Shanghai Auto Show: New BMW M5 and 5-Series Plug-in Hybrid Concepts

At this week’s 2011 Shanghai Auto Show in China, BMW rolled out two concept versions of the current F10 5-Series, the M5 sport sedan and the LWB Plug-in Hybrid, both of which will enter production.

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New Z4 sDrive 28i is the First BMW in the USA to get the 2.0-liter Four-Cylinder Turbo

With automakers scrambling to meet stricter fuel economy and emissions standards, four-cylinder powerplants with turbocharging are becoming increasingly popular these days. Even BMW has jumped on the bandwagon with the release of a new 2.0-liter TwinPower Turbo 4-Cylinder unit that made its debut on the X1. Today, BMW announced that the Z4 hardtop-roadster will be the first U.S. model to receive the force-fed four-pot.

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BMW Invests More in its 'i' Project, Snatches Chevy Volt’s Lead Engineer from GM

BMW recently acquired Frank Weber, formerly head of Opel/Vauxhall's product planning division and lead engineer on Chevrolet's Volt. Automotive News Europe reports that he will become head of BMW's vehicle architecture and integration division.

Weber will be in control of EfficientDynamics (the green stuff), driver safety/assistance tech, and "full vehicle concepts and architecture", as well as bringing a whole bunch of electrical wizardry and know-how to BMW's nascent electric future.

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VIDEO: More Powerful and Lighter BMW M3 Sedan in the Works

During the M5 Concept and M3 Pick-Up presentation held by BMW's M division in Munich, the Bavarian carmaker also showed the M3 Sedan Concept, a more powerful track-focused version that could signal the return of the CSL badge, albeit in four-door trim.

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BMW Updates Badass Z4 GT3 Racer for 2011

It’s only been a year since BMW Motorsports launched the new Z4 GT3 racer in March of 2010, yet the Bavarian automaker has gone ahead and improved its GT customer sports car. BMW’s motorsports division says goal of the latest modifications was primarily to improve aerodynamic efficiency in order to ensure the car's competitiveness in the GT3 classes.

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BMW Group Smashes Monthly Sales Record in March with More than 165,000 Units

The BMW Group is on track to reach new records in 2011 with the company posting its strongest monthly sales ever in March. The Bavarian automaker delivered a total of 165,842 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brand vehicles in the past month, not only significantly beating the figure for March 2010 (141,717 units / +17%) but also the previous sales high of 152,721 vehicles recorded in December 2007. March sales rose in Europe by 7.8% to 93,540 vehicles, in Asia by a whopping 52% to 35,048 units, as well as in the Americas by 18.6% to 32,020 vehicles.

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A Perfect Match: A Short Film from BMW Classic about a Man and his 1602

If you’re the kind of type that falls in love with his wheels no matter what anybody else says or believes, then we’re pretty sure you’re going to be fond of BMW Classic’s new short film called “A Perfect Match”.

The movie, which was awarded the Golden Dolphin at the Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards, follows the story of a man called Jack and his search for appropriate replacement for his battered down BMW 1602. The reason? Blame the lack of an air conditioning system that has made his life unbearable in the hot summer days and nights of Los Angeles. You may or may not suspect what’s going to happen half-way through the film, but either way, we won't spoil the end. To view the film, simply follow the break below.

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BMW Unleashes New Video of V8-Powered M5 Concept

In preparation of the big reveal of the M5 Concept at the Auto Shanghai 2011 in China later this month, BMW has churned out a new video of its high-performance sports saloon. What we get to see here is the thinly disguised M5 study on the move, though in an unwanted politically correct manner. Read more »

From China for China: BMW Teams up with Brilliance to Create 5-Series Plug-in Hybrid Sedan

BMW has teamed up with joint venture partner Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd. to develop a new plug-in hybrid model based on the long wheelbase version of the local market 5 Series Sedan, which is available exclusively in China. The prototype model will receive its world premiere at the Auto Shanghai 2011 later this month.

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Motoring Icons: A Tribute to BMW’s 1500 / 1800 / 2000 Series

In 1961 at the 40th Annual Frankfurt International Motor Show in Germany, Bavarian automaker BMW lifted the wraps off of two very special prototypes: the first of its 1500 “Neue Klasse” mid-sizers. For years, Beamer had been working on a new model to slot between its entry-level one and two cylinder cars and its more expensive, luxury-geared six and eight cylinder ones.

The result was a stylish four door sedan fitted with a 75 hp (56 kW) inline four, front disc brakes and weighing in at 2,095 lb (950 kg).

The design of the saloon was reminiscent of Italian cars, which shouldn’t come as a surprise given that, when developing the design of the 1500, BMW’s chief stylist Wilhelm Hofmeister had sought the advice of Giovanni Michelotti, who had already collaborated on the 700.

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BMW Introduces 7-Series Steinway & Sons Piano Limited Edition in China

Being that China is one of BMW’s largest and most important markets in the world, it only makes sense that the Bavarian company bring all of its products including any special models like the 7-Series Steinway & Sons Limited Edition that was first shown in late 2010. The special edition 7er, which was created by BMW Individual as part of an exclusive partnership with New York-based piano manufacturer Steinway & Sons, was revealed at a special event in China.

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Prior Design Working on New Tune for BMW 5-Series F10

While BMW works on the production version of the new V8-powered M5 sports saloon, tuners across Europe continue to roll out packages for the standard versions of the F10 5-Series. This one comes from Germany and Prior Design, which recently teased its tuning kit for the new 6-Series Coupe and Convertible models as well.

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Video Tour of the Unmade BMW M Cars Including the M3 Tourer and Compact, Ur-Roadster and M5 Cabriolet

It is by far, the most sacred place for a BMW M fan. We’re talking about the BMW M Division’s underground facility where the company stores copies of all the production cars and prototypes it has ever built, including a variety of never before seen in public vehicles. In a surprising but much welcomed move, the German automaker recently opened the doors of the special M garage to the members of the press and select enthusiasts revealing an array of models that most had only heard about.

We already brought you a video of the wild M8 Coupe with the 580-horsepower V12 engine that was eventually used on the McLaren F1, but now we have several videos showcasing the entire lineup of M cars.

These include the E46 M3 Touring (BMW for station wagon), the E36 M3 Compact powered by the same 321HP straight-six from the M3 Coupe of the time, the E34 M5 Cabriolet with open-top seating for four, an M3 powered E30 ute and possibly the strangest creation yet, the so called Ur-Roadster. The latter is said to have been developed after the Z1 with power being delivered by the E30 M3’s 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine.

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BMW M8: Video Walkaround of the Wildest 8-Series Powered by the Same V12 in the McLaren F1

If there’s one BMW M car that should have been built, that’s without doubt the M8. Instead, the Bavarians gave us the diluted 850CSi that was powered by a modified version of the 850i’s V12 engine with an incre00ased displacement of 5.6-liters pushing out 380-horsepower.

Last week, BMW opened up the doors of its special M car garage to the press revealing a variety of unmade prototype models including the much talked about M8. The high-performance version of the 8-Series sported a bespoke V12 engine that later on found its way under the hood of the iconic McLaren F1. The twelve-cylinder unit was built around two six-cylinder engines sourced from the M3 of the era (E36) producing somewhere around 580-horsepower.

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From Norway with Love: BMW 1M Hatchback Packs M3 Coupe’s 4.0-liter V8 with 435 Ponies

If BMW’s upcoming, limited production 1-Series M Coupe with its 335Hp 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged straight-six doesn’t tickle your fancy, you may want to take a look at this custom made 1-Series 5-door hatchback that’s being offered for sale in Norway.

This particular Bavarian hatch sports a modified version of the E92 BMW M3 Coupe’s 4.0-liter V8 engine tweaked to produce 435-horsepower, or 100 more ponies than the normal 1-Series M Coupe. The car also gets the M3’s gearbox, differential and brakes, plus a Bilstein sports suspension, a BMW performance exhaust system and 19-inch BBS alloy wheels in 235 tires up front and 265 at the back.

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BMW Officially Unveils New M5 Sports Saloon Concept Ahead of Shanghai Show

We received our first taste of the new M5 Concept during the weekend thanks to a series of photos that leaked from a press event in Germany, but today, BMW came out with an official release detailing its sports saloon ahead of its world premiere at the Auto Shanghai 2011 in China later this month.

The Concept M5 is essentially 99 percent production ready, so don’t expect any surprises in terms of styling at the presentation of the production model at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September this year.

The highlight of the fifth generation of the M5 will be the new twin-turbocharged V8 engine lurking under the bonnet. BMW officials have already confirmed that the engine is a development of the 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 with 555HP and 680Nm or 501 lb-ft of peak torque, tweaked to deliver more power. However, the German company is still keeping mum on output numbers.

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2012 BMW M5 Concept: First Photos Out in the Open

In a move that certainly won’t leave BMW officials happy, pictures of the 2012 M5 Concept from a preview event held in Germany prior to the car’s world premiere at the Shanghai Auto Show in China later this month, leaked onto the internet.

As with most BMW concepts of the sort, the new M5 study is 99 per cent production ready, so don’t expect to see anything different when the sports saloon make its premiere in production guise later this year, possibly at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

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Why Lexus Lags Behinds its German Rivals in China’s Luxury Market

For the past eleven years, Lexus has been Numero Uno in U.S. luxury vehicle sales. Not so in China, where Germanic giants BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi lead the pack and Lexus is relegated to a paltry fourth.

One issue is customer service, or rather a level of customer service that fails to differentiate Lexus from its competitors. As business owner and Lexus customer Maggie Lin explains: “Nothing stands out from Lexus's service. I don't feel there's anything special compared with what Audi has been doing. They are more or less the same.”

It’s one of the reasons Lexus’s Chinese arm has sent two of its top managers to the United States to learn how things are done at the brand’s North American operation. According to J.D. Power, Lexus sold just a fifth of market leader Audi’s sales total for 2010. That’s just 49,000 vehicles to the latter’s 236,000. There’s also the issue of consumer tastes.

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BMW’s Awesome M3 Pickup Truck Packs 420HP and Close to 1,000 Pounds Load Capacity

Say hello to the automotive industry’s most expensive and elaborate April Fool’s Joke; the BMW M3 Pickup Truck. While other makers turn to photoshops, the Bavarian firm went ahead and developed an actual car, going as far as testing it on the Nurburgring race track.

The sport ute packs the same 420-horsepower 4.0-liter V8 engine under the bonnet as the rest of the M3 range, which includes the Coupe, Convertible and Sedan models, adding a rear-axle load capacity of up to 450 kilos or 992 pounds.

The load bed itself is clad in high-grade structured aluminium sheeting and provides the biggest cargo capacity ever offered on a M vehicle – up to 20 standard 46-inch golf bags, according to BMW. It’s also the first M3 to be equipped with a trailer tow hitch.

BMW said the kerb weight of the pickup undercuts that of the M3 Convertible by around 50 kilograms or 110 pounds. Interestingly, BMW’s designers also fitted the M3 Pickup Truck with a Targa top, which shaves another 20kg or 44 pounds and at the same time, lowers the car’s centre of gravity when removed.

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A Quick History of the BMW 3-Series, from 1975 to Today

In 1975, BMW launched the 3-Series as a successor to the 02 series and essentially established the premium compact car segment. The company went on to produce five generation of the 3-Series selling more than 12 million cars worldwide. Even though it changed considerably from one generation to another, the 3-Series kept its core characteristics: a compact body with a classic design, rear-wheel drive, sporty handling characteristics and potent engines.

Launched initially as a two-door coupe, the 3-Series gained throughout the years new body variants such as the sedan, station wagon, coupe, convertible and even a three-door hatchback model (Compact). Scroll down to read a brief history on each generation.

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