Isn’t it nice? We thought we already knew quite a lot about the F80 BMW M3 and yet the Bavarians have something extra in store.

As reports trickle in, the next generation of the M3 will still be surprising when it comes out. Until then however, there’s a few things we will still have find out.

There’s no chance at getting to know the car before it’s unveiled, at least in concept form, but we are getting something major this time.

One of the most important figures the F80 BMW M3 will have on itself is the weight. It’s not a secret that the M3 has been getting chubby recently.

The plan doesn’t call for it to go back to its roots completely, but some serious weight savings are in schedule.

Allegedly 300 pounds will be lost when compared to the E92 M3 as they want this one to weigh as much as the one that went before it.

The E46’s weight came in at around 3.400 pounds but it also had 333 horsepower. The F80 will use the same block but the rest of the engine will be severely modified and then turbocharged.

450 horsepower or so is what most reports are telling us and a considerable amount of extra torque is also in the making.

Performance-wise it’s obvious that the F80 will be a staggeringly fast vehicle. Losing that much bulk will always make things better.

Nurburgring times should be even tastier than previous versions including CSL or GTS options.

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Marcus M.

http://www.bmwcoop.com

The post F80 BMW M3 still has a few surprises in store appeared first on BMWCoop | BMW Blog, BMW News, BMW Reviews.

BMW’s superstar comeback is still mostly a mystery, we don’t even know the final shape of the car yet but, like any Scooby Doo show, things are beginning to unravel.

As we found out earlier last month, the BMW M1 will be ready to hit the market by 2016 and it will set its scopes on the Audi R8 and Mercedes SLS.

Just like its predecessor, the BMW M1 will not stray from the idea of two seats, an engine in the middle and a whole lot of power.

Performance levels is where things enter a new league. The 2016 BMW M1 will produce some 600-650 horsepower courtesy of a 4.0 liter twin turbo V8 engine.

More importantly, thanks to lightweight and exotic materials, the new M1 should end up weighing no more than 2755 pounds.

To put it into perspective, it’s about 130 lbs lighter than the original M1 and several hundred pounds lighter than the most stripped down R8.

There’s bound to be some technology borrowed from the i range cars but as no mention of batteries or electric motors has been made we suspect that the lightweight tech is what’s going to matter here.

Pricing estimates of a quarter million are still in place except more and more publications seem to vary the currency. Between euros, dollars or GBP, things could get a little hairy.

Even so, by most accounts, the BMW M1 should deliver similar performance levels to what the Lamborghini Aventador offers yet it should be quite a bit cheaper.

Not a bad recipe.

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Marcus M.

http://www.bmwcoop.com

The post BMW M1 – extra details appeared first on BMWCoop | BMW Blog, BMW News, BMW Reviews.

I know we’re all fans of the BMW cars but out in the motorcycling community the Bavarians have an equally impressive following.

After the S1000RR they’ve just unveiled the new HP4. The two have many similarities but there’s one key difference.

The different look of the BMW HP4 illustrates more than a redesign. It’s there to showoff what the Motorrad division can do.

Design-wise the bike looks fine, what is important is the diet it’s been subjected to. The BMW HP4 now weighs in at 169 kg (373 lbs) dry.

Once it gets filled with fluids and the tank has 90% capacity the final figure goes up to 199 kg (440 lbs).

At this point we should remember the fact that the BMW HP4 is now the lightest 4 cylinder bike in the 1000cc class and it still develops the same performance.

The peak output stands at 193 horsepower but, as with track tuned options, the mid-range torque gets a linear boost and a racing developed ABS.

The BMW HP4 will be market ready later this year, ready to achieve its full super sports bike potential be it on the road or on the track.

Currently, no pricing range is available but there seems to be a bit of a consensus around here. This will be getting a considerable boost compared to the regular S1000RR.

As a market proposition the new HP4 motorcycle could be quite impressive but the race track is where it’s likely to make a difference and give the Bavarians a try at the title this time.

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Marcus M.

http://www.bmwcoop.com

The post BMW unveils new HP4 motorcycle 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.

About Post Author

Marcus M.

http://www.bmwcoop.com

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