Auto and Cars

BMW i Andretti Motorsport gets no points in latest virtual Formula E outing Instead of seeing Formula E races taking place on the real streets of cities around the world these days, we’re now forced to watch these cars on our screens. The ABB Formula E Race at Home Challenge basically took over from what we knew and is trying to keep us entertained, from the safety of our own homes. The BMW i Andretti Motorsport was quite successful in the first three races held in the virtual realm so far but the most recent event left them wanting for more. The fourth race of the ABB Formula E Race at Home Challenge took place on the virtual circuit in Hong Kong. Maximilian Günther, who had two wins and a third place to his name so far, qualified in fourth place for the Formula E drivers&rs...

Video: This might just be the best BMW collection in the world There are quite a few BMW collectors around the world. The Bavarian brand manages to inspire a lot of passion among petrolheads, no matter where they might be located. That’s also one of the reasons why some older BMWs are seeing their values go through the roof right now: there are a lot of rich people willing to pay for them. One of those people is Peter Gleeson, the man who owns what is probably the best BMW collection in the world. The video below shows exactly why I think that and you only have to watch a couple of minutes of it to get my point. What Gleeson has in his garage includes cars that even BMW doesn’t have in their collection. For example, Gleeson is the one who owns the BMW M1 Art Car done by Fran...

BMW ALPINA teases more the new XB7 ahead of the official reveal The all-new BMW ALPINA XB7 will become the most powerful variant of the G07 generation when it officially launches Tuesday, May 19th, 2020. The XB7 will also be ALPINA’s largest vehicle in production and the third addition of the Buchloe-based tuner in the category of high-sided, Sports Activity models after the XD3 and XD4. ALPINA Automobiles and BMW Canada continue to tease the new XB7 on their Instagram accounts with a series of images that depict some details of the new model. For example, we get to see that the new XB7 will sport the ALPINA logo engraved in the glass-crafted iDrive controller. Also, we get to see an impression of the rear end of the XB7, namely the left-hand side tail lamp with the ALPINA chrome...

Why BMW is a role model in overcoming hard times The BMW story has not always been smooth and easy. Yet every time crises arise, the company managed to cope with them and emerged more powerful after such challenging periods. Ever since its birth in 1916, BMW has been often confronted with particularly difficult situations. This required innovative plans to be put into action in order to overcome the stressful context. BMW has always been a visionary company, defined by skilled and motivated people, who have led the company forward and out of the crisis periods, only for it to become stronger and learn a lot from the past challenges it was subjected to. Here is a short roundup of all the major, eventful periods BMW has encountered during its 104-year existence. 1919: Reliable engines and...

BMW set up a ‘Corona Competence Team’ to fight virus in its facilities BMW, like many other car makers, is feeling the full force of the Coronavirus outbreak on numerous fronts. Sales have dropped by up to 40 percent in certain markets and this is proving to be a situation nobody was prepared for. Nevertheless, the Bavarians have taken measures to try and keep things under control as much as possible. That includes setting up a “Corona Competence Team” which is supposed to help fight this outbreak and keep it under control. The announcement came from the CEO himself, Oliver Zipse, during the 100th BMW Annual General Meeting in Munich, on Thursday. According to the company, BMW is now making its own face protective masks, which will be needed for its employees as plants aroun...

Video: Tuned BMW X3 M drag races tuned Audi RS3 Normally, we wouldn’t consider the BMW X3 M a proper rival for the Audi RS3, or the other way around. These two cars fight in different categories and are drastically different. However, when talking about a family feud, things tend to get a different perspective. What we have here, in the video posted below, is one such domestic dispute, apparently, as the two people racing are actually husband and wife. We’ll have to take the wife’s side this time, as she’s the one driving the BMW X3 M. According to the video description, both cars are tuned so apart from the unfair category mismatch, we’re also dealing with modified performance numbers. The Audi RS3 was apparently tuned to make around 500 HP which is a rath...

Rolls-Royce Extends ‘Young Designer Competition’ to June 1 A while back, Rolls-Royce announced the launch of a ‘Young Designer’ competition, aimed at keeping kids and teenagers occupied while stuck at home. The Brits didn’t expect it to be as popular as it proved in the end though and they are now announcing that they decided to extend the deadline for entries to Monday, June 1 2020. This gives aspiring designers up to the age of 16 an additional two weeks to create and submit their dream Rolls-Royce of the future. The competition was originally announced at the beginning of April and has already attracted over 2,000 designs from talented kids in over 70 countries worldwide. Its original aim was to stimulate design talent and provide a welcome distraction for children ...

SPIED: MINI Countryman LCI seen testing in camouflage MINIs might not be so mini anymore. The entire MINI brand has been getting bigger and bigger. Even the standard Cooper is quite large by MINI standards. However, the biggest of them all is the MINI Countryman, which shares its underpinnings with the BMW X1, a genuine crossover. However, as frustrating as it might be that the famous British icon is bloating further and further each year, the big Countrman sells and sells well. Hence its new LCI update seen in these new spy photos. (We don’t own the photos but they can be seen here) In these photos, the MINI Countryman we see like, well, a Countryman. It sports some camo at the front and the back, seemingly covering up some updates to its headlights and taillights. Considering th...

Norbert Reithofer re-elected as chairman of BMW AG Supervisory Board Former BMW boss Norbert Reithofer gets a second term in office as head of the Supervisory Board. At BMW’s 100th Annual General Meeting held May 14th, 2020, Dr.-Ing. Norbert Reithofer was reconfirmed as chairman of the Supervisory Board of BMW AG. The new mandate covers a period of five years. Norbert Reithofer, almost 64 now, was first elected as chairman of the Supervisory Board in 2015, after stepping down from its leading position at the helm of BMW. The career of Norbert Reithofer has been linked with BMW Group for over 30 years. He has joined the company in 1987 and has held various management positions since then. He was first head of maintenance until 1991, when he became director of the Body-In-White (BI...

Video: New BMW 2 Series Active Tourer spotted testing on Nurburgring The BMW 2 Series Active Tourer is not the most exciting car currently offered by the Bavarians. But it is certainly one of their best sellers in Europe. It is still quite a popular choice for customers looking for a premium MPV. Therefore, BMW decided to renew it for a second generation. At the same time, BMW dropped the larger 2 Series Gran Tourer from the lineup and won’t get a second life. Just a few days ago, the new model was seen wearing heavy camouflage but we can still make out a couple of distinctive design features. The one that will blow you away is the huge set of grilles up front. Compared to the outgoing model, judging by the outline in the camo, the iconic grille will be probably twice as big. The...

BMW Welt will host several events dedicated to the electrified future If you’re curious about how the electrification of the automotive industry will shape up the world we live in, you should know that the BMW Welt museum will be hosting several events focused on those topics in the near future. The meetings will take place in the Future Forum, a section of the BMW Welt museum dedicated to such events. The series will highlight electrification from a technological, structural, creative and artistic perspective. The first event will take place Tuesday, May 19, and will focus on the battery. Experts in battery research, development and recycling will highlight the different stages of a battery’s life cycle – from the extraction of the raw materials to battery manufacture...

BMW i4 Will Be Most Powerful 4 Series and It Should Be From what we’ve heard, the BMW i4 will be the most powerful version of the 4 Series, even more powerful than the upcoming BMW M4. Its dual electric motors and monster battery pack will delivery a whopping 523 hp, which will make it more powerful than the M4 Competition and its 503 hp. While that might upset some BMW purists, as M Division products have typically been the performance flagships, this is actually a good idea. The BMW i4 should be the most powerful 4er you can get. The reason for this is that BMW needs to throw its electric muscle around, if it wants to be take seriously among the likes of the Porsche Taycan and Tesla Model S. So the BMW i4 needs to be a powerhouse of a car. Not only does it needs to have a ton of...

BMWBLOG Podcast Ep 26 — BMW M4 Gran Coupe, Mercedes-Benz S-Class Leak and the BMW X7 It’s time again for the BMWBLOG Podcast, so if you want to listen to a man with a nasally voice talk about cars, you should be very excited. While it’s me riding solo this week, there are still some good topics to break down. So have a listen. First up, I talk about the BMW M4 Gran Coupe. Earlier in the week, there were reports about a potential M4 Gran Coupe in the works. Since then, however, our sources have claimed that such a car is absolutely not in the works and isn’t going to be made. That might actually be for the better, though, and I explain why that is. I also weigh the need for a potential BMW M3 Touring over an M4 Gran Coupe. So if the M Division wants to make a new M car,...

VIDEO: What sort of E39 BMW 5 Series can you get for £150 on Instagram? BMWs are expensive cars, typically. Even a real beater from the ’80s that barely runs and has a bee hive in each headrest is going to set you back a thousand bucks or so. That’s just the nature of buying a premium car. However, what if someone were to message you and say they’re willing to sell you an E39 BMW 5 Series for £150? That’s exactly what happened to Alex from Car Throttle, who was offered an E39 5er for just £150. Naturally, he immediately accepted, sight unseen, and took delivery of the car. After taking delivery of both the car and the key, he waited several days before checking it out. Ya know, to make sure any rodents that may have been living in it had died before g...

SPIED: 2021 BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe (G26) scooped at Nurburgring The forthcoming BMW G26 4 Series will also spawn the very first purely electric Gran Coupe model, expected to launch in 2021. The second generation of the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe is quite a rare sight among spy photographers. The all-electric BMW i4 has often been caught during the road development phase, whereas the ICE-powered version of the G26 haven’t been spotted since September 2019. Recently, a lightly camouflaged G26 4 Series has been scooped while performing some fast laps on the Nurburgring track in Germany (as we don’t own the spy shots, you can see them here). Rendering: @zer.0.wt The new BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe is expected to premiere towards late 2020, with the i4 electric variant following in 20...

Video: CarWow ranks 10 best BMW M cars ever made Since the guys from CarWow can’t go out and make reviews anymore due to the UK  lockdown, they decided to stay in and prepare other kind of videos for us. Today, they are middling with a really tricky topic: ranking the best ten cars BMW M ever made. And, from the get go, they start with a bang, putting the BMW E30 M3 on the last place of the top 10. That will surely start a heated debate. Maybe they did it on purpose, to get people to argue in the comments section or they truly believe the E30 M3 to be worth only that. The problem is, there’s no mention as to why the E30 M3 is on the last place and how they ranked these cars. Mat only goes over the specs and, in some cases, over how they drive. It would’ve been use...

VIDEO: Check out the BMWs going up for auction at Silvertstone Every year, the Silverstone auction is one of the biggest in the world, with some of the most incredible and exciting cars ever made up for sale. As per usual, Harry Metcalf was allowed to check out some of the cars ahead of the actual auction and show them to us in this latest video. Some of the cars in this video are truly stunning, such as a gorgeous Jaguar D-Type replica, which is actually more of a blueprinted recreation than a replica. However, the BMW section is likely the one you want to see and Metcalf breaks out three BMWs going up for auction, all of which are stellar. Oddly enough, all three of the Bimmers in this video are owned by Jay Kay, from Jamiroquai, who does love his BMWs. First up is a BMW 3.0 CSL ...

LEAKED AGAIN: The BMW iX3 electric crossover The official launch of the BMW iX3 electric crossover is still a few months away, but there are very little surprises in store for us. The new electric SUV has already been leaked last month, but today, we get another look at its exterior lines. The leaks hails from China, which in itself is not surprising. BMW has said numerous times that the iX3 will cater mostly to the Chinese market, considering that initially be built exclusively in China. It’s also the Chinese customer who will get their hands first on the BMW iX3, while the rest of the world will have to wail until 2021. Not the United States though since BMW of North America said they have no plans to bring it over on this side of the pond. The new photos show us the different h...

Video: Check out this BMW 501 Taxi with over 1 million km on the clock True BMW fans know that one of cars the Bavarian company made in the 1950s had a very interesting nickname. The BMW 501 is also known as the “Baroque Angel”, a nickname that also applied to the 502 as the two had similar designs but different underpinnings. Introduced in 1952, the BMW 501 was loved by customers mainly for its shape which was a bit of a novelty back then. It was also a popular car, being used rather often as a taxi in Germany. That’s exactly what the history file of the car below will tell you. The guys from BMW Group Classic decided to bring out one of the cars with the most miles on the clock, in their collection. According to them, this BMW 501 was a taxi and had covered over 1 mi...

VIDEO: Which BMW engine works best in the Toyota Supra? About a year after the release of the Toyota Supra, it’s been given a bit of an update. At first, it was only launched with the same 3.0 liter turbocharged I6 as the BMW Z4 M40i, just in  different state of tune. So rather than the 382 hp of the Z4, the Supra had to make do with just 335 hp. However, the new Supra has been given both a boost and a new engine. So its 3.0 liter I6 engine now makes the same 382 hp as the Z4 M40i but there’s also a second engine option, a 2.0 liter turbocharged I4. It’s the same engine from the Z4 sDrive30i, which is an excellent little turbo four-pot. It makes 255 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque, which is more than enough. The real question is, which version of the Toyota Supra is be...

Paul Walker Collection BMW E30 M3 Allegedly Listed for $150,000 on eBay Paul Walker managed to find his way into the hearts of a large number of car guys over the years. His life, unfortunately cut short by a tragic accident, was sprinkled with cars from a young age. Thus, his role as Brian O’Conner in the “Fast and Furios” franchise therefore fit like a glove. Yet, few people actually knew how much of a car freak he was. Proof of that burning passion is his car collection, a large part of being auctioned at the beginning of this year. Among the cars he had at the time of his death you’ll find a lot of Japanese sports cars, as well as numerous German models. And I’m not talking about your run of the mill E36 328i models either, but rare, truly rare models t...

Video: BMW G82 M4 Burns some rubber on the Ring while testing Ask anyone how to get round a track as fast as possible and burning tires won’t be among the suggestions. That’s because if you want to do it as quickly as possible, you have to be efficient. Burning rubber is definitely fun, but won’t get you to your destination quicker. As for the BMW G82 M4 prototype in the video below, I guess the driver’s aim wasn’t to break some Nurburgring record, but rather to see how the car handles. Breaking traction is an important factor to consider when developing a RWD car. The upcoming BMW G82 M4 will migrate to an all-wheel drive setup, but there’s a catch to that. As we’ve already learned from the head of the BMW M division himself, the new M3 and M4 ...

3D Design Launches New Tuning Kit for Toyota Supra One of the more interesting aspects of the relationship between BMW and the Toyota Supra is tuning. Previous generations of Supra had an almost endless array of mods and were some of the most popular cars for tuners, especially in the JDM scene. Now, the Supra is essentially a BMW Z4, as it uses a shared chassis, a BMW engine and a German-made, ZF-sourced gearbox. So tuning the new Supra is much like tuning a BMW. Because of that, you’re seeing a lot of BMW tuners offering parts and kits for the new Supra and the latest is 3D Design. As one of the biggest tuners of BMWs in the world, it’s fun to see 3D Design make some mods for the new Toyota Supra. It’s also fitting because 3D Design is from Japan and the Supra is a J...

VIDEO: 2021 BMW M5 LCI featured in Aventurine Red metallic on the Ring A lightly camouflaged 2021 BMW M5 LCI finished in Aventurine Red metallic was recently spotted covering some fast laps on the Nurburgring Nordschleife track in Germany. We’ve already reported that the new 5 Series LCI generation will premiere some new paintworks and options, among which we’ll also find the elegant BMW Individual Aventurine Red metallic. Special BMW M550i xDrive in Aventurine Red metallic and AC Schnitzer parts at the Abu Dhabi showroom. The G30/G31/F90 LCI model series are really covering their last miles of the final experimental phase. Recently, a FEP prototype of the upcoming M5 LCI was caught in full action on the Ring. LEAKED: This is the refreshed 2021 BMW 5 Series Facelift That v...

The pioneering BMW Z22 Concept: A masterpiece of technology The BMW Z22 Concept is the perfect example of futuristic technologies introduced no less than 21 years ago, in 1999. BMW is one of the industry visionaries and has always pushed the envelope. The BMW Z22 is the fruitful result of the collaboration between the core BMW brand and the BMW Forschung und Technik GmbH subsidiary. The research and development subsidiary was established back in 1985 under the initial title of BMW Technik GmbH. The daring BMW Z22 was conceived with a definite scope in mind: to be a technology test bed. The state-of-the-art, breakthrough solutions that were initially premiered as concepts on the Z22 can now be easily found in mostly all BMW models on sale. Like Cristopher Columbus ventured and conquered...

LEAKED: More photos of the BMW 5 Series LCI Some more photos of the upcoming BMW 5 Series LCI have leaked, showing off even more of the car than before. In fact, these new photos, while a bit low-def, show off some details of individual packages that we haven’t seen before. For instance, we can see close-ups of the front bumper from both the M Sport and standard 5 Series LCI, as well as the headlights and exhausts. The pre-LCI 5 Series was already a great looking car, one that didn’t need much refreshing. Often times, when car companies try and refresh cars that are already quite handsome, they end up making them worse. However, that’s not the case with this 5er. The new LCI actually looks better and it’s right back into the mix with newer competition from Audi a...

BMW expects to launch a high-volume series FCEV after 2025 We already know that BMW is quite serious about the hydrogen fuel cell technology. BMW remains fully committed to fuel cell technology, even though other constructors are putting off their plans in this area. The Munich-based carmaker is again reaffirming its interest in hydrogen-fueled powertrain. According to a recent report, BMW plans to offer its first serial, high-volume FCEV sometime after 2025 and expects to have a consistent lineup of such vehicles by 2030. In 2022, BMW will launch a limited, trial model based on the X5 Sports Activity Vehicle. Dubbed i Hydrogen NEXT, the fuel cell electric model will boast a 374 PS / 368 hp powertrain, just like the concept car presented at IAA Frankfurt in September 2019. Jürgen ...

VIDEO: BMW Wagon Heaven — Check out EAG’s Wagon Estate The performance wagon is a rare breed, here in the ‘States. Sure, we’ve gotten a few over the years but nothing like Europe has and that makes us very jealous. Over the years, Europe has had an incredible amount of absurdly desirable fast wagons from BMW, and its quirky offshoot ALPINA, wagons that we never got. However, the good folks over a Enthusiast Auto Group actually have a few of classic BMW and ALPINA wagons that they’re nice enough to show off in this new video. There are three cars featured in this video, albeit only briefly. However, each car will get its own video moving forward, so stay tuned. First up is an E30-generation BMW 325iT, which was a Japanese import. EAG bought it and set about giving it th...

BMW M8 Coupe with 625 hp goes for a stroll in NYC New photos from New York City show us the BMW M8 Competition Coupe in Alpine White which proves once again that it doesn’t have to be a color that screams for attention in order to have an impressive appearance. In this case, the BMW M8 Coupe looks at home in the sunny and fairly quiet NYC streets. Furthermore, the BMW M8 Competition Coupe gets a contrasting look. The kidneys, the air control elements on the outer areas of the front apron, the gills of the front fenders, the exterior mirrors, the rear spoiler lip, the four tailpipe trims of the exhaust system and even the model lettering on the rear, are all presented in shiny black. There are also dark elements such as the standard carbon roof and large parts of the 20-inch light...

KBB Comparison: BMW 3 Series vs Genesis G70 The 3 Series has never had more competition than now. More than ever, competitors are gunning for the 3er’s position as the king of the premium sport sedan hill. Making matters worse for the Bavarians, most of the competitors are really, really good. It used to be that BMW only really needed to worry about the C-Class and A4 but now there are some genuinely good cars coming from Jaguar, Alfa Romeo and even Genesis. The all-new Genesis G70 is an excellent premium sport sedan and it’s even more impressive considering it’s the brand’s first attempt at such a car. In this new comparison from Kelley Blue Book, we take a look at the BMW 3 Series and the Genesis G70, to see if the new contender from South Korea can keep up wit...