Auto and Cars

Confirmed: BMW i4 with 600 km range and 530 horsepower Not long ago we reported that the upcoming BMW i4 might have an electric range of 600 km (373 miles) and 390 kW / 530 horsepower. That rumor was confirmed today by the Germans themselves. The company issued a press release with a couple more specs of the upcoming BEV raising the hype around the BMW i4 even more. There were even more interesting tidbits to be picked out from the release as well, mentions of the upcoming 4 Series and 3 Series models. According to BMW, the upcoming BMW i4 is built atop the same platform as the 3 Series, 4 Series Coupe, 4 Series Convertible and 4 Series Gran Coupe models. This could very well be used as a confirmation of the fact that the 4 Series Gran Coupe will live on for another generation. The i4 w...

We visited the 2019 Seattle Auto Show and captured on video For the past few weeks CenturyLink Field Event Center in Seattle has been the focus point for hundreds of vendors, suppliers, builders, and sponsors, all buzzing around prepping for the 2019 Edition of the Seattle International Auto Show. This past weekend, yours truly took a brief tour to check out some of the 2020 models, and I decided to document it all via a brisk 4K walkthrough video which you can enjoy below:   With over 500 vehicles present, there was no shortage in sheet metal (or aluminum, or carbon fiber, or, well you get the idea) on display. Cars, trucks, SUVs, crossovers, high-end exotics and ultra-luxurious models spanning automotive brands from all over the world could be enjoyed, sat-in, played with, and photog...

5 Reasons to Own an E30 M3 – The Iconic Bimmer BMW has had several absolutely iconic cars over its 100 years of existence. Not only that but there’s been iconic cars in several different decades, proving that the brand has consistently made excellent and highly desirable cars. But quite possibly the most iconic of them all is the E30 M3. The E30 M3 is considered to be one of the finest driving machines of all time and is well-known and highly regarded by all car enthusiasts. So, obviously, it doesn’t take much convincing for an enthusiast to own one. In theory. In practice, it’s actually quite difficult to own an E30 BMW M3 because of its high price tag and high cost of ownership. But here are five reasons why you should put one in your garage if you have the funds to do so. 5. Pure Dri...

TEST DRIVE: BMW M850i Gran Coupe — Four is Better Than Two For proper grand touring, you want something that’s capable of eating hundreds of miles in a single jaunt and do so in style, comfort and speed. The typical example of automotive grand touring consists of driving through Europe in a long, two-door performance machine that’s equal parts sporty and luxurious. There are a few cars that give that typical GT example a twist, some working out better than others. What if, though, you take an already excellent GT and give it some more practicality? That’s exactly what BMW did with the M850i Gran Coupe. The standard BMW M850i is an already excellent GT. It’s brutally fast, effortlessly comfortable and stylish. Adding two more doors and some added practicality doesn’t seem like it would a...

What’s included in the BMW Warranty from the factory in 2019 The BMW Warranty from the factory has always been regarded as one of the best in the industry. For many years, BMW touted their free maintenance of 4-years or 50,000 miles program which was a great selling point for the company in the US. Everything was covered on new BMWs – wiper blades, brake pads, rotors and scheduled service. But in 2017, the program changed, inline with the competitors in the premium segment. Since some of you might be in the market for a new BMW, we put together a short guide on the BMW Warranty in 2019. BMW Warranty On New Cars The following applies to vehicles sold in the United States. According to BMW of North America, the New BMW Warranty program includes a limited warranty against defects in materi...

Ford Mustang Mach-E joins the electric SUV segment An unfortunate leak has given us an early view of one of LA Auto Show’s big reveals – The Ford Mustang Mach-E. According to Jalopnik, the new electric crossover was bound to be unveiled on November 17th, but a web development error allowed for some images and info to be scooped up ahead of time. The new crossover is an all-electric car which will arrive in the United States by 2021. The Ford Mustang Mach E is rumored to come in five trims staring at a base price of $43,895, with the most expensive variant priced at $60,500. This puts Ford in the premium segment of electric crossovers, along with the Audi e-tron Q5, Jaguar i-Pace, Tesla Model S (even though priced higher) and the upcoming BMW iX3. Many other automakers are expecting to r...

Marc Márquez wins the BMW M Award in MotoGP and a BMW X4 M Marc Márquez was crowned world champion for the eighth time in total, and the sixth time at the pinnacle of motorcycle racing – MotoGP. In 2019, he was also the fastest qualifier in MotoGP for the seventh year in a row, extending his record winning run in the BMW M Award. Therefore, the M brand awarded the Spaniard a BMW X4 M Competition painted in Toronto Red. It was presented to Márquez in Valencia by Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of MotoGP commercial rights holder Dorna Sports, Markus Flasch, CEO of BMW M GmbH, and Manuel Terroba, CEO of BMW Group Spain and Portugal. “I would like to thank BMW M GmbH for the great way in which they have recognises our performances at the track for many years, and how they reward the season’s best qu...

VIDEO REVIEW: BMW Z4 M40i — The Sport BMW Roadster is Back! After a week long of test driving, we’re now ready to give our video review of the BMW Z4 M40i Roadster. The written review was published a while back, and you can catch it here. Before we let you jump into the video, lets do a quick recap of the car tested as well as of the driving impressions. Powering the BMW Z4 M40i is a 3.0 liter turbocharged inline-six engine making 382 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque and I can honestly think of no better engine for it. In a car as small and light as the Z4, the B58 engine turns it into a hot-road. All of its torque comes on like a sledgehammer, from low in the rev range all the way until its peak horsepower kicks in at the top half of the tach. From there, it keeps pulling and the BMW Z4 M40i...

2019 BMW X7 xDrive40i Review – Bigger and Better Looking at the BMW X7 in pictures you might not consider it to be a big deal. You’d be wrong though and it would become hilariously obvious the moment you met one in real life. The keyword in that first sentence is ‘big’ as this car is worthy of all sorts of comparisons that would put it right up there next to ‘Gargantuan’ or ‘Goliath’. To get a better idea as to how big this car is, you need to know that the Bavarians had to make a bigger than usual badge for the hood, in order to save the regular sized roundels from the humility of looking puny next to those huge kidney grilles. So yes, everything about this car simply screams XXL in all areas. Even BMW themselves say this is the biggest car they ever made. And that caused a bit of a st...

BMW X1 vs Audi Q3 — Car and Driver Crossover Battle As a car enthusiast, you might hate small premium crossovers. It’s not uncommon to throw criticism at these relatively boring and unimaginative people movers but the truth of the matter is that they sell and sell well. So automakers are going to keep making them and they’re going to keep selling them. Which makes them important, like it or not. But the real question is: which one is best? In this new test from Car and Driver, we take a look at the two best; the BMW X1 and Audi Q3. What’s interesting about this test is the age difference between both cars. The BMW X1 is a quite a few years old now, even though it has received a facelift. Fun fact: the pre-LCI BMW X1 is the first BMW I ever tested on a press launch. That’s how old it is....

BMW i3 Charging – The Charging Guide So you have decided to go electric – great news, and in buying a BMW i3 you have managed to get one technically sophisticated machine that accelerates and handles quite well. But, one nagging question lingers, how long does it take to charge up between drives? We put together a BMW i3 charging guide to answer some of your questions. Battery Capacity and Charging Times The charging time of your BMW i3 depends on the capacity of the battery pack in Watt/hours, the remaining charge level in the battery pack, and the level of charging available. A good source for determining the worst case charging scenarios is your owner’s manual. But there are some off-the-cuff ways of determining how long it will take to recharge your particular car that we will explo...

SPIED: BMW i4 caught in camouflage, lookin’ good The upcoming BMW i4 is going to be the brand’s first all-electric sedan and one that will target mainstream customers and EV fans alike. Finally, BMW will have a pure battery electric vehicle (BEV) that’s actually a normal car, rather than a funky hatchback or bloated crossover. Some new spy photos have also just surfaced showing off a rather handsome design. (We don’t own the photos but see them here) Sure, the BMW i3 is a cool car and the upcoming iNEXT will likely be quite interesting but it’s nice to BMW making an EV that actually looks like a proper BMW. This new BMW i4 will be based on the same modular architecture as the upcoming 4 Series Gran Coupe and it will share a lot of that car’s exterior styling. So it will look quite good,...

Noelle Performance Engineering gives 830 hp and 780 lb-ft to F10 M5 Noelle Performance Engineering, a division of Noelle Motors, shares with us the story of an F10 BMW M5 project with 830 horsepower and 780 lb-ft of torque. The story goes back to 2012 when Ron got his F10 M5 delivered through the Performance Center in Spartanburg, SC. Being friends with Karl-Otto Noelle, the founder of Noelle Motors in Buchloe, Germany, Ron decided to perform some aftermarket work on his F10 M5. The S63 engines in the M5 were not easy to tune. At that time, the only thing that could be done was to remove the computers, drill two small holes in exact locations to perform what is called BDM programming. The procedures was done this way because the control units are water-cooled and cannot be opened witho...

BMW Films Showed the World What a Car Commercial Could Be All true, dyed in the wool BMW fans are aware of BMW Films. In fact, most car enthusiasts in general are aware of BMW Films. Not only that but most car enthusiasts love that BMW Films ever existed because its very existence changed how the world perceived car commercials and what they could be. This entire campaign was started by Fallon Minneapolis and David Lubars back in 2001. They both knew that the landscape for automotive advertising was changing and they wanted to shake things up. “Even back then the potential BMW customer was watching less TV and spending more and more time online. It was simply a case of let’s go where they are.” said Lubars. To help kick-start BMW Films, Minneapolis brought in famous director David Finc...

Markus Duesmann: Former BMW CEO becomes new Audi CEO What has been whispered for months, it’s now official: Markus Duesmann will be the new Audi CEO. The former BMW purchasing director was brought to Ingolstadt by the Volkswagen Group in the summer of 2018, but due to a competition clause in his contract with BMW, he was initially not allowed to work for Audi. As of April 2020, Duesmann will take over at thee new boss at Audi, following Bram Schot, who is leaving the company at the end of March. Initially, Schot had been acting only in a provisional role because former Audi CEO Rupert Stadler was investigated for several months as part of the diesel scandal. The former BMW board member Markus Duesmann will take on a difficult task in April 2020 with the company still dealing with the e...

Report: BMW i4 – 80kWh battery, 530 hp, 373-mile range Earlier this year, we have exclusively revealed some of the tech details around the upcoming BMW i4, the new four-door coupe with the latest BMW EV drivetrain. Today, a new report from CNET comes to confirm our previous statements. According to the US outlet, the BMW i4 will come with an 80kWh battery producing about 390 kilowatts – around 530 horsepower. Accelerating to 62 mph will take about 4 seconds flat, and the BMW i4 will have an electronically limited top speed of 120 mph. This new piece on information matches our previous report, even though we believe that a BMW i4 60kWh version will be offered as well, similar to Tesla’s product lineup. Next on the list of reveals from CNET is the battery packs used in the BMW i4 which o...

BMW M2 CS – Configure Online Your New Clubsport Coupe In less than a week, BMW M will introduce their latest baby: the new BMW M2 CS. Short for Clubsport, the BMW M2 CS will have its public debut at the 2019 Los Angeles Auto Show, and a few months after, it will find its way on the track for some press test drives. You might have seen our coverage of the M2 CS, but in case you missed that, here it is. Before its public unveil, several BMW configurators have just gone online giving us a closer look at the small set of customizations for the M2 CS. Compared to other BMW models, the features and options list of the BMW M2 CS is not that extensive. There are basically four exterior colors – Misano Blue, Sapphire Black, Hockenheim Silver and Alpine White – and one interior option in black. ...

BMW Group premieres the Battery Cell Competence Centre in Munich Paving the way to the electromobility of the future begins at its most microscopic level: the battery cell. BMW Group is the very first automotive constructor which has developed pioneering Competence Center where it will master the electric batteries that will completely reshape the industry. The fundamental breakthrough in the science of battery cell architecture will be the augmentation of the electric cell density, which will potentially the battery output, the storage capacity and, inevitably, it will dramatically improve the electric driving range. Present at the opening of the new high-tech battery cell Competence Centre in Munich, BMW chairman Oliver Zipse acknowledged: “The new Battery Cell Competence Centre puts ...

Amazon documentary shows intensive technology transfer during Formula E project Amazon got behind the scenes into the world of Formula E and asked BMW i Motorsport to showcase the strong link between motorsport and automotive electric technology development. The online documentary which is available on the Amazon websites from Germany, UK and USA pictures the huge team effort and the success of the BMW iFE.18 in the first race of the 2018-2019 season, the first single-seater for the Formula E competition developed entirely by BMW. Formula E, like Formula 1, is used as a test bed for the development of future electric powertrains. BMW i Motorsport makes no exception to this rule, as the iFE competition cars are the most relevant testing platform for high-performance technologies that are...

[To publish] VIDEO: Markus Flasch introduces the new M8 Gran Coupe (F93) BMW M CEO Markus Flasch introduces the all-new M8 Gran Coupe (F93) alongside its Coupe and Convertible siblings. Now, the high-end fleet of performance luxury models is complete. The 4-minute video takes a tour of the complete M8 lineup with Mr. Flasch presenting the latest masterpieces of his division. The first is the M8 Competition Coupe (F92) showcased in BMW Individual Malachite Green metallic color, followed by the M8 Competition Convertible (F91) specced in BMW Individual Frozen Silver paint finish and, last but surely not least, the new M8 Competition Gran Coupe (F93) adorned in a deep BMW Individual Ametrin metallic shade. The new M8 Gran Coupe rounds up beautifully the fleet M at the upper end of the BMW...

Jaguar Land Rover Parent Company Approached BMW for Potential Sale I’d hate to say I called it but… I called it. Back when we learned that BMW was partnering with Jaguar Land Rover on some EV technology, I said that I had wanted BMW just to buy JLR outright. While such an idea was unrealistic at the time, some reports had followed that with rumors of a potential acquisition of JLR by BMW. Though, those rumors seemed unfounded and purely speculative. Until now, that is. To be honest, an outright sale of the Jaguar Land Rover brands is unlikely, as JLR parent company Tata Motors isn’t really looking to sell it. However, Tata has recently reached out to several larger automotive brands for partnerships on JLR. Apparently, Tata knows that it can’t fix JLR with just money and needs some manu...

The Ultimate Track Day: BMW M5, M8, M340i, Z4 M40i, X4 M and MINI JCW At the 2019 BMW Test Fest – an event hosted by BMW USA – we got the chance to drive some of the latest and greatest BMWs. Some of the driving included a Track Day where we were fortunate to race the BMW M5, M8, M340i, Z4 M40i, X4 M and MINI JCW. The video below shows some of the footage captured at the event, including exhaust and engine sounds, some slides and lots of fun. Some of our reviews went live already, like the BMW M8 Competition Coupe and the M235i Gran Coupe. But we have a few more stories in the pipeline. This year’s star at the BMW Test Fest was the all-new BMW M8 Coupe, one of the most powerful cars in the BMW lineup. As Nico said in his review, “With 617 hp and 553 lb-ft of torque, from its 4.4 liter ...

Maybe BMW Shouldn’t be Afraid of the Tesla Model 3 After All? Just today, we reported on a Bloomberg piece claiming that BMW was the most vulnerable brand to Tesla’s current rise in customer popularity. To be honest, there seemed to be real concern for BMW, as it’s been losing 3 Series sales quite a bit in the past couple of years, as Tesla Model 3 sales have been rising. It also seemed as if BMW is the brand most customers are leaving to switch to a Tesla. However, this new piece from Business Insider actually argues the contrary. According to BI, BMW has nothing to fear from Silicon Valley. Sure, Tesla Model 3 sales are up but there are a myriad of reasons why that means almost nothing for BMW. For starters, Model 3 sales aren’t really eating into 3 Series sales for the simple fact th...

Auction: 1958 BMW 507 Could Fetch 2 Million Euros at RM Sotheby’s There were only 252 units over built, so that makes them some of the most special cars in the world. The classic cars in questions are the BMW 507 Roadsters which are the darling of the auction world. Earlier this year, a 1958 BMW 507 Roadster sold for $2.175 million at the RM Sotheby’s in Arizona. Next February, another 1958 BMW 507 goes up for auctioning at the RM Sotheby’s in Paris. This time, the car is expected to fetch between €1.7 million and €2 million (US$1.9 million and US$2.2 million). The auction house will offer a selection of 21 iconic and desirable motor cars, dubbed The Poster Car Collection as they were wall posters for car enthusiasts. Not the actual car going up for auction RM Sotheby’s Paris auction w...

Tesla Model 3 Owners Love Their Cars — Should BMW Be Worried? One of the most controversial and important cars of our time is the Tesla Model 3. While its ambition was admirable; offering customers a way to get into a premium electric sedan for $30,000; the execution didn’t quite stack up. Though, that’s not so much a fault with the car as much as it is a fault with Tesla’s owner’s hubris. Still, the Model 3 is a great car and one that is hugely important to the industry. So what is it actually like to own? Bloomberg recently surveyed 5,000 owners to find out. As it turns out, Tesla Model 3 owners love their cars. So much so, in fact, that they’re not only willing to buy another Tesla but that they’re unwilling to go back to whichever brand they came from. Not only that but the brand ow...

The BMW X3 M Competition is seriously fast — Car and Driver Test As we’ve already come to learn, the BMW X3 M Competition is very, very fast. Thanks to its 3.0 liter turbocharged straight-six, the X3 M Competition makes 503 hp and 442 lb-ft of torque. That puts it in line with cars like the Mercedes-AMG GLC63 S and the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio. According to BMW, it can get from 0-60 mph in 4.0 seconds. However, according to Car and Driver, it’s even quicker still and, more impressively, fast even when moving laterally. In C&D’s new instrumented testing, the BMW X3 M Competition rocketed from 0-60 mph in 3.3 seconds. That’s seriously fast and almost a full second faster than BMW claims. So that makes it among the fastest SUVs on the market, which is very impressive. Even more imp...

Video: How ALPINA grew from tuner to standalone manufacturer The ALPINA brand is one of the most beloved and respected not just by BMW fans but also by random gear heads. The company is widely known for its bespoke products and ALPINAs have sometimes been declared even better than their BMW alternatives. Those are facts. But how did this small tuner which wasn’t even into making cars at first become the symbol it is today? We find out thanks to the guys from Donut Media. They put together a video that goes over the history of the brand and how it managed to become so respected and so appreciated that it is now making its own cars on BMW’s assembly lines. That’s impressive, no matter who you are. It all started in the 1950s. Initially, ALPINA was a typewriter company founded by Rudolf Bo...

Video: Hoovie buys a V12 BMW 760Li for $4,500. What could go wrong? You might’ve heard of Tyler Hoovie if you’re one of our avid readers. He’s an automotive journalist writing for a number of magazines these days and he also has a Youtube channel where we get to see what cars he owns these days. After buying a BMW E60 M5 – the cheapest he could find – and selling it for a considerable loss, our good man decided to give it another go with a BMW, this time one powered by a V12. This wouldn’t be the first BMW V12-powered car he ever had as his garage also includes a Rolls-Royce Phantom that uses the exact same engine as the 7 Series he just purchased. To be more precise, this is an E66 BMW 760Li which is powered by the N73 engine. This was a naturally aspirated 6-liter V12 capable of deliv...

Video: Doug DeMuro dubs the BMW X3 M Competition his favorite SUV I honestly can’t believe how much good press the BMW X3 M Competition is getting. The car has been praised by almost every single journalist out there after its launch and Doug DeMuro is the latest to add his name on the list. In his latest Youtube video, he goes even a bit further, claiming the X3 M Competition is his favorite performance SUV. So what makes this new model from the M division so desirable and loved? Well, I reckon it has a lot to do with the fact that BMW never offered an M3 wagon and this thing is as close to that concept as it gets. It offers incredible performance along with increased practicality for those people out that that have stuff to carry around. It really offers you the best of both worlds. W...

VIDEO: How To Use The Climate Control in your new BMW The next How-To video shows us how to create an optimal climate in any new BMW. The Climate Control system can be accessed via the control bar placed underneath the central air vents. There are also two small displays showing the set temperature and the amount of ventilation. To obtain an efficient cooling or heating of the cabin, you should always use the automatic mode of the Climate Control system, which can be turned on by pressing the AUTO button. Through the dedicated buttons, you can set the desired temperature: press the temperature button on their upper side and the temperature will rise, while pressing the lower part will drop it. If you want to achieve a rapid cooling of the interior, you can press the MAX A/C button, whi...