Auto and Cars

TEST DRIVE: 2020 BMW 330e – An enthralling plug-in hybrid The new BMW 330e is proving to be an all-rounding plug-in hybrid vehicle, providing an interesting trade-off between dynamic performance, electric range and a reduced fuel consumption. For BMW, this is their second take on the 330e, after the first F30-based model was introduce during the course of 2015. Compared to its predecessor, the G30 generation of the electrified 3 Series features a radically improved powertrain, doubled by the sharp, powerful styling. Design and Equipment Package Visually, the former 330e iPerformance (as this was its official title) stood out in the range, thanks to eDrive badging on the C-pillar, BMW i blue accents in the kidney grille and surrounding the wheel hub cap. Of course, there were BMW i logos...

Tuning: BMW Z4 R by Lightweight Performance has 395 HP Even though BMW doesn’t plan on releasing a proper Z4 M, that doesn’t mean tuners won’t try to entertain that kind of demand. Tuning shop Lightweight Performance has created the BMW Z4 R, a car that comes as close as possible to the real deal. Their take on the Z4 M40i comes with a host of changes, from a more powerful engine to a new exhaust, aero bits and a new set of wheels. The BMW Z4 is already pretty impressive in M40i guise. We’ve driven it a couple of times and every single meeting with the new roadster left us smiling. Therefore, things might be even better with the package Lightweight Performance is offering under the Z4 R nameplate. The German tuner starts things off with a couple of changes in the...

3D Design Makes the BMW X3 M Even More Aggressive In any spec, the BMW X3 M is one of the very best cars the brand currently makes. It’s shockingly fast, more capable than some sports cars are and practical enough to be a daily-driving crossover. It even looks great, is the right size and has a great interior. But if you want your X3 M to make even more of a statement, to tell all the other parents at the school drop-off that your crossover is faster than theirs, you can turn to 3D Design. Among aftermarket part companies for BMWs, 3D Design is among the best in the world. After seeing the BMW X3 M adorned with 3D Design add-ons, you can clearly see why. The new front lip, side skirt and rear diffuser all look perfect. There’s no cheap, semi-fitting parts here. All of which ...

Is this the ultimate touring? BMW 330i in Peridot Green with M Performance Parts Green paint jobs are back in! Back in 2019, we had a chat with BMW’s Head of Design, Domagoj Dukec, which revolved around the new BMW M8 Gran Coupe, specifically the First Edition. The special M8 GC is not only built in limited numbers, but it also features one of the best shades of green we’ve on a BMW – Aurora Diamant Green. During our interview, Dukec mentioned the need for more standard green colors in the current and future BMW lineup. But if the standard color palette doesn’t offer it, you can always resort to the BMW Individual catalog. And that’s exactly what Belgium-based BMW Sneyers dealership did. In the images below, we get to see a 2020 BMW 330i Touring painted in...

SPIED: Next-Gen BMW X1 Spied in Heavy Camouflage Personally, I’ll always have some love for the BMW X1. That may sound heretical to many BMW purists but the X1 will always hold a special place in my heart because it was the first car I’ve ever driven on a press launch and it was still one of the most memorable drives of my life. So as much as the X1 isn’t a “proper” BMW, it’s a special one to me. Which is why I’m so personally excited about a new generation of X1, which has just been seen doing some camouflaged testing. (We don’t own the spy photos but see them here) In these new photos, we can see that the new BMW X1 looks less like a big wagon and more like a shrunken X3. So it’s more upright, it’s taller and more like a trad...

VIDEO: Watch Frank Stephenson Talk About Designing the E53 BMW X5 One of the best and most famous modern automotive designers is Frank Stephenson, who’s designed several iconic cars for brands ranging from BMW to McLaren to Ferrari. He’s recently started a new YouTube channel in which he shows how he designed some of these incredible cars. The most recent of which is the E53 BMW X5, the original BMW SUV. Back in the ’90s, BMW had created the Spartanburg, South Carolina plant, its largest in the world. There, it wanted to build its first SUV, something to capitalize on the booming SUV market. What BMW came up with was the original X5, a car that ended up becoming a monumental success and stepping stone for the brand moving forward. A bit part of that was thanks to Frank...

EXCLUSIVE: 2021 BMW M3/M4 to be offered initially in rear-wheel drive only The BMW “leak fest” continues this week with the unofficial reveal of the 2021 BMW M4 Coupe (G82). The bold and daring M4 Coupe was leaked yesterday, giving us yet another look at its new design language. Yet, that’s not the only news this week. According to our sources, when it goes on sale in early 2021, the BMW M3 (G80) and M4 (G82) will be offered only with a rear-wheel drive configuration. As you might recall, for the first time in the history of the M brand, the M3/M4 will also come with the xDrive all-wheel drive flavor. The market launch for the M3/M4 xDrive is scheduled in late 2021. The new models will be unveiled this September, with production beginning just a couple of months later....

LEAKED AGAIN: The 2021 BMW M4 (G82) shows its large kidney grille With months before its public debut, the 2021 BMW M4 has been leaked once again. And as expected, no surprises there. The front fascia is identical to the previous leak, featuring the oversized kidney grille seen on the new BMW 4 Series Coupe, but with a twist. The slats are now horizontal and they’re functional. So while the 4 Series gets the mesh grille, the new M3 and M4 will distinguish themselves with this new design approach. Furthermore, the kidneys are all blacked out which we’ve recently learned that it was done at the request of the U.S. market. The front-end is also dominated by two large air intakes and a carbon fiber lip on the bottom of the bumper. The license plate is also missing from this prot...

How does the U.S. license plate look on the new BMW 4 Series Coupe? One of the larger controversies surrounding the design of the new BMW 4 Series has been the location of the front license plate, specifically American license plates. Unlike Euro plates, which are short and wide and actually relatively elegant looking, American plates are taller and narrower, more square-like. All of the press images of the new 4er featured Euro-spec cars with European plates. Because of that, fans couldn’t really imagine what the 4 Series would look like with American plates and whatever they did imagine didn’t seem very appealing. In these new photos, we get to see what the new BMW 4 Series might look like with different U.S. plates. Honestly, the design doesn’t look great, as the li...

2020 MINI John Cooper Works GP now on display at the Abu Dhabi showroom The rocket MINI JCW Cooper GP arrived in the Abu Dhabi showroom in a truly stylish outfit. The new MINI John Cooper Works GP is the most powerful and dynamic MINI that ever existed. It will be assembled in a production of 3,000 units. Today, the MINI JCW GP is the newest resident of the Abu Dhabi Motors dealership in the Middle East. Specifically, the show car on display is the example #0111, as revealed by the “GP 0111” inscription embossed on the dashboard. The exterior individualization for the high-performance MINI includes the Racing Grey paintwork, complemented by the Melting Silver contrasting roof color and the Chili Red highlights on the front end, side profiles and roof-mounted rear GP spoiler....

Rolls-Royce’s Whispers app reports customer interests during lockdown A while back, at the dawn of 2020 and before the Coronavirus lockdown took over our lives, Rolls-Royce was issuing a press release, saying it now has a social media app on offer for its customers. Whispers is aiming at the ultra-rich out there, and it is available solely to those who buy a Rolls-Royce. Therefore, you’ll only find people with certain backgrounds and inclinations on there. It is, if you will, the technological embodiment of the concept of networking. Well, during the lockdown, Rolls-Royce took a look at what was going on inside the app and how people were using it and got some interesting results. In case you were wondering how the ultra-rich spent their time during the lockdown, this is your chan...

Grille Off — Why is the BMW 4 Series Grille More Criticized Than the Audi A5’s? At the moment, BMW is under a bit of fire for the grille design of its new 4 Series Coupe. The design is far bigger and bolder than anything the Bavarians have done before, even more so than the gargantuan BMW X7. However, if we’re being honest, Audi has been guilty of using enormous grilles for far longer. Back with the C6 Audi A6 and B7 Audi A4, the folks in Ingolstadt (BMW’s Bavarian neighbors) started putting big grilles on its cars. So why does BMW get the hate, while Audi seems to be abstained from it? A simple answer is just execution. It seems as if Audi is better at integrating a larger grille design into the rest of the car’s styling. There’s also a subtlety to the way Audi ...

Video: How does the new 4 Series compare to older BMW Coupe models? According to some pundits, the new face of the 4 Series Coupe doesn’t fit in the typical BMW patterns. But what are those patterns exactly? Take a look throughout BMW’s history and you’ll quickly notice that the iconic kidney grilles have changed shape and size a number of times. Then again, a comprehensive view of how they evolved requires a look through about 100 years of car making. That’s probably why the BMW team felt like some explanation was needed, to put things in context. The video below features Pieter Nota, BMW’s board member responsible for Customer, Brands and Sales, explaining how the design of the new 4 Series fits within BMW’s history of great Coupes. “When I w...

BMW Motorsport reveals liveries for 2020 DTM season BMW Motorsport announced today its new liveries for 2020 DTM racing season, along with the full lineup of sponsors and partners. Five of the six works BMW M4 DTM will compete in the well-known and familiar colors of Shell, BMW Bank, CATL, Schaeffler and ZF. The sixth M4 DTM gets a new sponsor: iQOO. “We are very happy to have our strong partners at our side, even in difficult times like these,” said BMW Group Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt. “The corona pandemic also put the brakes on the DTM, and when the season can finally start, it will be under different conditions than we are used to. That is why we are all the more grateful for the loyalty and ongoing support of our partners. It shows once again that we are o...

A realistic rendering of the upcoming BMW 4 Series Convertible The talented rendering artist at X-Tomi Design has put together a new rendering of the future BMW 4 Series Convertible. The Photoshoped image is based on the yesterday’s unveil of the 4 Series Coupe, and is likely quite close to the final product design. The new 4 Series family will become whole next year when the convertible and Gran Coupe models will join the lineup. We’ve also confirmed yesterday with the BMW engineering team that the new 4 Series Convertible/Cabriolet will get a soft top. That will lead to additional cargo space and a lower curb weight. Virtually no changes are expected at the front-end, so the large kidney grille is here to stay on the cabriolet as well. The rear-end will indeed be slightly...

Video: BMW head of Development takes new 4 Series to the track Even though most people are focusing on the design of the 2021 BMW 4 Series Coupe, this new sports coupe is a lot more than just its big grille. The new 4 Series has to rise to every driver’s expectations on the track and for a brand whose slogan is “The Ultimate Driving Machine”, the experience behind the wheel takes the centerstage. With the new model, BMW took extra care not only to differentiate the new 4er stylistically from the current 3er, but also to make the Coupe drive all that much better. We’ve had the chance to sample a pre-production M440i Coupe last month and you can read our review here. In the video below we get to hear the BMW head of Development, Klaus Frohlich, talk about the car&r...

Video: 2020 BMW 4 Series styling explained by BMW Head of Design In the video below, we get to listen to Domagoj Dukec, BMW’s Head of Design, who explains the design philosophy behind the all-new BMW 4 Series. Dukec goes into a lengthy design overview, explaining the intricacies of the new 4 Series Coupe. Naturally, it’s always best to listen to get an overview from a designer, so Dukec points out quite a few interesting things. According to Dukec, the main goal here was to set the 4 Series apart from its 3 Series brother and give it its own personality. “From now on, the number ‘4’ will stand for an even more self-confident and expressive series of products, says Dukec. “All models will show a complete differentiation from the current 3 Series, as w...

2021 BMW 5 Series Facelift: First Real Life Photos From BMW Welt Courtesy of the BMW Welt in Munich, we can now bring you the first real life photos of the new 2020 BMW 5 Series Facelift. It has been a busy month for BMW, with the launch of the refreshed 5 Series, and now the introduction of the second generation 4 Series Coupe. While the new sports coupe plays in a niche segment, the 5 Series Sedan and Touring are BMW’s backbone and some of the most iconic models. And while the 4 Series Coupe is bringing forward a revolutionary design, the 5 Series LCI takes a more cautious approach. Mild, Yet Effective Facelift The new BMW 5 Series models boast a significantly revamped visual identity, with clearly structured surfaces and eye-catching details, adding sharpness, character and enh...

BMW M440i Rendered with 2 Series Gran Coupe Grille We’re clearly beating a dead horse by now, but unfortunately, the kidney grille on the new BMW 4 Series is still the main topic of the day. Despite having some impressive performance and tech, and despite having a revolutionary design, the G22 4 Series gets hammered for its oversized kidney grille. So naturally, people are trying to imagine a new 4 Series, without the XXL grille. Yesterday we featured an M440i rendering on our Instagram channel with the 8 Series fascia (another controversial design at launch time). But today, we have the very same BMW M440i with the 2 Series Gran Coupe kidneys. If you go back a few months ago, the new 2 Series Gran Coupe was the villain of the BMW family, and the design of its kidneys was often cr...

Genesis: BMW From the Beginning, by Jackie Jouret My passion for BMWs was rekindled at the turn of the 21st century with a three day loan of an E39 M5. The M5 was as close to perfection as I had seen in an automobile. I was smitten and a subsequent stint in an E46 M3 couple merely served to seal the deal. I had lusted after a 2002 when I was in my early 20s but couldn’t scrape together the coin to buy a new one (should have bought used, d’oh!). But a drive of a 528e in the early 1980s did nothing to help push me towards ownership. But that E39 M5 . . . Ownership lead to involvement in the BMW CCA Kansas City chapter – one of the oldest in the nation. And from there to writing about BMWs for the club newsletter, Milepost. Eventually I was introduced to Horatiu Boer...

New BMW 4 Series Coupe online configurator goes live on several BMW websites The new BMW 4 Series Coupe is here and so are the online configurators for the G22 generation, now available on many BMW websites around the world. The premium mid-sized coupe from BMW is offered in two equipment lines: the Basis model and the M Sport version. This is a pretty different strategy than the one applied for the outgoing F32 generation, where you’d also get the Sport Line and Luxury Line trims. It is pretty obvious that BMW is looking for an aggressive positioning of its G22 4 Series, just like in the case of the 8 Series models. The clear intention is to direct customers mostly towards the range-topping M Sport variant. Besides these, you can also get an optional, fancier M Sport Pro package...

Photo Comparison: BMW 4 Series Coupe vs BMW 8 Series Coupe When we first started seeing spy photos of the newly-released BMW 4 Series, clad in camouflage, we thought it looked like a mini-8 Series. Moreover, we had heard rumors that it would actually drive like a baby 8 Series as well. Turns out, neither of those were exactly accurate. BMW claims the new 4 Series to be more of a sports car than anything else and we now know that its styling is not a direct carryover from the 8 Series. So we thought we’d put together a side-by-side comparison to see how the two BMW coupes differ. Let’s get the faces of both cars out of the way first. Up front, the 4 Series makes the 8 Series positively tame. When the 8er first debuted, it was said to have had massive grilles. Now, it looks re...

Photo/Spec Comparison: BMW 4 Series vs Audi A5 Coupe Today, the all-new 2020 BMW 4 Series made its official debut,which means it now has to compete with the newly-facelifted Audi A5. From the looks and sounds of it, the new 4 Series and A5 will be interesting competitors. On paper, it will be a close call but in terms of design, there might be a big advantage toward one car or another. We obviously haven’t driven the new BMW 4 Series, as it isn’t on sale just yet, so we can’t actually compare the two cars. However, we can check out their specs and their design, to see which one looks better and which seems better on paper. Check the Specs On paper, the two cars are surprisingly should compete well. Both the standard Audi A5 and BMW 4 Series (not the S5 or M440i) come ...

2021 BMW 4 Series: No manual transmission and no plug-in hybrid We’ve just finished a conference call with the BMW design team and engineering team behind the new 2021 BMW 4 Series and we’ve learned some new things. Firstly, the BMW 4 Series will NOT get a manual transmission. This applies to all markets and it’s a first for a BMW 3 Series/4 Series Coupe. “We we saw a significant decrease in take rate for manuals, almost to none,” Andreas Ederer (Head of Project) told us. “Therefore we decided to not have a manual transmission for this generation. Although, we know that there are some customers looking for a manual transmission vehicle. And, but this is a very small niche.” The writing has been on the wall for quite some time, even though the M...

M Performance Parts for the 2021 BMW 4 Series available at market launch From market launch, the 2021 BMW 4 Series will get a set of M Performance Parts which will enhance the already sporty look of the new coupe. As always, the M Performance Parts package focuses mostly on visual upgrades. The carbon fiber is an integral part of the M Performance Parts and it starts at the front. The front bumper gets some carbon fiber inserts in the air curtains which work perfectly against the Alpine White paint job. There is also an aggressively-shaped front lip which seems to feature a design we have not seen before. The massive kidney grille also gets styled. The outer edges of the one-piece grille is made of carbon fiber. The canards are the last piece added to the front fascia. On the side, you...

Video: Here’s how the G30 5 Series morphed into the refreshed version Yesterday was a big day for the automotive industry. A number of car makers decided that May 27th should be the perfect day to launch their latest offerings and the market was flooded. Apart from the refreshed BMW 5 Series sedan we also got to see the Touring model, the new 6 Series GT, the MINI Countryman, a new X2 model and a couple of Mercedes-Benz E-Class beauties that were also unveiled yesterday. Big day then. The new 5 Series LCI is the biggest news for fans of the Bavarian brand. The current G30 model is proving to be quite a success, already being delivered to 600,000 satisfied customers around the world. By the time it goes out of production, it could top the 1 million mark. And despite its success, BMW deci...

How To Care For Your BMW’s Leather When it comes to leather care, there is no one size fits all solution. BMW carries many different types of leather, as well as several versatile non-leather options to fit different budgets and styles. As an avid enthusiast, I’ve been fortunate to own many different models, creating a necessity for me to understand leather care for a wide variety of BMW leather types, from the Leatherette in my first BMW, a 2007 328xi, to the Merino Leather in my current 2020 BMW X3M Competition. For some types of leather, only cleaning is necessary, as many modern leathers have built-in top coats to protect them from fading and cracking, while others require more care and attention. While this guide won’t cover every type of leather BMW has ever offered, i...

2021 BMW M5 Facelift: Renders show the front and rear of the F90 LCI The BMW 5 Series facelift serves as the base for these new renderings featuring the upcoming BMW M5 Facelift. The refreshed 5 Series, along with this M5 LCI teaser image, gives us a better understanding of the M5’s improved design. As always, our friend @zer.o.wt delivers some realistic renders. The images incorporate the the new headlights and taillights of the 5 Series LCI, along with the modified kidney grille and front aprons. The most important update at the front is undoubtedly the flatter headlights with their completely new daytime running light design. In place of the slightly angular daytime running light rings, which open towards the kidney, there is a new L-shaped design which is only rudimentary rem...