Tag Archives: BMW

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BMW M Rumored To Be Readying Special M4 For 50th Ann. With Manual Gearbox

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Next year is gearing up to be a special one for BMW’s M division. BMW M GmbH will mark its 50th anniversary in May, 2022, and new rumors suggest that there’s a special, limited production M4 on the horizon.

The lead comes from an alleged BMW insider on g80.bimmerpost. The user, who apparently has a good track record for new car info, suggests that the unnamed M4 special will be “configured like the CSL, but with a manual transmission.”

The forum member goes on to say that several options will be deleted, including comfort access, parking sensors, and electric seats. The absence of such would result in an M4 that’s even lighter than the already lightweight CSL, provided this special model is based on the upcoming CSL in the first place.

Although the production M4 CSL hasn’t yet been revealed to the public, our spies have spotted prototypes undergoing testing. These cars feature revised air intakes and grilles, as well as lightweight wheels, a more prominent lip spoiler, and a new diffuser.

Read: BMW Teases Next-Generation M4 GT4 Customer Race Car

A BMW M4 CSL prototype caught testing at the Nurburgring

As yet, powertrain details for the CSL have not been confirmed, although there have been reports that BMW may not offer a manual transmission. If that were the case, a limited, manual-equipped take on the CSL could prove to be the holy grail of BMW’s M4 line-up. The source also remarks that the new variant will be only produced for a few months, starting in November 2022, implying that production numbers will be kept low.

We already know that BMW M GmbH has big plans on the horizon for the upcoming year. Their 750hp plug-in hybrid SUV, the XM, is set to be in production before the end of 2022, and from January, customers will be able to order their cars with a roundel that harks back to the Motorsport division’s classic logo. If that weren’t enough, the new BMW M3 Touring would finally fulfill our M wagon dreams, and a series of 50 new M paint finishes will be made available. A special, ultra-limited edition of the M4 could just be the icing on the cake.

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A BMW M8 Gran Coupe From G-Power Has No Problem Exceeding 180 MPH On The Autobahn

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The BMW M8 Competition Gran Coupe is one seriously impressive sedan and as this video shows, is more than happy to cruise along the Autobahn at high speeds.

As standard, the 4.4-liter twin-turbocharged V8 of the M8 Competition Gran Coupe churns out 617 hp and 553 lb-ft (750 Nm) of torque. The car featured is far from stock, though. In fact, it has been modified by the tuning specialists over at G-Power and according to AutoTopNL, pumps out 790 hp.

Read Also: G-Power’s G8M Hurricane RR Is A Clockwork Orange BMW M8 With 887 Hp

We presume this M8 Competition Gran Coupe has gone through the Stage 3 modifications that G-Power announced earlier this year. If that’s the case then it would feature new performance software, upgraded turbochargers, sport downpipes, a GP-Deeptone exhaust system, and four carbon fiber tailpipes.

G-Power says its boosted BMW delivers 808 hp and 738 lb-ft (1,000 Nm) of torque, an extraordinary amount of power for a luxury sedan that offers levels of comfort, ride quality, and refinement to make it perfect for cross-continent journeys. While the video quotes a slightly lower number, 790 hp is still more than enough for any occasion.

This video doesn’t provide us with any performance times recorded by the car but does show it exceeding 180 mph (290 km/h) without breaking a sweat. We suspect that with enough open road in front of it, the car could probably hit 200 mph (320 km/h), if not slightly exceed it.

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Porsche Taycan And BMW M5 Can’t Worry The Rimac Nevera, But How Did Their Race Turn Out?

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Rimac’s electric Nevera hypercar has become the new king of drag races. It was able to wipe the floor with the Ferrari SF90, one of the fastest performance road cars you can buy today, but how does it fare against more “average” cars like the Porsche Taycan Turbo S and BMW M5 Competition? Carwow finds out in their latest video, which sees the three pitted against each other in a series of races.

It’s worth noting that while nowhere near as powerful as the SF90, neither the M5 nor the Taycan are slow by any means. The M5 has a twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 making 617 hp (626 PS / 460 kW) and 553 lb-ft (750 Nm) of torque, allowing for a 3.1 seconds 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) time and a 189 mph (304 km/h) top speed. Upping the ante a bit, the Taycan has two electric motors making 751 hp (761 PS / 560 kW) and 774 lb-ft (1,049 Nm) of torque on overboost, for a 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) time of 2.8 seconds and a top speed of 162 mph (261 km/h).

See Also: Already Watched The Rimac Nevera Kick The Ferrari SF90’s Ass? Now Get The Deep-Dive Review On Road And Track

That being said, the Nevera makes 1,914 hp (1,941 PS / 1,427 kW) and 1,741 lb-ft (2,360 Nm) from its four electric motors, enabling a 1.85 second 0-60 mph (0-97 km/h) time and a 258 mph (415 km/h) top speed. To get a sense for how impressive that is, it has more power and torque than the Taycan and the M5 combined.

Moving on to the drag race, the Taycan was actually able to keep up with the Nevera at the launch, but after that, the Nevera just kept pulling and finished about 10 car lengths ahead of its closest competition. And that just goes to show how important that electric torque is, as even the Taycan was able to finish ahead of the M5 by about three car lengths despite weighing 731 lbs (332 kg) more.

Watch: Sure, Rimac’s Nevera Is Ultra Fast In A Straight Line, But Will It Drift?

In a roll race from 50 km/h (31 mph), the Rimac instantly rocketed ahead, leaving both of the other cars in its dust. They even repeated the race with a 2-second head start for the other cars, yet the Nevera was still able to emerge victorious. It also won in the braking test, albeit by a much smaller margin than the others.

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Pirelli Is Making World-First Sustainable, Natural Rubber Tires For The BMW X5 Plug-In Hybrid

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For the first time ever, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) will put its seal of approval on an automotive tire. The Pirelli P Zeros sold with the BMW X5 xDrive45e plug-in hybrid will be certified as ecologically sound by the non-profit organization.

The tires are produced with FSC-certified natural rubber and rayon. That means that the plantations the tires’ materials come from are managed in a way that preserves biological diversity and benefits the lives of local people and workers.

“Before even reaching the road, sustainable mobility begins with raw materials,” said Giovanni Tronchetti Provera, senior VP for sustainability at Pirelli. “With the world’s first FSC-certified tire, Pirelli once again demonstrates its commitment to pursuing increasingly challenging goals in terms of sustainability, a testament to the constant work on innovative materials and increasingly cutting-edge production processes.”

Read Also: Michelin Edging Closer To Making Tires From Recycled Plastic Bottles

Along with being made of sustainable materials, the tires are designed for low rolling resistance, which helps reduce fuel consumption. The low-resistance tires also produce less noise, which may provide a greater benefit than you think.

Noise pollution from busy roadways can be as hazardous to our health as air pollution from cars, the World Health Organization reported in 2020. Loud roadways reportedly cost Parisians more than three healthy life-years each, according to a study quoted by the WHO.

“The use of tires made of certified natural rubber is a pioneering achievement for our industry,” said Andreas Wendt, head of purchasing and supply at BMW. “In this way, we are helping preserve biodiversity and forests to counteract climate change.”

The BMW X5 xDrive45e plug-in hybrid will feature 275/35 R22 tires for the front and 315/30 R22 tires for the back. The SUV pairs a turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six to a single electric motor. They combine for a total system output of 389 hp (290 kW / 394 PS) and 443 lb-ft (600 Nm) of torque. It gets an EPA-estimated 50 MPGe and 30 miles of electric-only range.

Pirelli will produce the FSC-certified tires at its Rome, Georgia plant.

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Can The 2021 BMW M4 Competition Rival A Base Porsche 911 Carrera?

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If you live in the UK and are looking for a superb rear-wheel drive sports car, would your money be better spent on the new BMW M4 Competition or an entry-level Porsche 911 Carrera?

It’s worth mentioning right off the bat that the new M4 Competition has a significant power advantage over the 911 Carrera. Whereas the BMW’s 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged inline-six muscles out 503 hp and 479 lb-ft (650 Nm), an entry-level Carrera is capped at 380 hp and 332 lb-ft (450 Nm) from its 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged flat-six.

Driven: This Is What Makes The 2021 BMW M4 Competition So Great

Despite this power deficit, a drag race held between the duo shows that the 911 puts its power to the ground much more effectively and sprints off the line faster than the BMW. In one of the races, however, the M4 Competition did manage to catch up to the Porsche and overtake it before the finish line.

Of course, cars like these are about much more than straight-line performance, so most of this head-to-head review focuses on how they perform around a track. The rear-engined layout of the 911 Carrera means it handles in a very different manner to the front-engined M4 Competition, but both of them seem to be great fun to drive at their respective limits.

Ultimately, however, the reviewers agree that the 911 is the better track tool, although it is a real toss-up between the duo when it comes to which they’d rather purchase with their own money.

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Top Gear America’s Future Classics Special Doesn’t Go Well For A Saab

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When it comes to choosing a used car, one of the reasons most people play it safe instead of going for something left-field is that many of them can turn out to be problematic. Case in point: Rob Corddry’s choice for Top Gear America’s future classics episode.

Pitted against Jethro Bovingdon in an BMW E46 330Ci and Dax Sheppard in a fox body Ford Mustang V8, Corddry opts instead for a Saab 900 Turbo. A hipster choice if ever there was one – and one that he suffers for.

As laid out in a behind-the-scenes featurette, Corddry suffers many, many problems in his Saab. Sadly, or perhaps smartly, he doesn’t reprise his Arrested Development persona, Frank Wrench, and lets the mechanic at Chuckwalla raceway take a wrench on his car instead.

Turns out there’s a turbo issue that doesn’t appear to get fixed. It likely wasn’t the mechanic’s fault since the Saab got towed there behind an RV, suggesting that the problems with this particular future classic went beyond what any mechanic was likely to be able to fix in the hours before a track day.

Also Read: The Cadillac CT6-V Is Shaping Up To Be A Future Classic, So Buy This One With Just Over 1K Miles On It

The Saab wasn’t the only one suffering. The 330Ci, although its faults weren’t enumerated in quite the same way as the Saab’s, was also apparently falling apart. The fox body Mustang, meanwhile, was apparently mechanically sound.

That may come down to the budget, which appears to have been $6,000. I guess you have to spend more than that on a European future classic to get something you can drive away in.

Top Gear America premiered on Motor Trend on Demand on January 29.

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Detailers Breathe New Life Into Mold-Riddled BMW 5-Series

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The experts over at Ammo NYC have done it again, this time working their magic on a BMW E60 525xi so infested with mold, it was labeled a biohazard.

The 5-Series was a Kars4Kids donation, but due to how unsafe it was from the mold, it was unable to be auctioned off for parts, which was deemed to be the most profitable way.

Mold can be very dangerous, especially in a closed environment like a vehicle. It can lead to certain diseases, such as skin irritation, lung infections, asthma, nasal congestion, and fever. As a result, the Ammo team outfitted themselves in full personal protective equipment (PPE), complete with suits, gas masks, gloves, and boots.

Watch: Buick Grand National With 56 Miles On The Odo Gets Its First Wash Since 1987

Before they could even think about cleaning the car, AMMO performed various decontamination processes. They began by removing all the junk from the interior, trunk, and engine bay, as even with the PPE, it still wasn’t entirely safe to stay in the vehicle for prolonged amounts of time.

Next, they performed a chlorine dioxide (ClO2) tablet treatment to kill off the mold and hopefully make the car smell a bit more tolerable. They subsequently sprayed down every surface of the interior with a disinfectant to get rid of anything that might have been left over from the ClO2 treatment and give themselves the safest working environment possible before performing normal detailing.

See Also: A 1976 Datsun 280Z With Just 350 Miles That Sat In A Barn For 44 Years Gets Its First Wash

Then, they removed all the interior components to perform a more thorough cleaning using a strong all-purpose cleaner. Lastly, they pressure washed the entire exterior, reinstalled the interior, and cleaned the pieces that couldn’t be removed.

After that was all said and done, they finally got around to detailing, although they only did a fraction of what they’re capable of as the car will be auctioned for parts. Nevertheless, they gave the paint a nice polish, restored the headlights, and called it a day.

All in all, from beginning to end, the job took the Ammo crew roughly 65 hours between three people over the course of three days.

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BMW Still Believes In Minivans, Readies All-New Second Gen 2-Series Active Tourer For 2021

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While minivans continue losing ground to crossovers and SUVs, BMW is one of the automakers that still keep them in their lineup.

One such model is the new 2-Series Active Tourer compact minivan, which has been in development for some time now.

The model was spied recently with less camo at the back, showing what seem to be the production taillights, which will bring it in line with the brand’s latest vehicles. We can also see a discreet rear diffuser and new LED headlights with incorporated DRLs at the front. The grille appears to have slightly grown in size over the current generation, but it looks that it won’t follow BMW’s latest trend of huge kidney grilles but be more modestly sized.

See Also: 2021 BMW 2-Series Active Tourer Should Look A Little Something Like This

Even though the new spy shots don’t show it, we’ve already caught a glimpse of the interior, which sports a big curved display that combines the digital instrument cluster and the infotainment system. The HVAC controls will be accessed via the middle screen, and there will also be new buttons for the drive mode selector, auto-hold and parking sensors in front of the center armrest, as well as a thicker steering wheel.

The all-new 2-Series Active Tourer will sit on the UKL2 platform that also underpins the X1, X2 and 1-Series. It should grow slightly in size, considering that the 2-Series Gran Tourer will reportedly bite the dust, and should launch with petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid powertrains. It will also be available with a six-speed manual and eight-speed automatic transmission, as well as the xDrive all-wheel drive system in upper grades, while lesser variants will be front-wheel drive.

A 2020 debut for the BMW minivan seems unlikely at this point, so we expect it to launch next year.

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Mega Hatch Combat: BMW M2 CS Vs. Audi RS3 Vs. Mercedes-AMG A45 S

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While new electric vehicles are coming thick and fast, there are still heaps of driver-focused ICE performance cars on the market and they come in all shapes and sizes. In the compact category, for instance, you can get your kicks by choosing the BMW M2 CS, the Audi RS3, or the Mercedes-AMG A 45 S.

Sure, these cars are out of the price range of many people, but they all deliver excellent performance. CarWow recently pitted them against each other to see which is the quickest.

As standard, it is the M2 CS that has the advantage over the other two. Its twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter straight-six is good for 444 hp and 406 lb-ft (550 Nm) of torque and is coupled to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission sending power to the rear wheels.

Watch Also: BMW M2 CS And Jaguar F-Type Are Two Unlikely Rivals

The Mercedes-AMG A45 S has the smallest engine of the bunch, in the form of a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with 415 hp and 369 lb-ft (500 Nm) of torque. It is also all-wheel drive and has an eight-speed automatic gearbox.

As for the Audi RS3 tested, it is actually a 2016 model and has been equipped with some modifications so it now produces 450 hp and 553 lb-ft (750 Nm) of torque.

Off the line, it comes as no surprise that the all-wheel drive Audi and Mercedes-AMG have the advantage. However, as the speeds start to increase, the BMW claws its way back and speeds past the Mercedes-AMG and is only narrowly defeated by the tuned Audi, while in a rolling drag race, the M2 CS easily defeated both the RS3 and the A 45 S.

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