England, headed for showrooms later this year. The new midsize sports hatchback is called the MG6, and it's the first new model sold under the MG marque in 16 long years. It was designed and engineered, says the company, by the MG technical center in Longbridge. But unlike all previous MGs, the car comes by way of MG's new owner, Shanghai Automotive...
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Report: All-Wheel Drive BMW M5 On The CardsA few years back if you were told BMW’s hallowed M division would be launching SUVs, installing turbochargers and striving for improved fuel efficiency, you’re immediate assumption would be that the person telling you all this was crazy. Fast forward to today and we have the X5 M and X6...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
BMW And Brilliance 5-Series Plug-In Hybrid: 2011 Shanghai Auto Show PreviewAs we first reported several months ago, BMW and its Chinese partner Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd. has developed a new plug-in hybrid version of its 5-Series, revealed today ahead of its debut in just a few weeks at the 2011 Shanghai Auto Show. The vehicle is classed as a prototype and...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
BMW Previews New EfficientDynamics Tech, Including 8-Speed Predictive TransmissionMost of BMW's EfficientDynamics technologies are pretty sleepy numbers: nearly-invisible aerodynamic tweaks, thermal efficiency improvements, electric power-assist systems, and the like. Some of them, however, are downright fascinating, like the future predictive eight-speed transmission detailed...
Nelson Ireson -
BMW Working On X1 M?Consider this one half-baked at best, but there is talk in Europe that BMW's M Division skunkworks may have an X1 M in the oven. If it does come, it could get the same core running gear found in the 1-Series M Coupe. The rumors say the 'is'-badged N54 twin-turbo engine found in the 335is as well as...
Nelson Ireson -
Spy Shots: Lightweight BMW M3 SedanJust a few days ago at a special event in Munich BMW presented a lightweight M3 Sedan concept that came fitted with many of the hottest parts from the track-focused M3 GTS. And now, spotted just outside the Nurburging circuit in Germany, is this very mysterious M3 Sedan that looks very similar to...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
To this day BMW has never launched an M8 but the automaker did come close to doing so at one point, though the project was canned at the last minute. Back in 1990 BMW built a one-off prototype version of its then new 8-Series sports coupe and labeled it the M8. The prototype featured a 6.0-liter variation of BMW’s S70 V-12 engine that developed 550 horsepower and it was clearly distinguished from the regular 8-Series on which it was based due to its missing headlights and subtle M8 badging. There was also a pair of side air vents located just in front of the rear wheels. Car buffs may...
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BMW Concept M5: 2011 Shanghai Auto Show PreviewFollowing this past weekend’s leak, BMW has released the first official images of its new Concept M5 ahead of its world debut later this month at the 2011 Shanghai Auto Show. Like previous concept cars from the hallowed M division, the design you see here is pretty much what will be used for...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
BMW Hints At CSL Successor With Special M3 Sedan ConceptThis past weekend BMW’s M performance division held a special event in Munich, Germany where it showcased a number of special models, namely, a concept version of the upcoming 2012 BMW M5 that we were fortunate enough to get leaked images of. With all the hoopla surrounding the upcoming...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2012 BMW M5 F10 Concept LeakedThe good folks at BMW are not going to be happy about this, but leaked photos of the BMW Concept M5, the "concept" that presages the coming 2012 M5, based on the F10 5-Series, have emerged on an enthusiast forum. The images appear to come from behind the wall of an embargoed event currently...
Nelson Ireson -
BMW M3 Pickup: Official Bimmercamino GalleryWe've already seen BMW's early April Fool's Day joke, and the but today the company made the not-so-surprising (or funny) official revelation. Despite the anti-climactic nature of the unveiling, we still want one. Like, now. Does it make sense? Of course not. It's a high-performance sport truck, or...
Nelson Ireson -
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia Causes Four-Car Pile-Up: Can He Get It Fixed?Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia is known for being a little maverick-y. Over the course of his career, he's developed a reputation as a very smart, highly opinionated guy who's not afraid to move at his own pace. That can serve him well in the courtroom, but it didn't do much for Scalia...
Richard Read -
While it isn’t the high-performance M6 we’re all waiting for, the latest M Sports Package for the upcoming 2012 BMW 6-Series Coupe does give the dynamic luxury two-door an even sportier look thanks to some distinct M styling cues. BMW’s line of M Sports Package upgrades typically include exterior modifications to give a sharper, sportier appearance, along with interior upgrades to enhance the driver-car interface. New pieces should include a BMW M shifter, M steering wheel and M footrest. Carbon fiber trim is also likely to be available. In combination with the M Sports...
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Forbidden Fruit: BMW M3 Tiger Matte EditionRemember the special edition ‘Frozen Gray’ BMW M3 launched in the U.S. last year? The one that sold out in just 12 minutes? Well, China has now received its own matte-painted special edition M3, also built to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the first M3. Like its U.S. counterpart, the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Video: BMW Takes Us Inside Top Secret Plant ZeroWhere is every BMW born? In a secret place the company has barely admitted exists--until now, called Plant Zero. The plant is staffed by the best of BMW's technicians, where prototype cars are built almost entirely by hand. The techs use their own methods to program the eventual robotic assembly...
Nelson Ireson -
Video: Behind The Scenes With BMW's Death Valley Hot Weather Testing TeamIf you've never been there, you can't really know. Death Valley is aptly named. It's hot. Damned hot. That's why every carmaker on earth comes to the dusty, sun-baked stretches of asphalt to test its cars to their extremes. In this video, BMW gives us a look at what hot-weather testing looks like...
Nelson Ireson -
Report: U.S.-Spec 2012 BMW M5 Will Get Manual TransmissionWith the introduction of its new 2012 BMW 6-Series Coupe, the German automaker made the surprise move of offering it with a manual transmission option here in the U.S. but only an eight-speed auto for its home market. It appears BMW is set to do the same with the next-gen M5, which is expected to...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Lightweight BMW M Concept Coming To 2011 Tokyo Motor Show?A new new M car may be on the horizon, due this fall in the Land of the Rising Sun. Its recipe? Lightweight, high-tech materials, and more electronics than ever before. What will be the platform? We're not sure, but it's not likely to be the 1-Series M Coupe. The 1M Coupe already had a lightweight...
Nelson Ireson -
A little over six months ago BMW started trials of a new car-sharing program in its hometown of Munich that allowed virtually anyone to rent one of its cars on an hourly basis, including high-performance models like the M3 and even the M6 range-topper. Dubbed ‘BMW On Demand’, the pilot program is ongoing and is now spreading to other cities. In partnership with fellow German firm Sixt AG, BMW has announced that the program, now called ‘DriveNow’, will be expanded to Berlin later this year and eventually other European cities. The automaker is seeking up to one million...
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Video: BMW's M3 Pickup Plays April Fool In The FogIt's a bit early for the April Fool's jokes, but BMW apparently did exactly that with the M3 pickup that has been making the Web rounds over the past week. It has also been called a parts hauler, a prototype, and a meaningless mule. Whatever it is, it's in this video, driving through the fog. We...
Nelson Ireson -
BMW To Expand TwinPower Turbo Technology To Three-Cylinder EnginesAbout a year ago we reported on BMW developing a new family of modular gasoline and diesel engines that will include a three-cylinder variant and eventually go into some 1.5 million BMW and MINI models annually. BMW has now revealed that the engines will feature its latest ‘TwinPower...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2011 BMW 1-Series M Coupe Recruited As MotoGP Safety CarWe’ve seen plenty of safety cars in the past but never usually this small. The latest is the new 2011 BMW 1-Series M Coupe, which has been enlisted by the MotoGP motorbike race series to keep things on track. The 1-Series M Coupe Safety Car is a one-off built by BMW’s M Division...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
BMW i3 Prototype Goes Snow DriftingEver since BMW announced its new i division a few weeks ago, there has been a lot of speculation about exactly what the cars would look like, After all, aside from highly conceptualized drawings, only the featureless models above are what BMW has officially shown us of its new cars. Then there's...
Keith Buglewicz -
Spy Shots: BMW M3 Pickup--Not What You ThinkA couple of days ago the Interwebs broke out in song over a vehicle spotted at the Nurburgring: a pickup version of the BMW M3. Marrying the most fanciful of auto-journo oddball car dreams, the carryall sports car looked like a Munich miracle. Today, we have a new set of close-up shots of this...
Nelson Ireson