BMW BLOG

Now we already know that BMW fans are one of the most committed people to a car brand and maybe some of us even labeled ourselves as one of the biggest BMW fans ever, but when Klaus Hammerschmidt comes up front with his story, then we all look like amateurs….okay, in  a way.

So what’s the story of Klaus Hammerschmidt? He is retired 73 years old entrepreneur who just picked up his 135th BMW vehicle at the new BMW delivery facility, the Welt.

And to make this event even more memorable, Hammerschmidt picked up a brand new custom made BMW M6 with the Competition Package. His first BMW was a 1800ti from 1963. Over the years, he had 26 cars from BMW Motorsports division, 29 BMW Alpina and 80 other BMWs.

So let’s see…73 years old, started driving at 18, that gives us 55 years, this means an average of almost 3 BMWs a year, pretty impressive and hard to beat.

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BMW North America decided to release a behind the scenes video of their design studio facility in California. Those of you that might now know, BMW DesignworksUSA is an industrial design company based in California, United States.

Established independently in 1972 by Charles Pelly, it was acquired by BMW in 1995. Now led by Verena Kloos with a staff of over 150, it provides design strategy, premium design development, and brand communication for companies including Microsoft.

In the next video, Verena Kloos, President of BMW Group DesignworksUSA explains the history and purpose of the California design studio and its satellite facilities in Munich and Singapore. Kloos then gives a rare, behind closed doors tour of the studio, discussing its work for BMW and non-automotive clients such as Hewlett-Packard and Embraer.

As an FYI, BMW DesignWorks USA gave us the interior and exterior designers of the latest BMW Z4 roadster.

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Courtesy of Josh from M3post, we have some videos of its BMW M3 Coupe tuned up with the G-Power SKII Supercharger kit. G-POWER Supercharger SK II is based on the M3 V8 SKI which adds 105 horsepower over the regular M3 engine. The SKII kit takes the tuning levels further and brings the M3 Coupe to 610 horsepower and 580Nm of torque.

The ASA T1-521 supercharger increases the RPM level and airmass flow rate, increasing the PSI levels as well.

Normally the M3 G-Power SKII Supercharger kit retails for $18,000, but according to some M3 owners, the results and thrill are worth the admission price.

Even though the videos are a little short, that engine sound and speedometer needle bouncing up and down, are worth our attention.

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Based on the BMW 6 Series Coupe, Alpina returned to the FIA GT3 European Championships with their latest B6 GT3 race car.

The Alpina B6 GT delivers 530 horsepower and 720 Nm of torque from a supercharged 4.4 liter V8 engine and it is offered to both individual customers and race teams. It uses a 6-speed sequential gearbox and only weighs 2,976 lbs.

Having a top speed of 177 mph, the Alpina B6 GT accelerates from 0-62 mph in 3.9 seconds.

Alpina itself will be fielding a pair in the European FIA GT3 series and at some 24-hour endurance races, including the Nurburgring race.

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The 2011 BMW 6 Series was video spied by the folks at Edmunds Insideline.  A 6er prototype shows up at the Nurburgring track for more testing and for the first time, judging by the engine sound, we believe we’re looking at test mule powered by the powerful 4.4 liter V8 twin-turbo engine.

As we learned in the past, several powerplants will be available for the new 6 Series, starting with the the twin-turbo 6-cylinder 326 horsepower  engine, followed by a 6-cylinder diesel as well and as a surprise, the newly developed, but not yet released, Tri-Turbo 6-cylinder diesel which produces 354 horsepower.

And since we’re moving towards more fuel efficient luxury sport cars, BMW will offer a model under the 655 naming convention which is powered by the hybrid powertrain from the X6 and 7 Series hybrids.

A 6 Series rendering created together with Promotor.ro

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Not extremely breaking news here, but a bit funny if you ask me: a 2011 BMW 5 series test mule was pulled over by German Police on the famous Autobahn. Initially we believed that the prototype was pulled over because of the high traveling speed -wait, is there one?- but apparently it was because of the funky plastic bodypaneles covering the car. What we know for sure is that everyone has a video camera handy these days and it’s as easy as 1,2,3 to start shooting any incidents.

This time, a camera woman from “TVNews Hessen” was on site and was able film the incident. But here is where it gets really really interesting, 14 seconds in the video, you will see the somewhat covered up interior of the new 5er, something that we have not seen in the past. It has been rumored for a while that the F10 5 Series interior will be importing many elements from the gorgeous 7er interior design.

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Martin Birkman, Motorsport Managet at BMW North America, goes on camera and share with us some technologies found in the BMW M3 ALMS model. I met Martin for the first time in 2008 at the Chicago Auto Show where he introduced the Rahal Letterman M3 and also more recently at the New York Motor Show where he was once again present at the introduction of the first all-wheel drive BMW Motorsport vehicle.

Having the opportunity to speak with him in New York, I was fortunate to learn more about the current M models and future plans for the Motorsport division. We have also talked about the innovative solutions brought into the twin-turbo V8 engine and touched base on the rumors of a future V6 engines. But that’s another story, for now let’s hear what Martin has to share with us about the amazing M3 ALMS.

So what happens when a racing safety car gets in front of a BMW? Tricky question? No, not really, but I’m sure you’re wondering by now where I’m going with this. During the latest WTCC race in Pau, the Safety Car driver caused one of the ….let’s just say…..most ridiculous racing accidents we have seen.

Coming out of the pit and cutting in from of the race cars, the Safety Cars gets hit by a BMW 320si driven by Franz Engstler of Liqui Moly Team. Engstler, a private investor who puts all his money into racing, led the race, until this accident ocurred.

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From the start I have to say that I don’t have a degree in marketing nor really worked in the advertising field, but even myself I can see the geniality in some of the video commercials I see online or on TV and this latest one from MINI, definitely classifies in that category.

If you have followed their recent ad campaigns that you probably recall the MINI Cabrio Radical Maneveur, another extraordinary well thought advertisement, and also the viral video of some guys taking their MINI Cabrio through a car wash.

Well today, MINI decided to explain, through video, what the term MINIMALISM stands for or…..how is it achieved. Was the end result a success? You be the judge of it.

Daily we come across many interesting and unique videos showing different BMW models, but from time to time, we managed to find one that will blow us away. It is true that not always because of the bimmers featured in them, but rather due to the amazing video producing and camera skills.

As you can see in the video above, the people at Babodream responsbile for this video, have done a great job capturing the cars at their best and create this amazing footage showing the BMW M3 Coupe riding along another great BMW, Z4 M roadster, and Mercedes’ top model, C63 AMG.