Auto and Cars

BMW to make over 100,000 masks per day to combat corona pandemic At the beginning of the week, BMW spoke relatively vaguely of their plans to manufacture protective equipment for combating the corona pandemic. But days later, the Bavarians are now announcing that the first production systems for the respiratory masks are on their way to the company. According to the BMW CEO Oliver Zipse, the systems should be able to produce over 100,000 masks per day and therefore effectively eliminate the current bottlenecks. As a temporary measure to bridge the current worldwide emergency, BMW has also donated more than one million protective masks and around one million protective gloves to the Bavarian government. The car manufacturer donated 100,000 protective masks to the Bavarian Red Cross two a...

F90 BMW M5 takes on its original ancestor — the E28 BMW M5 We just recently took a look at all of the generations of BMW M5 rank them in order of best to worst. While that’s cool, EVO Magazine took things to an entirely different level and compared the original E28 BMW M5 and the F90 BMW M5 on the road. In the flesh. My jealous-meter is through the freaking roof. To be honest, this isn’t so much a comparison test as it is a retrospective look at where the M5 started and where it’s gone. It’s actually quite fascinating to see the philosophical differences and similarities between the two cars. In terms of their overall objectives, both the E28 and F90 BMW M5 are very similar. They were both designed to be the fastest sedans on the planet and to handle with a level...

Do you want this 1988 BMW 735i with a Manual Gearbox? Among 7 Series generations, it’s the E38 that is the most beloved. For good reason, too, as it’s a near-perfect luxury sedan. However, its predecessor, the E32-generation, does have one very special thing going for it that could make it more desirable than its superior successor — a manual gearbox. Now before you head to the comment section to call for my head on a stick for claiming that the E38 didn’t come with a manual, let me stop you right there. The E38 7 Series was available with a five-speed manual in a few markets. However, the US market — where we at BMWBLOG live — the E38 did not come with a manual. However, the E32 7 Series was available in the ‘States with a manual gearbox. In th...

Martin Tomczyk: Almost every BMW Works driver has a simulator now Sim-racing is here to stay. BMW has been involved in such events even before the pandemic hit the world and close race tracks around the world. That looks like a smart move now, as more and more people tune in to watch these series. The advanced graphics and streaming platforms allow car enthusiasts to get their thrills these days. It’s all made even more interesting as BMW Works drivers are heavily committed to the series for obvious reasons. While initially it seemed like a far-off idea, these sim-racing events allow the drivers to keep their reflexes sharp and stay in touch with their fans. Everyone from DTM drivers to IMSA competitors and even Formula 1 stars are jumping on this bandwagon. In a recent sitdown wi...

My Opinion: The BMW 8 Series is Best as a Convertible Since its debut, I’ve driven every body style of the BMW 8 Series; Coupe, Gran Coupe and Convertible. While I haven’t driven every body style in every 8 Series model (840i, M850i and M8), I have pulled the hat-trick in the middle-man M850i. Of all three M850i variants, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s best as a convertible. That isn’t often a popular opinion, that a sports car is best as a convertible. More often than not, convertibles actually make sports cars a bit worse, due to their inherent weight gain and loss of structural rigidity. In the 8 Series, though, ditching the roof actually unlocks its character. Even in its most hardcore configuration — BMW M8 Competition — the 8 Serie...

Upcoming BMW G87 M2 rendered with huge grilles One of the questions that concern the average BMW fan these days is whether the huge grilles we’ve seen on recent models will apply to all cars in the range. We saw them pop up for the first time on the X7 and 7 Series and then the Concept 4 took things to a whole new level, prompting some people to become anxious about the future of their beloved cars. One of the most anticipated cars of the next few years is the upcoming next-gen M2. Since the first-ever M2 was so widely appreciated and loved by the car community, the new one will have some pretty big shoes to fill. Whether it will be up to the task remains to be seen but the truth of the matter is, we’re worried about how it’s going to look. There are two main direction...

Head of BMW Design says the Sedans are Here to Stay The entire automotive industry is moving toward SUVs and crossovers. It isn’t a secret. Drive down any road, anywhere in the world, for five minutes and at least 60-percent of the vehicles you see on the road will be some sort of crossover or SUV. In fact, 60-percent of BMW sales are SUVs (I’m sorry, SAVs). However, despite the world’s SUV craze, BMW feels that there’s still room for sedans in the market. While speaking with Autoblog, BMW’s Head of Design Domagoj Dukec said that sedans are here to stay, even if more and more customers are preferring to drive taller, more open vehicles. “In the past, we sold only three-box cars. Now, almost 60% of our sales come from SAVs,” he told Autoblog. Du...

Autonomous Cars are Harder to Design than any other, says BMW If you think you’re frustrated with BMW’s current design direction, just wait until cars get even more autonomous. At the moment, the most advanced autonomous driving systems are Level 3 at best and that requires a lot of external hardware. However, the hardware for Level 3 can easily be hidden in grilles ad whatnot. Move up to Level 4 and that’s not so easy anymore. Move further up to Level 5 and it may not even be possible. This makes autonomous, self-driving cars far more difficult to design than plain old electric cars. EVs are actually easier to design, as they have fewer design constraints, thanks to their lack of engines, transmissions and a gas tank. However, adding self-driving tech makes life far m...

BMW Group electric vehicles and Plug-in Hybrid sales increased 13.9% in Q1 2020 The first quarter of 2020 was not kind to the BMW Group. The Bavarians posted a 20 percent decrease in sale, across their BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brands. But there is a silver lining in these numbers. According to BMW, the sales of plug-in hybrid vehicles were remarkable year-t0-date. BMW reports 30,692 sales of plug-in electric cars, the equivalent of a 13.9 percent increase year-over-year. “This means we are also on track to meet the EU’s CO2 targets. We do not see any necessity to defer climate protection goals”, said Pieter Nota. With the advent of the recently introduced X1 xDrive25e and X2 xDrive25e, BMW has a powerful fleet of electrified vehicles which also includes the 225xe Acti...

The Perfect Road Trip Cruiser: BMW M1 Supercar If there is one car we can’t ever get tired of seeing, then it has to be the BMW M1 Supercar. The M1 is not only one of the most iconic cars in the world, period, but also the only production supercar ever launched by BMW. If you’re a fan of the BMW M1 you probably already know the story behind it. BMW wanted to create a mid-engine supercar with the help of some Italian minds but things didn’t exactly pan out as they were planned. The car was designed by one of the best minds in the business: Georgetto Giugiaro. In 1972, Paul Bracq developed a concept car for BMW, called the BMW Turbo, which would eventually go on to become the BMW M1. While Bracq was the man behind the concept that would eventually become the BMW M1,&nbs...

Dakar Yellow BMW 850CSi with Individual features now selling for $149,990 The BMW 850CSi is a rare bird in the automotive landscape and now, one functional unit sporting Individual appointments is up for sale in the US for a whooping price tag of $149,990. This very special 850CSi (which you can see here) is finished in a striking Dakar Yellow Individual color and its cabin its pampered in refined Nappa leather. This is also thought to be the original one. The listing on the sale offer mentions that this Individual Dakar Yellow 850CSi is part of a very limited edition of the E31 8 Series produced specifically for the German market, composed of 787 units. The car was assembled and sold in Germany in 1995, reaching US soil on 2002 after it was purchased from its original customer. Afterwa...

SPIED: BMW 4 Series Coupe seen with Big Grilles again If you’re sick of seeing spy photos of the next-gen 4 Series, or just sick of hearing about its new grille, it’s too bad because we’re gonna look at it some more. Some new spy photos of the new 4er have just surfaced, showing off its coupe body style and new grille in more detail than we’ve seen before. (We don’t own the spy photos but they can be seen here) Of course, the car in these photos is covered in camouflage, so we can’t see it in exact detail but this is the best look we’ve gotten yet. These photos also reinforce our theory that the 2020 BMW 4 Series is going to be a handsome car, grille aside. Its profile is sleek and sporty, with muscular rear haunches and possibly the best silhou...

2020 MINI Takes the States Postponed Until 2021 due to Covid19 For any MINI owner hasn’t experienced a MINI Takes the States, I implore you to do so. In doing so, you’ll join hundreds, if not thousands, of like-minded MINI owners in a road trip across massive portions of the United States. I’ve taken part in two MTTS trips and they’ve both been incredibly memorable. In fact, they’re some of the most memorable things I’ve ever done in this job. Which is why I was so excited for the upcoming MTTS this Summer. Sadly, I won’t be able to partake this year and neither will anyone else, as it’s been canceled for this year. Due to the massive spread of the Coronavirus, MINI Takes the States has been postponed until 2021. It’s the responsible...

Check out this BMW M88-powered 1988 Mercedes-Benz 300E Despite being rivals, BMW and Mercedes-Benz have always played nice with each other. The two brands have even collaborated on certain projects before, putting the greater good over their business rivalry. However, they’ve never actually built a car together. That would be going too far. So German tuner Hartge decided to do it for them and made the Hartge F1, a W124 Mercedes-Benz 300E with an E24 BMW 635CSi engine. Back in the late ’80s, Hartge stuffed an M88 engine — from the aforementioned M635CSi — into the engine bay of a Mercedes-Benz 300E, thus creating an unholy duo of awesomeness. The 300E was always an awesome car and looked that just looked menacing. Stuff a 3.6 liter (bored out from 3.5 liters) stra...

Five Things to Know About Upcoming 4 Series — Reveal Date and More Of all the cars in BMW’s upcoming pipeline, the 4 Series might be the one fans are least excited about. Not that it’s going to be a bad car — it’s likely going to be quite good, actually — but because of its polarizing new styling. However, the next-gen 4 Series is still a car you should be interested in and here are five reasons why. June Reveal Date If you are excited to see the 2020 BMW 4 Series, you won’t have to wait too long. According to our sources, the new 4 Series will be revealed to the public sometime in June. that reveal will be online, of course, as no big events are in the near future due to the massive pandemic currently shocking the world. But it’s a reveal never...

2022 BMW M3 gets rendered from behind – Here is a new image The upcoming 2022 BMW M3 gets one more rendering. This time, @zer.0.wt gives us a close look at what the potential rear end of the new M3 could look like. The render is based on some of the previous leaked images, including this one. In this render, we can see that its rear wheel arches are flared out, similar to those found on the current F80 BMW M3. The bumper includes the typical quad exhaust pipes, even though they seem to be a bit smaller than usual in this image. There will be a subtle spoiler on top of the trunk, on the standard models. The more sportier models, like the CS, will likely get a more aggressive lip. As you’d expect, the roof is also made of carbon fiber. The front-end is not featured here, but we&rsqu...

BMW extends shutdown at Spartanburg plant through April 30 BMW Manufacturing announced today it is extending its shutdown at the Spartanburg plant by three additional weeks. The plant was scheduled to reopen on April 13, but it’s now due to open its doors on April 30th. “We continue to be concerned about the health and safety of the entire BMW workforce. During this time, additional cleaning and disinfecting will be performed at work stations throughout the plant,” officials said in the statement. Furthermore, BMW says “the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been far reaching, and customer demand for our product has declined considerably. Stay-at-home orders are still active throughout the country and Mexico, which is adversely affecting our supply chai...

Q1 2020: BMW Group Global Sales Down 20 percent In the first quarter of 2020, BMW Group delivered a total of 477,111 (‑20.6%) premium BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce vehicles to customers. The significant decrease in sales is tied to the COVID-19 pandemic which has affected the entire globe. According to BMW, the company initially made a good start to the year and was reporting sales growth. However, by February, the impact of the pandemic had already led to a significant decrease in sales in China. By March, the effects of the pandemic were clearly visible in sales figures in Europe and the US. Around 80% of all retail outlets in Europe and 70% of those in the US are currently closed due to the coronavirus. In a number of countries, including Germany, stationary retailers are legally p...

Next-gen 2022 BMW M2 (G87) gets first renderings A reader of BMWBLOG (@zer.o.wt) has sent us some renderings of the next-generation 2022 BMW M2. Since the new BMW 2 Series Coupe won’t arrive until 2021, the renderings are speculative at the moment. But nonetheless, it’s a great design exercise to image what the idea BMW M2 would like. The successor to the current generation F87, internally called G87, will arrive in 2022 and according to sources, it will still be one of the most fun cars in the M portfolio. The renderings seen below combine design elements from the current F87 BMW M2 Competition, paired with some design cues from the recent BMW M235i Gran Coupe, and some lines imported from the M8 family. The front is dominated by two large air intakes with carbon fiber ins...

The principle of 20 spokes : History of the ALPINA wheel design Wheels are an essential part of a car’s image and the 20-spoke ALPINA design wheels are certainly famous worldwide among BMW fans. Here’s an interesting piece of history on how they were conceived and became so popular and recognized. ALPINA began its effort to create a unique, hallmark light alloy wheel design in the ’60s. The German market was becoming increasingly interested in alloy wheels, as Porsche had already paved the way with the Fuchs design rims beginning with 1966. Wheel design on the BMW ALPINA B3 Saloon (G20). On the new E9 series, BMW had already implemented a FPS-style aluminum lightweight wheel that was offered from 2800 CS Coupe model upwards. However, there was only one choice of wheel...

Timeless And Elegant: 1970 BMW 2500 in Tundra Green Metallic With its arrival in 1968 under the BMW New Six wave of models, the entry-level 2500 version of the E3 series reaffirmed BMW’s interest and commitment to developing upper-class luxury saloons. After the BMW New Class was successfully launched in 1962, towards late ’60s, the need for a large-sized premium sedan at BMW became more and more stringent. Since Mercedes-Benz was already a key player in the field, the decision of BMW to come up with the E3/E9 series of new high-class contenders was the best “medicine” to counteract the all-time Stuttgart rival. BMW 2500 (Photo from the BMW Group Classic Archives). BMW was not entirely new in this business, having previously developed the 501 and 502 luxobarges ...

The BMW 1800/2000 SA series: A look at an intriguing Bimmer While it was not entirely a BMW product from the beginning, the 1800/2000 SA series of BMW models was quite a rather weird appearance in the portfolio of the Bavarian carmaker in the late ’60s. I am enchanted every time I find some unknown and rare bits of BMW history. I was particularly intrigued and keen to find out more about this subject after I saw some photos from the premiere event of the restored BMW 530 MLE held at the Rosslyn plant in South Africa. The History Of Hans Glas GmbH Let’s start with the basics in this story. Hans Glas GmbH was a small car manufacturer in the Dingolfing area, Bavarian state. It was established all the way back in 1883 as a constructor of agricultural machinery. The company bega...

Philipp Eng finishes 2nd overall in Digital Nurburgring Endurance Series As we mentioned just the other day, Saturday hosted another big sim-racing event, this time on a virtual Nurburgring. A large BMW contingent lined-up at the starting line, with no less than five BMW Works drivers accepting the challenge to race in a completely different layout than what they are used to. In the end, it was Philipp Eng who got the best finish, coming up second overall in the Digital Nurburging Endurance Series. Unlike other Nurburging endurance races, which last up to 24 hours, the sim race was just 3 hours long. At the end of it all, Eng together with his team mates Alexander Voß and Laurin Heinrich managed to finish second overall in the #189 BMW Z4 GT3. This was his team’s (BS+Competi...

VIDEO: This Real-Life Need for Speed E46 BMW M3 is Awesome While we’re all stuck in quarantine (or at least we hope you all are), staying safe from Covid19, many people are looking for little mental breaks from reality. They’re looking for things to take their mind off of the madness that we’re currently facing. One such way to do that is to watch videos like these, which are so needlessly silly yet so awesome that you can’t help but smile at them. In this new video, some Russian enthusiasts recreated Need for Speed Most Wanted in real life, including the game’s famous E46 BMW M3. What’s remarkable is just how similar to the game’s actual M3 this car looks. That, along with the spot on music and graphics, and you can tell just how much effort wa...

BMW M5 Generations Ranked: Here’s Every M5 From Best to Worst There’s really nothing like a super sedan. Hopping into something with four doors, five seats and enough power to frighten a supercar is an immensely satisfying feeling. We have BMW to thank for that, as it’s the brand that truly brought that idea to the mainstream. Sure, Maserati actually invented the super sedan with the original Quattroporte many years before the first ever BMW M5 but few people knew about the QP and even fewer still bought it. It was the BMW M5 that defined the segment, proved it could not only work but excel. Over the years, there have been six generations of BMW M5. To be honest, there isn’t a bad one in the group. However, there are some that are clearly better than others. So we deci...

BMW E34 M5 Touring – It Was Once The World’s Fastest Wagon One of the most iconic cars ever produced by the Bavarians was the BMW E34 M5 Touring. The uber rare E34 M5 Touring was the world’s fastest wagon when it was introduced in 1992. Furthermore, it was BMW M Division’s first wagon and, at the same time, the last hand built M car. The E34 was the first generation of M5 to come in wagon form and it had more power than any other M car before. Its 3.8 liter straight six was also the largest displacement six-cylinder engine of BMW’s modern era. That bigger engine makes 340 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque and it delivers both in a linear, mechanically delicious manner. It’s a proper ‘six that engine. Capable of 0 to 60 mph in 5.7 seconds and available only w...

Could this 1991 BMW E30 325ix be perfect for your at $6,000? As we all know, prices for BMW E30 3 Series models have been surging lately. The BMW E30 M3 is the one with the highest price at the moment but other E30 3 Series models have been seeing a rise in demand and popularity as well as price in recent years also. And while everyone loves to talk about the M3, there are some enthusiasts that actually prefer the BMW 325i, in various specs, because of its bigger I6 engine. The topic is still debated but one thing’s for sure: nobody is mentioning the all-wheel drive models. That’s because the E30 platform was the first 3 Series to implement a system that sends power to all four wheels of the car. The E30 M3 Shown Here It wasn’t perfect and it many BMW enthusiasts scof...

VIDEO: Can the Maserati Levante Trofeo take on the BMW X5 M? Ever since BMW started pumping out X5 Ms, other premium brands decided to follow suit and develop their own high-performance SUV. Porsche did it, then Mercedes-Benz (now Mercedes-AMG) did it and now there’s an Audi RS Q8, a Lamborghini Urus and even an Aston Martin DBX. Hell, Ferrari is going to be developing its own performance SUV soon. But there’s a forgotten one that might be the best of all of them — the Maserati Levante Trofeo. In this new episode of The Smoking Tire, Matt Farah and Zack Klapman drive the new Levante Trofeo and come away surprisingly impressed. In fact, Farah thinks it’s the best driving SUV on the road. The Trofeo is the fastest version of the Levante and it packs a 3.8 liter twi...

The Big Reveal: The BMW R 18 – A New Entry In The Cruiser Segment Around this time last year, BMW Motorrad took the wraps off of something quite unique. That is both aesthetically as well as technically. A nod to the brand’s robust heritage, the R 18 Concept. Drawing inspiration from the Boxer powered bikes upon which the firm built its recognition and reputation, though very differently from how its past influenced the R nine T. The BMW R 18 appeared as a more authentic descendant of the machines that exclusively defined the brand’s range for decades whilst also pushing forward with an 1800 CC engine that is simplistic but remains very truly anchored in the present. Today is the day that the production version is being unveiled. A rather exciting event for those of us whom ...