BMW 1 Series News

The spread of the dealer network aims to keep up with demand caused by a booming population and Australia's strong economy.  Within two years, BMW will see $40 million spent on new or refurbished outlets as it shoots for 50 national dealerships.These include a second dealership in Perth ($15 million), expanded Doncaster (Victoria) premises ($10 million), a North Shore Sydney franchise ($8 million) and a new dealer at Tweed Heads.  The Perth dealership, to be built this year by the existing franchisee, is in the city's expanding northern suburbs.BMW Australia managing director Stavros Yallouridis says the expansion reflects the mechandising concept that takes the product closer to the buyer.  "We are, to a degree, a product for the impulsive buyer," he says."We have to go to the buyer and that redefines the distribution of our products. In many cases, as we expand our products with smaller cars, we have to be in city areas that demand small cars in order to sell to our target market."Yallouridis says the car market was aiming for record highs and, in BMW's case, highlighted by the 1-Series, X1, 5-Series and 7-Series."The X3 comes in next year and there's the 1-Series hatch and coupe, so sales will expand further," he says.The Audi Centre in Perth is more than doubling its floor area, taking over a neighbouring property in the high-end car retail suburb of Osborne Park. The suburb also hosts Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lexus, Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz.The additional building will accommodate the new 26-car showroom - effectively 2.5 times bigger than present - to display one of each of Audi's models.  Dealer principal David Collins says the investment of about $15 million was necessary."The customers demand it and we desperately need the space because of the growth in Audi sales," he says.  "In 2004 we had 120 new car sales. Now we have 1050."Audi's sales are higher than BMW's when you take out the SUVs.  "I've ordered 250 units of the A1 for 2011 because of demand."  Collins says the Q5 was "the most successful car I've ever been involved with".He says it reflects the growing trend of buyers seeking to downsize their cars yet retain quality and luxury.  BMW has recorded a 10.4 per cent national sales growth year-to-date and, with global sales this calendar year of 775,000, has surpassed Mercedes-Benz (735,000) and Audi (726,000).It has since January sold 1156 of its baby X1 SUV - now its third most popular single-body seller after the 3-Series (3326) and X5 (1955) - for 2 per cent of Australia's passenger-car market.Audi has 1.7 per cent of the car market, primed by sales year-to-date of 1458 A3s and 2521 A4s, and Mercedes-Benz has 2.6 per cent thanks primarily to its E-Class stranglehold of the $70,000-plus large luxury car sector and the robust 4242 C-Class sales.

The German brand said it would never make a full-on M-car based on its baby 1-Series, but the latest Carparazzi pictures reflect a major backflip. Or perhaps a car which is an M1 in everything but its name ...The wide-body 1 Series is caught during brisk runs through the countryside near BMW headquarters in Munich and it is clearly very different even from the 135i coupe.  The biggest change is the flared wheelarches and the giant alloy wheels, which wrap around huge four-wheel disc brakes.The M1 is expected to get its motivation from a 260kW inline six-cylinder engine fitted with twin turbochargers. It will make the car easily the most powerful in its class, ensuring a 0-100km/h sprint time in the 5.5-second range.The Carparazzi pictures also show a much deeper front airdam with bigger radiator opening, as well as scoops to the front brakes.  The new boss of BMW's M division, Kay Segler, admits his mission is partly to make cars which are more affordable and accessible to younger buyers."We want to make M young again, and affordable," he says.  "My sons would like to have an M, and when they're 40, not 60."The M1 is likely to be previewed later this year, most likely at the Paris Motor Show in October, with sales in 2011.

Underneath the liquid white paint scheme and bright blue pinstriping, this 1 Series is powered by a new high-tech all-electric engine.  In place of a regular petrol or diesel engine is a synchronous electric motor that pumps pump out 126kW/250Nm.Called the Concept ActiveE, BMW will unveil the car next week at the North American International Motor Show in Detroit.  Unlike other concepts though, the ActiveE is far from a flight of fancy.The German carmaker plans to allow a select group of private and fleet buyers to drive the car and evaluate it before committing to production.  The design brief was to provide a zero emissions green machine without sacrificing the driving experience BMW drivers expect.BMW engineers positioned the heavy electric motor to provide a similar weight distribution and agile handling as the 1 Series.  The motor is integrated in the rear axle and the electronics are above the motor.Despite being a porky 1800kg, the ActiveE will reach 60km/h in 4.5 seconds, 100km/h in nine seconds and has an electronically limited top speed of 145km/h.  Like the Mini E, it has a range of about 160km on a single charge.The high-tech theme carries over to the stylish cabin.  Smartphone technology allows the driver to perform some functions remotely.  Drivers will be able to use their mobile phones to check the car's battery status, search for public charging stations or turn on the heating or air conditioning remotely.Inside the cabin gets a lift with bright white and blue accentuated leather trim and back-lit three-dimensional dials.  The dashboard and console also display information about the electric drive system.The motor draws its energy from a new, advanced lithium-ion battery pack jointly developed by BMW and SB LiMotive.  BMW has also solved to problem of cooling the battery pack by developing a new temperature regulation system.  Importantly too the ActiveE has enough room for four and a 200 litre boot.The battery pack can be recharged in as little as three hours by a normal power outlet at public charging stations or via a special wall-mounted box.  The car's drive components were developed as part of project i, BMW's newest research division set up in 2008 to explore high-tech transport solutions.  Company officials say the technology is likely to appear in mass produced cars from about 2015.

Back in 1999, the only diesel-powered vehicles on the Australian market were sports utility vehicles, light commercials and trucks.

It is the Ford Fiesta ECOnetic, which re-set the economy benchmark this year at just 3.7L/100km - that is 76.3 miles-per-gallon in pre-decimal currency - and also produces just 98 grams of carbon for

Two years ahead of its showroom appearance, the all-new 3 is caught for the first time outside BMW's development base at Munich in Germany.  The hand-built prototype carries heavy camouflage in the company's signature swirls, but it is still easy to pick the general shape and proportions of BMW's future best seller.The next 3 Series, coded E93, will be slightly bigger and much more elegant than the current E90. It picks up the styling direction of the latest 7 Series flagship, which has been smoothed and preened from the brutalism of the previous Seven.The upcoming E93 has typical 3 Series proportions, from its wheels-at-each-corner chassis layout to a short rear overhang and the C-pillar treatment with what BMW calls its 'Hofmeister kick'. Carparazzi pictures of the car show a widened grille and the same sort of headlamp treatment already seen on the Seven and expected on the upcoming 5 Series replacement, which will be on Australian roads in June 2010. At the back, the boot and light treatment is typically BMW with an L-shape to the lighting package.BMW insiders say the the plan for the next 3 Series will again see the coupe and cabrio models take a slightly different design direction from the sedan and wagon. The shift will include unique lamp packages with more body jewellery for the upmarket models.Like the 1 Series, the E93 has a flexible, modular mechanical platform which allows BMW to spin extra models with minimal time and cost penalties.The model lineup for the new 3 Series is still not clear, but is expected to include an active hybrid with a three-cylinder engine connected to an electric powerpack, with everything from special tyres to aero-tweaked wheels, brake-energy regeneration, engine stop-start system and a pre-heater for the engine, gearbox and differential to cut emissions through the critical first few minutes of any trip.

It doesn't really matter what you call it, the push is all about sustainability and leaving as much as we can from this generation for the next rather than gobbling up finite resources with no regard

It doesn't really matter what you call it, the push is all about sustainability and leaving as much as we can from this generation for the next rather than gobbling up finite resources with no regard

The compact, front-drive price leader will be revealed next month at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The styling sketch gives very few hints beyond the basic shape, as the finished concept car could easily have either three or five doors.Regardless, the Premium Compact Concept is aimed straight at the BMW 1 Series and Audi's A3. Lexus says the car will ‘demonstrate a mix of technical innovation and ground breaking design’, but refuses any more information until September 15.

...in collaboration with Lamborghini, in sufficient numbers for homologation – approval to race.Early on in the project, Lamborghini pulled out for financial reasons and BMW took full control, by which time only seven prototypes had been made. All up, only 456 production examples were built.The M1 Design by Giugiaro was inspired by the Paul Bracq-designed BMW Turbo, created as a celebration piece for the Munich Olympics in 1972. As you can see in our gallery of photos, the M1 didn’t veer too far from the Turbo design.Powered by a twin-cam M88/1 3.5 litre, six cylinder engine, the precursor of BMW’s 3 and 5 series ‘M’ cars produced 204kW in the road-ready versions, and a whopping 634kW in the turbocharged racing cars.Procar In motorsport, the BMW M1 had various successes in the short-lived Group B era but is best known for Procar, a one-make championship using modified M1s.Known as the Procar BMW M1 Championship, it served as an opportunity for drivers from different disciplines to race against each other in exactly the same car. Niki Lauder and Nelson Piquet are notable winners of the event. Australia’s Alan Jones also raced during this time.In 1981 BMW chose not to continue Procar, deciding instead to pursue its entry into Formula One.BMW Art cars The BMW Art Car Project was started in 1975 by race driver and auctioneer Herve Poulain. His idea involved commissioning renowned artists to paint production and race ready beemers.To date 17 cars have been painted by big name artists like Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and our own Ken Done. Robin Rhode painted the last one – a BMW Z4 in 2009.BMW M1 Homage For the M1’s 30th anniversary, BMW unveiled the Giorgio Giugiaro-designed BMW M1 Homage Concept at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d'Este in 2008. It was again inspired by the BMW Turbo and, of course, the original M1. BMW insists that the Homage is just a ‘design study’ and will not be produced.