BMW News (All news and spy shots here please)

[Bernardo]

Originally Posted by 5vz-fe ^On the bright side, at least it's better looking than the X3 ....

Are you sure??

[deuces]

of ALL the colours...

[ae86_16v]

Oh my, that is really disgusting. It seems like that the news has not reach across the pond yet: "SUVs are dead." That is unless this "thing" does 35mpg. . .

They canceled the M1 (Hommage), they canceled the E92 M3 CSL, to make more of this?!?!

[blue8]

^It's a shame BMW's expanding their SUV range instead of focusing on their motorsport heritage.

Originally Posted by deuces of ALL the colours...

Indeed it's a terrible choice!
How about silver? Looks slightly better

[deuces]

it definitely looks better in that colour but really still not my cup of tea. the rear section reminds me of the Infiniti FX50. i'm a big BMW fan but recently the direction they are going leaves me wondering what they are thinking. cancel the CSL and then make this? seems like the brand is getting diluted to me...hopefully they prove me wrong.

[pitfield]

New 6 series....

http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsAr...Series/235689/

Is BMW replacing the 6-series cabriolet with a coupé-cabriolet?
These are the first pictures of the next BMW 6-series, spied on test in Munich. Although at first glance the car looks like it has a fabric roof closer inspection shows that the cloth is probably a fake.
>> See more spy shots of the next BMW 6-series
The rear glass on the next 6-series is the wrong shape for a cabrio and the fabric around the rear side window appears to be loose and ill-fitting, which you wouldn’t expect to see on a car with a real fabric roof.
BMW would not confirm or deny the 6-series as a folding hardtop, but the firm has moved most of its convertible models to folding hardtops – the 3-series cabrio and the next Z4 are both coupe cabrios.
The new 6-series is also significantly less radical looking than the current model. Like the new 7-series, it does away with most of the controversial surfacing and detailing that has typified the last seven years of BMW design in favour of a smoother look.
The 6-series’s most distinctive feature – the bustle boot – has gone, replaced by a much more conventional design partially dictated by the large, flat rear deck that lifts to accommodate the roof. The car now has the rising waistline of a coupe-cabrio.
At the front the wide double kidney grille gets even wider, although this car has a fake one-piece mesh grille. The production vehicle will use a grille similar to the Concept CS’s. Underneath the car is again based on the 5-series, in this case the next-generation car that will be launched next year.
By using the big selling 5-series as a basis for the 6-series, BMW can charge a premium for a car that has already had most of the costly development work done. As with the current 6-series, we expect the new car to be launched about a year behind its saloon cousin, meaning that it should be here in 2010.
And despite the opinion-polarising looks, the 6-series has proved popular, outselling the Mercedes SL. European sales to August reached 5152, up on 4520 in the same period in 2007. The SL managed 4155 and 3321.

[Bernardo]

BMW Performance releases 3-Series tease video BMW’s 3-Series has always been considered one of the most well rounded performance cars on the road, but it appears as though BMW is preparing to one-up the 3-Series’ credentials. BMW Performance released a teaser video on Tuesday, hinting at a new performance model of the 3-Series. While the video doesn’t give much away, you can clearly see the car in question is a four-door version of the 3-Series. The front end doesn’t appear to be that of an M3 and the car’s single outlet exhaust seems to hint at the 328 model. However, the video does show a few carbon fiber bits, which could possibly indicate the long-rumor tii version of the 3-Series. What surprise BMW Performance has up its sleeve, we won’t have to wait long – BMW says it will fully reveal the new model by the end of the month. As always, stay tuned.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nm9KA...ase-video.html

I always thought that the only perfomance package offered from BMW was from their M division, never heard of something like that..

[pitfield]

a 328i is the same as euro spec 330!? They have twin exhaust outlets, as does the 325i which is the same engine just minus the power. The M3 has quad tips.

[HeilSvenska]

Originally Posted by Bernardo I always thought that the only perfomance package offered from BMW was from their M division, never heard of something like that..

It's like Audi's S-Line. Mostly show and no real go. I believe the Performance moniker also applies to the 1-Series "tii" conversion.

[pitfield]

Like an MSport in europe?

[HeilSvenska]

Yeah, I guess.

[ae86_16v]

Originally Posted by HeilSvenska It's like Audi's S-Line. Mostly show and no real go. I believe the Performance moniker also applies to the 1-Series "tii" conversion.

Great way for them to make money. It does dilute the brand a bit.

[Bernardo]

Photo of Showroom Ready BMW Z4 Sneaks out of Dealership The first photo of a ready-to-sell BMW Z4 has leaked out of an undisclosed dealership. Not meant to be seen by the public until December 15th, the picture shows the final draft of the shiny roadster. The BMW Z4 will sport an electro-mechanical differential called sDrive, and will likely have an additional engine option in addition to those already available. This new Z4 is thought to have 2.0-, 2.5-, and 3.0-litre engines, as well as a 3.0-litre twin turbo, and a massive 4.0-litre V8 from the M division. Still uncertain is the auto show which will receive the new Z4 on a pedestal for its adoring public. The appearance of this photo makes us suspect a Detroit appearance may be imminent. The new BMW Z4 will be produced at the Regensburg plant in Germany. The previous version was produced in Spartanburg.

There's something wrong with it...the grill size at least its ok, but the headlights apparently are taken from the 3 series and tweaked to it..i dont really like it...they should've used the new 7 series headlights as a base instead..

[HeilSvenska]

[Bernardo]

The low-slung four-seater was intended as a rival for the Maserati Quattroporte and upcoming Porsche Panamera. The company said it no longer expects to break last year's sales record of 1.5 million vehicles in 2008 and product initiatives will now focus on more efficient smaller cars. The Concept CS, which takes its name from highly styled BMWs of the 1960s, is longer, wider and lower than BMW’s current flagship saloon, the 7-Series. It was first shown to the public at the Shanghai Auto Show in spring this year as Asia is likely to account for a big piece of any future growth in sales of high-end luxury cars. The CS’s most striking feature is a long, low, flowing roof, which inevitably leads to comparisons with recent 'four-door coupes' – notably the Mercedes-Benz CLS, Aston Martin Rapide and Porsche Panamera. But the CS is neither cut nor stretched. “It was conceived holistically as a four-door saloon,” Chris Bangle said in Shanghai. “It is not a chopped or stretched anything.” The CS’s long hood suggests a powerful engine. The face is aggressive, with a hooded, intent look to the headlights. Large air openings below the front grille seem connected to like-styled apertures for the exhaust in the rear. In between, swollen rocker panels leave the impression that the entire body rides on twin tubes. Other details are more delicate. There is an echo of BMW’s hallmark roof-pillar shape impressed in the sheet metal. There is a reference to the Z8 in the front lights. The area around the stylized kidney shapes of the grille is delicately modelled; the taillights are stretched and lightened.

Those renderings scared me, and I have the feeling that If this Is indeed the production form of the CS concept, It won´t look much better that that (judging by the 7-series).

Anyway, If they said that it was cancelled and now they changed theirs minds, then maybe there´s still hope for the M3CSL!!