2014 BMW M3 Sedan Speculatively Rendered

We know that the next BMW M3 sedan is coming and we have a general idea of what it will look like thanks to an abundance of spy shots over the past year, but if you are still having a hard time visualizing the sportiest model in the F30 3-Series range, photoshop artist Wildspeed has put together these renderings. 

The CGIs (Computer Generated Imagery) propose a wider body with bloated front and rear wheel arches housing larger wheels in beefier tires, a vented hood, double-slat grilles, side skirts and a typical M-style front bumper with enlarged air inlets. 

What do you don't see here is the rear end of the car that will sport a redesigned bumper with a diffuser flanked by twin tailpipes on either side and possibly a boot lid spoiler. 

The F30 M3 sedan (along with the coupe model) will mark a return to a straight-six engine, but this time it will be turbocharged with an output of around 450-horses, up from the current unforced-induction V8's 414hp (420PS). 

A six-speed manual gearbox or an optional seven-speed dual clutch transmission will power the rear wheels.

We expect that the new M3 will be lighter than the current generation, possibly losing as much as 100kg (220 pounds) with significant benefits in handling, performance as well as fuel economy and greenhouse emissions.   

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2013 BMW 7-series Range Priced

BMW’s biggest sedan, the 7-series, was comprehensively updated for 2013 and now we’ve got pricing info on the entire 7er lineup. The 7 enters this new model year with tweaked six- and eight-cylinder engines, a new eight-speed automatic, and a refocused ActiveHybrid 7 model. (We’ve previously laid out the changes to the ActiveHybrid 7 and the rest of the 7-series lineup.) Besides both the six-cylinder 740i and eight-cylinder 750i gaining more power—the twelve-cylinder 760i went unchanged—BMW also added an all-wheel-drive model to the 740i line. As expected, every 2013 7-series costs more than last year—with the exception of the ActiveHybrid 7. Significantly, the hybrid sees a massive price cut relative to the 2011 version—the hybrid took a yearlong hiatus for 2012. Full pricing info below:

740i: $74,195740Li: $78,195740Li xDrive: $81,195ActiveHybrid 7: $84,895750i: $87,195750i xDrive: $90,195750Li: $90,895750Li xDrive: $93,895760Li: $140,200 

Overall, the modest price increases year-over-year for the non-hybrid 2013 7-series accurately reflect the added value BMW built in, but the ActiveHybrid 7’s pricing is pretty interesting. The first ActiveHybrid 7 was positioned similarly to the Lexus LS600h hybrid, with the electric assist intended to give the eight-cylinder sedan the power of a V-12 but with V-8 fuel economy. For 2013, BMW ditched the original system for the same setup used in the smaller 2012 ActiveHybrid 5, which promises to be more efficient.

The switch from a V-8–based hybrid system to a six-cylinder-based one also brings a switch in the 2013 ActiveHybrid 7’s placement within the 7er lineup. Last year, both regular and long-wheelbase versions of the ActiveHybrid 7 were available, starting at $97,895 and $101,895, respectively. This year, the ActiveHybrid 7 is available only in long-wheelbase form and pricing begins at $84,895, placing it between the six-cylinder 740i and the 750i. It’s worth noting that the ActiveHybrid 5 shares an identical spot in between the six- and eight-cylinder models in the 5-series lineup; the new ActiveHybrid 3 is something of an anomaly and is priced higher than all non-M 3-series. 

Look for the 2013 7-series to begin hitting dealerships soon. Buyers looking for more sportiness can indulge in the also-refreshed 2013 Alpina B7, which is priced quite a bit higher than the regular 7, but also gets a ton of built-in, psuedo-M7-like upgrades.

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2014 BMW M6 Gran Coupe Rendered

Presenting the 2014 BMW M6 Gran Coupe! OK, we present a rendering of what we think the M-badged Gran Coupe will look like. Up to this point, only camo’d versions of the M6 GC have been seen, but BMW recently confirmed the model for U.S. sales in 2013 and so we thought we’d provide an early peek at the car.

As you might expect, the M6 Gran Coupe will get M-specific wheels, aggressive fascias with bigger intakes up front, and M5/M6 hardware underneath. That means a 560-hp twin-turbocharged V-8, a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, and rear-wheel drive. A carbon-fiber roof panel, like those on the M3 and M6 coupes, is a possibility for the M6 Gran Coupe—and it’s depicted in our illustration—but we’ll have to wait and see whether BMW decides to officially adopt the woven lid.

Given its close relationship to the M5, it’s possible that the M6 GC will have steering, ride, and braking shortcomings similar to those we noted from the über-5er during its recent third-of-three comparison-test finish. If our rendering is accurate, at least the M6 Gran Coupe will look fantastic. 

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2013 BMW X1

Big engine + little vehicle = marketing pay dirt. Jim Wangers helped prove this theorem when Pontiac jammed a Bonneville 389 into a little Tempest way back in the "Mad Men" era, before the safety and emissions bogeymen crashed the car party. BMW is dusting off this formula by bringing the tiny, strong-selling global subcompact 2013 BMW X1 to the U.S. market and wedging its beloved 300-hp/300-lb-ft turbo-six under the hood. No other market gets this dragstrip drivetrain, and this market offers no direct competitor to the X1 at the moment. 

As for versatility, the cargo hold features rubber tie-down floor straps, tie-down hooks, an elastic strap, and a 40/20/40-percent split-folding rear seatback that also reclines to 31 degrees for comfort, or to 1 degree bolt upright to increase the seats-up cargo space by about 2 cubic feet. (Official SAE dimensions are not yet available, but Euro specs are 14.8 and 47.7 cubic feet.)

Front-engine, RWD/AWD, 5-pass, 4-door SUV2.0L/241-hp/255-lb-ft turbocharged DOHC 16-valve I-4; 3.0L/300-hp/300-lb-ft turbocharged DOHC 24-valve I-6140-187 / 102-125 kW-hrs/100 miles (est) 

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2012 BMW 328i

The BMW 328i Luxury's logbook had finally cooled down after a disappointing trip to the local road course when something else happened: the weather heated up. Between surviving one choice mishap and dealing with sweltering temperatures, our BMW has had a rough month.

The month of June started with the BMW sitting on injured tires. The BMW's stock tires are Goodyear EfficientGrip RunOnFlats, a special tire chosen by BMW to increase fuel economy (they're low rolling resistance) and support the car even in the event of a puncture. While we don't mind the EfficientGrip's stiff sidewalls -- the car's Luxury Line suspension more than makes up for it -- its rock-hard tread compound would prove to be an issue.

By the time we took the BMW to GingerMan Raceway the Goodyears had only been on the car for two months (we put winter tires on the car between mid-February and late April) but they were badly worn from a day of spirited driving at GingerMan. Small chunks were missing where the sidewall meets the tread, and the resulting rough ride and noise annoyed associate web editor Donny Nordlicht. "The cabin is no longer quiet thanks to these tires," he wrote. Tire Rack sent us a new set of Goodyear EfficientGrips for a quick fix, but the special order, eco-friendly, run-flat tires cost $1170.98, including mounting and balancing. The tire wear was our fault -- we did, after all, track a car with mpg-minded tires -- but the damaged windshield wasn't: managing editor Amy Skogstrom parked the 3-series in her driveway one evening and came out the next morning to find a sizable crater near the top of the glass, blaming it on an errant ball from the nearby golf course. Ann Arbor Auto Glass charged us $979.12 for a full glass replacement. That's a hefty sum for a new sheet of glass, but our BMW is equipped with a head-up display, which requires a windshield with thin reflective foil embedded in the section above the dashboard.

A new windshield and set of tires wasn't necessarily enough to sway staffers -- many of whom continued to grouse about the car's soft handling and long-travel clutch pedal -- but the 3-series did impress some people: passengers. "Every single passenger I take for a ride in the 328i is impressed," wrote road test editor Chris Nelson. "They like the comfortable suspension, the beautiful exterior, and the even more gorgeous interior. They also think the start/stop system is cool."

For many staffers, however, the wow factor of the start/stop system faded when the temperatures rose. The combination of a black paintjob, 100-degree temperatures, and an engine that shuts itself off at stoplights made for some warm passengers as the HVAC system struggled to cool the cabin using only battery power. "I wonder what BMW buyers in Texas and Florida do," mused creative director Kelly Ryan Murphy. "Do they just drive with the system off all the time?" (Drivers can disable the system by pushing a button above the engine start/stop button) Kinda defeats the purpose of putting such a system in the car in the first place, doesn't it?

The 100-degree highs took another toll on the car: the driver's side dashboard endcap -- the piece of hard black plastic between the dashboard and the driver's door cutout -- warped and pulled away from the dashboard. "I wouldn't say that it's broken," wrote associate web editor Jake Holmes, "but that's an unacceptable fault in an almost $50k car that is only six months old."

Despite all of our nitpicking, we're getting along with the BMW in this long and hot summer. We're sure the car will end up wowing friends and relatives at barbecues, coddling us on many trips to the beach, and thrilling us on some choice back roads. It's summertime -- let's hope living with the 328i is easy.

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Aspid Teases BMW V8-Powered GT-21

Spanish specialty carmaker Aspid Cars has dropped the primary teaser pictures of its new GT-21 Invictus, a 2+2 seater sports automotive. this is often Aspid's second vehicle series when the hardcore Super Sports (SS), which sort of resembles a Lotus seven on steroids.

"The GT-21 Invictus enhances the Aspid Super Sport, however is larger and additional powerful says the car’s chief desin and company found, Ignacio Fernández Rodriquez. "It has been a difficult styling exercised however fortunately we've got a very gifted style team within the company."

Aspid's latest creation is made around a light-weight spaceframe and makes use of aerospace grade aluminium, ultra-light high-strength steels, and composites materials for the body to stay its weight at a coffee 990kg (2,182 lbs) when dry.

The GT-21 Invictus is 700mm longer than the SS at four,447mm (175 in.), whereas additionally measuring one,883mm (74.1 in.) wide and simply one,226mm (48.3 in.) tall.

Whereas the SS utilizes a 398hp (402PS) two.0-liter turbo'd four, the GT-21 Invictus employs a BMW-sourced four.4-liter turbocharged V8 engine manufacturing 450-horses. A dual-clutch transmission with F1-style shift paddles on the steering wheel transfers power to the rear wheels.

The Spaniards estimate that the 2+2 seater are capable of reaching 100km/h (62mph) in but 3 seconds and prime out at 300km/h (186mph).

The company said production of the (GT-21) Invictus are restricted to 250 units per year with pricing to be announced.

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BMW Rumored to be acting on M235i Coupe for 2014

With solely half dozen00 1-Series M Coupes (pictured above) creating it to the States out of a complete of 6,000 examples worldwide, the new two-door model could be a rare beast.

For those that couldn't get their hand on the foremost compact and reasonable M model, Autoweek magazine is reporting that BMW is getting ready a sort of successor within the style of an M Performance coupe based mostly on the recently launched in Europe, M135i hatchback.

M Performance is BMW's new sub-brand that sits between the regular models and therefore the thoroughbred M sports cars – one thing like Audi's S and RS vary.

Citing within sources, the publication claims that BMW can gift a coupe version of the second-generation 1-Series renamed because the 2-Series at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show with an M Performance variant to follow a couple of months later at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show.

Keep in mind, however, that BMW has not officially confirmed the amendment of names for the coupe and convertible models of the 1-Series and 3-Series lineups to 2-Series and 4-Series respectively.

Regardless of what BMW can decision the coupe model, the magazine says the M235i can use a similar N55 three.0-liter turbocharged inline-six delivering 316hp (320PS) at five,800rpm and 450Nm (332 lb-ft) from one,300 to 4,500rpm because the M135i hatchback coupled to either a 6-speed manual gearbox or an 8-speed automatic.

It is doable that just like the M135i, the M235i also will be offered with all-wheel drive as an possibility.

What Autoweek forgets to say in its article though is that an M Performance version of this 1-Series Coupe has already return to the States underneath the guise of the 135is Coupe and Convertible, each of that are powered by the M135i's N55 three.0-liter turbo engine, rated at 320hp.
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Next BMW X1

When the next generation BMW X1 arrives sometime around 2015, it will be based on a front-wheel drive architecture, sharing its platform with the Mini Countryman. This isn't new news – stories and editorials have been parsing BMW's FWD strategy for more than a year, and in April of 2011, now-CEO Ian Robertson proclaimed there could be six to nine new BMW and Mini models as part of a "compact car family" based on a shared platform. 

A report in Autocar about the switch adds a few more details, though. In addition to the cost benefits from this arrangement, the next X1 will lose its six-cylinder engines but offer more room. The tranverse-mounted engines preclude the six-pot unless BMW redesigns it, so plans are for nothing any larger than four cylinders and possibly the 1.5-liter, three-cylinder powerplant slated for the 1 Series GT. A Haldex clutch will continue to provide AWD capability, and the upshot with the smaller engine bay and firewall moved forward is more room for passengers and cargo.

The platform is referred to as "UKL," for Unter Klasse (Under Class), and its place in the product portfolio is apparently more complex than simply saying it will form the basis for small Mini and BMW models: stories suggest it has been built with the flexibility to underpin the next generation 1 Series as well as the next generation 3 Series. No, that does not mean the advent of a front-wheel drive 3 Series, since the UKL platform was reportedly designed with features like a movable firewall support enabling transverse and longitudinal engines as well as FWD, AWD and RWD powertrains. It does, however, mean the ads proclaiming "This is why we don't make front-wheel drive cars" will probably never surface again. 

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Prior Design BMW 5-Series E60 Widebody

If you own an E60 BMW 5-Series, and it’s starting to look old and boring, rather than getting rid of it you can get it a nice tuning kit and enjoy it for a little longer. Here’s a good one from Prior Design. The kit is a tad old, but it still looks interesting, especially in this new color which really brings on those massively flared wheel arches, and the M5-llike bumpers. 

The ingredients include front bumper, new front fenders, side skirts, rear widening, and the M rear bumper. You may also want to order a bootlid spoiler. It’s not like the kit is restrained and dignified, so you may as well go for the full fat boy racer affair. With those new fenders comes the possibility of fitting ultra-wide wheels. That is another area where you can go completely mad and get yourself some seriously big rims.

You know what, on a second thought, maybe you should get rid of the E60 and get a new F10!

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2013 BMW Alpina B7 Facelift

 

The recent presentation of the updated for the 2013 model year BMW 7-Series vary inevitably led to the facelift of the sportier Alpina B7, that was revealed nowadays beforehand of its world premiere at the historic Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in August.

In addition to being enhanced with all the styling and technological updates to the 2013 7-Series sedan, the Alpina B7 conjointly edges from enhancements to its powertrain.

 

2013 BMW Alpina B7 Facelift

 

The sports limo can still be offered in each regular and long wheelbase versions still kind of a alternative of rear or all-wheel drive.

The revised four.4-liter V8 twin-turbocharged engine with direct-injection decisions forty extra horsepower and twenty a pair of lb-ft scores of torque for a whole of 540-horses and 538 lb ft respectively. Furthermore/ Alpina has swapped the outgoing models six speed sport automatic transmission for a clean 8-speed automatic unit.

2013 BMW Alpina B7 Facelift

The car's prime speed will increase from 175mph (282km/h) to 194 mph (312km/h) with RWD and 193 mph with xDrive  whereas acceleration drops into the low-mid-Four-second vary for all variants (4.3-4.4 seconds) compared to four.5 seconds for the previous RWD model.

BMW says that every one variants of the Alpina B7 keep company with quite thirty new parts that enhance the planning and frontal aerodynamics, whereas new ancient decisions embrace updated Xenon Adaptive headlights LEDS front fog lights  ceramic secondary controls, Automatic Start-Stop, and additionally the Active protection system.

2013 BMW Alpina B7 Facelift

The new automobile rides on 20-inch Alpina multi-spoke wheels and is finished at intervals the classic Alpina Blue Metallic paint.

Among varied picks out there are full LED Headlights and a clean Bang & Olufsen Surround Sound System.

As before, the B7’s body is manufactured at intervals the BMW seven Series factory in Dingolfing and hand-finished with the remaining parts at the Alpina facilit in Buchloe Germany.

2013 BMW Alpina B7 Facelift

Pricing for the B7 at intervals the U.S. are $127,600 for ancient wheelbase model (SWB) Dolar130,600 for the SWB with xDrive and $131,500 for the long wheelbase (LWB) version, and $134,500 for the LWB with xDrive.

2013 BMW Alpina B7 Facelift

First deliveries can occur at intervals the autumn.

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