Auto and Cars

TEST DRIVE: 2020 MINI Cooper SE – Fun, Stylish and Affordable After countless teasers and many years of development, the 2020 MINI Cooper SE is finally here and we went to Miami to sample the premium electric car. But first, let’s take a look back at its origins. It was the British marque who started the BMW electric offensive in 2009 with the MINI E – a conversion of its MINI Cooper car. The original MINI E was developed for field trials and deployed in several countries, including the United States, Germany, UK, France, Japan and China. With the lessons learned from the MINI E and the BMW ActiveE, the Bavarians launched their first mass-produced electric vehicle – the BMW i3. Fast forward to this new decade and the i3’s knowledge is now transferred to the MINI ...

Andy Warhol BMW M1 Art Car to be showcased in India One of the most famous BMW Art Cars – if one can even say that – will be showcased in India this upcoming weekend. If you happen to find yourself at the India Art Fair in New Delhi between January 31st and February 2nd you could spot this marvelous creation on exhibit. The fourth Art Car ever made has a really interesting story behind it and, along with it, an awesome track record as well. “At BMW, we just don’t build the best performing cars, but deeply believe in the intangibles. We hold our design aesthetics very dear, this inspires us as well as our users to stretch their creative boundaries. India Art Fair is a perfect platform for us to reach out to our discerning customers and showcase the brands aestheti...

BMW M340d xDrive shows up on the Luxembourg site configurator BMW officially extends the M lineup of the 3 Series with a new diesel addition: the M340d xDrive version. The new engine choice in the G20/G21 family complements the existing M340i versions with 374 PS in Europe (382 hp in the US). Recently, the diesel-powered M340d xDrive variant quietly made its way in to the configurator on the BMW Luxembourg website. The new M340d xDrive will be available starting this spring. This version will be widely available across Europe, but it is not scheduled to reach the North American market. Also, the new model will only be offered with the xDrive all-wheel-drive chassis, so no rear-driven choice here.   The new M model of the 3 Series lineup is powered by the award-winning BMW B57 6-c...

The all-new Honda e Reminds Me Too Much of the BMW i3 After seeing the Honda e concept car last year, I was immediately excited about the production version and. The idea of a small, electric hatchback for the masses, but one that’s also adorable looking and should be fun to drive, is a very attractive one. Now that some reviews of the latest electric Honda are trickling out, I’m not as thrilled as I was when I first saw the concept and that’s because it reminds me so much of the BMW i3. Let me be very clear, I think the i3 is a good car and I’m one of its bigger defenders. However, I’m not blind to the fact that it’s already old news. Even in its latest form, the i3 doesn’t pack enough range, with just a hair over 150 miles on tap. So as intere...

BMW Exec claims that Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles can be as cheap as Gasoline in Five Years There’s no longer much of a debate about the future of the automobile. Our future is electric, and likely highly autonomous, and there’s no getting around it, no wishing it away. However, there’s still a question about certain other alternative means of powering electric cars. For instance, some brands still believe in hydrogen power and BMW actually believes that the future will hold a specific place for both hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (HFCs) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs). “We see fuel cells helping us to convert all our cars to zero emissions over the next two decades,” said BMW’s VP for hydrogen fuel cell technology, Dr. Jürgen Guldner. Just like...

REVIEW: 2020 BMW M2 Competition – Simplicity It’s hard to live up to your former greatest creations if your name is BMW. Not because you couldn’t do it again but because for some, older cars are just better by any metric you could imagine. No matter what you do, once you created such a brilliant car like the BMW E46 M3 CSL, the world will never get over it. At some point you might get sick of hearing everyone comparing every car you launch to the pinnacle of BMW M greatness, but that’s just life. It’s better to have had such levels of greatness and continue to strive reaching them again than the other way around. That’s probably why the BMW M2 is and has been so loved from the day it was announced. How The BMW M2 Came To Life I still remember the first time...

BMW Confirms M6 GT3 return to IGTC with Walkenhorst Motorsport The BMW M6 GT3 is an odd bird in BMW’s current Motorsport line-up. Never before has BMW kept a car running in Motorsport without having a direct road-going variant available for public roads. The BMW M6 has been out of production for quite some time now and yet the M6 GT3 continues to race around the world, with its direct successor, the M8 GTE, handling some other venues. This year, the people over at Walkenhorst Motorsport will keep this flame going in the International GT Championship (IGTC). The news was confirmed by BMW late last week. The German team will field two cars at the very least and has confirmed racing in two events in 2020 so far. The first one will be the Bathurst 12-Hour endurance race set to take pl...

Video: BMW M2 Competition vs Mercedes-AMG A45 acceleration run The premium hot hatch segment is now dominated by three cars: the BMW M135i xDrive, Mercedes-AMG A45 and Audi RS3. Unfortunately, the BMW is lagging behind both its rivals at the top end of the performance spectrum. The new top of the line 1 Series is now lagging behind its main rivals in terms of straight line performance and power output. BMW also says it won’t make a more powerful 1 Series because there’s just no market for it. So where does that leave us? Well, it leaves us with the BMW M2 Competition. Price-wise the BMW M2 Competition is right up there next to the M135i xDrive. Sure, the M2 Competition is not a hot hatch but a coupe and but, in my book, that makes it even better. But does that mean the M2 sh...

Video: BMW M5 Competition vs Audi RS7 and AMG GT63 S on track The BMW M5 Competition has some really stiff rivals these days. The Mercedes-AMG E63 S and the Audi RS6 are both very capable rivals but recently the M5 has been thrown in the ring against even more stylish alternatives. We’ve seen it compared to the Mercedes-AMG GT63 S 4-door a number of times and now it looks like the Audi RS7 is also jumping at the chance of running alongside the M5 Competition. The thing is, these are not direct rivals. The direct rival for the Audi and the Merc would be the BMW M8 Gran Coupe in Competition spec. However, since the M8 Gran Coupe shares almost every bit of its overly complicated chassis with the M5 Competition, and the M8 Gran Coupe isn’t available to test yet, I can understand...

BMW M8 GTE wins the 2020 Daytona 24 Hours ahead of the Porsche BMW Team RLL wins once again the iconic Daytona 24 Hours race. The BMW M8 GTE has taken back-to-back Rolex 24 at Daytona GT Le Mans category victories with the No. 24 BMW M8 GTE of John Edwards, Augusto Farfus, Chaz Mostert and Jesse Krohn. It was Krohn who went behind the wheel last to finish the race ahead of the Porsche team. In the final hour of the race, Krohn made a bold pass on Nick Tandy in the No. 911 Porsche 911 RSR to take the lead. Over the course of the race, the No. 24 BMW M8 GTE shared the lead with the No. 911 and No. 912 Porsches. It was an exciting race, one of the best in the last few years and certainly a great one for BMW RLL and BMW Motorsport. In the last hour of the endurance race, Porsche’s Ta...

Video: BMW X7 M50i vs Toyota T86 on the track One could hardly hope to see a car like the BMW X7 on the track, let alone being pushed to its limits. But thanks to Youtube, some of those “dreams” often come true. The guys from TFL Car took the fastest X7 you can get today, the M50i model, out for a spin on the track, trying to find out whether it can keep up with a car at the other end of the spectrum. Whereas the BMW X7 is big, heavy and powerful, the Toyota GT86 is light, nimble and, some would say, down on power. Usually I don’t get why the guys from TFL Car pit cars from vastly different segments against each other but this time around, I do understand the point they are trying to make. The thing is, the automotive industry has changed. People have been asking ...

VIDEO: How to adjust the exterior light settings on your BMW Depending on the model specification, you can change the exterior light settings in your brand new BMW equipped with the intelligent BMW OS 7.0 infotainment system. High-end BMW vehicles and models equipped with the relevant Exterior Light Package offer the possibility to play with the lighting system of the package as to be greeted in style whenever you open your Bimmer. You simply have to press CAR on the touch-sensitive iDrive control display, then select Settings from the list and finally choose the Exterior Lighting option. In this enhanced menu, you can select the turn signals to flash 3 times when briefly touched and you can as well adapt the headlight projection to beam according to either right-hand or left-hand traf...

VIDEO: How to search for public charging stations in your BMW In BMW and BMW i models, especially in the electric and plug-in hybrid versions, equipped with at least iDrive 6.0 or OS 7.0, you are able to search for and navigate to public charging in a fast and convenient way. The search engine embedded in the iDrive infotainment system of 6th and 7th generation offers the possibility to look out for electric charging stations in real time. The owner of the vehicle can easily select from a multitude of options that will the system refine the search results as desired. You can search for the public stations in the near proximity of the car, in the city where you are located or in another country, depending on information availability. For example, you can filter out the stations by selec...

MINI JCW F56 decked out with lots of performance parts If you thought only BMWs had their own division of performance parts add-ons, you’d be wrong. While BMW’s M Performance Parts division has an extensive catalog of fantastic upgrades, it’s not the only brand in the BMW Group to have such a thing. MINI owners can also take part in upgrading their cars from the factory, with a wide variety of JCW (John Cooper Works) parts. Such as this MINI JCW seen at BMW Madrid. The MINI JCW in question is fully decked-out in JCW upgrades that make the car look and feel more exciting and special than the standard car. For instance, its exterior is adorned with carbon fiber exhaust popes, an exclusive rear bumper to house them, special wings for the rear spoiler, Union Jack taillight...

BMW Electrified Car Sales Still Lag Behind Tesla BMW has a pretty good sales year in 2019, if you haven’t already heard. In fact, the BMW Group as a whole sold more vehicles than any other premium brand. Having said that, while having a record year for electrified vehicles as well, the Bavarian brand’s plug-in models still have a long way to go, in terms of being sales successes. In this new article from Clean Technica, we take a look at the sales between BMW and its main rivals, such as Audi and Mercedes-Benz, as well as Tesla and Jaguar. In terms of global, outright sales, the BMW Group dominated the competition. However, if you break things down a bit, the core BMW brand didn’t sell as well as Mercedes-Benz. Also, while the Bavarians claim that their electrified mod...

2020 Santiago ePrix: A Detailed Race Analysis of BMW’s Win Young German driver Maximilian Guenther and the BMW i Andretti Motorsport team emerged victorious at Round 3 of the 2019-2020 Formula E World Championship at Santiago, Chile with a scintillating performance that saw Guenther make an overtaking move for the lead not once, but twice, to make it two straight victories for BMW Andretti. Guenther also became the youngest Formula E race winner in the history of the sport. Going into Round 3, expectations were heightened for the BMW i Andretti Motorsport team. The team was coming off a dominating victory in Round 2 at Ad Diriyah in Saudi Arabia, courtesy of British driver Alexander Sims, who started from pole position and was never challenged all the way up until he took the checkered...

Video: BMW M8 drag races R8, AMG GT63 S, Model X and 911 The time has come to put the fastest car BMW ever made to the test against some really stiff competition. The BMW M8 Competition is, as BMW claims, the most powerful and fastest car in a straight line they ever put up for sale. Therefore, it has to go up some serious competition, one of these cars actually being recognized as a supercar. What will happen? Well, the guys from CarWow tried to find out. The BMW M8 Competition has 625 PS and 750 Nm (553 lb-ft) of torque at its disposal. It also comes with all-wheel drive and a claimed 0-62 mph of 3.2 seconds. Those are impressive numbers but the cars lining up alongside it here are mostly even faster in theory. The Audi R8 is the biggest threat here, the supercar from Ingolstadt havi...

Check Out This Hope Green Wrapped G20 BMW 3 Series So far, we’re big fans of the new G20-generation BMW 3 Series. It’s been an improvement over the previous F30-generation in every single way; both objectively and subjectively. It’s more fun to drive, faster, more engaging, packed with better tech, better built and, one can’t forget, better looking. The new G20 is actually one of the better looking 3 Series’ in history, with its E46-style notched headlights and funky Hofmeister Kink. Like all great 3 Series’, though, it looks best in interesting colors, such as this “Hope Green” wrapped G20. In these photos, we see a wrap job that makes a G20 BMW 3 Series very, very green. The body color is something called “Hope Green”, which ...

This BMW X5 looks stunning in Verde Ermes Individual color One of the best BMW Individual colors we’ve seen recently is Verde Ermes. Last week, it was a BMW M340i Touring that graced us with the stunning color. A few days later, we posted BMW X5 on our Instagram page featuring the very same color. This particular BMW X5 in Verde Ermes hails from Breeman BMW, a dealership in Rotterdam, Netherlands. BMW Individual paintwork guarantees an impression of exclusivity at first glance. In some cases, the application of up to seven layers of paint and the addition of special color pigments make for intriguing iridescent effects, exceptional brilliance and unmatched depth. It’s the very same case with Verde Ermes, a deep green color that shines under bright lights and is subdued when...

VIDEO: Let Us Show You the Gorgeous BMW M850i Gran Coupe Since it made its debut, I’ve personally felt that the BMW M850i Gran Coupe has been the brand’s best looking car since the 6 Series Gran Coupe. In fact, I think the new 8er is even better looking than its lesser-numbered predecessor. My first experience with the 8 Series Gran Coupe in general was a few months back, during BMW’s “Test Fest” in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Though my drive was brief, I immediately felt that it was the best iteration of the 8 Series. More recently, I had one for a week to test out, over Christmas break. During my week with it, the BMW M850i Gran Coupe only further cemented my opinion that it’s the best non-M version of the 8er. Because the entire 8 Series lineup is...

ALPINA explains the extensive pre-production testing phase Prior to entering production, new ALPINA models are subjected to an extensive array of endurance tests and fine-tuning procedures. Through these tests, ALPINA aims to deliver an outstanding performance machine that meets the highest standard of the Buchloe-based tuner. The camouflaged ALPINA test prototypes are deployed into various locations all over the globe. For example, the pre-series vehicles endure extreme heat conditions in the Death Valley, where temperatures often exceeds a scorching 50 degrees Celsius. They also undergo thorough cold weather testing sessions in the Rocky Mountains, near the Pikes Peak. For the chassis and high-speed development, the future vehicles are deployed on the Pista di Nardo circuit, in Italy....

BMW to support one million children gain access to education by 2025 Today is the United Nations International Day of Education and BMW decided to make an announcement to mark the occasion properly. The German group will be supporting one million children and young people get access to educational projects around the world by 2025. BMW had already been involved in various similar projects around the world but today the Munich-based technology company decided to ramp up its efforts. On a global scale, this will be a small contribution considering UNESCO estimates over 260 million children still don’t have access to education. Even so, some action is better than nothing and the BMW Group will be focusing on supporting one million children through targeted educational projects by 202...

With the MINI Electric in Alps: from Munich to Sölden without recharge The new all-electric MINI Cooper SE is the ideal companion for short city getaways. On a single battery recharge, you can leave Munich to visit the beautiful Alpine winter resort of Sölden, which is precisely 200 kilometers away, in Austria. Depending on road and weather conditions, the new MINI Cooper SE will boast a pure electric somewhere between 235 kilometers and 270 kilometers, so the 200-kilometer trip from the Bavarian capital city up to Austrian ski resort of Sölden shouldn’t be a problem to cover without recharging the battery. In the new MINI Cooper SE, the high-voltage Li-Ion battery benefits from a state-of-the-art compact construction. The floor architecture allows for an optimal instal...

BMW Abu Dhabi dealership exhibits a BMW X5 xDrive40i with AC Schnitzer accessories The new BMW X5 xDrive40i with AC Schnitzer aero accessories is the new star at the renowned Abu Dhabi dealership. The Bavarian SAV is featured in a decisively powerful M Spot package and the exclusive Phytonic Blue exterior colour, which first debuted the G01 X3. This shade extracts the best of the shape of the X5 and further individualize its muscular design. The M Sport package is used to make the X5 look even more powerful. The mighty kidney grille is fully covered in chrome, rendering the business class SAV an elegantly unique aura. The car sits on a pair of 22-inch code 742 M alloy wheels with bicolor finish and double-spoke design. What impresses most on the exterior of the petrol engine-powered X5...

Richard Hammond bought the BMW-powered Morgan Plus Six As a car enthusiast, it’s hard to not love Morgan. It’s a hilariously quirky and unusual automaker that makes some of the most interesting cars on the planet. It uses old-fashioned techniques, such as using wood for some of the body construction, combined with new-school techniques, such as using aluminum chassis. As BMW enthusiasts, though, Morgan holds a special place in our hearts, as its cars often use BMW engines. This latest one, the Morgan Plus Six, uses a BMW B58 engine and The Grand Tour’s Richard Hammond has just taken delivery of one. Hammond’s specific Morgan Plus Six was spec’d by the DriveTribe audience, as he previously posted a video of his ordering process and let viewers choose options...

BMW X2 M35i joins Pure models line-up in Australia The guys from BMW Australia might be on to something with their Pure models. After initially unveiling Pure models solely for the M3 and M4 the people in the Land Down Under realized they might be selling more cars by applying this recipe to a wider range. Therefore, they started configuring cars with less optional features on so that they could sell them at a lower price. The latest to join the bandwagon is the BMW X2 M35i. As you may already know, prices for luxury cars in Australia are pretty high. At the same time, most cars come already equipped with a lot of features. However, some people prefer to save some money, if possible, and go for something cheaper as they don’t need all the tech a BMW can offer. That’s what th...

BMW i8 vs Acura NSX vs Lexus LC500h vs Polestar 1 — Motor Trend Test We recently said goodbye to the BMW i8, as we learned of its upcoming departure from BMW’s lineup. When the i8 first hit the scene back in 2014, it was mind-blowing, thanks to its sci-fi looks and hybrid powertrain. Now, though, it actually seems a bit old-hat (except for its looks, which are still from another world) compared to its more modern competitors. In a recent comparison test from Motor Trend, we take a look at the BMW i8 Coupe, the Lexus LC500h, Polestar1 and newly refreshed Acura NSX. All of which are high-performance hybrids and all of which are very expensive. But which one is best? Surprisingly, the BMW i8 doesn’t finish last in this test. We won’t spoil all of the results but we will s...

Norway Postcards: BMW X3 joins Traveller’s Tales team to help explore Norway “Norway Postcards” is the latest creation of Traveller’s Tales, in which the duo consisting of Stanly and Katya have explored the fascinating Scandinavian country at the wheel of a BMW X3. Norway is fascinating and vivid country with breathtaking landscapes and rewarding roads that fulfill the passionate’s desire for driving pleasure. The fjord regions, the Atlantic Ocean Road or the bendy passes across the country make it an ideal destination for explorers and frequent travelers. The creative couple behind “Traveller’s Tales”, Stanly and Katya, embarked on a 3,000 km journey to create a new movie in their famous travel show. This time, the chosen country was Norway. Th...

SPIED: Forthcoming G23 BMW 4 Series Convertible spotted once again The new generation of the BMW 4 Series Convertible will be premiered this year towards falls. Till then, camouflaged test prototypes are continuing the street experimental phase. The start of production for the upcoming G23 generation of the open-top 4 Series is planned for November 2020, with market launch following shortly thereafter. Recently, a camouflaged G23 prototype has been scooped in Germany, revealing more interesting details of the exterior styling (as we don’t own the photos, you can view them here). What if the BMW Concept 4 had even bigger grilles? We note that the heavy cladding of the early test vehicles has been shed off and now we get to see more of the Concept 4-inspired design philosophy. The ...

Video: 2020 BMW 7 Series Reviewed against a 2001 model One of the biggest criticisms the new BMW 7 Series had to deal with when it was launched was, of course, the new front fascia. Namely, the new kidney grilles. They are pretty big compared to anything else BMW has ever done. They could even give the new BMW X7 a run for its money. Therefore, a lot of people have rushed to the past of the Bavarian car maker to find cars that had ‘normal’ kidney grilles. Going back to the 1990s you’ll find probably the most loved 7 Series BMW ever made: the E38 generation. That car wrote history in a number of ways but the biggest advantage it has over all other 7ers is the cool factor. That cool factor didn’t just happen over night though, it was the results of the car being fe...