The 2013 BMW 7 Series has an appointment for some cosmetic surgery, according to a report in Car & Driver. The restyle will be minimal, with detail changes around the fascia going just far enough to let other 7 Series owners know that you have the latest model.
Read More »

The relentless expansion of M-engineered and branded wares doesn’t just stop at the M diesel quadruplets and the M135i. Here in Geneva, BMW announced the latest line of M performance parts that spans the spectrum from appearance bits to powertrain upgrades.
Read More »

The E90-chassis M3 is nearing the end of its production run, as BMW readies a new model based on the redesigned-for-2012 F30 3 Series. As is typical when there’s a tantalizing new version coming, sales and marketing feel the need to goose the current model to maintain interest. Here in the States, we saw something like that in the M3 Competition Edition, while BMW’s British outpost is readying its own exclusive model, the Limited Edition 500.

Available as either a coupe or convertible, the Limited Edition 500 will be unsurprisingly limited to 500 cars. Each will receive a “laser cut” trim piece on the dash identifying it as such, and the palette will consist of just three colors: Imola Red, Mineral White or Santorini Blue. Other than that, there’s not much to report here, as the Limited Edition 500 is mechanically identical to the bog-standard M3, which is to say both wonderfully precise and rev-happy.

The big attraction, then, is the bundled equipment, which BMW describes as “well over £4,000 worth of additional equipment included for only £1,000.” So some quick back-of-the-envelope math says those cheeky Brits are just offering a $4,500 discount on a nicely optioned M3. List price for the coupe is £55,690 (some $88,000 – including Britain’s infamous Value Added Tax), while the convertible runs £59,785 (almost $95,000).
Read More »

Over at Chevrolet HQ, the bubbly is flowing like high-octane unleaded. Of all the sports cars sold in the U.S. in 2011, 30 percent were either a Camaro or Corvette. Woo hoo! *POP!*

Take that, Ford Mustang! Take that, Dodge Challenger! Take that, um, Hyundai Veloster? and Honda CR-Z? Yeah, Camaro trounced all y’all! Beat Mustang by almost 18,000 cars and the Dodge Challenger by, wow, more than 48,000 units! And don’t even think about lining up your CR-Z next to a Camaro, ’cause you’ll get smoked!

In the big-ticket sports car class, the Corvette is still king. In fact, nearly as many Vettes were sold in 2011 as the Porsche 911, BMW 6 Series and the Z4 combined.

But back to the Camaro. Why is the (at minimum) 323-horsepower Camaro listed alongside the relatively anemic 122-hp Honda and 138-hp Hyundai? Smoke and mirrors from Chevy? Maybe, but probably not. They’re all two-door coupes… except for the Veloster which has three. They’re also all available in red and considered compact cars by the EPA…. except for the CR-Z, which is a two-seater. More likely, the three are in the same GM target market of 25-40-year-old males… who want to get 40 mpg while going 150 mph with the convenience of a hatchback?
Read More »

BMW may be a German automaker, but it is no stranger to the allure of British motoring. Several years before buying Rolls-Royce, the Anglophiles in Munich bought the entire Rover Group – a collection of British marques of which BMW kept some and eventually sold others. MG it sold to the Chinese, Land Rover was eventually bought by Indian automaker Tata, but it famously relaunched the Mini brand, and along with it, kept the rights to Riley and Triumph, two dormant brands it did not sell off alongside Austin, Morris and Wolesley.

Ever since, BMW has been rumored to be preparing to relaunch the Triumph brand, but over a decade later, nothing has materialized. Proposals were reportedly made to market a cheaper version of the Z4 as a Triumph, or label the new Mini Roadster as a Triumph – a proposal rejected by existing Mini dealers who weren’t eager to launch separately branded showrooms.

A new report emanating from the UK, however, indicates that BMW filed a new patent for the Triumph name that would extend not only to vehicles, but also all manner of branded merchandise from watches and jewelry to luggage and even Christmas tree decorations.

Whether BMW has any immediate plans to produce any actual automobiles under the Triumph name remains to be seen, but the merchandizing campaign can’t be good news for the motorcycle manufacturer of the same name that has had the brand all to itself for the past few decades now.

[Source:Autoblog]

BMW hasn’t announced it yet, but sources familiar with BMW’s production plans have told Autoblog that the M135i concept, which will be shown at the Geneva Motor Show, will go into production.

The 1 Series hatch with M Performance modifications and a gas-powered, turbocharged inline six will send 300+ horsepower to its 18-inch wheels in either rear-wheel drive or xDrive configurations. According to Autoweek it will perform much like the 1M Coupe, getting from standstill to 62 mph in under five seconds.

Continental Europe will get it for sure, but markets like the UK won’t since xDrive isn’t yet compatible with right-hand-drive. The UK market has been told that only the X models will have all-wheel drive until the next-gen 5 Series arrives. We’re probably out in the cold as well, but we’ll know more in Geneva.

[Source:Autoblog]

And here we thought we already knew about everything BMW planned to bring to the 2012 Geneva Motor Show. We were wrong. The German automaker has announced that it will debut a new M135i Concept, marking the first time it has paired a gasoline-burning engine with its new M Performance moniker.

We’ll get to the powertrain in a moment, but first, take note of the three-door hatchback body. Up until now, we’ve only seen the 2012 1 Series in five-door form, and while the M135i is officially a concept, we’d expect the production version to rock this basic shape, sans the enlarged air intakes up front and the rest of the body kit.

BMW says the three-door 1 Series has “a more dynamic and elongated appearance” than its five-door sibling, pointing to details like its rising character line, frameless windows and “powerfully flared wheel arches” as unique elements. We won’t argue any of that, but we’re still not entirely sold on the new 1er’s nostrils.
Read More »