BMW i5 Electric

BMW would begin making a slew of electric vehicles under its new “i” brand. The compact BMW i3 hatchback and BMW i8 coupe featured in the latest Mission: Impossible movie are expected to be the first two to bring BMW’s brand sport-oriented flavor to the green masses. But those cars are at very different ends of the spectrum. What would slot in between, you ask?

Reportedly, BMW has finalized what its third electric vehicle, the BMW i5, will be like. According to Germany’s Autobild, it will be a tall midsize car that will be much like the 2012 Toyota Prius v, except it’ll likely be fun to drive. The magazine is also saying it’ll have sliding doors, a commodious cargo hold, and 170 horsepower going to the rear wheels via an electric motor at each rear wheel.

Much like the BMW i3 from which it borrows the electric powertrain, it should be one of the more powerful electric vehicles on the road. Also like the i3, it will have an available 90-horsepower gasoline-powered three-cylinder engine to serve as a range-extending power generator.

Prices in Germany are expected to start at around $65,000, but overseas customers have traditionally paid more for European vehicles than we do when they’re sent stateside. The i5 is expected to launch around 2015, not long after its i3 and i8 counterparts hit the market. We’ll keep you updated with new information as we receive it.

2013 BMW X6 M

BMW has announced the new facelifted version of X6 M. The Sports Activity Coupe comes with the same engine and performance details, but with some exterior and interior changes.

2013 BMW X6 Gets a Refresh, High-Output M Performance Packages

As they do with celebutante Kim Kardashian, most people fail to understand the BMW X6. But while Kim is always burnishing her image, the X6 is just now receiving its first major revision, one that includes a mild face lift and some enhancements under the skin. (Each also has a giant—er, skip that one.) 

The X6′s front end has been tweaked to keep it more in line with the rest of the BMW lineup. Some new colors have been added to the palette and a new wheel design is available, too. We’ll leave it to you to decide whether this nip/tuck suits BMW’s 5000-plus-pound crossover. Adaptive LED headlights are now available as an upgrade to the standard xenon units.

More exciting, of course, is that BMW now will offer M Performance packages for both the turbocharged 3.0-liter six and the twin-turbo 4.4-liter V-8. Additional power comes as a result of cranking up the turbo boost; on the six, output rises from 300 hp and 300 lb-ft of torque to 315 hp and 330 lb-ft. (These are just a shade lower than the 320 hp and 332 lb-ft delivered by the Performance Edition package in the outgoing 335i, which featured the same engine; the difference is attributable to different intake and exhaust plumbing in the two vehicles.) The M Performance upgrade will increase output in the V-8–toting X6 xDrive50i by 40 hp and 30 lb-ft, for totals of 440 and 480. The package also includes aesthetic touches like 20-inch wheels, black chrome exhaust tips, and dark window trim.

We in the States may not have the chance to buy one of the triple-turbo diesel M Performance models announced for Europe today, but the M Performance packages we are getting are at least small consolation. The Performance Edition pack for the 3-series costs just $550; hopefully these M Performance tweaks won’t add much more to an X6. It also seems like it wouldn’t be difficult to offer similar upgrades for other U.S. models using these engines—so pretty much BMW’s entire lineup—although no plans to do so have been announced just yet.

BMW M Performance Line: Tri-Turbo Diesel 5-series, X5, X6 for Europe and Power Packs for U.S. X6

If the offerings of BMW’s M Performance line can be likened to cupcakes, the initial U.S.-market model is a cupcake without frosting. (Note that M Performance does not mean M: These will be hotter than typical Bimmers, but not as reworked or expensive as full-bore M cars.) The frosting in this analogy that’s being reserved for European M Performance vehicles: a new triple-turbocharged inline-six diesel installed in the X5, X6, and 5-series. Instead, the M Performance line will launch in the States with packages for the refreshed 2013 X6. These will include unique trim pieces and extra power for its single-turbo inline-six and twin-turbo V-8 engines, both of which run on gasoline.

The king of road BMW E60

The king of road BMW E60

2012 BMW 135i Coupe

2012 BMW 135i Coupe

2012 BMW Active Hybrid 5 Priced at $61,845

BMW has announced that the starting price for its 335-hp ActiveHybrid 5 will be a cool $61,845, or about $8500 more than the 300-hp 535i on which it is based. That’s $100 more than the more powerful Infiniti M35h hybrid with the optional Premium and Deluxe Touring packages (base price for the M35h is just $54,595). Lexus has not released the base price of the 2013 GS450h, but don’t expect it to rise much from the 2011 model’s $59,825 starting point. The chart below compares all of the known figures for these cars and their conventional counterparts.

BMWs have never been inexpensive, of course, and you can bet that the ActiveHybrid 5 will be offered with many of the same pricey options offered on other 5-series sedans; option pricing and availability has not yet been released, but don’t be surprised if you see ActiveHybrid 5s wearing sticker prices above $70K­.

If it’s any consolation, the Bimmer can be driven at speeds up to 37 mph—or creep along for 2.5 miles at an average speed of 22 mph—purely on electricity, perfect for laps around the mall parking lot. Until BMW announces fuel-economy figures for the ActiveHybrid 5, we won’t know how long it will take to recoup the hybrid’s premium. Indeed, if saving money is the primary reason to consider it versus other 5s, the somewhat less thrilling 528i, with its 240-hp turbo four, might be a better choice. It’s roughly $14K cheaper than the ActiveHybrid, and has earned EPA ratings of 23 mpg city and 34 highway.

MINI to unveil new cargo van at 2012 Geneva Motor Show

UK-based vehicle manufacturer MINI is planning to unveil a new cargo van called MINI Cargo at the Geneva Motor Show in March, 2012.

MINI Cargo, the panel van will be based on the Clubman's stretched platform, with the rear seats removed to create a flat cargo area and a sheet metal, which will replace the blocked off rear windows.

The company said that the debut represents offers by parent BMW to remain competitive and preempt the similarly-minded Fiat 500 Giardinetta Wagon.

According to the vehicle manufacturer the new model will provide a rather small, but flat loading bay, suitable for businesses such as pizza delivery.

2013 BMW M5

After a model year's hiatus, a new chapter begins for the venerated high-performance sedan that drives the line between worthy track car and posh family sedan. First appearing in summer 2011 in Frankfurt, Germany, and officially making its North American debut at the LA Auto Show, the 2013 BMW M5,

dubbed the F10 in Bimmerphile geek-speak, has a new engine, improved suspension and weight saving advances that keep the midsize four-door precipitate as well as perfunctory.

Gone is the old 500-horsepower V10 in favor of a 4.4-liter, direct-injected, twin scroll, twin-turbocharged V8 (which BMW calls the S63Tu), a modified version of the power plant found in the X6 M and X5 M. This incarnation churns out 560-hp and 502 pound-feet of torque, with the maximum available between 1500 and 5750 rpm.
Paired to the engine is a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic with manual shifting mode, replacing the previous generation's SMG sequential automated manual gearbox. The new powertrain, combined with weight savings and an automatic start/stop feature, help to achieve what BMW claims is an increased fuel efficiency of 30 percent. (The 2010 M5 is rated by the EPA at an abysmal 11 mpg City, 17 mpg Highway, or 13 mpg Combined.)
Weight is reduced on the 2013 M5 via new aluminum components and by bolting the rear suspension directly to the chassis, which in the previous generation was linked by bulky rubber subframe bushings. That said, the M5's curb weight is a beefy 4300 pounds, nearly 100 pounds heavier than a standard 5 Series with similar features. And unlike the standard 5 Series, the M5 loses the electric steering in favor of hydraulic, giving the driver a more connected feeling to the road.

Track-day junkies will like the cockpit-adjustable shocks and iron-and-aluminum brake rotors with heavier-duty six-piston calipers, riding inside 18- or 19-inch wheels. All in all, the M5 seems well-suited to take on the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG and Cadillac CTS-V.

Inside, the 2013 BMW M5 is teeming with software and in-car connectivity. Purists may balk at BMW's high-tech solution for letting drivers hear the growl of their V8 engines without irking passersby: A digital signal processor translates data from the engine management system and reproduces engine noises through the car's six-speaker audio system. Translation? A fake engine sound coming through your radio. Still, if you're paying upwards of $100k for a high-performance sedan, you'd better hear something.



The 2013 BMW M5 is slated to arrive in dealerships next summer with an expected base price of $92,000.

BMW developed a new laser lights of the car

As one of the world's most successful companies in the industry, luxury cars, BMW Group attaches great importance to technological development in various sectors in the world auto industry. There is no doubt that the extraordinary innovations and technological progress are key issues BMW guarantee the forefront of the competition. At the level of foreign car lights, BMW also is leading the vanguard adoption of lamps that operate LED technology, for example, cars Category VI, and the latest developments such as the High-beamAssistant to switch between high and low beams stainless dazzle.
After lights-tech LED, which lights come laser to form the next obvious step in the technology development of auto lamps. BMW engineers are working now on the adoption of laser lights that work as a technology leader for its models within the next few years. Then give us the technology and new lighting functions to achieve greater safety, comfort and big savings in energy and fuel efficiency thanks to high.
Laser light beams issued semi-parallel
Laser light that is completely different from the light of the sun and the different types of artificial lighting, which are commonly used today. First, the illumination laser monochrome, meaning that light waves are the same length. This is known also as the lighting source of light "coherent", ie that the waves made a fixed time difference. As a result, the illumination laser beam is able to issue a semi-parallel sharply than traditional LED lights a thousand times. In adopting this technology in the headlights of the car, can use these features and new functionality in full. Moreover, the high efficiency characteristic of the laser light means that the laser lamps that consume less than half the consumption of energy consumed by the lamp-tech LED. Thus, the laser Valmassabih provide fuel.
It is worth mentioning is that the laser light unit does not pose a threat to humans or animals or nature when used in cars. Due to the fact that light does not shine directly but converted to a beam can be used on the roads. The light output is bright and very white. Moreover, it is annoying to hear and consumption of energy is very low.
Laser diodes are in use today in the consumer sector
Lighting technology safe laser is in use in a number of consumer products, with that in many cases it does not alert the customer that they used in the product you bought. But the situation will be different when the adoption of this technology in cars, but not all, the point is visible.
The high efficiency of the other benefits enjoyed by lighting technology that laser, a feature BMW's engineers intend to use it as much as possible to increase efficiency in the car as a whole. They felt that BMW was the first laser lights in the BMW i8 Concept, a car model from the brand BMW i. Sub- It is this idea of ​​appropriate and perfectly adequate, especially as the BMW i new concept embraces the idea of ​​sustainability.
Lighting by laser: safety and effectiveness of Aalian
The idea of ​​safety is very important in the development of laser illumination for use in cars. BMW and put the idea of ​​complete safety for the eyes of both walking on the roads and high reliability in daily use above all else. Thus, before the light emitted from the diode laser to a small road, turn laser beam which is initially Zarkoya by radioactive phosphorous substance in the lamp to the light of pure white brightness and is very harmful to the eye.