Archive for BMW

A lot of BMW 3-Series owners are probably waiting for this - a new BMW Performance range from BMW which joins the current line-up consisting of the tii-morphing 1-Series BMW Performance kit and the M6’s kit. With the amount of 3-Series and 3-Series M Sport models on Malaysian roads, especially with the 320i also getting the M Sport kit now, you may start to feel a little jaded with the 3, but now we have BMW Performance parts to spice it up!

I’m not sure how the set up will be in Malaysia, but in Europe all BMW Performance products are covered by BMW’s full warranty and are sold by BMW dealers. BMW has released a teaser video of what the 3-Series will get, and you can watch it after the jump.

From what we can see - a new front bumper with a really wide central air intake, an M3-ish diffuser-design rear bumper (tailpipe only one on side though), carbon fiber wing mirrors, and you can probably expect a carbon fiber rear lip as well as air intake, exhaust, seats, brake, struts and suspension upgrades that take the car one level above the kit you get with the M Sport.

The BMW Performance colour is yellow - so the BMW Performance springs and the lovely 6-pot brake calipers will be painted in that colour. The range even has its own alloy wheels which comes in either 18 inch or 19 inch sizes.

Watch the teaser video after the jump

Click here to read the rest of Teaser: BMW Performance kit for the 3-Series

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The MINI Clubman and Clubman S are the second body variant of the second generation BMW MINI, with the first being the R56 hatchback and another upcoming one being the new convertible. We recently took a spin in the Clubman and did some of the typical lifestyle stuff - a duty that this vehicle is expected to carry out well, since its priced way over the RM200,000 mark. Read our findings after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of New MINI Clubman Test Drive Review

These excellent shots of the upcoming BMW Progressive Activity Sedan (BMW PAS… future Terengganu exco car replacing the new E200Ks if PAS ever regains control of Terengganu?) were shot by reader Zakwan in HohenSchwangau, about a 2 hour drive from Munich where the BMW headquarters is.

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These shots reveal not very much of the rear brakelamps, but we are able to see the sleek, compact and upwards-pointing headlamps that probably follow the theme set by the new F01 7-Series. You can expect large kidney grilles with this car as well.

The BMW PAS was originally rumoured to be called the V5, part of a new V-Series which were supposed to consist of *gasp* BMW MPVs. It definitely doesn’t look like an MPV of any sort. It’s more of a fastback version of the 5-Series. Many car manufacturers offer a third model variant to its large sedans - a fastback or a hatchback in addition to the conventional sedan and estate bodyshapes. The Mazda6 is one of them.

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Yes, that’s probably what it is, a version of the BMW 5-Series Touring with a sloping rear roofline designed to compete against the likes of the Mercedes-Benz CLS. It may not be called a 5-Series though… maybe an X4 or something. I really don’t know.

The shot above reveals a dual trapezoidal tailpipe configuration for the exhaust system. Various spyshots of the BMW PAS around the internet has revealed a couple of other tailpipe configurations as well. What we’ve seen so far is a twin-tailpipe exhaust on one side of the car which could be a baseline model or a diesel model, a quad-tailpipe version (two twin tailpipes on each side), and also a dual round tailpipe configuration on either side of the car which could belong to a variant power by the N54 3.0 liter twin turbo petrol engine. These trapezoidal tailpipes likely indicate the 4.4 liter twin turbo V8.

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The multi-spoke wheels on this test vehicle also look like one of the larger ones we’ve seen installed on this car so far, which indicates this is probably one of the top of the line variants.

We heard news back in September that BMW had tasked its M Division with building a production version of the BMW Concept CS, but it seems that after relooking its accounts books, they’ve decided that they cannot afford it. They’ve just released Q3 2008 financial results and the company only managed an operating return on sales of less than 1.3%.

The Concept CS has been shelved for now, as internal calculations showed the car would not be helping that return on sales figures, plus they do not need such a halo vehicle at the moment. Instead, BMW will be focusing on Efficient Dynamics and its “project i”, which is expected to spawn a new city car (i = Isetta?) that will have a choice of either electric propulsion or a high efficiency combustion engine.

BMW also needs to focus on its plans to cut costs by 6 billion Euros a year by 2012. As it is, they’re struggling financially. Q3 2008 earnings before interest and tax fell 60% to 387 million euros compared to the same period last year, far from the estimated 574 million Euros that financial analysts had predicted.

So the 4-seater, 4-door Aston Martin Rapide rival BMW Concept CS remains for the moment just that, a concept and nothing more until the world gets through this recession.

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I found this TV commercial for the BMW Night Vision system slightly creepy for some reason, it reminded me of South Park’s Woodland Critter Christmas animals. But still, it’s quite a cute way to show how the BMW Night Vision system in the new F01 BMW 7-Series works. Watch the video after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of BMW Night Vision Forest Animals TV Commercial

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The E60 BMW 5-Series has come a long way since it was first unveiled to the world. You could say it gave a rude shock to those who loved the low slung elegance that the E39 portrayed. It was a no holds barred styling affair for Chris Bangle after warming himself up with the E65 7-Series launched earlier.

A few years and a facelift later, we’ve all pretty much gotten used to what the new 5-Series looks like. I still prefer the E39’s looks but in two years or so that will already be two generations old and the new F10 5-Series will be out, which will probably look like a downsized version of the F01 7-Series. That means GIANT nostrils.

I was recently acquainted with the three mainstream models of the 5-Series range here in Malaysia over the period of 2 days. Continue reading to find out more.

Click here to read the rest of The E60 BMW 5-Series Facelift Range Test Drive: BMW 523i SE, 525i Sports and 530i

The already arguably wacky BMW X6 has gone even more loony thanks to AC Schnitzer, who has decked it out in the brownish colour scheme of a Falcon’s feathers with this AC Schnitzer X6 Falcon demo car featuring AC Schnitzer’s Falcon bodykit for the BMW X6.

There is also a new twin flow exhaust system and an upgraded ECU for the diesel engines, which now produces 272hp and 310hp in xDrive30d and xDrive35d form respectively, up from 235hp and 286hp.

AC Schnitzer says the X6 Falcon “sweeps” around the “sky” of the Nurburgring North Loop, and its “legs” are decorated with AC Schnitzer Type VII alloy wheels. That’s some really funky copywriting there.

Look after the jump for a few more images.

Click here to read the rest of AC Schnitzer X6 Falcon bodykit

Sometimes its fun to take a blast into the past, but for today we’re not going too far into the past, but instead let’s have a look at a fast car from the late 90s/early2000s, a souped up version of one of my most favourite, the BMW E39. This is the Alpina B10 V8S based on the E39 BMW 540i.

During its time, the B10 V8S was even more expensive than the E39 BMW M5 but like the approach Alpina took with the latest generation E60 Alpine B5 versus the E60 BMW M5, it delivered its grunt differently. The Alpina B10 V8S was more of a very fast tourer that was still comfortable to ride in, especially with its automatic transmission, as compared to the manual-only E39 M5.

The 540i’s 4.4 liter engine was replaced by a 4.6 liter unit, then later 4.8 liter normally aspirated unit. It produces 375 horsepower at 5,800rpm and an impressive 510Nm of torque at 3,800rpm. This means less horsepower compared to the M5’s 400 horses at 6,600rpm but more torque compared to the M5’s 500Nm at 3,800rpm.

Of course, those higher horses are achieved higher in the rev range so at about 5,800rpm they could be producing nearly the same power. The B10 V8s is only 0.1 seconds slower to the 100km/h mark than the M5 at 5.4 seconds, and this is with an automatic compared to the M5’s manual transmission. It can achieve a top speed of over 284km/h.

As mentioned before, Instead of a manual transmission the Alpina B10 V8S uses a 5-speed transmission derived from the ZF unit in the 540i. Alpina calls it the Switch-Tronic transmission and its transmission ratios, shift patterns, internals and electronics are customised according to Alpina specifications. Steering-wheel mounted shifting is enabled via buttons behind the steering wheel spokes - left for a downshift and right for an upshift.

As for cosmetics, the exterior features the classic Alpina blue paintwork with minor additional styling - a subtle bootlid spoiler, the classic multi-spoke Alpine wheels in white and a small front lip for the facelifted style front bumper.

Look for more photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of E39 Alpina B10 V8 S: the “automatic” alternative!

This is probably BMW’s first deployment of a commercial electric car - the MINI E. Based on the current generation R56 MINI Cooper, the MINI E is powered by a 204 horsepower, 220Nm electric motor that draws power from a rechargeable lithium ion battery. Power is transmitted to the front wheels via a single-stage helical transmission.

0 to 100km/h takes 8.5 seconds and the vehicle has a top speed of 152km/h, which is not very high but is probably due to the maximum spin speed of the motor and the single-stage transmission, which is derived from the Cooper S helical gearbox. It’s essentially a single-speed automatic so there’s limitations on the top speed.

The MINI E has been reduced from a 2+2 into a strict 2 seater as the rear bench has been removed and replaced by the battery bank. The 5,088 lithium ion battery cells (grouped into 48 modules) have a maximum capacity of 35 kWh, and powers the motor at 380 volts. They provide for a maximum of 240km range on a full charge.

Some of the energy can be recovered via brake energy regeneration to provide a 20% boost in range. A full recharge via a plug-in charger draws 28 kWH from the power grid. Quick charging in 2.5 hours is enabled via a quick charger that will be installed in the customer’s garage for higher amperage.

500 units of the MINI E will be leased for private use in real daily traffic conditions. Leasing is based on a year’s term with the option to extend. The monthly lease payments will cover any required service (expected to be every 5,000km and at least after 6 months) including any maintenance and replacement of wear-and-tear parts. At the end of the lease, the cars returned to BMW will be subjected to comparative tests.

Look after the jump for more hi-res photos.

Click here to read the rest of BMW unveils the MINI E electric car!

The E65/E66 BMW 7-Series took BMW interiors to the next level with the introduction of the iDrive system and the steering-column mounted gear shifter. The whole interior layout was also quite different from all its predecessors. With the new F01/F02 BMW 7-Series, BMW has revamped what we know as the BMW interior once again, and the 7-Series also returns to using a center dash area that is angled towards the driver. Look after the jump for a video featuring Interface and Details Designer Jurgen Schroder and Interior Designer Nader Faghihzadeh talking about the new interior.

Click here to read the rest of BMW F01 Interior: Interview with Designers