Auto and Cars

SPIED: 2021 BMW iNEXT (I20) scooped testing on the Ring A prototype of the future BMW iNEXT electric SAV has recently been deployed on the Nurburgring track for a session of chassis and dynamics fine-tuning. BMW i’s new halo model is set to arrive around Spring 2021. Until then, the road development phase marches on, as the camouflaged iNEXT (internally dubbed I20) has recently been caught off-handed at the Ring in Germany (as we don’t own the spy shots, you can see them here).The exterior cladding is still heavy, but it still lets us see most of the general silhouette of Munich’s new, pure electric Sports Activity Vehicle. The iX, as it will likely be titled when it officially premieres next year, will sport a muscular, robust and highly dynamic attitude.Rendering @ze...

Video: The BMW X7 M50i is too fast for comfort The BMW X7 range is topped by the V8-equipped M50i model. In this guise, the ultra-luxurious X7 turns into an incredibly fast machine, one that definitely comes close to defying physics. Even though it’s not an M car, and even though there is a more powerful version out there, the Alpina XB7, the BMW X7 M50i is still bringing a lot of performance to the table. Some might even go as far as saying is a bit too much.The video below shows exactly how fast this car can be, at least in a straight line. The guys from AutoTopNL went from 0 to 250 km/h (155 mph) and the numbers are simply astounding for a 7-seat SUV. The X7 M50i did the 0-100 km/h (62 mph) sprint in 4.73 seconds. It went up to 200 km/h (124 mph) in 17.48 seconds and the sprint...

BMW ALPINA B5 Facelift with 621 hp and 330 km / h top speed Following the release of the BMW 5 Series Facelift, ALPINA is now bringing their own updates to the market. The 2020 ALPINA B5 Facelift was just announced and brings a series of styling upgrades. The Buchloe-based B5 not only gets the sharper look of the refreshed 5 Series, but it’s also based on the M Sport Package. The power output has also been raised from 608 to 621 horsepower, while the design is significantly sportier.Revised Power UnitThe 4.4 liter V8 engine with bi-turbo charging delivers an impressive output of 457 kW (621 hp), and a maximum torque of 800 Nm (590 lb-ft), available from just 2000 rpm. ALPINA says that the BMW ALPINA B5 has quick, linear throttle response and on-demand power delivery throughout the...

BMW M2 CS: Approximately 400 units reserved for the U.S. market The BMW M2 CS will have a very short run. The highly limited sports coupe will arrive to market this year before taking a bow in early November 2020 for the European market. The U.S. market will continue to get additional units into 2021.Naturally, the question everyone has been asking revolves around the allocation numbers for the U.S. market. According to a source close to the company, while the exact figure hasn’t been pinned down, the expectations are that around 400 units will land in the hands of U.S. customers.Initially, the number of M2 CS units hovered around 500, but as always, the production plans can change. The BMW M2 CS is in no way artificially limited and most of the availability constraints will have ...

BMW i Ventures invests in Prometheus Fuels, aiming to turn CO2 into fuel It was late 2018 when we first heard about a company that set out to do what seemed impossible at that time: turn CO2 into fuel. Apart from being able to absorb harmful CO2 from the atmosphere, this new company was actually talking about turning it into fuel. Today, BMW i Ventures announced that it will be investing in the company who came up with this process, Prometheus Fuels.Look beyond the pretentious name and you’ll find a company that aims to make our lives better. And that goal was just validated by BMW and their $12.5 million investment, through its BMW i Ventures arm. “The ability to create gasoline from air, cost competitively with fossil fuels, is a game changer,” said Greg Smithies, Pa...

Video: BMW X2 M35i vs Audi SQ2 and Volkswagen T-Roc R drag race Today, the automotive industry has some truly interesting crossovers to offer for SUV the market. There were new categories and niches created, all built on the premises of a premium all-wheel drive experience.You can include in that category cars like the the BMW X2 or the Audi SQ2. These are also just another set of cars that share their their underpinnings with more conventional bodystyles.The SQ2 is basically an Audi A3 on stilts. The two cars are very similar in a lot of ways, but whereas the A3 just has that classic hatchback look, the Q2 is just taller.But other than that, the technical details are roughly the same. The engines are shared too so the SQ2 uses the same 2-liter 4-cylinder turbocharged mill you’ll ...

BMW M5 Facelift accurately rendered before June 17 unveil The BMW F90 M5 will get a facelift on June 17. Design wise, the facelifted M5 will sit in line with the currently refreshed 5 Series range. We already knew that M5 LCI was coming and so did various pixel manipulators out there. Therefore, today, we’ve seeing a rendering of what future M5 with the design cues from the new 5 Series. The folks at Kolesa are responsible for this new rendering.Their take on the new M5 looks like is pretty accurate even though some details might be a bit off. The new M5 LCI will get the 5 Series’ bigger grilles with their boxier shape, and the new headlights. The kidneys will also have a double-slat design and feature the M5 logo on the top right corner.As for the bumper, the air intak...

VIDEO: BMW Heaven — Check Out This Stunning BMW Collection Some of you might already know of Peter Gleeson. He’s the very wealthy BMW collector from Seattle, Washington (originally from the UK), who has quite possibly the most incredible collection of BMWs in the country. Potentially even the world. His collection of BMWs isn’t only filled with rare cars but cars that absolutely cannot be found anywhere else. Thankfully, the Peterson Museum takes us all on a tour of his collection in this new video.The car that Gleeson most famously owns is the Frank Stella BMW M1 Art Car. It’s the only one in the world, as all Art Cars are, and it was hand painted by American artist Frank Stella. The Frank Stella M1 might be the most fascinating of all the Art Cars because, actually, ...

BMW Junior Team Could race on Nurburgring for 1st time on June 27 Last year, before the pandemic took over the world, BMW restarted a program that was rather forgotten over the last few years. The BMW Junior Team got revitalized and the man who created the whole concept originally, Mr. Jochen Neerpasch, was asked to return and mentor a new generation of young drivers. Unfortunately, even though the youngsters were supposed to be already racing by now, they had to wait a bit longer, for the tracks to reopen.Their first outing might take place on June 27 though. That’s when the Nurburgring Endurance Series is scheduled, provided everything goes well with the public health sector. The trio of Dan Harper, Max Hesse and Neil Verhagen will be guided through the whole process by Jochen N...

Rolls-Royce Father’s Day Ideas — What to Buy a Man Who Can Afford a Rolls? Father’s Day is almost here and it’s about that time to start buying car-related gifts for the father in your life, especially when you’ve run out of other ideas. However, what if the car said father drives is a Rolls-Royce? What the hell can you buy someone who drives a Rolls that they don’t already have? I have a feeling a package of novelty socks isn’t going to suffice.Thankfully, the fine folks in Goowood have you covered. There are a great many Rolls-Royce-branded gifts for that special Rolls lover in your life. If he has a Cullinan, you can buy him the incredibly Viewing Suite for his trunk, which adds two lovely little fold out seats from which to enjoy a beautiful view of all...

VIDEO: BMW X6 M50i tested by The Straight Pipes Ever since it debuted, the BMW X6 has been an odd car. It’s one that almost all journalists and most enthusiasts bemoan, due to its odd-ball styling, lack of practicality and absurd price tag. However, BMW must be onto something as the X6 sells extremely well, especially in North America. This new one is the best of them, though, and it gets tested by The Straight Pipes in this new video.The car in question is the BMW X6 M50i, which is the M Performance model of the lineup. That makes it more exciting than the standard car but less so than the full-on X6 M. Just because it’s not a full-blown M car doesn’t mean it can’t accelerate like one, as seen in this video. It launches hard and is far faster than a car of its s...

BMW 4 Series Production Cars Seen in Public for First Time Really, when it comes to discussing the BMW 4 Series, it all starts with its design. To say that its design is polarizing would be a gross understatement. There seem to be huge portions of the BMW fanbase that genuinely can’t stand this new design, as we’ve seen such outrage in our comments section, social media pages and forums. However, we tend to reserve final judgement until after we’ve seen the car in the flesh and been able to get up close and personal with it. Prior to now, the only other photos we’ve seen of the BMW 4 Series have been the manufacturer photos BMW put out along with its press release. This is the first we’ve seen of non-camouflaged production 4 Series cars out in public and th...

BMW B58 Will Power Upstart Land Rover Defender-Competitor BMW seems to be loaning out the B58 turbo-I6 to anyone that asks for it, these days. First it started out as a partnership with Toyota, for the new Supra, then BMW lent it to the folks at Morgan and now we’re learning that the upstart Land Rover Defender-Competitor, the Ineos “Projekt Grenadier” will also get the engine. Ineos is a London-based chemical company whose CEO and founder Jim Ratcliffe came up with the idea to develop a proper Land Rover Defender successor. After learning that the old body-on-frame off-roader was going to be replaced with something more modern, Ratcliffe was a bit disappointed and decided to make something more in keeping with the original Defender’s spirit. What he came up with...

BMWBLOG Podcast Ep 29 — Scott Villenueve from Limited-Slip Blog Talks 4 Series Now that the new 4 Series has been revealed, and some leaked photos of the M4 have been revealed, we decided to talk to someone who’s owned several BMWs over the years and knows the brand well — Scott Villenueve from Limited-Slip Blog. Scott has owned many Bimmers over the years, including more than one F80 BMW M3 and now currently owns a BMW M235i Gran Coupe. The latter of which proves that he’s unafraid to put his own money down for a BMW that might stray from the brand’s heritage a bit. It also proves that styling isn’t his main priority, as he willingly admits to its ugliness. Which is why we thought it perfect to talk to him about the new 4 Series. This new 4er has been subj...

Video: 840 HP BMW M5 drag races 940 HP Mercedes-AMG GT63 4-door There is one BMW F90 M5 which is starting to gain a cult. This particular M5 belong to the guys from the Youtube channel DSC OFF. That little bundle of joy has been racing some of the fastest cars on the planet right now and impressed us every time. The tuned, land-rocket, is just incredibly fast for a sedan, a sedan of any shape. But this time around, it is taking on yet another marvel of engineering: the AMG GT63 4-door. The two are tuned but not to the extent you might think. There’s no ethanol injection, no larger turbos, no hardcore mechanical changes were done to the two cars. Even so, the power they can deliver is absolute mind-bending. The M5 claims to be capable of delivering 840 HP, thanks to some ECU tinker...

Ravenol is now an official partner of the BMW M Customer Racing division Today, the BMW M Customer Racing division announced a new livery for its BMW M4 GT4 car, one that would reflect the newest partner of the company, Ravenol. The BMW officials expressed their hopes to see the new livery out for the first time, in a real race, before the end of the month, ideally at the Nurburgring Endurance Series which could take place on June 27. Ravenol has been working extra hard to get its name out there. The company has obviously been doing great work since BMW agreed to sign a deal with them. Not only that but, BMW M Customer Racing claims they have tested the Ravenol RSP SAE 5W-30 engine oil and the Ravenol Racing Gearoil 75W-140 differential oil in the BMW M4 GT4, and has approved both of th...

Pre-Production F90 BMW M5 Facelift is Already Showing Signs of Improvement It’s genuinely difficult to improve on a car like the F90 BMW M5. Is it an absolutely perfect car? No but it’s about as close as I’ve personally ever felt to a perfect car. There’s really nothing it does poorly. It’s absurdly fast, fun to drive, comfortable enough, practical enough and very luxurious. However, there are some things it doesn’t do absolutely brilliantly, even if it’s still pretty good at them. Those areas are apparently where BMW focused, as this new pre-production drive report sounds promising. BMW has been doing this a lot lately, inviting journalists to pre-production drives so it can get their feedback and make changes if need be. It’s not often B...

VIDEO: Toyota Supra Takes on C8 Corvette on Track — Good News for BMW? By now, it’s no secret that the BMW Z4 M40i and Toyota Supra are essentially the same car. Aside from suspension, steering and brake tuning, they’re almost identical. So it should interest BMW enthusiasts to see how well the Supra can do against more powerful competition. For instance, in this video, we get to see a slightly modified Supra take n a slightly modified C8-gen Corvette on track. Admittedly, this isn’t a very accurate test. Both cars are modified slightly differently and they’re driven by different drivers. One such driver is experienced with the track and the other isn’t. They’re also running on different tires. However, what is interesting is to see how the two cars b...

BMW M4 CSL rendered based on the recent M4 leak Rendering artist Nicolas Cavero (@futurecarsnow) brings us the first rendering of a future BMW M4 CSL. The Photoshoped image is based on the recently G82 M4 leak. The next-gen M4 Coupe was spotted just a few days ago and turned the BMW world upside-down. The reason for that? Its enormous kidney grille which takes a different approach than the recently unveiled BMW 4 Series Coupe. Compared to the standard 4 Series, the M4 high-performance coupe will use a two-piece kidney grille, spread vertically across the front-fascia and featuring horizontal and functional slats. Therefore, the rendering artist used those new M design elements and combined them with some cues from the current F82 BMW M4 GTS. But the render is more than just an M4 GTS w...

Rumor: BMW X8 M45e – A Plug-In Hybrid High-Performance SUV The BMW X8 is slotted for sometimes after 2022. The new high-end crossover will sit at the top of the entire BMW lineup and aims to be one of the most luxurious cars ever offered by the Bavarians. But the X8 will be more than just luxury. According to sources, the new BMW X8 could be offered in three variants (more on that in the next article). One of those variants will be a plug-in hybrid high-performance model. Dubbed BMW X8 M45e, the M Performance SUV uses a similar plug-in hybrid drivetrain as the recently unveiled BMW 745e. BMW X8 – Not a very accurate rendering The 745e comes with a turbocharged 3-liter six-cylinder engine good for 286 HP all on its own. Alongside it you’ll find an electric motor, delivering ...

2021 BMW X7 40i gets 48V mild-hybrid and lots of new changes The new X7 is a smashing success for BMW in the United States. Highly criticized at first, the 7-seater SUV is now driving a lot of new customers to the brand. So naturally, BMW aims to keep it refresh every year. The 2021 BMW X7 ordering guide just became available and it contains a wide range of new features. Let’s start with the 48V mild-hybrid system which will be included in the BMW X7 xDrive40i model. The mild hybrid technology is particularly useful, as it optimizes the powertrain functioning, provides a power boost when needed and supports the engine workload in various situations. The 48V mild hybrid drive first became available in the pre-LCI 5 Series model in Fall 2019, specifically in the 520d 4-cylinde...

BMW X5 50i dropped from the U.S. lineup, red M Sport brakes offered BMW will start accepting orders for the  2021 X5 SUV this July. But when the order bank opens up, there are a few changes compared to the previous model year. First and most important is the removal of the BMW X5 50i model. This was the V8-powered crossover which arrived on the market with the new X5. Just a year later, BMW introduced the X5 M50i. The BMW X5 M50i is the M Performance variant that will be closest to the actual X5 M. Thanks to its N63 4.4 liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine (the same one that’s used in the BMW M850i), it makes a very healthy 523 hp and 553 lb-ft of torque. That’s only 77 hp less than the BMW M5 and the same amount of torque. All of that twin-turbocharged V8 helps the...

Self-charging hybrid vs. Plug-In Hybrid – What’s The difference When it comes to buying a hybrid car, you’re faced with two choices: plug-in hybrids cars and self-charging hybrids. Of course, by now you are curious to know the differences between these two hybrid architectures. Vehicles classified as self-charging hybrids are cars that combine a petrol (sometimes even a diesel) engine with a tiny electric motor and an even smaller electric battery. Sometimes, people call these kind of vehicle “full hybrids”, but this term might disguise you, letting you think that these cars can travel by using a full-electric mode for a long time. We won’t discuss mild-hybrid vehicles right now, because this type of vehicles is equipped just with a starter generat...

BMW M2 CS goes for a track ride at Zolder Today we bring you the first ever video showing the new BMW M2 CS going on a race track. The super sporty M2 CS was driven on the Zolder circuit by the BMW DAVO dealership in Belgium. Since the car has yet to be broken in, the track experience is a bit muted. First BMW M2 CS driving reviews were scheduled for May, but the COVID-19 pandemic had put those plans on hold. We do expect to test drive the new sports coupe in the next few months. The new BMW M2 CS will come to complement the already successful M2 Competition. But what sets the M2 CS apart from the M2 Competition are the track-oriented solutions adopted and the output increase for the BMW S55 straight-six engine up to 450 PS / 444 hp. 2020 BMW M2 CS pricing starts at $139,900 in Au...

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...