BMW 1 Series News

The 135i coupe has been targeted by the M division as the idea base for its next go-faster car, following the latest X6 M and ahead of a likely upgrade of the upcoming 5 Series GT."The 135i is already a very good car. It is an obvious choice for M," says Albert Biermann, who heads product development at BMW's M operation."We need to get young people into our cars. The 135 is a great car already but also a good basis. Let's put it this way. Everything is on the radar, but some models get more focus than others.For now we are fine on the Sports Activity side with the X6 and X5.""We would rather focus on something on the opposite side of the range, doing maybe a smaller car. That way we get the younger customers in our cars."Biermann says M is changing shifting its emphasis a little as it responds to the greening of global motoring, and shift which has already triggered BMW's decision to withdraw from Formula One racing at the end of the year."We will definitely bring emissions down a lot. The X6 M is a good first example. This is a big car, with all-wheel drive, and it is better in emissions than the M5 or the M6. And the best in the segment," Biermann says. "But it's faster than the competition."He says M is committed to the broader push by BMW. "This is us doing our part at BMW M to support the Efficient Dynamics strategy. We call it efficient M Dynamics."The next models that will come out you can expect a signficiantly lower emission level, but not compromising on performance. We are working on the next M5 and we are on the early stage of the next M3. And we are looking into many things."So, what about hybrid and electric cars? "So far we got the most out of fuel, and in future we will get the most out of batteries. Everthing at its time. There is a time for hybrids and there will be a time for real electric cars."I would not say that there will be a hybrid M car or a full electric M car, but I'm not saying there won't be. But if it makes a true sports car then, yes. And if it's a technology that is affordable for the customer then you can expect us to come."Sales of M cars have dropped a little in the past 18 months but Biermann says the dip is related more to the models than any customer drift away from the go-fast models. "Last year we had 24,000 units. But we are depending on the lifecycle of our models, so this year the M5 is one of the oldest models in our portfolio. And the M3 has had its peak.""We are on a decreasing number this year. Last year, although we got hit like everyone else, we had our second-best year ever with BMW M. We definitely plan to grow, especially with the new models."

The BMW M1 Homage was created to celebrate a 1970s original, show how the car would have been changed for today, and what might be possible in the future.The original M1 was launched in the late 1970s as a mid-engined supercar to redefine the performance benchmark for German luxury brands.It used a development of the inline M-series six already used in the 6 Series coupe of the same era, but had a 0-100km/h sprint time in the low six-second range and a top speed beyond 250km/h. Those were impressive numbers for the time.But BMW had even bigger plans for the M1 and it became a serious racer.The M1 made its name in Procar as a string of big-name drivers in the early ‘80s — including Australia’s Alan Jones and triple world champion Niki Lauda — took guest drives in the ultimate one-make series.They delighted in flinging the car, which was powered by a 630kW turbocharged engine, around the same tracks where they raced their grand prix cars. And they made big cash with plenty of prizemoney on offer.The Procar series created some torrid racing and another piece of history when pop art legend Andy Warhol created the fourth of BMW’s fully functional “Art Car” masterpieces. It even raced at Le Mans in 1979, finishing sixth overall.The original M1 was a limited-edition supercar but the Homage is even more exclusive, as there is only one.BMW says it is a “design study”, which means despite enthusiasm from many M1 fans, it will never become a production car.The design of the new coupe has strong links to the original M1 in everything from air vents in the bonnet, louvres on the rear screen and the black cut line that divides the roofline from the rear section of the body.It is driveable and that means its Liquid Orange paintwork has made a splash on some of Europe’s most scenic roads when it has not been starring at motor shows.So the Homage will be the dream machine for BMW in Melbourne, but the company will also have the latest in road-going reality as it displays its all-new 7 Series flagship and the quickest of its new X6 family.The new 7 shows the latest BMW styling direction, as well as a range of advanced technology including a system which can recognise speed signs and tell the driver the current limit. The ultimate X6 — at least until there is one from the M (performance) division — is called the xDrive50i and is powered by the same twin-turbo V8 used in the latest 7 Series. The 2009 Melbourne International Motor Show... 

Starring British actor Jason Statham from Snatch and, of course, the first two Transporter movies, Transporter 3 takes the high-speed action right across Europe.In this film, Statham, as Frank Martin, is forced to transport two bulky bags and a young Ukrainian woman from Marseille to Odessa.In Transporter 1 & 2, most of the action scenes lasted 30-40 seconds. Transporter 3 features almost unlimited stunts.Bond film stunt expert Raacemi Julienne said they shot all the car chase scenes at high speed rather than speeding it up later."All the car chases are filmed at real speed, without models, to capture the pace and inertia of a car going into a spin," he said.Unlike most modern action movies, 3D was used sparingly with most stunts being performed on set."That's where you have to come up with new ideas," Julienne said."How do you jump a car on to a train without it smashing up? How do you slide it down the side of truck?"Every day was a different challenge and most of the solutions were dreamed up on the spot. That's what made the shoot so exciting and such fun."Most of the chase scenes were structured like action symphonies, which resulted in crumpled fenders, high-risk chopper flying and even the use of a purpose-built quad bike in the streets of Marseille.The car star of the action flick is the six-litre, 331kW, W12-powered Audi A8 quattro luxury saloon, driven by Statham's character; at one stage on two wheels between two trucks on a high-speed Autobahn.Although how he manages to do so many handbrake slides with an electronic parking brakes defies logic.The A8 also replicates the spiral jump first seen in the 1974 James Bond film, The Man With The Golden Gun.Transporter3 also features a cornucopia of vehicles including an Audi Q7 SUV; BMW 3 and 5 Series; several Citroens and Renaults; a Hummer H1; Kenworth, DAF and Scania trucks; a Kia Cee'd; Range Rover Sport; Lada Samara and Peugeot police cars; and even a tractor that pulls the A8 out of a river.Statham is a bit of an Audi fan owning an old RS6 Audi and waiting on the release of the RS6 V10 twin turbo with 426kW of power.The rugged action flick actor with a background in martial arts did most of his own stunts in the first two Transporter movies, including car chases, scuba diving sequences and fights.Statham is no debutante to car action films having also appeared in last year's Death Race, which was a reworking of the 1975 film Death Race 2000 featuring David Carradine.Audi is also no debutante to the silver screen, having featured in the previous two Transporter movies, Ronin, I Robot, Mission Impossible 2, About a Boy, Legally Blond 2, Hitman and The Matrix 2.It also starred its R8 supercar in last year's action film, Iron Man, with Robert Downey Jr who arrived at the Australian premiere in a silver R8. Supporting roles in Iron Man were played by a S5 sports sedan and a Q7.The first two Transporter movies earned more than $50 million worldwide.Transporter3 hits the big screen on February 5. 

It would have been so easy for the Blue Oval team to drop the bundle as they worked towards producing a new car for a segment that was shrinking daily before their eyes.

It's time to reveal the second half of the carsguide Car of the Year field - and this time it's all closer to home.The second group of five finalists includes a pair of Aussie icons and three of the perennial favourites out of Japan.These COTY contenders have been through the same gruelling three-day test program as the opening five contenders - the Audi A4, BMW 135i Sport, Fiat 500, Jaguar XF diesel and VW Tiguan.With the full final field of 10 revealed, the votes are in and a winner will be announced next Friday.For the stories, video and photos visit Carsguide Car of the Year 2009. 

The baby BMW's edgy styling won't win any beauty prizes and the two-door body is a pain, but think of V8 performance from a compact coupe and you get the picture.

They may not offer the same degree of driver satisfaction, but the new “double-clutch” autos are certainly lightning fast.The next challenge for car makers will be to engineer the same kind of drive experience as a manual into these transmissions - a view shared by the head of BMW's M GmbH division Ludwig Willisch.The development of the dual or double clutch transmission dates back to World War II.The concept was invented by a bloke called Andolphe Kegresse just before the outbreak of hostilities.The first working model however was developed by Porsche in the 1980s.The PDK (Porsche Doppelkupplung) transmission made its debut in the Porsche 956 and 962 Le Mans race cars as well as the Sport Quattro S1.A dual clutch transmission (DCT) is a semi-automatic transmission with separate clutches for odd and even gears.The outer clutch drives the odd numbered gears, while the inner clutch drives the even numbered gears.Shifts can be accomplished without interrupting the delivery of engine power, by applying the engine's torque to one clutch just as the engine's torque is being disconnected from the other clutch.A twin-clutch gearbox eliminates the torque converter used in traditional autos.Dual clutch transmissions use wet multi-plate clutches, similar to the clutches used in traditional automatics.But a seven-speed version that uses dry clutches, like those usually associated with manual transmissions, will be been introduced by Volkswagen with its new Golf and Jetta.Getrag which makes the seven-speed transmission in the new M3 is also said to be developing a dry DCT.Although dual clutch transmissions offer superior performance, they simply don't deliver the same degree of driver satisfaction that comes from operating a manual transmission in a sports car.That's because they just don't offer the same degree of driver involvement, because there's nothing quite like the feeling of punching the clutch and ramming home the shift at precisely the right moment.The next challenge for manufacturers will be be the engineering of some physical effort/involvement into shifting gears.BMW's figures show that the DCT transmission offered in the latest M3 is faster than any previous offering including the SMG box in the E46 M3.The SMG or Sequential Manual Gearbox reduced shift times to 80 milliseconds and this figure was further reduced to 65 milliseconds in the later M5 sedan.With the latest seven-speed M Double-Clutch Transmission with Drivelogic however there is no longer any interruption of power when changing gears.Looking at the acceleration times for the M3, the E46 SMG posted 5.2 seconds for 0-100km/h.But the latest E92 model does the dash in just 4.6 seconds.The same car in six-speed manual form is good for 4.8 seconds.Ludwig believes the manual will disappear altogether eventually, but for the time being he said that manual alternatives will continue to be offered.At the moment BMW M has several projects on the go including the development of a new production model based on the Concept CS four-door coupe.It's the second standalone model to come out of the M division, by that we mean one that is not based on an existing BMW model.Prior to this it put together the M1 Homage sports concept, shown for the first time earlier this year year at Italy's Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este.We were invited to take part in a long and wide-ranging discussion with the BMW M boss this week in Germany.In all likelihood we will see M versions of the 1 Series, X6 and perhaps a mid-engined competitor for Audi's R8 super car based on the M1 Homage.It also paves the way for the production of other standalone models in the not too distant future.As quick as the new double-clutch transmissions are, Ludwig agrees they lack the feel of a manual.In this respect he agrees there is still room for improvement, but believes a manual transmissions will continue to be offered for the foreseeable future.“We build cars for customers and there are still a number of customers that like a manual transmission” he said.“I think with time the double clutch transmission will be the solution for the M3. It's faster and it is technology that is in racing.“I think the stick shift will go away in the future. DCT is something that can't be beat. It's faster in acceleration, its smoother than an automatic gearbox and it's more efficient than any other gearbox.“You could say that a few years ago that it was always a decision between sportiness or comfort, or sportiness or more efficiency -but this transmission does so many things at the one time.“On the other hand especially in the United States we have so many customers that like to being involved with the car and to show that they are able to shift manually and so on. Therefore it makes sense for a car like the M3 at the moment.” 

The electric newcomer, which will sit below the 1 Series, has been confirmed by BMW chairman Norbert Reithofer.“Later this year, we will decide about building an electric car,” he says.“Modern lithium-ion batteries would allow for the combination of an electric drivetrain and sheer driving pleasure.”No further details, but in his annual report he is happy to talk about other additions to the group's line-up – an all-wheel-drive Mini, compact X1 four-wheel-drive and a slightly smaller Rolls-Royce – for next year.Reithofer also says BMW is taking new directions as it works towards a sustainable future. But he believes plenty, particularly better fuel economy and fewer emissions, can still be achieved with traditional engines.“Last year we reduced our average fleet fuel consumption more than 9 per cent,” he says. “Our present line-up includes 22 BMW and five Mini models that run below 140g of CO2/km. We will cut fuel use 25 per cent in our new-car fleet between 1995 and the end of this year.”BMW will produce its first hybrid, based on the latest X6 four-wheel-drive, and is pushing more diesel engines. Ultimately, Reithofer sees a diesel-electric hybrid.But it's not all good news. Reithofer talks about cutting the BMW workforce by 3100 and cites a range of threats, from rising prices for raw materials to urbanisation.“Average speed in greater Tokyo is already down to 15km/h. You might as well bike,” he says.But he believes BMW has a workable long-term strategy.“Individual mobility will remain a trend,” he says. “And a company that wants to be a frontline player has to consider the world of tomorrow.” Would you consider buying a hybrid car to beat the oil price rises?

Seven of the 11 winners in Germany last week were turbo-charged units, which reflects the major part the technology is now playing in efforts to improve fuel economy and curb emissions.Six companies collected prizes, but one brand had more reason than most to celebrate.BMW dominated the competition, claiming half of the awards including the top honour, International Engine of the Year.That accolade went to its 3.0-litre twin-turbo six-cylinder unit available in the 135i, 335i and X6.It is the second year in a row the engine has won the top gong.The German firm also claimed the New Engine of 2008 title with its 2.0-litre turbo-diesel, available in the 123d.Other winners for the company were the 4.0-litre V8 found in the new M3 and the 5.0-litre V10 in the M5 and M6.BMW's joint venture with French company PSA also paid off. The 1.6-litre turbo-charged four-cylinder used in the Mini and Peugeot 308 won its class.“BMW rightly views these awards as the highest industry recognition of its outstanding achievements in engine technology and manufacturing,” BMW director of power-train Peter Langen says.“It is an honour for our 3.0-litre twin-turbo engine to have earned the highest accolade for the second year running. And we are truly delighted that so many of our other engines have been judged class leaders.”The other multiple winners were Toyota and Volkswagen/Audi.Toyota's hybrid synergy drive, which powers the Prius, won the inaugural Green Engine of the Year prize.It's not the first time the engine has been honoured, though. It has previously won 10 gongs in the annual awards.Toyota's other winner — the 1.0-litre unit that powers the Toyota Aygo, Peugeot 107 and Citroen C1 — came in the under 1.0-litre category.Like BMW, Volkswagen/Audi was honoured for its forced induction engines.The 1.4-litre TSI engine, which uses super-charging and turbo-charging, won its category. It's other winner was the 2.0-litre turbo motor in the Audi A3, VW Golf GTi and Skoda Octavia.That engine drew particular praise for not only its performance and economy but its flexibility.The 2.0-litre unit comes in a variety of tunes — 125kW, 147kW, 195kW and 200kW — to suit different vehicles, including the new Audi TTS.“The benchmark for efficiency and performance in its category,” was one comment from the judges. “A great example of an engine that's so flexible it can deliver the right solutions for a variety of vehicles.”Porsche won the performance engine award with its 3.6-litre turbo from the 911 turbo and 911 GT2.Subaru was the only other winner with its 2.5-litre turbo.British specialist magazine Engine Technology International is responsible for the awards, which are voted on by 65 motoring journalists from 32 countries, including Australia.The ceremony was held as part of the 2008 Engine Expo in Stuttgart, Germany.The awards are held in high regard by the automotive industry because the judges consider the full range of engine criteria: performance, fuel consumption, driving behaviour, driving comfort and the use of technology. The highest industry recognition of its outstanding achievementsThe Winners of the International Engine of the Year 2008 BMW 3.0-litre twin-turboBest new engineBMW 2.0-litre diesel twin-turboGreen engine of the yearToyota 1.5-litre hybrid synergy driveBest performance-enginePorsche 3.6-litre turboBest sub 1.0-litreToyota 1.0-litreBest 1.0-litre to 1.4-litreVolkswagen 1.4-litre TSI twinchargerBest 1.4-litre to 1.8-litreBMW-PSA 1.6-litre turboBest 1.8-litre to 2.0-litreVolkswagen/Audi 2-litre turboBest 2.0-litre to 2.5-litreSubaru 2.5-litre turboBest 2.5-litre to 3.0-litreBMW 3.0-litre twin-turboBest 3.0-litre to 4.0-litreBMW 4.0-litre V8Best above 4.0-litreBMW 5.0-litre V10 

The explosive growth of the BMW model range is about to be defused in Australia, with the line-up being trimmed to cut competition and duplication, making it easier for customers in showrooms.The plan is to have only three choices of any individual model, with two petrol engines and one diesel.The current list includes 36 individual models in the 3 Series sedan line-up ... without counting the coupe, convertible or station wagon.“We get a lot of questions about whetherwe have too many models,” BMW Australia managing director Guenther Seemann says.“I think we do have too many.”He believes BMW must cut the choices to streamline business, though he says there will still be all-new models in future — with the X6 four-wheel-drive and M3 sedan up next — asthe German company looks for customers.The work has begun, though there are a dozen individual BMW lines, from the baby 1 Series to the four-wheel-drive X5 and flagship 7 Series, with 50 official engine choices. BMW has 189 individual models on the list.“We've already begun tidying up. The 116i hatch has been removed from the range, there are the manuals in the 3 Series and one of the X3 manuals,” Seemann says.“In the 5 Series range, one of the V8s will go.I believe for each and every model line-up in the future, as we add models, we need two petrol and one diesel variant in each case. No more. We have so many different model lines, it is not practical or possible to display them all in a showroom.”He says it will take time to get things sorted, partly because there are so many models.“It will happen in the next two years. Globally, there are five petrol and five diesel engine choices. And that is just in the 3 Series range,” Seemann says. But there is definitely space for some additions, like the four-door M3 sedan.“We will bring the four-door version, but I do not know at what price. We have to price it lower than the M3 two-door.”