Design and Carscoop: BMW 3 Series

Showing posts with label BMW 3 Series. Show all posts

All-New 2012 BMW 3-Series Sedan Spied Completely Undisguised?

These low-resolution photos allegedly picturing a completely undisguised 2012 BMW 3-Series sedan made their way on the F30Post forums over the weekend.

While not entirely sure, they do seem to be derived from some sort of promotional material - be that a video or a scanned brochure. In any case, they do look to be in line with what we've seen up until now in our spy shots.

Not surprisingly, the design of the next generation 2012 3-Series sedan appears to follow an evolutionary path blending the shape of the current model with styling elements from the new BMWs and especially the latest 5-Series.

Being that not everyone wants a high-riding SUV to justify his or her needs for more space, BMW has been constantly offering a station wagon version of its most famous model series under the Touring nameplate since the E30 from the late 1980s.

We've already shown you plenty of spy shots of the next traditional four-door sedan and the newest arrival in the 3-Series' portfolio, the five-door GT liftback, but now our scoopsters captured the Touring model wrapped in plastic camo.

One of Carscoop's alert readers managed to scoop these two photographs of what we believe to be a prototype of the next generation of the BMW 3-Series sedan out testing in Los Angeles.

This is the sixth generation of BMW's hugely popular sports sedan model. Aside from the evolutionary styling changes, the big news for the F30 3-Series is the introduction of a new range of four-cylinder turbocharged gasoline engines with a displacement of 1.6-liter and 2.0-liter delivering between 135HP and 245-horsepower.

We're sure many of you have encountered the type of drivers that have no respect for their fellow motorists and who believe they own the road and can do as they please.

Only this time, the careless attitude of the person behind the steering wheel of what looks like an E46 BMW 3-Series caused a freaky accident when he or she decided to pass in between the car on which this video camera was mounted and what appears to be an older generation Opel Corsa.

The reckless driver of the BMW clipped the Corsa which then bumped onto the vehicle with the camera sending it tumbling away on the road. Watch the incident unfold in the video after the break.

An evil…ditch was just waiting to claim a victim at the Rally Finland - or so the Youtube poster claims that this is where the following incident(s) took place.

Watching the first few rally cars pass through or rather drive into and out of the ditch on the side of the road it becomes clear that it’s not a case of if, but when we’ll see a car taking a plunge. Enjoy the clip after the jump.

There are many ways to celebrate the sponsorship of an event like the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, but when it comes to automakers, the norm is the introduction of special edition models.

For BMW, the festivities over its sponsorship of the games begin with the UK launch of two new Performance Edition models based on the 1-Series hatchback and 3-Series sedan.

Two observations: one, there’s nothing cooler than a LS1-engined BMW that is externally indistinguishable from its bread-and-butter cousins and two, the Apple iPhone is probably the worst thing for filming a movie ever. A little less of number two and a little more number one, if you please.

This BMW E46 3-Series coupe, or as its UK owner has appropriately named it, the 357Ci, started its life as a 2001 325Ci with an M Sport Package.

In the hands of its current owner, it received the same 5.7-liter LS1 V8 engine as the rather forlorn looking Porsche 911 we wrote about last week, making this the second American-powered German automobile we’ve featured in as many days.

The new, sixth generation of BMW’s 3-Series sedan, codenamed F30 is almost upon us and as a result, we’re seeing more and more prototype models with less camouflage making their appearance on the road or in this case, testing on the Nürburgring circuit in Germany.

Being that the 3-Series has been the backbone of BMW’s success over the years, it doesn’t come to much of a surprise that the F30 remains close to the current model in terms of design.

You didn’t think BMW would leave its bread-and-butter 3-Series untouched for the new model year just because it’s actively working on a replacement, did you? Of course not. The changes to the 3-Series range are of far less importance than on the 6-Series and 5-Series lineups, and are mostly limited to the presentation of new special edition models and packages. Read more »

BMW Rumored to Rename New 1- and 3-Series Coupes into 2- and 4-Series. What Do You Say?

Citing unnamed sources from within the brand, Britain’s Car Magazine reported on Tuesday that BMW is seriously entertaining the idea of renaming the next generation of its two-door 1- and 3-Series models into the 2- and 4-Series respectively.

The new badges would be applied on the two-door coupe and convertible as well as the sportier GT fastback models of the future 1- and 3-Series lineup.

As some of you may recall, this is not the first time that BMW has toyed around with the thought of turning the 3-Series coupe and convertible into the 4-Series, with the Bavarian company coming very close to executing the idea in the beginning of the new millennium.

There’s something about cars and animal leathers / prints that attracts certain tuners from Russia and the former Soviet states. You all remember the Russian design-house Dartz and it real whale penis leather-equipped Prombron and snake skin-covered Bentley Continental GT SS. Now another tuning firm called Vipon, this time from neighboring ~~Lithuania~~ Latvia, has come with a new animal leather themed proposal based on a pre-facelift E90 BMW 318i sedan. Read more »

New Scoop Photos Shed More Light on 2012 BMW 3-Series Sedan

With the new 1-Series out in the open, it is time for us now to take a look at the next car in line for replacement in BMW’s range, the 3-Series sedan with these freshly shot spy photos. As we’re nearing closer to the launch, BMW continues to peel away the disguise with the latest F30 prototype having shed not only plenty of swirly decals but also the fake front and rear end additions giving us a better look of the car’s styling.

BMW hasn’t really messed around with the design of the 3-Series since the introduction of the E36 in 1990, and the new F30 isn’t an exception to the rule. The styling of the F30 is a clear evolution of the current E90 3-Series borrowing certain elements from the 5-Series such as the stronger belt-line combined with a lower and more aggressive front end with larger double kidneys. Previous spy shots reveal that BMW will follow a similar formula with the 3-Series’ interior.

Over the past year, we brought you plenty of spy shots and videos of the next generation of the 3-Series sedan, codenamed F30, but now our spy photographers caught the newest addition to the family of BMW’s bread and butter model, the Gran Turismo.

When it goes on sale towards the end of 2012 or early 2013, the new 3 GT will join the existing body styles of the 3-Series, which include the four-door sedan, the two-door coupe, the five-door station wagon and the hardtop convertible, offering BMW a direct rival to the Audi A5 Sportback.

Following in the footsteps of Mercedes that dressed up the SLS AMG as an emergency medical vehicle, BMW unveiled its very own proposals at the RETTmobil, the leading European trade for emergency services and mobility, held in Fulda, Germany (May 11-13).

BMW has a more down-to-earth approach to the show as its emergency models are based on mainstream vehicles that are more suitable for this line of work than the fast, but unpractical, SLS AMG. We're talking about the BMW 3-Series/5-Series Touring models and the X3/X6 SUVs, although the latter is not new, having premiered at the same show in 2008.

Here is yet another failed attempt to load a vehicle on a truck. In fact, this one is much worse –albeit far less costly- than the Porsche Carrera GT incident we showed you back in April. This time, the protagonist is a BMW - from what we can tell in this grainy video, an E36 3-Series Coupe.

As you can see for yourself in the surveillance footage in the video after the break, the driver of the bimmer, slammed the pedal to the metal as he was going up the ramp, and the result, well, let’s just say is painful yet humorous at the same time.

In the ingloriously named, “small premium car segment”, the BMW 3-Series is king. A good all-rounder with sporting pretensions and cred, a nice assortment of engine and equipment options, and perhaps most importantly, a variety of body styles including a coupe and station wagon derivative that have ensured its market supremacy.

All 3-Series models are doing their bit to keep sales high. According to a study released by R.L. Polk & Co., from 2008 through this past February, the 3-Series sedan covered around 60 percent of the model's retail registrations, with the coupe, convertible and station wagon versions accounting for the rest of the sales.

In 1975, BMW launched the 3-Series as a successor to the 02 series and essentially established the premium compact car segment. The company went on to produce five generation of the 3-Series selling more than 12 million cars worldwide. Even though it changed considerably from one generation to another, the 3-Series kept its core characteristics: a compact body with a classic design, rear-wheel drive, sporty handling characteristics and potent engines.

Launched initially as a two-door coupe, the 3-Series gained throughout the years new body variants such as the sedan, station wagon, coupe, convertible and even a three-door hatchback model (Compact). Scroll down to read a brief history on each generation.

Tuning specialist Vorsteiner has given us a first glimpse of its upcoming carbon fiber boot lid for the latest BMW 3-Series Convertible [E93]. The new boot lid incorporates a built in “duck bill” spoiler similar to the one found on the BMW M3 CSL special of the E46 series. According to Vorsteiner, it will be lightest cabriolet boot lid available in the market to date, while the company added that all OE mount points will be carried over for uninterrupted usage of the folding hardtop mechanism. More photos after the jump. Read more »

Official: BMW 2.0-liter Turbo Coming to the USA in 2011, Replaces 3.0-liter Straight-Six

We knew BMW's brand-new 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine was coming to the States but now, the Bavarian automaker has made it official. The German company released a statement saying the first cars to be equipped with the force-fed four-banger will "arrive later this year" in the USA.

The 2.0-liter unit made its debut on the X1 compact crossover and will eventually replace BMW’s trademark normally aspirated 3.0-liter inline six. While BMW's US division has yet to announce which models will get the new engine, in Europe, the automaker has already confirmed the powerplant for the Z4 coupe-roadster and the 5-Series range.

Design and Carscoop

All-New 2012 BMW 3-Series Sedan Spied Completely Undisguised?

SPIED: BMW's More Practical 2012 3-Series Touring Shows Up in Germany

U Spy: 2012 BMW 3-Series Scooped in Los Angeles

Video: Reckless BMW Driver Causes Scary Accident

The Ditch: Can You Guess How Many Rally Cars will Make it Through?

BMW Creates New Performance Edition models to Celebrate Sponsorship of 2012 London Olympics

BMW 357Ci: E46 Coupe gets Pontiac GTO 5.7-liter LS1 V8

SPIED: 2012 BMW 3-Series Sedan Starts Taking Shape

New Exclusive and M Sport Editions Join BMW 3-Series Coupe and Convertible Range

BMW Rumored to Rename New 1- and 3-Series Coupes into 2- and 4-Series. What Do You Say?

Latvian Tuner Wraps BMW 3-Series in Crocodile Leather

New Scoop Photos Shed More Light on 2012 BMW 3-Series Sedan

SCOOP: New BMW 3-Series Gran Turismo Shows its Chic Tail

BMW Showcases Fleet of Emergency Vehicles at RETTmobil 2011

Fail: BMW Driver Mistakes Loading Truck for Launching Ramp…

BMW 3-Series Still Top Dog despite Strong Competition

A Quick History of the BMW 3-Series, from 1975 to Today

Vorsteiner Previews New Lightweight Carbon-Fiber Boot with CSL-Like Spoiler for BMW’s E93 3-Series Convertible

Official: BMW 2.0-liter Turbo Coming to the USA in 2011, Replaces 3.0-liter Straight-Six

Official: BMW 2.0-liter Turbo Coming to the USA in 2011, Replaces 3.0-liter Straight-Six

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