BMW BLOG

An oldie, but goodie…our friend Doug sent us a video that was released late last year and which reveals the power that could come out of an electric car. How is this relevant to BMW vehicles? Well, it shows that electric vehicles have a future and what John Whelen has experienced behind his 1972 electric Datsun…we did too, back at the L.A Auto Show in 2008 when we drove the MINI E. That torque that comes from 0 rpm is just impressive…

Also, at one point in the video, an E46 BMW M3 takes on the electric Datsun at a race track…..the result? See for yourself!

“Watch as John Whelen’s electric car, the White Zombie leaves high powered gas cars in the dust as Portland makes a home for the National Electric Drag Racing Association. John claims that his car is the world’s fastest accelerating street legal electric car. See this 1972 Datsun time and time again take advantage of the electric motor’s full torque in the first instant and continue to break world records.”

With all the news on the recently unveiled BMW M3 GTS, we thought we would bring back some old school footage of a previous exciting BMW: M3 E46 CSL. The famous Top Gear host, Jeremy Clarkson, took the M3 CSL on track along with another “old schooler”: E9 3.0 CSL.

Before we jump into the video, allow us to give you some background information on these two models. The BMW E9 3.0 CSL was produced from 1968 to 1975. The 3.0 CSL is considered the first project by the BMW M division. The car was a lightweight, 3003cc sports model of the 3.0 coupe. Special racing models with 3.2-liter (340 hp/253 kW) and 3.5-liter (430 PS) engines and aerodynamic trimmings helped establish BMW as a premier racing team.

At the time Clarkson review the car, he believe the 3.0 CSL would have been priced at 160,000 british pounds…in our money, of course.

This week, BMW Motorsport celebrates 25 years since the first BMW M5. In an event hosted at the Nurburgring racetrack, a group of selected journalists had the opportunity to explore the history of the M5, past, new and unreleased models.

Yesterday, we briefly took a look at the BMW M5 E34 Convertible, the only M5 cabrio ever considered for production, a car that was nixed just days prior to the Geneva Motor Show. Then we moved onto the M5 E39 Touring, another motorsport 5er that came close to being launched on the market.

To top off the event, an one-off model, M5 E60, was revealed for the first time. Dubbed “CSL” by many journalists, the “special” M5 is an upgraded version of the current M5, featuring more horsepower, larger engine capacity and other mechanical/electronic upgrades.

Benny, the editor behind BimmerToday, received a first hand experience the event and drive some cool cars. Along with the multiple official photos, BMW also released a commemorative video. Be aware, no English subtitles in this one, but the footage should make up for the language barrier…for some of us.

Days ago, a BMW M3 film made waves all around the internet, gathering 400,000 views only on Youtube itself. “BMW Living in the Lights” was produced by Bandito’s Garage, a media company based in California.

Some of you that watched the film had additional questions – equipment, camera used, surroundings – and we decided to reach out to “Mouse” McCoy and his team for a quick look behind the scene. Sumer Friedrichs, producer on the “BMW M3 Living in the Lights” walks us through the production process.

“Mouse (Mike) McCoy, CEO and Director at Bandito, drives a BMW M3. He loves driving the car and the idea of “Living in the Lights” comes from the boost that the car gets with a push of a button. When you have hit that certain RMP, the inner dashboard lights up – such a rush.

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You must have run into this situation before, prior to you having your Bimmer of course…. You’re driving on the highway when all of a sudden some young 20 – 30 something cuts you off so badly you could have sworn that they took your front plate with them as they passed you. At that point your peripheral vision kicks in your angry, but once the car passes you and you glance at the license plate that reads M3ATY M3, the upper right corner displays an M badge and right smack in the center of the truck is that horrid roundel with those three letters B…M…W, your anger turns into rage as your shake your fist and shout, “Damn BMW driver….. typical jerk!” Now this situation seems like one you’ve been in before I’m sure, and coupled with a few choice expletives, who wouldn’t be angry!?!?

Now of course I feel like certain brands carry a certain, snobiety if you will (yes, I made that word up and yes you can use it), or reputation with them. Those brands are only defined by the people who buy them. So are we really to blame!?! Are we really the culprits?!?! I digress, what I think the entire mix up here is lies within the fact that those who do not own said “snobiety-esque” brands simple do not understand them. My example comes strictly from experience. Up until I purchased my E92, I had always LOVED Bimmers. I’ve loved them for countless reasons, reasons I simply do not have the time to list out.  Although I was a fan, I never really truly knew what they were about. Sure I knew they were fast, thought they were gorgeous,  knew they had great handling, superb brakes etc. But until you’ve owned one and until you’ve had the time to actually put one through the ringer and really drive the car, you have NO idea what it is about.

We still can’t tell if the video above is “real” or not

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BMW.tv and BMW’s official Youtube channel have just released some amazing footage of several M cars running around the Salzburgring track in Austria. From the new X6 M to the M3 and M5, the entire M fleet is accounted for and…..even the amazingly fast BMW M3 GT4.

Rumors of a street version GT4 surfaced weeks ago and more recently, the rumormill churns around a surprising unveiling next month unrelated to the 5 Series preview photos.

Could it be the M3 GT4 or a CSL replica? We don’t know, but for now, let’s focus on the amazing footage provided below.

We’re almost positive that any die hard BMW fans remembers the famous series “The Hire”. Averaging about ten minutes each, The Hire was a series of eight short films produced for the internet viewing from 2001 to 2002. A form of branded content, all eight films featured popular filmmakers from across the globe, starred Clive Owen as the “Driver”, and highlighted the performance aspects of various BMW automobiles.

The plots of each of the films differ, but one constant remains: Clive Owen plays “The Driver”, a man who goes from place to place (in presumably rented BMW automobiles), getting hired by various people to be a sort of transport for their vital needs.

Well, if you like the series, then you will definitely enjoy this new video produced by Bandito’s Garage, a media company that creates, produces, manages and distributes audio-visual content.

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A new video from the famous Nurburgring track fuels the rumors of a BMW M3 GT4 street-version model or as some people call it, a CSL-like M3. Despite the excitement seen in the BMW community, we’re still reluctant to name this M3 a GT4 or CSL. So far, there has been no indication that BMW is planning on releasing a similar vehicle, on the contrary, several old reports from the company stated that no CSL M3 will be built on the current E9x platform.

Sure, some early reports based on spy photos came afloat in July 2008, but since then, the allegedly M3 CSL prototype disappear of the radar.

As seen in the previous spy shots released earlier in the week, this M3 sports some racing elements: front bumper with larger air intakes, new wheels and a huge rear spoiler.

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Before we jump into this amazing video, allow us to present you the history of the BMW M1 Procar.

In 1977 and 1978, BMW found themselves between a rock and a hard place with trying to meet Group 4 and 5’s homologation requirements to allow the M1 racers to compete. Due to the issues the with Lamborghini (BMW contracted Lamborghini to build the car before Lambo went belly-up and filed bankruptcy) and changing requirements for Groups 4 and 5, BMW’s M1 had no series in which to compete.

Jochen Neerpasch, the founder and then head of M Division, with help of Max Mosley, got smart and decided to build a home for his M1 project if they couldn’t adapt to the Group 4/5 requirements – thus the Procar Series was born for the 1979 season.

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After watching the video below, we’re almost positive that the next generation BMW M5 will be powered by a V8 twin-turbo. Some of you “old schoolers” might still mourn over the phenomenal sound coming from the 5.0 liter V10 naturally aspirated engine, but truth is that the turbo “whistle and roar” is just as sexy. While naturally aspirated engines have been the soul of M cars for many years, the truth is that the new turbos offer some advantages that cannot be overlooked.

First, we have the immense torque at very low RPMs, with minimal turbo lag. Second, fuel economy is an important factor these days and another advantage of a turbo unit. Last, but not least, several professional tuners have praised the tuning potential that comes with these new engines and that gives them more room to experiment and improve their kits.

What we don’t know at this point is the power outcome from these V8 twin-turbo engines. Is the new M5 going to output the 555 horsepower we’ve seen in the X5M/X6M or is it going to reconfirm its status in the segment by upping the power numbers?

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