Category: BMW

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Best ever field to take on 2014 Bathurst 12 Hour

2014 Bathurst 12 hour

Just a a couple of days from this weekend’s 2014 Bathurst 12 Hour race now is a good time to cast an eye over the official entry list. And what an entry list it is too!

There’s six classes in all, with the overall race winner expected to come from the 14-strong field of Class A (GT3 Outright) competitors. The #1 Erebus Motorsport Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 is back to defend its 2013 crown. Only Bernd Schneider returns for driving duties with Erebus, he will be joined by Maro Engel and Nico Bastian. Erebus will run a second SLS AMG GT3 (#63) to be crewed by Will Davison, Jack LeBrocq and Greg Crick.

Audi will have four representatives in Class A headlined by the #3 Phoenix Racing entry of Rahel Frey, René Rast and Laurens Vanthoor. Former winner Christopher Mies joins Marc Cini in his #9 R8 LMS Ultra along with Mark Eddy. The #5 Audi will be shared among a strong local crew of Jason Bright, Warren Luff, Rod Salmon and Liam Talbot. United Autosport rounds out Audi’s GT3 entrants in the #25 car driven by Marcus Winkelhock, Mark Patterson and Eric Lux.

Ferrari will be represented for the third year in a row by the #33 Clearwater Racing entry of Mok Weng Sun, Craig Baird and Matt Griffin. They’ve finished the race in third (2012) and second (2013) so will be hoping for another year of progression up the podium. The #88 Maranello Motorsport 458 GT3 will again attract attention with this year’s line up consisting of Craig Lowndes, John Bowe, Mika Salo and Peter Edwards.

Tony Quinn’s diversity in exotic racing ownership has extended to a McLaren 12C GT3 (#37) and he’ll be making that car’s debut in the Bathurst 12 hour with his son Klark and Andrew Kirkaldy.

Also making its B12hr debut is the #32 Nismo-backed Nissan GTR to be driven by Rick Kelly, Katsumasa Cyio, Alex Buncombe and Wolfgang Reip.

Class B (GT3) is dominated by Porsche 911s, with 10 of the 14 entries coming from Stuttgart. These cars are older-spec GT3 machines and two Audi R8s and a pair of Lamborghini Gallardos round out the category.

The stand out crew here is the #12 McElrea Racing 997 GT3 Cup (2012) driven by well-established racers Patrick Long, Alex Davison and David Calvert-Jones. A touch of Hollywood is represented by Eric Bana who is sharing the #99 Gallardo with mates Peter Hill and Simon Middleton.

A small field of three forms the Class C (GT4) field, including a Ginetta G50, a Lotus Exige Cup R and a Lotus Exige S.

Class D (Invitational 3001cc+) is headlined by the #7 Dean Herridge Subaru WRX STi, which will face stiff competition from a mixed bag of makes and models including a BMW 335i, a BMW E46 GTR, a BMW E92 M3, a Daytona Coupe and a pair of Seat Leon Supercopas.

Class E (Invitational up to 3000cc) consists of three Fiat Abarths, so if nothing else the Italian manufacturer is assured of a class win! Similarly, Class I (Invitational, non-production) is made of up of three Ford Focus GTCs and will see Grant Denyer at the wheel of the #70 entry.

All going well there’ll be 54 cars on the starting grid on Sunday morning, with the late withdrawal of the Vita4One Racing BMW team being the only downer, in what shapes as the most exciting and competitive Bathurst 12 Hour race yet.

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BMW

BMW 4 Series Gran Coupé revealed

BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe

BMW has followed the launch of the 4 Series Coupé with this new Gran Coupé model, which will be on show in Geneva next month.

The F36 Gran Coupé is essentially the same as its genuine coupé donor model, but now with four doors and a big arse. Although, it is quite a nice arse, we do admit. Yes, we like this Gran Coupé.

We have no idea if there’s a market for a premium mid-side four-door coupé, but since when has anything like a lack of demand stopped BMW from making yet another niche vehicle? Build it and they will buy, seems to be the mantra.

Indeed, BMW should be encouraged to keep making these weird and wonderful variations of the same car. If nothing else it adds some interest and shows they’ve got the guts to have a go. We like that.

So, back to this 4 Series Gran Coupé for a minute. The front-end is a straight copy of the coupé and the wheelbase and overall width is same, as well. The Gran Coupé is 12mm taller and 112mm longer. Surprisingly the big arse only accounts for an increase in luggage capacity of 35 litres over the two-door.

You can see and read more about the 4 Series Gran Coupé after the break.

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BMW Toyota

Carbon fibre tub for the return of the BMW Z3

BMW Vision ConnectedDrive

The next BMW Z4 will actually see a return of the Z3 badge, an odd move given BMW’s recent nomenclature, and will be inspired by the look of the very sexy Vision ConnectedDrive concept car.

It will also be the first model developed under the BMW-Toyota partnership. Toyota’s first model under the co-development will be a hardtop coupé, although roadster and hardtop models will feature for both brands in time.

The Z3 will employ a folding soft-top with a view to saving weight. Increased use of aluminium and carbon fibre, including a carbon fibre tub, will be used to help keep weight down as well.

BMW will fit a range of four and six cylinder engines to the Z3 and there is a chance of M-badged models too.

The use of a carbon fibre tub is significant because BMW expects the Z3 to undercut the price of the Alfa Romeo 4C, which is currently one of the cheapest ways to get yourself into such an exotic chassis construction.

If you like the sound of all this don’t get too excited because the all-new Z3 is still a couple of years away yet.

[Source: Bimmerpost]

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BMW

More BMW M2 speculation

BMW M2 rendering

We all know that BMW will make an M2 when the time is right. So let’s just play along with these little games and pretend that we don’t know it’s coming.

At the recent media launch of the M235i hacks from Auto Express got talking to “BMW insiders” (we love those guys) and were told a range-topping M2 “makes a lot of sense” (no shit, really).

Where it does get a bit more interesting is when the conversation turned to the very cool track-only M235i Racing and a brief flirtation with making a road going version. The insider said BMW decided no to do that because it would “step on the toes of something else higher up the range.”

And what do you think that might be boys and girls? That’s right, the M2!

We know it’s coming, of course it will be, the real question is when? Not in the immediate future, best to place an each-way bet on 2015 and 2016.

[Source: Auto Express | Rendering: Bimmerpost]

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BMW Motorsports

Real photos of the BMW M235i Racing

BMW M235i Racing

The we-just-want-one BMW M235i Racing was launched to the media at the Las Vegas International Speedway recently. So here’s a handful of pics showing the car in the flesh for the first time. Follow the source link for larger versions.

[Source: Bimmerpost | Thanks to John for the tip]

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BMW

BMW 2 Series – Australian pricing confirmed

BMW M235i

BMW Australia has today confirmed basic pricing for the new 2 Series Coupe range, which will go on sale here in March. This confirms the exclusive pricing info we brought you back in mid-November.

As we told you back in November there will be three models in the 2 Series range down under:

BMW 220i Coupe (135kW/270Nm)– $50,500*
BMW 220d Coupe (135kW/380Nm) – $52,500*
BMW M235i Coupe (240kW/450Nm) – $79,900*
*Manufacturer’s list pricing (includes GST & LCT).

There’s still no official specifcation details released, other than all 2 Series models will have an 8-speed automatic transmission fitted as standard. You’ll need to refer back to our previous post to get an insight as to the expected specifications.

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BMW Motor Shows

What to expect from BMW in 2014

BMW M3 and M4 on display in Detroit

As well as the launch of the highly anticipated M3 and M4 in Detroit this week, BMW has much more in store during 2014. Make sure you follow the source link from BimmerFile for more detail:

2014 North American International Auto Show (January)

  • M3 (F80) and M4 (F82)
  • M235i (F22)
  • 228i (F22)

2014 Geneva Motor Show (March)

  • 4 Series Gran Coupe (F36)
  • FWD Active Tourer (F45)
  • MINI Four-door concept (F55)

2014 New York Auto Show (April)

  • X4 (F26)
  • X3 LCI

2014 Moscow Motor Show (August)

  • X6 (F16)

2014 Paris Motor Show (September)

  • X5 M (F85) and X6 M (F86)
  • 2 Series Convertible (F23)
  • MINI Four-door (F55)

[Source: BimmerFile | Pic: Bimmerpost]

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BMW

BMW M4 makes unofficial debut in Detroit

BMW M4

When you save the public debut of your hero car for a major car show you probably want it seen first on your stand under the bright lights and in a controlled environment. For BMW that moment has been lost thanks to this spy shot showing a brand new BMW M4 on the streets of Detroit.

We’ll have more from BMW at the Detroit Auto Show as the week progresses.

[Source: Bimmerpost]

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Accessories & Tech BMW

BMW shows off self-drifting skills

BMW self-drifting cars

“Look mum, no hands!”

BMW showed off some pretty cool things at CES in Las Vegas last week, but we don’t think anything was cooler than the M235i and 6 Series Gran Coupé which both featured what BMW calls ActiveAssist, or “highly automated driving”, part of its ConnectedDrive system. You and I would call it self-drifting!

BMW says ActiveAssist is designed to act as “a safety assistance system which brings the vehicle back into line in demanding driving situations without any input from the driver.”

On the one hand it’s pretty clever that car makers can develop driver assistance systems that are able to step-in and regain control of the car in an emergency. On the other hand, of course, we’d all like to keep driving thanks. If we want to catch a cab we’ll do that, and have the added bonus of having a driver to tell us what’s wrong with the government of the day.

Anyway, you can read more about ActiveAssist after the break. Right now we know you just want to see the video of the M235i and it’s mad self-drifting skillz. It’s first up after the break.

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BMW

Of course they’re going to make an M2, right?

BMW M235i Racing

Ever since BMW decided to introduce the 2 Series badge it’s been assumed (by us at least) that would pave the way for the eventual introduction of an M2 as the replacement for the rather clumsily titled 1 Series M Coupé.

According to BimmerFile the official word out of Munich when asked about the M2 is, “There are no plans and we’re not working on it.”

We don’t like the sound of that at all. If nothing else the M235i Racing, with its flared guards, has teased us as to what an M2 might look like. And we like what we see!

As BimmerFile speculates, the willingness of AMG to “age-down” its brand with models like the A45 AMG and CLA 45 AMG should force BMW’s hand on the M2.

That’s if Munich’s hand needs forcing at all. The 2 Series is still very new and with a multi-year life cycle ahead of it we can probably expect BMW to hold off on the release of the M2 for a few years yet. That’s often been the way with the brand’s high-end M products.

Yes, BMW is launching the M4 pretty much straight after the release of the 4 Series Coupe, but we still think BMW will do the right thing and deliver us an M2.

[Source: BimmerFile]

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BMW

BMW M7 coming to a freeway near you?

BMW 7 Series

Talk of a hitherto unrealised BMW M7 is not new, and while M GmbH boss Albert Biermann would like to make it so, we don’t think you should hold your breath.

“I would love to compete in this area of the market,” Biermann told Autocar. “The money is just there to pick up.”

Despite his frank admission that there is a willing market for the M7 it doesn’t appear to be part of any confirmed budgetary allocation. “There’s so many nice things you could do with unlimited money,” added Biermann.

For now buyers wanting a go-fast 7er have to turn to the Alpina B7. Although, Biermann points out you shouldn’t go looking there to find an M7 recipe. “An M7 would be a much different proposition to the B7,” he said.

It remains a mystery to us as to why BMW has allowed Audi and Mercedes-Benz to make merry with their S and AMG bahnstormers.

[Source: Autocar]

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BMW Motorsports

BMW Motorsport opens M235i Racing order book

BMW M235i Racing

BMW Motorsport has made order documents available for the track-only M235i Racing. With that comes new images (renders) of the car in its finished form. It looks good. Do want!

If you’d like to buy yourself one and race it in the appropriate categories overseas you’ll need to pony up 25% of the €59,500 asking price with your order. Spare rims cost €1480 per set. Pretty straightforward stuff really.

Basic technical data can be read below.

[Source: BMW Motorsport]

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