The 5- and 6-Series from BMW are on a complete process of transformation, the carmaker planning bold models that would cope with others from rival carmakers like Mercedes-Benz or Audi.

The BMW 5-Series lineup is due to arrive next year, with initial plans including a 5-Series Sedan, Touring and a top of the line Gran Turismo version.

However, according to recent rumors, the German carmaker is also considering to drop the G32 GT in favor of a much bigger 6-Series GT, which would directly compete against the Porsche 911. The decision might involve the fast development of the future 8-Series.

From a visual standpoint, the BMW 6-Series GT keeps the general design lines as the present generation, but would also wear cues from the recent models, like kidney grille with flowing headlights, slopping roofline and other sporty characteristics.

As expected, the cabin will borrow the latest high-tech gizmos like autonomous driving, free-standing LCD displays with multiple functionalities, premium and higher-end materials and other features also seen on the bigger 7-Series. The iDrive system is also said to be higher-performance than the one on the 2016 7-Series.

Under the hood, the upcoming 6-Series GT might comprise a wide choice of petrol burners, including the 630i and the 640i, and diesels as well, ranging from 620d to 640d. The details list is rather scarce right now, but we should expect fresh news next year, prior to an official unveiling at the 2017 NAIAS, in Detroit.

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Marcus M.

http://www.bmwcoop.com

The post BMW Rumor to Drop the G32 5-Series GT in Favor of a Future 6-Series GT appeared first on BMWCoop | BMW Blog, BMW News, BMW Reviews.

Well now, it is a bit of a situation we’re into, can you really trust the British to deliver some information on what Germany is working on?

Not sure about that one yet but there are a few reports coming in from the UK about BMW possibly creating a new model called the Z2.

The Z range has always been made up of fairly interesting vehicles, even if some of them weren’t as good as they could have been.

Building on such a legacy, what could a Z2 model offer? Hopes, discussions about such a model are about to skyrocket, but we do know a few of the ideas behind it.

Allegedly, the guys at BMW are looking into this car and they want to make it but they’re not being absurd about it.

Most chances are that it will be a slow seller so making a profit off such a car needs some serious control of the development costs.

Making the marker will almost certainly imply that BMW will need to make the Z2 one of their front wheel drive models.

Since the Z2 moniker some extra sportiness will be in store though so the UKL platform might need to get some BMW and Mini magic altogether.

In terms of engines, something more exciting was rumored. BMW’s brilliant N20 2.0 liter turbocharged engine might make a special appearance here with somewhere between 250 and 300 horsepower.

Bring it on, regardless of which wheels are driven, it should be an interesting product.

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Marcus M.

http://www.bmwcoop.com

The post BMW looking into the possibility of a Z2 appeared first on BMWCoop | BMW Blog, BMW News, BMW Reviews.

With the 2012 season of Formula 1 being one of the most exciting ever, there’s more and more attention turning to the king of motorsports.

Volkswagen and BMW have both been rumored to return to F1. VW repeatedly denied any plans to do so and it is only know that the Bavarians are going the same route.

Jens Marquardt, current motorsport division director for BMW denied any plans to return to Formula 1, not only for next season but over the mid-term as well.

Obviously, nobody can say anything for sure on the long term but the general idea is that we’re not going to see a BMW roundel on a Formula 1 single seater very soon.

Motorsport Aktuell is a Swiss magazine that interviewed Jens Marquardt and he confirmed that there’s no plan as the rumors have been speaking of.

The July 2009 decision on F1 for BMW will still be in place. That’s when the company decided to pull out of the sport the last time.

BMW have been involved in F1 back in the 50s and 60s as a team. Since then they’ve also been involved in the sport in more modern times but only as engine suppliers.

Unfortunately, the teams they partnered up with never really stood up to the performance of the engines. It’s quite common for BMW to have the greatest powerplant on the grid.

That may be the case but it hasn’t helped results and, ultimately, poor chassis performance was what led to them backing out of the sport altogether.

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Marcus M.

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The post BMW won’t be returning to Formula 1 very soon appeared first on BMWCoop | BMW Blog, BMW News, BMW Reviews.

And the list of rather odd new models just keeps on getting longer and longer. There’s a word going around about how BMW is considering a new 6 Series spin-off.

After the BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe, it seems that BMW will once again go after a niche product created by the rivals at Mercedes.

The three pointed star has only just revealed an estate version of their CLS four door coupe, something they call the Mercedes CLS Shooting Brake.

According to the reports, the Bavarians plan to make a new model they’ll call the new creation the BMW 6 Series Gran Touring.

Theophiluschin even came up with a brand new set of renderings to what this new model could end up looking like.

It seems that all these new rumors are actually a resurfacing of the older idea of BMW creating a 6 Series Shooting Brake that originally came about some two years ago.

Back then, it all started with BMW’s head of development, Dr. Klaus Draeger, who then said that the Bavarians are considering such a model.

This actually happened before the 6 Series Gran Coupe had been unveiled. Back then all we had is a BMW 6 Series GC concept.

Obviously, while they were making rumors, the guys over at theophiluschin didn’t stop at the basic idea. They actually went on to say that BMW is also going to be developing a BMW M6 Gran Coupe.

Guess what twin-turbo 4.4 liter V8 engine developing 560 horsepower and 502 lb-ft of torque is allegedly going to power that version.

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Marcus M.

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It seems BMW wants to once again mess around with the Z roadster and make a few significant changes to it before the next generation comes out.

The followup version of the BMW Z4 is expected to come in sometime in 2015. That means its already in development.

That in turn opens up discussion on a whole new load of ideas about the BMW roadster, just like this one, coming in through the grapevine.

Everybody acknowledges that the current generation of the BMW Z4, the E89 as it’s called, has been softened down.

It’s still a great sports car but now it seems to be a whole lot better at the motorway cruise, the city traffic practicality and the whole idea about something called refinement.

With the next one however, BMW is interested in making it sportier, or “more dynamic” as it were. Not really a bad thing at first sight.

When you speak of the details you can’t help but think BMW will once again make it ride incredibly hard, something the first version of the Z4 was known for.

As far as the good news are concerned, BMW’s 2015 Z4 will be getting some interesting changes. They’re talking about the feel and size being changed around.

Talk right now has the hood getting shorter, the engine being moved a little further back towards the center of the car.

With the driving feel and pleasantly quick turn in, a mid-engined sensation could make the Z4 driver. Trouble is, that could also make it less of a BMW.

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Marcus M.

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The post BMW Z4’s next generation to be sportier? appeared first on BMWCoop | BMW Blog, BMW News, BMW Reviews.

BMW’s 1 Series was recently refreshed in F20 form and while it offers up quite a few plus points on top of the previous generation, it’s lacking some as well.

Among the major casualties of this generation we’re going to count the fantastic 1 Series M Coupe, but also its smaller, rather less glamorous brother.

I’m talking about the BMW 135i, a model plenty would refer to as the closest thing the Bavarians came to making an M version of the little hatchback before they actually made one.

The new range of F20 BMW 1 Series comes with a few engine options under the bonnet and while they’re all modern, efficient and decently powerful, they’re not as fan as a big one.

Using BMW’s infamous 3.0 liter straights six, in turbocharged N55 form, tweaking it and then slotting it under the F20’s bonnet seems like quite the attractive package.

Apparently, that’s what rumor has it is actually going round. Not only is BMW presumably making a new version of the 135i, there are even some suggested specs available.

Around 320 horsepower are expected to turn up in this special 1 Series and there’s even the possibility of it introducing all wheel drive to the hatchback for the first time ever.

Sounds pretty good, except I don’t think it will happen like this. My prediction is that in this case, if the BMW 135i has 320 ponies, an M packaged version should come with an extra 10 or 20 horsepower.

It would be quite the problem as it would develop as much as the current generation of the 1 Series M. Maybe the hottest version of the rumored 135i will have 320 horsepower and the regular one around 300. It would make more sense.

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Marcus M.

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The post BMW gets 135i rumored around appeared first on BMWCoop | BMW Blog, BMW News, BMW Reviews.

It would seem that the Vision EfficientDynamics concept car the Bavarians at BMW rolled out to the public quite some time ago is still the inspiration behind some rumors.

The most recent of them is that BMW are considering building a new model, a hybrid one no less.

The guilty party behind the rumor is the staff at German magazine “Autozeitung” who have made quite an interesting case.

Don’t think back to the BMW 850i with a washing machine engine in it, oh no, this will be a M powered vehicle. Even so, that’s not enough. It will be the 5 liter V10 engine out of the E60 BMW M5 which will be mated to a couple of electric motors rounding up the total horsepower figure somewhere around the 700 mark.

Not bad, not bad at all. The new BMW, dubbed the M8, will be nothing short of spectacular if we pick up this presentation, the spec sheet of the Vision EfficientDynamics concept and the talent that BMW has on offer.

Perhaps it will also be turbocharged, better yet, twin turbocharged. And perhaps it will have machine guns on the roof. We’ll just have to put our sensible hats on, not take it to seriously. Well at least some cheeky Germans who actually work for BMW confirm this.

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Marcus M.

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The post Rumor; BMW M8 Hybrid? appeared first on BMWCoop | BMW Blog, BMW News, BMW Reviews.

BMW’s electric four seater, the Megacity, is one eagerly awaited vehicle but according to some recent speculation it may be just the tip of the iceberg for the new market the Bavarians are approaching.

Apparently BMW are considering offering more than one variant of the Megacity and are even considering adding a sports car to the line.

BMW sales and marketing boss Ian Robertson has admitted to the fact that we could be expecting these multiple versions of the Megacity, when interviewed by Autocar, and also referred to the Vision EfficientDynamics sports car concept as something with a strong potential for becoming a pure electric sports car.

This said though it is to be expected that a production version of the Vision EfficientDynamics will be different in some ways but one thing has been set clear about the Megacity and this potential EV Sports Car, they will both be sold with BMW badges and no different brands are going to be started. They will still have a certain distinction, pretty much what you can expect from the M powered cars.

Until we see either of them on the road there’s a few things you need to know, neither will come cheap since BMW are very decided on killing weight as much as possible so most of the construction will be made of carbon fiber. Add to that pretty high cost of development and low target sales and prices aren’t going to be joyous.

Either way I have to say I’m eagerly awaiting an EV that’s done properly.

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Marcus M.

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The post BMW is rumored to be planning Megacity EV sports car appeared first on BMWCoop | BMW Blog, BMW News, BMW Reviews.

Most of you still have a fresh memory of BMW winning at the 24 Hours of Nurburgring last weekend after a five years since the last victory of the manufacturer on this track, four of which had been taken by Porsche.

Apparently BMW are so pleased with fan support of this race and the performance in itself that they are working on a limited edition of the BMW M3 GTS to celebrate the occasion.

While this is just a rumor for now i can’t help at get a bit excited to know that BMW may be doing an ultimate version, of the ultimate version, of their ultimate sports coupe.

This ultimate version is rumored quite well (which is a delight) in terms that it will allegedly have a matte-black exterior, a front spoiler, wider rear fenders and lighter alloy wheels. BMW will also use plenty of carbon fiber in addition to the carbon fiber roof on the regular BMW M3 GTS and areas where this extra carbon fiber is expected to be seen are on the deck-lid, hood and rear spoiler.

As the title claims, the new model should be named the BMW M3 GTS-R.

Besides this extra lightening kit offered by the M3 GTS-R it may also feature something very important such as KERS (perhaps from the 2011 M5 parts bin?).

We’ll just have to wait and see if the M3 GTS-R is a gaming fantasy or a real track ripping beast.

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Marcus M.

http://www.bmwcoop.com

The post BMW M3 GTS-R may celebrate Nurburgring victory appeared first on BMWCoop | BMW Blog, BMW News, BMW Reviews.