Designers Pays Homage to BMW Z8 and 8-Series Models with MZ8 Concept

Two of the most recognized sport models to come out from BMW's factory in the past quarter century are the 8-Series, built from 1989 to 1999, and the Henrik Fisker-designed Z8 roadster, offered from 1999 to 2003.

These two cars stimulated a design thesis from Christophe Jourd'hui, a graduate in transportation design management at the International School of Design (IDS) in Valenciennes, France, for a new BMW sports car named the MZ8.

Read more »

BMW Describes New Concept X4 in Video, We Visually Compare it with X6

The star of BMW’s booth at the upcoming Shanghai Auto Show will no doubt be the Concept X4, a pre-production model that reveals how the brand’s second Sports Activity Coupe (SAC) will look like. As with the larger X6 model, BMW wanted to combine the high ground clearance and powerful aspect of an SUV with the dynamic lines and elegant roofline of a coupe. Read more »

BMW Head of Design Karim Habib Explains Brand's Core Values

If you ask me, BMW has done very well in choosing Karim Habib as the coordinating force behind their design department. A BMW Group employee since 1998, he worked in the design department for 10 years, before moving to Mercedes-Benz for almost two years, then rejoining BMW in 2010.

I say they did well in choosing him, because he seems like a very knowledgeable and passionate designer, if we are to judge him from his appearance in the video you see below.

Read more »

BMW X4 Concept Unveiled, Enters Production with Minor Changes Next Year [w/Videos]

If consumers want crossovers and SUVs (as all sales charts suggest), why should premium carmakers like BMW disagree? The brand with the roundel logo is keen to capitalize on the growth of this segment, something that is evident from the sales of its X-series models, which now account for one in every four new cars it delivers worldwide.

BMW has split its SUVs into two basic categories, the more mainstream "Sports Activity Vehicles" (SAV), which include the X1, X3 and X5, and the "Sports Activity Coupé" (SAC), which up until now, was represented only by the larger X6.

Today, the Bavarian carmaker previewed its second SAC model in the form of the X4 Concept, a couple of weeks ahead of its world premiere at the Shanghai Auto Show in China on April 21.

Read more »

BMW 3-Series F30 Art Car by Andy Reiben is an LSD Trip on Wheels!

As far as the matter of turning a car into art goes, those who argue against it say art cannot serve any other purposes aside from being what it is. So what should we make of cars such as this hand-painted F-30 BMW 3-Series? Well, all we know is that its graphic designs are extremely detailed and some parts even glow in the dark – that's got to count for something… Read more »

Wrecked BMW X5 Turned Into a Post-Apocalyptic Flame-Spitting Beast

It all started when the owner of a wrecked BMW X5 E53 4.4i requested aftermarket specialists at Fluid Motor Union (FMU) to bring it back to life. Shortly after, however, the customer abandoned the car with the people at FMU, who took possession of the X5 and decided to do something special with it. They called it Project X.

Their briefing was simple: “We settled on creating a vehicle that oozed the aesthetic of urban assault, with the typical Fluid goal of launching fireballs.” Sounds like fun, right? First thing they changed on the car were the wheels, fitting huge Cragar’s steel rims shod in Dick Cepek rubber. Not your everyday tires, we should mention, as they are covered in skulls and bones.

Read more »

AE Test Drives New BMW 3-Series Gran Turismo

Despite not making a success story of the 5-Series GT, which hasn't really sold in particularly large numbers, BMW is trying again, this time with a smaller version of the same concept. This review by Autoexpress is the first we've seen of the most practical member of the 3-Series family, the GT, and if we were to judge it by it alone, it actually makes a bit of sense. Read more »

Alpina Founder Explains the New BMW XD3 and B3 Models in Detail

Alpina has just released two videos in which Burkard Bovensiepens, the man who started the company back in the 1960s, explains the driving philosophy of their operation and presents their latest models, the XD3 Biturbo and the B3, which were recently revealed at the Geneva Motor Show. Read more »

What Do You Think of this Hamann-Prepped BMW M5 F10? [w/Video]

What is that we hear; you didn't find the looks of Hamann Motorsport's new BMW M5 F10 "Mi5Sion" model extreme enough? No problem says Hamann, which displayed this limited edition of the Bavarian carmaker's performance saloon at the Auto Trader Live luxury car show in Dubai.

Hamann went all crazy on the individualization of the M5 changing, or in its own opinion, enhancing the look of most body panels, from the vented hood and bespoke double kidney grille, to the rear diffuser and the double spoilers at the back.

Read more »

Consumer Reports Tests the 2013 BMW X1, Isn't Really Thrilled About it

If you can't wait for the new Touring version of the BMW 3-Series to arrive in the States next month, or simply think that owning a wagon is less cool than owning a crossover, the Bavarian company offers two alternatives: the X1 and the X3. If you see the former on the street, you will be struck by how un-SUV-like it looks.

That's partially due to the fact that the X1 is based on the underpinnings of the previous generation, E91 3-Series Touring, featuring a jacked up suspension and chunkier proportions.

Read more »