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  • BMW to unveil M3 DTM Concept Car next month

    In BMW, Cars, International News / By / / 5 comments

    Ahead of its return to the DTM championship in 2012, BMW will be presenting a concept car at next month’s DTM event at the Olympic Stadium in Munich. The concept car – which will be unveiled on July 15 and then placed on show at the BMW Welt during the July 16-17 race weekend – will offer the first impression of what next year’s M3-based DTM racer will look like.

    The announcement was made by Jens Marquardt, who takes over from Mario Theissen as the company’s motorsports director on July 1.

    “Although we will not be competing in 2011, we want to use this opportunity to give DTM fans and BMW Motorsport followers a taste of what they can look forward to next season. The fact that the DTM is staging an event in Munich this year is obviously exciting and interesting for us,” said Marquardt.

    “For this reason, this event is the logical venue to unveil a BMW M3 DTM Concept Car. Under the motto ‘BMW welcomes DTM’, we will welcome the series to Munich and follow the event at the Olympic Stadium closely.”

    Development of the M3 DTM for the following season has been in full flow since BMW announced its DTM comeback in October last year, with the first tests to be performed shortly. The brand will be represented by three teams in the DTM next year – BMW Team Schnitzer will run two BMW M3 DTM cars, as will BMW Team RBM and BMW Team RMG.

     

  • F10 BMW M5 finally unveiled – twin-turbo V8 power!

    In BMW, Cars / By / / 46 comments

    BMW has finally unveiled its flagship high performance F10 – the all new BMW M5, seen here in Monte Carlo Blue. For the F10, BMW has given it a higher level of design differentiation over the regular F10 and F10 M Sport, unlike the E60 where the cars looked almost the same from the front.

    Moving to the rear, there’s a subtle bootlid spoiler, and like the M Sport bumper the reflectors have been moved up nearer to the tail lights. Where the M Sport bumper featured a gloss black section around the tailpipes, the lower part of the M5 bumper gets an aggressive bespoke look to complement the classic M5 quad tailpipes.

    What’s in the engine bay is pretty much expected – a 4.4 litre twin-scroll twin-turbo V8, which the turbos sitting inside the V bank, so we have to say goodbye to the high revving V10 of the E60 M6. The V8 is similar to the engine in the X5 M and X6 M, except the power output is a wee bit slightly higher at 560hp instead of the 555hp in the M SUVs. Peak torque is the same at 680Nm from 1,500rpm.

    There are some changes though – like most latest revisions of their force inducted engines, BMW has now managed to cramp Valvetronic valve control into the cylinder heads, which means there is now no need for a conventional throttle. This means that now technically even though the new engine does not have the individual throttle butterflies of the outgoing V10, each intake valve acts as its own throttle, so you could consider this new engine as having a total of 16 (2 intake valves per cylinder) individual throttles!

    Other changes compared to the M turbo V8 engine in the X5/X6 M include an increase in boot up from 1.2 bar to 1.5, and an increase in cylinder compression ratio from 9.3:1 to 10.0:1. Peak horsepower comes in earlier at 5,750rpm compared to 6,000rpm, and this peak power is sustained up to 7,000rpm. Redline has also increased by 200rpm to 7,200rpm.

    Also, unlike the M SUVs which pair the blown V8 with an M Sport Automatic to drive all four wheels via xDrive, the F10 BMW M5′s engine hooks up to a 7-speed BMW M DCT twin clutch transmission, which drives the rear axle’s Active M Differential.

    The car hits 100km/h in 4.4 seconds, and goes on to a top speed of 305km/h, which is by default locked to 250km/h unless you buy the M Driver’s Package.

    There are two different wheel options available, as we found out from an online BMW M5 configurator tool. The press photos only show one wheel design, a nice optional 20 inch forged design with 5 slim doublespokes called Style 343M, similar to the Style 351M wheels and the E63 M6′s wheels. The other style has double the amount of doublespokes in a 19 inch size and is called Style 345M, and this design was previewed on the M5 Concept. The 345M design is standard on the F10 M5.

    These wheels are wrapped with regular tyres just like all M cars, which just goes to show that run flat tyre technology doesn’t seem to have caught up to the standards which BMW M wants just yet. You will also notice the color-coded 6-pot brake calipers which the slim spokes so proudly show off.

    The instrumentation cluster continues the tradition of having white backlighting instead of amber, complimented with red needles. The black panel multi-info display on the lower half of the display is also a shade of light blue instead of amber on regular F10s. This blue theme continues in the iDrive menu system, which is also now blue instead of red.

    The 7-speed DCT transmission gets its own bespoke shifter and shifter surround. The trim around the shifter area also seems to be fixed to the black shade you see above, instead of following the dashboard and door trim as with regular F10s.

    The suspension system uses Dynamic Damper Control and offers Comfort Mode, Sport Mode and Sport Plus Mode. Comfort is self explanatory, while Sport stiffens the dampers a little. Sport Plus stiffens the dampers even further. These drive modes also control the M Servotronic steering system’s assistance levels, with the most assistance naturally being offered in Comfort mode.

    However, there isn’t the usual rocker toggle near the gear lever as with the F10 for selecting these modes. It looks like what you have to do is control it via a button somewhere and the black panel display shows you what options you’re cycling through.

    The “default” trim for the dash and doors seen here is Aluminium Trace (F10 M Sport is Aluminium Hexagon), but you can also specify Finewood trimash grain Brown or Fineline Anthracite.

    The most adventurous leather trim you can go with has got to be this full Sakhir Orange trim, but you can tone down on the orange a little with Sakhir Orange/Black, which switches certain areas of the interior to black for a more two tone look rather than just orange all the way. There’s also options for a leather wrapped dash.

    As for color choices, other than this blue you see here the rest are all different shades of grey or white. What about a nice red like the debut color of the X6 M? Perhaps it’s coming soon in the future. Look after the jump for a huge pic gallery of the new F10 M5.
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  • First shots of blue F10 BMW M5 leaked on the internet!

    In BMW, Cars / By / / 36 comments

    Leaked photos of new BMW cars prior to its official release by the PR department seems to be getting more and more the norm these days.

    Today we have a preview look at the new F10 BMW M5 in full glory, albeit not very high resolution images. You get to see plenty – every angle of the exterior, some of the interior (seems to combine a dark trim for the gear lever area with aluminium hexagon for the dash trim) and even one shot of the engine bay (looks like a mechanical squid!).

    Considering the E60 M5 was priced at a tad over RM898,000, you can expect this new F10 M5 to be around that figure as well, perhaps even touching the RM1 million mark. After all the E71 BMW X6 M is priced at RM1,188,800. In Singapore, the F10 M5 is expected to go for around SG$500,000.

    Enjoy the images after the jump.
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  • VIDEO: MINI Cooper S Countryman Review

    In BMW, Cars, Test Drive Reviews, Videos / By / / 22 comments

    No, Driven isn’t back yet… but we’re trying out our first online video review. Remember the hijack video that was on this site sometime back? Harvinder has a little fun both on and off the road with the MINI Cooper S Countryman. Look after the jump for a full hi-res photo gallery. Or you can read our text test drive review by Danny Tan.
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  • VIDEOS: F20 BMW 1-Series in motion, featuring One Origin Two Originals casting competition winners

    In BMW, Cars / By / / 18 comments

    We’ve seen static hi-res photos of the new F20 BMW 1-Series hatch, but how does the car look in motion? BMW has released two new videos of the new F20 hatch in motion, featuring the winners of a casting competition that BMW had quite some time ago.

    BMW had this campaign called One Origin Two Originals that called for a pair of siblings that had completely different personalities. And here you have them – “Sportline” Adam and “Urbanline” Freddie Lund.
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  • MINI Coupé previewed – four versions available at launch

    In BMW, Cars, International News / By / / 21 comments

    It’s not quite the official debut, but BMW has effectively introduced its upcoming MINI Coupé by means of a preview. The car, which was showcased in its concept form at the Los Angeles Auto Show back in 2009, will roll in as the first two-seater in the brand’s model range – the company says that it will promise unrivalled handling agility and the best performance figures of any model in the MINI line-up.

    The design, which is also the first “three-box” MINI, features a flat, coupe silhouette with a GT-style rear end. Sitting 29 mm lower than the MINI, the Coupé features include a distinctive “helmet roof” with an integral roof spoiler and an active rear spoiler which deploys automatically at 80 kph to optimise airflow at higher speeds, as well as a high-opening tailgate and large luggage area with through-loading facility into the passenger compartment.

    At point of launch, the 3.728 metre-long car will be available in Cooper, Cooper S and John Cooper Works variants, joined by a diesel version. Effectively, the Coupé forms will wear the 1.6 litre petrol engines seen in the current MINI range, with no revisions to the output.

    As such, the Cooper’s NA four-cylinder fully variable valve management block delivers 122 hp at 6,000 rpm and 160 Nm at 4,250 rpm, and performance specs include a 0–100 kph time of 9.0 seconds and a top speed of 204 kph.

    Meanwhile, the Cooper S Coupé’s twin-scroll turbocharger, direct injection mill has 184 hp at 5,500 rpm and 240 Nm at 1,600–5,000 rpm (260 Nm overboost) for output numbers, as well as a 6.9 seconds 0-100 kph sprint time towards a 230 kph top speed.

    As for the JCW version, the 211 hp at 6,000 rpm and 260 Nm at 1,850–5,600 rpm (280 Nm overboost at 1,700–4,500 rpm) propels the car to the century in 6.4 seconds and takes it to 240 kph tops.

    The fourth model in the lineup will be the Cooper SD Coupé, which features a 2.0 litre common-rail injection turbodiesel mill that bags 143 hp at 4,000 rpm and 305 Nm at 1,750–2,700 rpm, a 7.9 seconds 0-100 kph time and a 216 kph top speed.

    The car will come with a six-speed manual gearbox fitted as standard, with a six-speed Steptronic automatic tranny optional for the Cooper, Cooper S and Cooper SD versions.

    Other standard issues items are electric power steering and DSC, with Dynamic Traction Control with EDLC (Electronic Differential Lock Control) on the options list (the latter two comes standard on the John Cooper Works Coupé, of course).

    The Cooper will come wearing 15-inch alloy wheels as standard, with the Cooper S and Cooper SD versions getting 16-inch wheels. As for the JCW Coupe, that one will come specified with 17-inch, weight-optimised alloy wheels in JCW Cross Spoke Challenge styling.

    A very large gallery of hi-res photos await you after the jump.
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  • 2012 BMW 1-Series (F20) unveiled – details and photos

    In BMW, Cars / By / / 50 comments

    The new 2012 BMW 1-Series with the codename F20 has been unveiled. The 1-er is now both longer and wider, and rides on a longer wheelbase as well, which should hopefully translate into better interior space.

    Wheelbase has grown by 30mm so it now stands at 2,690mm, which is just 10mm shorter than the current generation Honda Civic sold in Malaysia, because of the car’s short overhangs and aft of front axle engine placement, most of the wheelbase is actually in the area between the wheel and the door.

    The car is also wider by 17mm. Front track has been increased by 51mm and the rear track by 72mm. Ride height remains unchanged at 1,421mm. The rear seats have 21mm more legroom, while the luggage area is 30 litre larger, now standing at 360 litres before the rear seats are folded down. The car remains rear wheel drive.

    There are a few engine variants announced at launch time, though I suspect the F20 1-Series will not be limited to these engines only. There are two petrols, both powered by 1.6 litre inline-4 twin scroll turbocharged engines with Valvetronic, Double VANOS and direct injection. The 116i makes 136hp at 4,400rpm, with a peak torque of 220Nm between 1,350rpm to 4,300rpm. The more powerful 118i makes 170hp at 4,800rpm and peak torque of 250Nm between 1,500 to 4,500rpm.

    The remaining three engine options are all based on a 2.0 litre inline-4 diesel engine. The baseline is the 116d, making 116hp at 4,000rpm and 260Nm of torque between 1,750 to 2,500rpm. The mid-range is the 118d making 143hp at 4,000rpm and 320Nm of torque between 1,750rpm to 2,500rpm.

    The most powerful engine in the range so far is the 120d’s engine, which has similar specs to the 2.0L diesel engine in the 320d, 520d, X1, X3, etc. It makes a full 184 horsepower at 4,000rpm and a peak torque of 380Nm between 1,750rpm and 2,750rpm. This is the most powerful F20 1-er so far, and also accelerates to 100km/h the fastest in just 7.2 seconds. I’m pretty sure a petrol 128i with the new N20B20 2.0L turbo 4 cylinder will take the most powerful F20 crown later though. And looking at what BMW can extract from the MINI Cooper JCW’s 1.6 litre lump (200+ horses), there’s probably the opportunity for a 123i with a more highly strung 1.6L turbo as well.

    All engines come by default with a 6-speed manual, but there is an optional 8-speed automatic transmission. Both manual and auto transmissions have Automatic Start/Stop as standard. There’s also a switch near the gear lever that you can use to activate an ECO PRO mode, which supposedly tunes various parameters to allow better fuel efficiency – this probably means more efficient throttle mapping and quicker upshifts.

    BMW has launched the car with two different trim levels – the Sport Line and the Urban Line. This is something unusual, since we’re used to BMWs being either standard, M Sport or further customizable with BMW Individual.

    The Sport Line (the red car you see here) and Urban Line (the blue car) has different front and rear bumpers, and the Sport Line gets some additional red stripes on the interior and even on its key fob. Even the front grille is different, with the Urban Line getting a chrome grille with silver-coloured slats (like the one on the F10 550i), while the Sport Line gets a chrome grille with black slats.

    BMW has also allowed buyers to tick some more upmarket options on the spec sheet when ordering, such as high-beam assistance, parking assistance, a reverse camera, Lane Departure Warning, Collision Warning, BMW ConnectedDrive, and etc.

    Look after the jump for an extensive photo gallery of the F20.
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  • 2012 BMW 1-Series pictures leaked on the internet

    In BMW, Cars / By / / 92 comments

    The first official product photos of the new generation 2012 BMW 1-Series have found their way onto the internet.

    It actually reminds me of a modernized E46 ti compact, with a peculiar choice of styling at the front end, mostly because of the decision to make the lower edge of the headlamps slope sharply upwards towards the kidney grilles.

    As a result, there seems to be lots of body surface in between the headlamps and the kidney grille – a trait not usually found on any other modern BMW other than the BMW 5-Series GT. If you recall, the E46 ti also had weird headlamps.

    At the rear, the design is an evolution of the current 1-Series hatchback. The car pictured here is the 120d, which has a single round chrome tipped exhaust pipe.

    The side character lines of the body no longer features that droopy slope found on the current 1-er, which in my opinion looks much better.

    Now, the lower character line only slopes up towards the rear wheel arch – before this the line sloped up towards both front and rear wheel arches giving the impression that the car was sagging under its weight.

    The interior features a similar iDrive display panel design as first seen on the new 6-series. The instrumentation cluster is of a dual meter design, with the fuel gauge integrated into the lower half of the speedometer.

    There seems to be a black panel style multi-info display at the bottom of the RPM meter.

    Look after the jump for the rest of the leaked pix.
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  • BMW 528i M Sport is now available for RM449,800

    In BMW, Cars, Local News / By / / 33 comments


    Click to enlarge

    BMW Group Malaysia has introduced its latest model, the BMW 528i M Sport. This new variant features more aggressive M Sport styling on the outside and comes with BMW ConnectedDrive, which includes on-board internet access, Bluetooth audio streaming and Office functions, among other uses.

    Breaking down the changed bits, the 528i M Sport features the M Sports package with M Aerodynamic trimmings consisting of the M front bumper with large air intakes, M rear bumper with anthracite insert and side sills. The window frames are no longer in chrome, but in BMW Individual High Gloss Shadow Line trim. There are also exhaust tailpipe embellishers in Dark Chrome. And of course, the 18-inch double-spoke M light alloy wheels (style 350M).

    Inside, this sports sedan offers sports front seats, BMW Individual headliner anthracite, interior trim finishers in Aluminium Hexagon, M leather steering wheel and M door sill finishers. It is powered by the N52B30 3.0 litre NA inline six with 258 hp and 310 Nm. 0-100 km/h is done in 6.7 seconds and top speed is 250 km/h.


    Click to enlarge

    The instrumentation panel has also been updated to a full black panel display that has a multi-info display covering the entire width of the instrumentation panel, instead of the current batches of F10 which only has a smaller panel in the bottom right. Future batches of the 535i has been updated to have this extended black panel as well.

    The retail price for the locally assembled 528i M Sport (on the road, without insurance, with BMW Service Inclusive + Repair) is RM 449,800. This is the same price as the standard CKD 528i when it was introduced in October 2010. But in return for the M-Sport bodykit and trim, you’ll lose the non-M Sport 528i’s sunroof and reverse camera.

    This car receives the baton from the highly popular E60 525i M Sport; like the previous gen car, it’s the flashy member of the family alongside more sober siblings. But for the style, one will have to pay a huge premium over the most affordable F10, the RM333,800 520d.
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