Auto and Cars

SPIED: Electric BMW 3 Series test prototype looks a bit intriguing Some time ago, BMW said it wouldn’t build an electric 3 Series. But it seems plans have changed, if we are to believe the latest spy photos, which indicate that a pure electric 3 Series might be on the way. However, this is not your ordinary 3 Series.  Recently, spy photographers scooped what looks to be an early prototype of a future electric 3 Series model out in the wild (you can see the photos here). As seen from the spy shots, the camouflaged test vehicles is based on the long-wheelbase G28 model series, given the longer rear doors. Our own sources say that BMW is indeed testing an electric 3 Series electric on a long-wheelbase platform which is destined for the Chinese market only. But why the long-whee...

BMW CTO: Electric cars make sense mainly in the West coast and parts of the East coast BMW’s top engineering boss, Klaus Froehlich recently sat down for an extensive interview with Automotive News Europe. As you might have guessed, majority of the topics focused on electric mobility. BMW has made a bet on a flexible architecture for the next decade which allows for both ICE and EV drivetrains to live on the same model. But Froehlich says that this could change when the “world turns fully electric.” So BMW is prepared to make the switch to a dedicated electric platform. When needed. On the topic of electrified vehicles sales, Herr Froehlich says that EVs “will account for 20 percent to 30 percent of worldwide sales by 2030, but with a very diverse global distribu...

BMW announces investment in AI deep-tech company Alitheon BMW announced a new investment yesterday through its investment arm BMW i Ventures. The newest company the Bavarians decided to invest in is Alitheon, a deep-tech AI developer based in Washington. The company raised $14.9 million in venture capital, thanks to investments from BMW i Ventures, IPD Capital and Shasta Ventures alongside current and former senior management from Accenture, Boeing and Fidelity. Alitheon has been developing a technology they call FeaturePrint which is meant to be used as an authenticator of sorts. Basically, this technology transforms how objects, components and finished products are authenticated, tracked and traced across supply chains and distribution systems throughout the world. Once registered by ...

BMW i Motorsport previews the first race of 2020: the Santiago E-Prix Formula E resumes the 2019 – 2020 season with the upcoming Santiago E-Prix, to be held this weekend in Chile. The BMW i Andretti Motorsport greets 2020 in full force, after the two pole positions and one win of Alexander Sims in the first race of the season at Diriyah, Saudi Arabia. For the second race of the 6th Formula E chapter, the teams will head over to the streets of Santiago, Chile, on a track that measures 2.287 kilometers, covered anti-clockwise. The circuit comprises 11 turns, 8 to the left and 3 to the right and it got slightly reconfigured to bring more action. The track surface is rather bumpy between Turn 9 and Turn 1, with a new, more heat resistant tarmac surface laid between Turn 2 and Turn 8....

Video: BMW 330e named best PHEV and executive car in the UK January comes with several award ceremonies held in the automotive industry. Many publications use this month to set up for a good year ahead and give car makers a boost in the process. BMW has been at the receiving end of a couple of prizes already, the most recent being the award for the best executive car and best PHEV in the UK, thanks to the 330e. The plug-in hybrid 3 Series won the aforementioned accolades from UK magazine WhatCar. According to WhatCar, the 3 Series model managed to win both categories thanks to a very interesting mix of characteristics: “The BMW 330e is a hybrid that you can have some fun in. It’s more refined and comfortable than other hybrid saloons, while being almost as engaging to drive ...

BMW Spartanburg Plant Reached new Record Output levels in 2019 As you might’ve heard, BMW set yet another sales record last year. The Bavarian brand sold more cars than ever before in 2019 and a lot of the credit goes to their expending range of SUVs and crossovers. They were, by far, the most popular choices for customers worldwide. Since BMW builds most of its X cars at the Spartanburg plant, the US facility also posted record-breaking results last year. The Spartanburg plant is one of the biggest BMW has around the world. Starting off with a production capacity of 300,000 units, the plant underwent an expansion process taking its capacity up to 450,000. For a short time it was BMW’s biggest plant in the world. However, the Chinese manufacturing plants expanded not long af...

VIDEO: Check out the BMW M8 Competition Gran Coupe First Edition 1 of 8 At the 2019 LA Auto Show, we had the opportunity to see the BMW M8 Competition Gran Coupe First Edition 1 of 8 (I know, that name is exhausting) in person. It was a genuine stunner. Even some of BMW’s biggest critics, who were at the BMW stage to mock the lowly M235i Gran Coupe, were remarking about the Aurora Diamond Green Metallic M8. There are two reasons for that; one is the fact that the M8 Gran Coupe is a very pretty car and the other is its incredible spec. In this new video from Shmee, we get to actually see the incredibly rare car up close. In fact, considering that there are only eight in the world, this video is likely the closest any of us will ever get to the First Edition BMW M8 Gran Coupe. So w...

2020 BMW 4 Series gets rendered in M440i guise with a large grille When it comes to market this year, the all-new 2020 BMW 4 Series will feature a new top model. The BMW M440i will take the top spot in the new RWD 4 Series lineup, same as the M330i in the 3 Series family. And while the G20 3 Series sedan went with a “safer” and evolutionary design, the new G22 4 Series will shock the automotive world. To prepare us for the unthinkable – as some might call it – BMW has unveiled a few months the BMW Concept 4. The first thing that stands out on the new concept, and implicitly on the future 4 Series, is the extremely large kidney grille. The oversized iconic kidneys are the talk of the BMW world, and that’s not likely to change considering the G80 M3 and G82 M...

Goodbye BMW i8: We’ll Miss BMW’s Flawed but Ambitious Sports Car There are some reports swirling around the interwebs about BMW ceasing production on the i8 in just a few months. Most of the reports claim that the BMW i8 will die off by April of this year. While that isn’t confirmed as of yet, it’s most likely accurate. Autocar even reported that UK dealers are telling customers that if they want a BMW i8, they need to put their order in by the end of February. So the end is nigh. Which is actually a bit sad. The BMW i8 is a deeply flawed car, there’s no two ways about it, but it’s a charming car, an interesting car and one that is hard not to like. It’s a car that seems to have so much potential, yet fails to deliver on most of it and yet it’s one th...

BMW M outsold Mercedes-Benz AMG in 2019 With sales growth of 32.2% (135,826 deliveries), 2019 was also the most successful year in the almost fifty-year history of BMW M GmbH. It was quite a busy year for the M Sportscar Division which introduced a large number of refreshed or new models. Throughout the year, we’ve seen the introduction of the X3 M, X4 M, X5 M and X6 M, the M2 CS and luxury sports cars M8 Coupé, M8 Convertible and M8 Gran Coupé. Thanks to this strong lineup, BMW M outsold its arch-rival – Mercedes-Benz AMG. The high-performance and sports-car brand Mercedes-AMG achieved a new record year in 2019 with 132,136 units sold and double-digit growth of 11.8%. The Affalterbach-based company achieved its highest sales figures in history also in Great Br...

Toyota Supra now available with 2-liter engine too in Europe A year has passed since the Supra made a comeback into our lives. Initially we all thought the Supra would only be offered with BMW’s already iconic B58 3-liter straight six engine but it looks like the Japanese brand wants a bit more of BMW’s pie. Therefore, they announced the introduction of a 2-liter 4-cylinder option on the European market today, one that would probably make a lot of people happy price-wise. I still think you need to get a straight six engine on your Supra if you want it to live up to the expectations but then again, to each his own. The 2-liter engine was introduced on the Japanese market last year but that was the only exception to the rule up until today. The new model also uses a BMW engine...

BMW i8 will reportedly go out of production in April A new report coming in from the UK claims that the BMW i8 will be going out of production this April, leaving those interested in buying one just a few months left to make up their mind. The BMW i8 has long been reported to be on the way out but no official date was given up until now. With its departure this year, the i8 will be adhering to the usual production span of most cars in BMW’s range, unlike its brother, the i3. It was 2014 when the i8 initially went on sale and wow the crowds anywhere it went. Even to this day this car seems like it arrived straight from the future, showing no sign of ageing and making the same impression everywhere it goes. However, according to Autocar, this will all soon come to an end. The Britis...

BMW i3 Review: Can The Interior Fit A Car Seat and Stroller? It has been six years since I started my journey with BMW’s first electric car – the BMW i3. It has all begun with the “Panda” 2015 BMW i3 REx (60Ah), which was replaced two years later by the “Darth Vader” 2017 BMW i3 REx (94Ah). 2019 came around and it was time to pick another i3. Since I already loved the additional peace of mind provided by the Range Extender, I opted again for a BMW i3 REx (94Ah since the 120Ah wasn’t available yet), only this time painted in the vibrant Melbourne Red Metallic. As you’d expect, over the years, I’ve had the chance to write several BMW i3 reviews. Naturally, most of them focused on the driving experience, charging and electric range. But...

5 Reasons Why We Love The BMW M2 Competition At the moment, it seems as if BMW struggles to gain widespread critical acclaim. Even when it debuts such monster cars like the BMW M8, there always seems to be a “but” from critics. However, there’s one car that gets far more love than criticism, even if it has its faults — the BMW M2 Competition. The BMW M2 Competition is not a perfect sports car by any means. It’s still too heavy, the seating position is too high, it can get a bit snappy at speed and its engine note still isn’t great. However, there’s so much to love about it, and it has a punchy, brutish character that’s endearing enough to cover up its faults. So let’s take a look at the five main reasons why we love the BMW M2 Compet...

Over 300 Teams competed in the first ever BMW sim racing event Ahead of racing in the first endurance race of 2020, BMW hosted a sim racing event on Sunday evening under the ‘BMW 120 at Daytona’ name. Around 600 people competed split in 300 teams for the first place and after a two-hour race one team rose above all others. Maximilian Wenig and Maximilian Benecke, both from Germany, claimed the number one spot after it was all said and done, team Redline GT being crowned the winner. The racers competed on the popular online platform iRacing and got to drive a BMW M8 GTE in the virtual realm. The winners had to cover 70 laps and managed to do so in a clean fashion. Behind them in second place were their team-mates Jonas Wallmeier and Gianni Vecchio also from Germany. The two G...

Video: How to Purchase new features over the air from inside your BMW Tesla made the headlines when it announced the introduction of over the air updates for its cars. With this new feature, the cars could be updated in real time, making the infotainment system better, but also introducing new features altogether. However, the American company isn’t the only one that offers over the air updates, BMW also being one of the early innovators in the field. The Germans have been fiddling with such solutions for quite some time now and starting this year customers can even buy certain features on their cars, not just use over the air updates for security updates. Depending on the car you own, these updates could include a variety of case uses, they will be highly dependent on what you ha...

BMW Group Classic to run legendary cars at the GP Ice Race 2020 Our friends over at BMW Group Classic are starting the year with an ice race. The guys will be traveling to Zell am See with a host of legendary cars to take part in what seems like a crazy fun event. The GP Ice Race 2020 will be held on February 1 and 2 2020 and will be hosted by the aforementioned Austrian town for the second time. What makes this event special is the fact that it spares tires from getting shredded. While BMW cars have been seen on the ice at the GP Ice Race, this is actually the first time BMW Group Classic will take place in the competition. Their line-up is also pretty impressive, showing that the goal here is to make a lasting impression. The one that will probably attract the most curious looks will ...

Low Mileage BMW E39 M5 is Asking $59,950 — Is It Worth It? It looks like the BMW M cars of old are starting to enter a similar boom price-wise as it happened a while back with classic Porsches. We all know the BMW E30 M3 is a valued collectible at the moment, with prices for mint models reaching six-figures but it seems like other cars are on their way, too. If you own a BMW E39 M5 we’d recommend holding on to it, as it can turn into a good investment in just a few years. Prices for such cars have been steadily going up. One good thing about them is that production ended in 2003 so they aren’t that old and you can still find decent models up and running. Furthermore, plenty were made during its production run and that means the market isn’t too limited, especially comp...

Mercedes-Benz Beats BMW, Audi to Keep Global Premium Car Sales Crown Despite regaining the U.S. crown, BMW had to concede in the global race of premium car sales. According to the latest sales reports, Mercedes-Benz successfully defended its crown as the world’s bestselling premium car brand, beating rivals BMW and Audi for the fourth year in a row. Last week, BMW reported sales of its namesake branded vehicles which rose 2 percent to a record 2.17 million cars last year. Mercedes said its sales increased 1.3 percent to 2.34 million vehicles. Audi came in third with 1.85 million cars sold in 2019, an increase of 1.8 percent compared to the previous year. Mercedes also said that it posted sales record in Germany, China and the U.S. thanks to strong demand for its SUVs and hig...

London New Years Day Parade featured some cool BMWs In all the years and all the events, I’ve done I have to say that the 2020 London New Years Day Parade was one of the best. I had done a few carnivals before and they were hard work for hours crawling along, but being a Londoner and funny enough, I used to work right where the start point was, it was great to be back in the West End for a day. It is an amazing City and its atmosphere and diversity are the best in the world. I drove in down Park Lane, wanting to stop outside BMW Park Lane, but it’s all Red Zone and you just don’t know whether a camera will give you an “illegally parked” ticket and automatically send you a fine, so sadly I didn’t get a photo opportunity. As I turned around the co...

VIDEO: BMW 4 Series seen testing at the Nurburgring We know the next-gen BMW 4 Series is on its way and we know it’s going to be an interesting car. The main point of interest will be its new grille design, which is said to be borrowed from the controversial Concept 4. However, the rest of the car looks extremely promising, with proper proportions and a seemingly pretty design. However, we’ve really only see it in some spy photos, wearing heavy camouflage. Now, there’s a new spy video of the next-gen 4 Series doing some laps of the Nurburgring. (We don’t own the spy video but you can see it here) From what we can tell in this new video, the new 4 Series looks good. It’s long, it’s low-ish and it’s sleek looking. It has a similar overall style to...

Ultra-Rare BMW 1600 GT is up for sale on Bring-A-Trailer When enthusiasts think of classic Bimmers, their minds typically go straight to cars like the BMW 2002, 3.0 CSL and the M1. However, a little-known classic Bimmer that may be one of the prettiest of all time is one that’s also currently up for sale on Bring-A-Trailer — the BMW 1600 GT. If you aren’t sure about what the BMW 1600 GT is, exactly, here’s a brief crash-course. Back in the ’60s, there was a German car company called Hans Glas GmbH. Among its cars was the Glas 1700 GT, which sported a 1,682 cc four-cylinder engine, and was a delicate, very pretty two-door car. When BMW acquired Glas in the early sixties, it took the 1700 GT and put its own BMW 1,573 cc engine under the hood, making it a BMW ...

We should see a BMW X1 electric SUV by 2023 BMW’s electric offensive is kicking off in 2020 and by 2023, we will see 12 fully electric models. One of them is the BMW X1 electric SUV. First news of the BEV X1 arrived in 2018, but since, there were several independent reports confirming the new model. Since the UKL platform (front-wheel drive) is moving to the “U” naming convention, the next generation X1 will be sold under the U11 codename. And for the first time, BMW’s best selling SUV will get a fully electric SUV. A plug-in hybrid is also likely, just like the current F48 X1 xDrive25e. For now, the working name is BMW iX1, but it remains to be seen if that’s the nomenclature BMW will pick for their electric cars moving forward. While we don’t know ...

FIRST LOOK: BMW M340i Touring in Verde Ermes UK-based vlogger Joe Achilles brings us the first ever BMW M340i Touring in Verde Ermes. The special green color comes from the BMW Individual catalog and is one of the most special paints you can get. Verde Ermes has been made famous by Lamborghini, but it often can be found on other brands as well. Of course, it’s even more special when you see it on an M340i Touring, one of our favorite cars. So let’s start with that. BMW’s beautiful touring gets the most powerful six-cylinder engine today, aside from full M models. The 3.0 liter six-cylinder unit makes 374 horsepower, enough to take the BMW M340i Touring from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.5 seconds. With the xDrive system onboard. The new BMW M340i Touring rides as standar...

CES 2020 Videos: BMW i3 Urban Suite, X7 ZeroG Lounger and EASE BMW’s presence at the CES 2020 skipped the introduction of a concept car, instead, the Bavarians focused on the in-car tech and luxury of tomorrow. Through the videos below, we will showcase for you the BMW i3 Urban Suite, the BMW X7 ZeroG Lounger and the BMW i Interaction EASE. BMW i3 Urban Suite The BMW i3 Urban Suite gives us an insight into the future of autonomous driving cars and their interior space. The special i3 can run autonomously and can be hailed by mobile phones, while inside it changes the way we perceive interior spaces. The car has been reconfigured to bring “the relaxed feel of a boutique hotel.” BMW i3 production to get extended until 2024 In order to optimize the mobility experience f...

BMW 6 Series GT vs Audi A7 vs Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class Of all of BMW’s current offerings, likely the least popular is the 6 Series GT. Not that it’s a bad car but it’s the definition of niche-slicing to the point that only customers with an incredibly specific set of requirements will buy it. And it looks weird. Its customers love it, however. That’s because, underneath its weirdo-styling, it’s actually a surprisingly good car. But how can it take on its much better looking rivals? In this latest comparison test from What Car, we take a look at the BMW 6 Series GT, Audi A7 and Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class, all second-hand. So which of those three cars is best on the used market? The results of this test are actually quite surprising. Let’s take a look ...

This BMW M3 CS Touring (F81) Is The Wagon BMW M Should’ve Built If there is one car that BMW should build, then it has to be a BMW M3 Touring. The M Wagon has been a dream of many generations, but the story has always been the same – there is no market for it or a decent business case. So as no surprise, tuning companies have taken on the challenge to build their own version of an M3 Touring. But there is one company that took things further. Sander is the owner of the Dutch aftermarket parts company, Fullcartuning and he developed his very own BMW M3 CS Touring, a car that was revealed at the 2019 Essen Motor Show. To make this BMW M3 CS Touring (F81), Sander took a donor BMW M3 CS and combined it with a standard BMW 3 Series Touring. It was obviously quite a bit ...

Buyer’s Guide: E90-Generation BMW 3 Series — One of the Best? Ever since the E90-generation BMW 3 Series made its debut, enthusiasts have been pining for its predecessor, the E46-generation 3 Series. It’s not that the E90 was, or still is, bad, it’s just that the E46 was so good, so legendary that it set a high-water mark for BMW that’s yet to be reached since. However, because of the almost deification of the E46, E90 3 Series’ have actually become a bit forgotten, therefor a bit cheap on the used market. Which now makes it the perfect time to buy. If you’re in the market for a used 3 Series, we’d highly suggest taking a look at anything from the E90 generation. If you do, use this Buyer’s Guide to figure out which one suites you best and which...

3D Design shows off BMW M850i and Z4 at the Tokyo Auto Show One of the absolute best developers of aftermarket BMW parts actually hails from Japan, not Germany. If you haven’t heard of 3D Design by now, you need to do a quick Google search. Not only do the good people at 3D Design design their own parts but they also make them out of the best materials. Want aluminum paddle shifters? They can do it. Aluminum pedals? Yup, they’ve got that to. What about dry carbon aerodynamics? 3D Design has the hookup. The Japanese tuning company recently took two of their newest products to the Tokyo Auto Show and they looked great. While we’ve seen 3D Design’s Z4 project before, it’s always good to see it again. However, what we haven’t see before is their new BMW M...