Auto and Cars

VIDEO: Check out the E30 BMW 320is — The Italian M3 History is littered with unique cars that came about due to funky loopholes in laws. As different countries often have different automotive laws, there were countless instances throughout history when automakers had to get creative to workaround differences in regulations. One such car is the Italian-market E30-generation BMW 320is, which is often nicknamed the “Italian M3”. Back in the ’80s, if you wanted a non-E30 3 Series, you wanted one of the six-cylinder models, such as the beloved 325is. However, the Italian government slapped heavy taxes on engines above 2.0 liters at the time. So BMW created a car that could offer customers something unique and fun without having to break the bank on taxes and fees. It did so...

Video: BMW F90 M5 compared in detail to BMW M8 Competition Recently, the guys from Evolve have been posting more content on their Youtube channel. The latest video published covers a topic that is heavily debated these days: should you get the M5 or spend more and go for the M8 instead? It’s a relevant topic considering the fact that both of these cars share a magnificent drivetrain underneath that sheet metal. Now, for those looking for a high-performance M model things are pretty much even between these two, even though the M8 Competition has a slight edge on paper. According to BMW, if we were to compare the Competition models of both the M5 and the M8, we’d find extremely small discrepancies. Both have a 625 PS 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 under the hood and both have 750 Nm ...

VIDEO: Is the BMW M140i Hatchback a Future Classic? There are a few relatively modern BMWs that will likely become future classics, cars that enthusiasts seek out on the used market for years to come. The BMW M2 is likely the most obvious choice but a less obvious choice might be the BMW M140i, the brand’s only rear-wheel drive, six-cylinder hot-hatch. Could it become the next sought-after classic? In this new video from Jay Emm, we take a look at the M140i and this very question. Now that the 1 Series hatchback has gone front-wheel drive, the previous-generation rear-wheel drive car is becoming even more desirable. Not that it wasn’t loved when it was new, because it was, but it’s gaining even more fan appreciation thanks to its less exciting successor. When the rear-...

Top Gear pits the all-new MINI Cooper SE against the Honda E Now that the MINI Cooper SE is finally here, it enters a segment that’s going to soon be flush with competition. With competitors from Volkswagen and Audi on the way, for instance, the segment is premium EV hatchback segment is beginning to get red hot. However, for the time being, the main competitor for MINI’s new EV warm-hatch is the Honda E. Poke fun at its badge all you want but the Honda E is the real deal. It’s a small, rear-wheel drive electric hatchback with about 130 hp and 232 lb-ft of instant torque. It sits on a bespoke EV chassis with a 35 kWh battery pack in its floor, giving it 137 miles of range and a surprisingly hefty curb weight of around 1,500 kg (3,300-ish lbs). According to Honda, 0-60 ...

Video: Dinan Launches Axle back exhaust for BMW M340i The people over at Dinan have been hard at work lately trying to put together a new exhaust for the most powerful 3 Series on sale today – the BMW M340i. This car will serve as a sort of surrogate until the new M3 comes out so the interest in it is pretty high. Therefore, tuners have to adapt and one of the things you can easily change about your M340i is the exhaust. Not that it doesn’t sound great already but because you can always make due with a bit more volume, right? What we have in the video below is an axle back upgrade for the M340i from Dinan. What you’ll notice immediately are the bigger tips at the end there, the quad setup hosting 4″ pipes with either ceramic black or polished finishes to choose f...

SPIED: Best scoops of the 2021 BMW 4 Series Coupe (G22) yet The newest set of spy shots with the forthcoming G22 2021 BMW 4 Series are the most revealing to date, with outer camouflage having been peeled off quite consistently. In the latest scoops (which you can see here), the new 4 Series Coupe reveals a few more details than before. We can now clearly judge the proportions of the body as the exterior cladding is pretty much off. By now, the prototypes have entered the final experimental phase. Set for an official online debut in June 2020, the new generation of the BMW 4 Series Coupe is now bolder and more polarizing than ever before, exposing a daring design philosophy that will ignite intense debates. The side profile of the car is as clean as it can get, featuring a lot of influen...

Photo Tutorial: How To Create Real Motion Blur In Your Car Photos BMWBLOG and Machines With Souls teamed to create a series of tutorials on how to proper photograph cars and how to create the perfect automotive images. This is the second installment of this tutorial which can be followed here. Today, we’re learning how to add “real” motion blur to your automotive images. If you’re a regular reader, you’re aware that Photoshop is my go-to for post-production on images. That’s still true, but I recently came across a program that’s specific to the automotive photography realm: VirtualRig Studio. What it’s for If you’ve ever seen a professional image of a car in motion used in an ad campaign, you may have noticed how sharp the...

A look into the future: The trailblazing BMW Nazca M12 and Nazca C2 concept cars The Nazca supercar projects of the early ’90s were driven by BMW in cooperation with renowned Italdesign Giugiaro studio. The idea behind the project was to find out if a new supercar offering in the brand’s lineup was viable at that time, following the past M1 experience. When it was unveiled, the Nazca showcars looked as strange and futuristic as their name depicted. Eventually, they were deemed too daring to reach production by BMW. However, some design influences were later transferred onto series-produced cars. The Nazca M12 and C2 concepts were the fruits of a close collaboration with Italian design house Italdesign Giugiario, owned and driven by the equally famous styling artist Giorgetto...

Photo Gallery: The Rolls-Royce ‘Spirit of Ecstasy’ Faberge Egg The history of Faberge Eggs goes back to 1885 and is closely connected to the Russian Royal Family. Emperor Alexander III of Russia was the one who came up with the idea in the first place thus creating a symbol that would become synonymous with the highest levels of luxury and richness. Rolls-Royce is also regarded as a brand reserved only for the richest people on the planet so it was only a matter of time before the Spirit of Ecstasy was somehow combined with the Faberge Egg. That moment came in 2018, when the two companies joined forces to create a new egg, of the Imperial class – a class reserved for Faberge’s most illustrious creations. This was only the second object to be done following the Imperial categ...

VIDEO: Listen to Andreas Bovensiepen talk about the ALPINA B7 There are few car company owners like Andreas Bovensiepen. For starters, ALPINA is a very small manufacturer, of which there aren’t many left. However, even among them, Bovensiepen is part of a rare breed, as he’s not only a proper gearhead but he’s an outstanding driver. A few years ago, Joe Achilles had the chance to ride shotgun in the ALPINA B7 with Bovensiepen at the wheel, something I’m incredibly jealous of. In this new unreleased video from that day, we see the roles reversed. After blitzing the ALPINA B7 with Achilles in the passenger seat, Bovensiepen wanted to sit in the back seat and let Achilles drive. During that drive, Bovensiepen talks about how ALPINA tunes its cars, how that tuning di...

VIDEO: Check out this Mint-Condition BMW Z4 M Coupe from EAG We’ve been following Enthusiast Auto Group closer than normal these past couple of weeks. As one of the most prominent BMW restoration centers in North America, there isn’t a time when EAG doesn’t some of the very coolest Bimmers ever made in their shop. However, they’ve had some extra special stuff in their shop recently, stuff we’ve been keeping a close eye one. One such car is this stunning BMW Z4 M Coupe. When you see the Z4 M Coupe in this video, it looks like it rolled off the showroom floor and there are two good reasons for that. One is that it was cared for by a very attentive enthusiast in California, so it was always maintained and had never been in bad weather. The other is that it&rsq...

BMW X4 M Competition gets AC Schnitzer parts and 600 horsepower BMW Abu Dhabi Motors is introducing a BMW X4 M Competition featuring aero parts from German tuner AC Schnitzer. Aside from the visual upgrades, the BMW X4 M Competition now makes a whooping 600Hp and 700 Nm Torque from the M TwinPower Turbo engine. The visual upgrades start at the front with an aero front bumper splitter, painted also the Toronto Red exterior color. Moving to the back, you can immediately spot the aggressive rear roof-spoiler and the trunk lip which add the necessary downforce to cope with all that power. Speaking of power, the BMW X4 M Competition, in standard form, makes 510 hp and 442 lb-ft (600 Nm) from its new S58 3.0 liter six-cylinder engine designed by BMW M. But now, likely through an ECU remap, t...

The MINI Cooper SE drove through the Florida Keys to Hemingway’s House This is a bit of a bleak time in our modern history. We’re all forced to stay indoors as a pandemic devastates most of the world. People are sick and dying, businesses are closing and employees are losing their jobs. There isn’t much to be happy or excited about. However, that’s exactly why we should remember some better times and take a virtual trip through the Florida Keys with a MINI Cooper SE. Just recently, prior to the outbreak of Coronavirus, MINI took its new electric car on a road-trip through the Florida Keys, and ended up in Key West, the home of Ernest Hemingway. The trip started in South Beach, Miami with a full charge and gorgeous weather. It’s a 260 kilometer journey, one that t...

Rolls-Royce “Young Designer Competition” Gives Kids a Chance to Create Their Dream Rolls-Royce This is a time of great uncertainty, as only a handful of people on Earth have previously experienced a global pandemic like the one we’re facing today. During such a time, citizens across the globe have been asked to stay home and isolate themselves from the rest of the public. Self-isolation can be tricky, though, especially with kids who don’t necessarily like being cooped up in the house. So automakers have taken to releasing all sorts of different activities for kids to pass the time, such as coloring books and puzzles. However, Rolls-Royce has launched something more interesting — the “Young Designer Competition”. Any child up to the age of sixteen can draw ...

Rumor: Future BMW G70 7 Series to have two M Performance models The work on the upcoming BMW G70 7 Series has already kicked off. As we reported a while back, the new 7er will be extensively different from what we’ve been getting used to and will feature not only hybrid options but also full electric ones. Today we caught wind of what the actual model names will be for some of the cars. Mind you this is not officially confirmed information so you might want to take it all in with a grain of salt. According to two of our sources, the upcoming 7 Series range will be dominated by electrified models, traditional versions using internal combustion engines being the minority. We’ll get a 735d model using a 3.0 liter straight-six diesel engine as well as a 740i model using a 3.0 li...

MINI Announces the return of the manual gearbox in the US If you’ve been shopping for a MINI in the last year you might’ve noticed that the manual option was not available for quite a long time. The British brand decided to do a refresh of its line-up last year, including a couple of technical changes. No, this was not a facelift but rather a pre-arranged set of modifications to the drivetrain to make sure emissions are kept in check. These include the introduction of the 7-speed dual-clutch gearboxes. The manual gearbox was therefore left out of US soil for a considerable amount of time. Since the US is one of the biggest markets for manual MINIs this was bound to be a temporary solution and the confirmation came today, as MINI issued an official press release letting us kn...

Video: BMW i3 vs Renault Zoe vs Nissan Leaf used car review Electric cars are considered expensive by by a large number of potential customers. Especially in the U.S. where certain models aren’t available right now. Yet, Europe is seeing a rise in small, electric choices that don’t necessarily break the bank. Furthermore, cars like the BMW i3, Renault Zoe or Nissan Leaf have been on the market long enough to make second-hand purchase a viable option. Whether you should go for one or not is still up to you, as electric cars while more reliable than ICE ones, have a different set of problems, mostly related to the battery pack. The guys from LoveCars have set out to test the aforementioned trio and see what each car is like. They cover the range indicated by each car when...

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...