Auto and Cars

VIDEO: Check out these BMW Films Remastered in 4K Every BMW enthusiast loves BMW Films. In fact, most car enthusiasts in general love BMW Films, as they were fantastic little short films based entirely around cool cars. It was an incredibly clever way to market cars while also entertaining enthusiasts. Most of which featured big-name celebrities and were almost all directed by top-notch talent. They were great. The only issue with watching them now is that they were made so long ago, in the late ’90s and early ’00s, that the quality is terrible. However, one passionate enthusiast decided to digitally remaster them in 4k and has graciously put them on YouTube. All ten of the BMW Films short films are here, with all the greats that fans love and remember. Even the latest one, ...

BMW Motorsport looked at the 2020 Super GT racing with DTM car According to Motorsport.com, earlier this year, BMW Motorsport held discussions with its Japanese partner team to enter its Class One DTM car in SUPER GT. Back in 2018, DTM and SUPER GT agreed to a common set of regulations. The idea was to allow DTM and SUPER GT cars to race each other in their respective championships. BMW had previously said that it could enter its M4 DTMs in SUPER GT, but only if it were able to scale back its works DTM. Fuji Speedway (JPN) 24th November 2019. BMW M Motorsport, SUPER GT x DTM Dream Race, Marco Wittmann (GER) #11 Schaeffler BMW M4 DTM, BMW Team RBM. The latest report says that that BMW did consider fielding in effort in GT500 by holding talks with long-time Japanese customer Team St...

You can now get a BMW M8 GTE Electric for your kids While your kids might not be able to drive a BMW M8 GTE until later on in their adult life, you can at least plant the seed from the early years. Thanks to the latest BMW Lifestyle collection, a BMW M8 GTE car is available for kids. Yet, this is not your ordinary car toy. The car packs a kid-sized electric motor, along with race-ready elements, like the yellow-tinted lights. Furthermore, it gets genuine BMW engine sounds, lighting effects and opening doors transform children’s rooms and gardens into a racetrack. With the integrated MP3 interface for playing music and audio files, the little ones don’t have to miss out. No official specs were announced, but it’s likely to include a 6-volt battery and a top speed of 2....

TEST DRIVE: 2020 MINI Cooper SE – The City Car For You When the MINI Cooper SE was initially announced, the world let out a rather clear and audible ‘FINALLY’. This car was in the making for about 10 years now, ever since the MINI E took shape. That was a testing product, one meant to literally measure just how much a random person drives every day. This time though, we’re looking at a real-deal electric MINI, one that you can actually buy. The History Of Electric MINIs MINI has been mulling over this idea for quite some time, not just with the MINI E. There have been other hints before of an electric car, such as the MINI Rocketman project, a small city car meant to offer the basics of transportation to its owner. There was also the MINI Superleggera concept which wa...

Maximilian Gunther finishes third on Saturday’s Formula E sim race Maximilian Gunther has been on fire in Formula E so far. Not only in real life racing, but also in the eSim Formula E Race at Home Challenge. He won the first two races and now finished on the podium again this Saturday, albeit two positions down. Nevertheless, the put in a great performance. In qualifying for the race featuring the Formula E drivers, Günther had to settle for sixth place. However, he promptly climbed into third place after an eventful start, and was able to defend the position through to the finish. Victory this time went to Pascal Wehrlein from Mahindra. Günther (65 points) now leads Wehrlein by 21 points in the Drivers’ Championship. Qualifying could also have been better for Sims, who...

Auto Express Test: BMW M235i Gran Coupe vs Mercedes-AMG CLA35 The BMW M235i Gran Coupe and Mercedes-AMG CLA35 are so similar you’d think that they were designed by the same people, in the same room, at the same time. Both cars are four-door “coupes” from Germany with 2.0 liter turbocharged four-cylinder engines, automatic gearboxes, front-wheel drive chassis and all-wheel drive systems. So which flavor is better; the one from Stuttgart or Munich? Auto Express recently found out in this new test. In terms of outright performance, there’s not enough between the two to make any sort of significant difference. Both cars have 302 bhp and get from 0-60 mph within a tenth of each other; the BMW doing the sprint in 5.0 seconds flat and the AMG taking a tenth longer. Wher...

Video: Battle of the old V8s – BMW E90 M3 vs E63 AMG and Audi RS4 It seems like forever since BMW dropped its last naturally aspirated engine from its line-up and what an engine it was. The last car built with an atmospheric engine under the hood, and a blue and white roundel on top of it, was the E90 M3 (and every other iteration of it). It may seem like forever ago but it’s really not, only one generation of M cars stands between that moment in time and today. Some say BMW M cars were never the same after that but turbocharged engines do also have their advantages. Once you get used to them and their extra torque, it can be hard to go back to atmospheric engines. The drag race below, however, shows how these performance cars used to compare in a straight line back in the day. Li...

A Deeper Dive into the History of the BMW M Logo Colors A little while back, we told you the origin story of the M Division’s logo colors. Over the years, there’s been a lot of debate as to how BMW M decided on its colors for the now-iconic three stripes. If you were to ask BMW right now about the meaning behind the M stripe colors, the answer would be that the blue represents BMW, the red represents motorsport and the violet is a mixture of the two, hence why the violet is sandwiched in between the blue and red. However, there’s actually a longer, more interesting story behind how BMW came to use those colors and, while more complex, the aforementioned meaning is still somewhat true. According to the motorsport historian for BMW Group Classic, Marc Thiesbürger, t...

Spec Comparison: BMW M340d vs ALPINA D3 S and Audi S4 TDI Back in the day, if you were buying a premium diesel sedan, you were doing it to economically get to and from work. Now, you can still do that but you also get gut-punching power and sports car performance. Not only is it possible to have your cake and eat it, too in this segment but you’re almost spoiled for choice. So long as you live in Europe, of course. Our good friends at BimmerToday decided to put together a bit of a photo and spec comparison between three such cars — the BMW M340d, ALPINA D3 S and Audi S4 TDI. In BMW’s corner is the M340d, which is essentially the diesel version of the M340i. So it packs a 3.0 liter turbocharged I6 diesel engine with 340 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque, so it’s a punchy...

VIDEO: We Take a Virtual Tour of the BMW Classic Garage in Munich We’re living through a historic time and not in a good way. The Coronavirus pandemic has put the entire world in a state of lockdown, keeping most people indoors and away from others. However, one of the small silver linings is that we’re all coming up with new and unique ways to connect with each other. In our latest video, our own Horatiu and Nate Rische had the chance to virtually talk to Ben Voss from the BMW Classics center and he took us through a garage filled with legendary cars. The first thing Voss showed us in the video was a few cars on lifts, among them is an E39 BMW M5 which is pristine and lovely, as usual. However, the E39 M5 is pedestrian compared to everything else in the BMW Classics garage....

Here are some Mother’s Day gift suggestions from MINI Mother’s Day is coming up fast and, in case you’re lacking inspiration on what to get your dear mom, MINI has come up with some suggestions, from its very own line of lifestyle products, of course. MINI does this every year, highlighting its product range and it proved to be quite useful, at least for me, as I’m not the greatest gifter in the world. So, what does the British brand have in store for you? Well, you could go with some garments from the MINI Lifestyle Collection. Guaranteeing a fashionable start to the upcoming summer season, the MINI Wordmark T-Shirt for women is available in vivid Coral or in classic Black and White. A great gift for mothers who prefer a stylish retro look can be found in the MINI 60 ...

Car and Driver’s BMW 4 Series Prototype Review — Sounds Promising Back when the BMW 4 Series was first beginning to show itself in pre-production form, there were rumors that it would be more of a small GT car, a miniature 8 Series if you will. Rather than act as the sportier alternative to the 3 Series, it was said that the 4er would be more of a competent but comfortable cruiser. After hearing the responses from pre-production drives, however, it sounds as if those rumors were without merit. According to this recent Car and Driver review, the new 4 Series feels much sportier than its three-door sibling. BMW already released some of the 4 Series’ mechanical info, such as its increased negative camber, slightly sharper steering and lower center of gravity. According to C&D, al...

SPIED: 2021 BMW M5 CS spotted with minimal cladding Spy photographers have recently caught what looks to be a FEP prototype of the new 2021 BMW M5 CS. The CS will be a new addition to the M5 lineup right in time for the refreshed LCI generation. A minimally camouflaged test vehicle of the forthcoming M5 CS was recently scooped in Germany (We don’t own the spy photos but you can see them here). Compared to the standard M5 variant, the CS will likely be equipped with modified front air intakes, also featuring a distinctive spoiler for better engine cooling. Apart from the this, a set of high-performance ceramic/composite brakes with perforated discs will also be available as an option. We also expect a new CFRP roof for the new M5 CS to keep the curb weight as low as possible. To f...

BMW drivers and pro sim racers tips for the perfect sim racing rig As you might’ve noticed, the sim racing phenomenon is really taking off, now that all the tracks are closed. BMW drivers have been a part of this movement for a while now and they are competing with notable success. That’s why they agreed to offer some insight into what you should be looking for, in case you want to get yourself a setup to enter such competitions. Just like it would be the case in real-life racing, the technology at hand plays an important role. Even pro sim-racers agree that you do need a good rig to make sure your skills can be used to their full extent. Therefore, they decided to offer some tips on what you should be aware of, when setting off to search, buy and build yourself a proper sim...

VIDEO: Three BMW’s rank on the Top 15 Least Reliable Cars in UK German engineering has gained a reputation over the years for being durable and reliable. However, as cars become more and more electronic and complicated, that reputation has begun to fade. For instance, just mention a car like the first-gen Audi Q5 or Volkswagen Phaeton and most car enthusiasts shudder at the potential repair costs. However, to think that BMW is immune for poor reliability is misguided at best. In fact, in this new video from Carwow, we learn that three of the top fifteen least reliable cars over the past decade were BMWs. Coming in at number fourteen was the BMW M4, which suffered from common brake issues and infotainment glitches. Interestingly enough, Carwow’s Mat Watson noticed those very brake ...

What would the BMW M8 look like as a Mid-Engine Supercar? This new BMW M8 is far more uber-GT car than a full-on supercar. Not only is it a front-engine, two-door sports car developed from a GT car but it’s also not as thrilling as a supercar needs to be. It doesn’t give its driver the fizz in the same way a Ferrari or Lamborghini does, despite its 600 hp V8. However, what if the M8 actually was a supercar? What if BMW was bold enough to make the M8 a mid-engine supercar, something to spiritually succeed the legendary M1? This render tries to find out just how that might look. Okay, so maybe this render is just a BMW M8 nose grafted onto the body of an Audi R8 Spyder. However, it actually sort of works. Sure, the R8’s styling is a bit too sharp for the M8’s face ...

Is the BMW i3 really one of the Ugliest Cars from 2010s? There are a few reasons as to why the BMW i3 hasn’t really been a sales success here in the US. Its lack of range compared to its rivals, its lack of meaningful horsepower and its high price are all some of the reasons why the i3 has been a bit of a sales dud. However, the main reason has always been its styling. While some enthusiasts love it for its quirky, strangeness (I’m one of them), most customers just don’t seem to like it at all. In fact, Motor Trend recently named it one of the ugliest cars of the 2010s. Sure, that might sound a bit harsh but it isn’t untrue. The BMW i3 is, by no stretch, a pretty car. Our own Horatiu has owned three (three!) BMW i3s and even he won’t call it a good looking ...

2020 BMW 228i Gran Coupe is featured in the Seaside Blue Metallic color The first Seaside Blue Metallic BMW arrived in 2017, along with the introduction of the current BMW 2 Series Coupe. Now, the flashy and vibrant blue arrives on the first ever BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe. Courtesy of Hendrick BMW in Charlotte, North Carolina, we can now observe from upclose a 2020 BMW 228i Gran Coupe in Seaside Blue. There is a lot of controversy around the 2 Series Gran Coupe. Despite wearing the 2 Series badge, the four-door coupe is a front-wheel drive-based car, with an optional xDrive all-wheel drive system. Of course, when the new BMW 2 Series Coupe arrives in 2021, the power will be then sent to the rear wheels. Could this be confusing for future BMW customers? Likely, but we’re told that th...

Is Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio Facelift a threat to the new BMW M3? In terms of pure driving dynamics, the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio was a better car than the F80 BMW M3. Its steering was better, its chassis dynamics were better and its engine was more thrilling. It was the better car to drive, straight up. However, when it came to actual ownership, the Alfa fell apart. Its interior quality was lacking, its infotainment system was appalling for a car of its price and its reliability was questionable. So the M3 was the better car to own. Now, though, the Giulia Quadrifoglio has been given a mid-cycle update to remedy a lot of those issues. At the same time, BMW is working on an all-new M3, which should be debuting shortly. Can this facelifted Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio actual...

Video: BMW M8 Competition vs Porsche 911 and Bentley Continental GT BMW’s current M CEO made headlines around the world when the BMW M8 was announced, dubbing it a “Porsche 911 killer.” The reason why this statement took everyone by surprise is the known, incredible performance the 911 manages to deliver generation after generation. And the current Porsche 911 is no exception. Of course, many pundits don’t see the BMW M8 is a competitor to the 911, but rather more along the lines of a Continental GT. But since every theory needs to be tested, the folks at Autocar have put together a comprehensive review featuring the BMW M8 Competition, alongside the Porsche 911 and Bentley Continental GT. Now, what should be mentioned here is that, unlike the M8, which is basic...

BMW’s European Delivery Program is Cancelled and I’m Sad BMW has just recently announced that it’s ending the European Delivery program for the United States market. Personally, this is a sad day. While I haven’t ever been able to afford a brand-new BMW, which meant I could never take part in the program, I’ve always dreamed of doing so. I’ve always had grand visions of what it would be like; what sort of car I’d get, who I’d bring with me to collect it and where we’d take it once it was officially mine. Now, though, those dreams have been squashed before I made them a reality. And that makes me sad. For those of you unaware, BMW’s European Delivery program wasn’t unlike other Euro-based automakers’. If you ordered your car in ...

Toyota Supra won’t get Latest Version of iDrive or Android Auto One of the big advantages of buying the Toyota Supra is that you get BMW’s electronics with it. Not that Toyota’s gear isn’t any good but BMW’s iDrive is among the best infotainment systems on the market and far better than anything offered in modern Toyotas. Having said that, it seems as if the Supra is getting the short end of the Bavarian stick. According to this new report, BMW won’t be lending its new sibling its iDrive 7.0, which means Supra fans will have to live without Android Auto. For now, the Toyota Supra is stuck using iDrive 6.0, which admittedly is still very good, but it’s not the latest and greatest that’s available in even the BMW Z4, the Supra’s mechanical t...

Rolls-Royce Supercar rendered, design somehow works Some would say that Rolls-Royce is already making supercars. I mean, the term implies two things that are made available to Rolls-Royce customers, no matter what they buy: a car that is super. However, Rolls-Royce models are known to abide to a certain set of rules, a set that was apparently thrown out the window once the Cullinan SUV was announced. Therefore, if the Brits could make an SUV, why not a supercar as well? The design at hand here was done by Rain Prisk, one of our favorite pixel manipulators. You’ve seen his work many times before and if you played the most recent Need For Speed title, you’ve also experienced a different side of his talent. This rendering was done just for fun as Rolls-Royce never even mentione...

Here is what’s behind the BMW Mild Hybrid technology Combustion engines are subject to continuous technological developments which optimize their efficiency at all speeds and in all conditions of use. At the same time, there is further reduction in fuel consumption and exhaust emissions. Together with larger batteries for electric and plug-in hybrid models, an innovative technology that improves “standard” vehicles efficiency has been introduced as well. This technology is called “Mild Hybrid.” This innovation consists in the integration on board of a 48 volt starter generator (with its relative additional battery) which is able to improve both the efficiency and the dynamics of the vehicle. BMW’s Mild Hybrid technology was first introduced in the Fall 201...

Toyota and BMW still working together on Supra and Z4 Ever since the debut of the new “Zupra” twins, the Toyota Supra and BMW Z4, there’s been a bit of a debate as to how much of each brand’s DNA the two cars actually have. Both the new Supra and Z4 were deigned together, using a joint-developed chassis and they’re both built by Magna Steyr in Austria. However, there’s been word that the two brands have a bit of beef with each other over the development of the cars. Those rumors may be unfounded, though, as it seems that the two brands are still working together on further development. According to this new report from Autoblog, both Toyota and BMW are still in consistent talks with each other over both cars, even though talks have slowed down since t...

SPIED: The 2021 BMW 2 Series Active Tourer shows up again BMW continues the road development for its second generation 2 Series Active Tourer, slated for a 2021 premiere. The BMW 2 Series Active Tourer was the first MPV of the Bavarians when it was officially introduced back in 2014. Now, a new generation of the compact people carrier is underway and it is programmed to kick in by next year. The larger Gran Tourer version will be discontinued, with the future 2 Series Active Tourer expected to grow a bit in overall size to make for that demise. As seen from the newest spy shots (which you can see here), the MPV will basically retain its current shape. However, it is expected to look more attractive than the F45 generation, thanks to a more crossover-like silhouette and a more dynamic d...

ModFind is an Enthusiast-Based Aftermarket Parts Marketplace Car enthusiasts are always looking to upgrade and buy parts for their cars and the current aftermarket automotive marketplace can be a bit difficult to navigate. With so many different platforms with which to buy and sell parts, some of which aren’t designed well for car parts, it can be a confusing landscape. However, there’s a new platform that intends to make the process simpler and more engaging– ModFind. ModFind is an automotive marketplace for like-minded enthusiasts to buy and sell parts, as well as share listings for cash. But what separates ModFind from other marketplace platforms is the fact that it’s catered to car enthusiasts, so you’re buying from and selling to like-minded car nuts a...

The BMW European Delivery Program Canceled From September 2020 The end of an era comes today. According to BMW Group, the BMW European Delivery, a gem hidden within the Bavarians’ offerings, is coming to an end later this year. The car pickup program has been a favorite of ours over the years and has built a cult among BMW customers in North America. BMW of North America says that May 18th, 2020 will be the last day they will accept pre-reservation forms. The last month you can choose to do a BMW European Delivery will be September 2020. If you have placed a deposit for a 2021 model and would still like to take delivery within the timeframe stated, BMW will accept the pre reservation form without a production number. Once a production number is available BMW will assign accor...

BMW M340i Individual – The Top 3 Series Gets The San Marino Blue color If Portimao Blue is the launch color for the BMW M340i, it’s the San Marino Blue paint that steals the show for top 3 Series model. Courtesy of @Sanmarino_m340i on Instagram, we get to see the powerful G20 3 Series painted in this unique BMW Individual color. The photoshoot shows the BMW M340i in different settings, from the famous Nürburgring Nordschleife to little German towns and countryside. In all these photos, the car is equally stunning. For all fans of BMW Individual catalog, the photos are also worth seeing because we see the San Marino Blue in the context of the BMW M Performance-typical color accents in Cerium Gray: From the mesh kidney grille to the outer air intakes of the front apron, the ex...

BMW 745e Gets 500 HP with simple ECU Tune from BR-Performance The new plug-in hybrid choice from BMW in the 7 Series range, the BMW 745e, is quite a different animal compared to the old model. We saw that during our test drive and it wasn’t all just about the added power, the character of the car simply felt different on a number of levels. The extra two cylinders under the hood make a huge difference in the grand scheme of things. However, some have wondered why BMW decided to offer the B58 engine and yet cut its power short. As we all know, the least powerful iteration of the B58 engine today can be found in the Z4 M40i and is rated at 340 PS. Even so, the unit used on the BMW 745e is claimed to be making only 286 PS which left some wanting for more. Well, the solution to that i...