Showing posts with label BMW M3. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BMW M3. Show all posts

Thursday, December 29, 2011

2014 BMW M4 / M3 Coupe Realistically Rendered


Its name and the type of engine that will lie under its hood may be debatable, but plans for a successor to today's M3 Coupe do exist. However, you'll have to wait at least until 2013 to see the high performance model in BMW's dealerships.

For those of you that just can't wait to get a peek at the next M3 Coupe or perhaps as we may come to know it, the M4, graphic designer Jacek Kolodziejczyk has put his skills to work developing a pretty realistic rendering of the coupe model.

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Thursday, December 15, 2011

SPY SHOTS: Six-Cylinder BMW M3 F30 Sedan Spotted on the Road


With the unveiling of the 2012 BMW 3 Series sedan all done and dusted, the Bavarian automaker's engineers have now turned their focus on the other variants of the F30 series including the flagship M3 sedan that was captured by our spies testing on the streets of Germany in a fairly light disguise.

While BMW has done its best to hide the most telling styling features of the M3 such as the shape of the front and rear bumpers, the pictures expose the car's muscular front and rear fenders that house larger alloy wheels and brake sets, as well as the beefier rocker panels.

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Monday, December 12, 2011

1999 Honda Civic Coupe "Converted to a 2011 BMW M3"


We know what some of you may be thinking upon viewing the pictures, and to answer your first question, no, this is not Acura's upcoming ILX luxury compact model that is slated to debut in Detroit in January. Instead, it's one of those bizarre creations we occasionally find over at the crazy world of Craigslist.

Much like the Saab 900S Convertible turned into a Cadillac of some sorts that we showed you last week, this 1999 Honda Civic Coupe is supposed to resemble a BMW.

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Friday, November 18, 2011

Premiere for BMW and BMW M Performance at the 2011 Essen Motor Show


November is shaping up to be by far the most intense motor show month of the year as we've already had two major events, the 2011 SEMA Show and this week's 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show, with two more heading our way, the 2011 Essen Motor Show and the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show.

The Essen Motor Show, which is the European equivalent of SEMA and takes place in Germany from November 26 to December 4, is up next. Today, BMW announced that its BMW Performance and BMW M Performance divisions will officially participate in the tuning show for the very first time (for those of you counting, we used the word "Show" 8 times, and the word "BMW" three times…in the same sentence).

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Sunday, November 6, 2011

2012 BMW M3 Coupe Competition Edition Limited to 40 Units for the U.S.


In 1972, BMW founded its M division, which quickly became one of the most successful sub-brands in the automotive world.

Today, in celebration of BMW M's upcoming 40th anniversary, the Bavarian company announced the launch of a limited run version of the M3 Coupe called the Competition Edition.

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Tuesday, September 6, 2011

CLP Automotive Builds a BMW M3 GT Replica with 600HP for the Road


German tuners have no problem taking their projects to the extreme. One such example is CLP Automotive's tuning proposal for the latest BMW M3 Coupe called the Interceptor that attempts to replicate the look and feel of the M3 GT racecar that recently participated in the 24 hours of Nürburgring where it finished in second place.

CLP Automotive begins with a wide body kit that adds blistered front and rear wheel arches together with matching rocker panels and bumpers, a new hood with additional vents and a central dome, plus a large fixed rear wing.

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Saturday, July 16, 2011

BMW Marks Returns to DTM with New M3 Coupe Concept Racer


New DTM racing cars are like public transportation: you wait for ages and then , all of a sudden, three or four buses appear at the same time. Just yesterday we posted Audi’s new entry into the German Touring Car Championship or, as it’s more commonly known, DTM (Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters). Today, BMW pulled the wraps off its new own DTM racer based on the coupe version of M3.

And mind you, unlike Audi, BMW revealed the M3 in the flesh clad in carbon fiber and looking quite menacing with its matte paint, flared wheel arches and aerodynamic package.

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Tuesday, July 12, 2011

UK Insurer Parts the Most Unreliable and Costly Car to Fix


In an article on a BMW-faced Honda Accord we found for sale on Craigslist back in 2008, we wrote that in a perfect world, our ultimate car would be “designed by Italians, engineered by Germans, built by Japanese and marketed by Americans”.

So, what’s the worst car one could imagine? Well, if we played around with the above statements, we’d say one designed by Japanese, engineered by Americans, built by Italians and marketed by Germans.

But UK insurance firm Warranty Direct had something a little bit different in mind. Instead of playing the origin card, the company decided to check out its database of 50,000 live policies on cars aged five years on average to part the UK’s most unreliable vehicle that would break down every other month and cost an average of £2,050 (equal to US$3,270 - €2,330) to fix each year.

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Monday, June 27, 2011

2011 24-hour Nürburgring Race: And the Winner is….


Porsche triumphed in the 2011 24 hours of Nürburgring, with the 911 GT3 RSR of Marc Lieb, Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Lucas Luhr crossing the line after 156 laps and 3,958.968 km (2,462.044 miles), a new record for the legendary endurance race in the demanding Nordschleife.

The Porsche 911 GT3 RSR first led the race at Saturday evening, at 23:25, and then its drivers held on to it for the following 16 hours and 35 minutes, or 108 laps.

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Friday, June 24, 2011

BMW Faces Problems at 24h Nürburgring Qualifier, M3 GT No7 Crashes


The first qualifying session for the 24 hours of Nürburgring did not go exactly as planned for Team BMW Motorsport, as the number 7 M3 GT driven by Dirk Muller crashed in the Karussell two hours into the session. Prior to that, the car was 8th overall, with Dirk Werner lapping the Nordschleife at 8:32.302. Read more »

BMW Launches Lighter and More Powerful New M3 CRT Special, Limited to 67 Units


This is BMW’s new hardcore M3 sedan, the CRT, which stands for Carbon Racing Technology. To be produced in a limited run, the M3 CRT was unveiled during a pre-race BMW M event ahead of this weekend’s Nürburgring 24-hour race.

The special edition model combines the body style of the M3 sedan with technology from the M3 GTS coupe, topped off with the use of carbon-fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) to further reduce the car’s weight.

BMW said the M3 CRT represents the worldwide debut of a new production process for carbon-fibre reinforced plastic components in the automotive industry, adding that we will see the same materials on the upcoming i3 EV hatchback and i8 hybrid sports coupe, due to enter volume production in 2013.

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Tuesday, June 21, 2011

VIDEO: Automobile Mag’s Take on the BMW 1 M Coupe vs M3 Debate


From the moment BMW introduced the new 1 M Coupe, it was more than evident that the smallest member of the Bavarian firm’s M family would be compared with the brand’s most illustrious product, the M3 Coupe.

Automobile Magazine’s West Coast Editor Jason Cammisa voiced his thoughts on the 1 M Coupe versus M3 debate in a rather amusing way during his first drive of the sports car in California.

The skinny? “If you want an M badge, go ahead and buy an M3. If you want what an M3 could be, buy one of these things [the 1 M Coupe]”. Follow the break to watch the full video.

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Monday, June 20, 2011

BMW to Debut New 2012 M5 Saloon at The Goodwood Festival of Speed


The all-new 2012 BMW M5 sports sedan will be making its first public appearance at The Goodwood Festival of Speed, which takes place in the UK between July 1 and 3, the German automaker announced today.

The most powerful production version of the M5 series to date comes with a high-revving 4.4-liter turbocharged V8 pumping out 560hp from 5,750-7,000rpm and 680Nm [501.5 lb-ft] of torque from 1,500rpm. It goes on sale this fall.

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Friday, June 10, 2011

BMW Launches New 2011 Frozen Black Edition M3 Coupe for North America, Costs $21,000 More!


BMW has dropped information on a new limited edition version of its M3 Coupe for the North American market. The 2011 BMW Frozen Black M3 Coupe will be available in a limited production run of 20 units for the USA, each priced at a hefty $79,650 (~€55,500), not including a $875 destination charge.

So what does a $21,000 premium over the standard M3 Coupe get you other than a very happy salesperson and an even merrier dealer? Well, in typical BMW fashion, not much as the special edition M3 Coupe is a cosmetic package with some minor mechanical upgrades.

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Saturday, June 4, 2011

BMW Introduces M3 Carbon Fiber Limited Edition, but Only for China


Chinese customers love a good limited edition model and BMW tries its best to keep them happy. Not long ago, BMW had released the China market-only M3 Matte Edition and M3 Tiger Edition. During the BMW M Legendary Experience event held in China last week, the Bavarian automaker lifted the covers off yet another special M3, the Carbon Fiber Limited Edition of which only 111 examples will be built at a price of 1.23 million yuan (approximately US$189,800 at today’s exchange rates) a piece. Read more »

Saturday, April 9, 2011

VIDEO: More Powerful and Lighter BMW M3 Sedan in the Works


During the M5 Concept and M3 Pick-Up presentation held by BMW's M division in Munich, the Bavarian carmaker also showed the M3 Sedan Concept, a more powerful track-focused version that could signal the return of the CSL badge, albeit in four-door trim.

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Monday, April 4, 2011

Video Tour of the Unmade BMW M Cars Including the M3 Tourer and Compact, Ur-Roadster and M5 Cabriolet


It is by far, the most sacred place for a BMW M fan. We’re talking about the BMW M Division’s underground facility where the company stores copies of all the production cars and prototypes it has ever built, including a variety of never before seen in public vehicles. In a surprising but much welcomed move, the German automaker recently opened the doors of the special M garage to the members of the press and select enthusiasts revealing an array of models that most had only heard about.

We already brought you a video of the wild M8 Coupe with the 580-horsepower V12 engine that was eventually used on the McLaren F1, but now we have several videos showcasing the entire lineup of M cars.

These include the E46 M3 Touring (BMW for station wagon), the E36 M3 Compact powered by the same 321HP straight-six from the M3 Coupe of the time, the E34 M5 Cabriolet with open-top seating for four, an M3 powered E30 ute and possibly the strangest creation yet, the so called Ur-Roadster. The latter is said to have been developed after the Z1 with power being delivered by the E30 M3’s 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine.

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Friday, April 1, 2011

BMW’s Awesome M3 Pickup Truck Packs 420HP and Close to 1,000 Pounds Load Capacity


Say hello to the automotive industry’s most expensive and elaborate April Fool’s Joke; the BMW M3 Pickup Truck. While other makers turn to photoshops, the Bavarian firm went ahead and developed an actual car, going as far as testing it on the Nurburgring race track.

The sport ute packs the same 420-horsepower 4.0-liter V8 engine under the bonnet as the rest of the M3 range, which includes the Coupe, Convertible and Sedan models, adding a rear-axle load capacity of up to 450 kilos or 992 pounds.

The load bed itself is clad in high-grade structured aluminium sheeting and provides the biggest cargo capacity ever offered on a M vehicle – up to 20 standard 46-inch golf bags, according to BMW. It’s also the first M3 to be equipped with a trailer tow hitch.

BMW said the kerb weight of the pickup undercuts that of the M3 Convertible by around 50 kilograms or 110 pounds. Interestingly, BMW’s designers also fitted the M3 Pickup Truck with a Targa top, which shaves another 20kg or 44 pounds and at the same time, lowers the car’s centre of gravity when removed.

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Monday, March 28, 2011

Vorsteiner Previews New Lightweight Carbon-Fiber Boot with CSL-Like Spoiler for BMW’s E93 3-Series Convertible


Tuning specialist Vorsteiner has given us a first glimpse of its upcoming carbon fiber boot lid for the latest BMW 3-Series Convertible [E93]. The new boot lid incorporates a built in “duck bill” spoiler similar to the one found on the BMW M3 CSL special of the E46 series. According to Vorsteiner, it will be lightest cabriolet boot lid available in the market to date, while the company added that all OE mount points will be carried over for uninterrupted usage of the folding hardtop mechanism. More photos after the jump. Read more »

BMW Introduces Yet Another Special Edition M3 Coupe for China


In 2010, to celebrate the year of the tiger in China, BMW launched a special Chinese-market ‘M3 Tiger Edition’ sporting some added visual content. It appears that limited production coupe model was well received in China so BMW decided to create yet another special M3, this time called the Matte Edition.

The new Chinese-market M3 special is all about colors with buyers having a choice of two unique exterior finishes, gunmetal grey or black. In both cases the bespoke color is created by combining a metallic finish with a silky matte clear coat. Other cosmetic tweaks include the black chrome side air intakes and exhaust tail pipes, the red brake calipers and the lightweight 19-inch high-gloss alloy wheels.

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