BMW 530i News

BMW's new 530e will join the iPerformance line-up alongside the 330e, X5 40e, 740e, 225xe and X1 25Le.

... including sedans and wagons with no less than four different engines:- A 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel;- a 2.5-litre six cylinder petrol;- a turbocharged 3.0-litre six-cylinder petrol;- a 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo-diesel; and- a thumping twin turbocharged 4.4-litre V8.Prices range from $83,300 to $178,900 with a bewildering and eye watering array of options that then add tens of thousands more to your bill.WANT MORE?First drive by Mark HinchliffeReview by Philip KingFirst drive by Kevin Hepworth

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.

Almost a quarter of a century later he managed to buy one; an Alpina B10 replica. (Alpina is a German tuning, customising and motorsport company specialising in BMWs.) Kelly's car started life as a 1986 BMW M635 CSi. It was bought for $55,000 in 1993 by Martin Dibb of Melbourne who then spent $82,000 completely rebuilding it to Alpina B10 specifications.The first thing to go was the auto box which was replaced with a Getrag five-speed manual.  It also received a shorter drive shaft, engine remapping, Alpina-spec suspension, Bilstein dampers, stainless steel exhaust system, engine blueprint and balance, Alpina forged pistons, Alpina brake callipers, ventilated discs, Alpina wheels, a Stowes of Sydney paint job and exterior/interior fit-out with Alpina stickers, badges and decals, including a replica certification plate on the glovebox.The new owner fell in love when he saw it.  "My wife Gail and I love everything German," Kelly says.  The first car the Californian bought was an American 1955 Fordomatic V8 he paid $300 for when he was 16.  "I outgrew it and went to uni and sold it," he says.He then owned a Nissan 269Z, followed by an MG TD before he started his German love affair with a Porsche 924 which he took to Germany where he worked for a while.  "A bit silly to buy it in the States and then take it to Germany," he says  "That's when Gail started falling in love with BMWs. She had a 735i."The couple then moved to Australia where they owned a Toyota Camry, Honda CR-V, then a 2004 BMW X5 4.4-litre V8, a 1981 Porsche 928 auto and a 1984 928 GTS.  They still own the X5 and Porsches and belong to both the BMW and Porsche owner clubs.She says "German cars are reliable, comfortable and they feel safe."  He says, "I like the styling and power."  She says, "He used to rubbish me because I loved BMWs."Then he stumbled on the BMW Alpina replica and the friendly family feud over marques ended.  He bought it for $55,000 in December and plans to show it at various concourse events.  "I was looking for the perfect show car and this is it," he says."I didn't mind it being a replica.  "It was converted with Alpina's blessing, but they wouldn't give it a genuine coach badge."So how does it drive?  "Absolutely great," he says.  "It's got herb," she says. "But it's his baby. I don't drive it."  They haven't been driving it much at all lately as they don't take it out in the rain."The previous owner never drove it in the rain, either," Barry says.  "I spend a lot of time cleaning it, nourishing the leather, conditioning the trim."  He keeps his baby in his garage under a special tailored cover he had made in the US for $300.  "It fits like a glove," he says.  "And I always keep a chamois in our cars, just in case it rains."

It won’t come until four months later in October, but it will bring a bonus diesel for the first time.   The BMW mid-sized wagon will be offered in a 520d turbodiesel alongside the 535i twin-turbo six-cylinder petrol model.The German car maker has detailed a number of features in the new car to reduce fuel use and emissions but the stop-start function - which the company has featured on its Mini Cooper D turbodiesel - is absent from the debutante diesel 520d Touring features list.  BMW spokesman Tim James says the stop-start system is currently available only with a manual transmission."We won't be bringing in the manual transmission on the 520d, we will test the market with the auto but if there's any demand we'll consider it,” James says.  "The system doesn't work with current automatics, the updated M3 DCT double-clutch gearbox will get the system, in due course it will make its way into automatics but the technology isn't there for it yet," he says.PricingThe price premium is likely to remain similar to the step between the current-model 530i sedan and wagon - a $6000 price premium is currently paid for the 530i Touring at $123,179.  James says they don't have any firm pricing on the new model but expect the diesel to make up the majority of sales."The 520d in the E60 sedan has been a success for us, so we're tipping on that being the volume model with the new wagon, the 535i because of its attributes of power and efficiency, which follows the path of the 530i but the next step up.   We can expand the line-up if demand requires it, depending on what moves through the new sedan range as well, other opportunities may open up," he says.The Touring is available in Europe as a 150kW/270Nm 523i petrol and the 180kW/540Nm 530d twin-turbo diesel model, the latter using a powerplant seen in several passenger and SUV models here.  The 520d decision was based on the volume based on the E60 as well as creating a lower entry point in terms of price for the prospective Touring customer," he says.Body and stylingThe new 5 Series wagon shares its wheelbase with the sedan - at 2968mm BMW says it's the longest in class - and the design staff have followed styling cues from the sedan to provide buyers with a rear end that is less like wagons of old.  "The design is quite sleek and sporty, it's lost some of the bulkier looks of the typical wagon, but in line with the new sedan - it shares the same dimensions with the 5 Series sedan and a slighter shorter version of the 7 Series backbone," Mr James says.Drivetrains The 520d Touring is powered by a two-litre four-cylinder diesel engine with a variable geometry turbocharger and common-rail direct-injection similar to the current 320d sedan.  Peak power is 135kW at 4000 pm and torque of 380Nm is available from 1750 to 2750rpm.BMW says the average fuel consumption is 5.3 litres per 100km, emits 139g/km, hit 100km/h in 8.3 seconds on the way to a 220km/h top speed.  The 535i Touring has the now-familiar three-litre twin-turbo straight six petrol engine with 225kW and 400Nm between 1200 and 5000rpm, claiming 8.5 litres per 100km, 197g/km, 0 to 100km/h in 6.1 seconds and a top speed of 250km/h.EquipmentThe equipment list is expected to be extensive, including Parking Assistant, Surround View, a collision warning system in conjunction with Active Cruise Control, Lane Change Warning, Lane Departure Warning, High-beam Assistant, Night Vision and a Head-up Display.The safety features will include dual front, side and curtain airbags, tyre pressure and defect monitoring, bi-xenon adaptive headlights and cornering lights.  BMW Australia says the ConnectDrive infotainment system will be in the 5 Series Touring but minus the internet access."That we won't have, we don't take it because when it was trialled on the E65 7 Series for a short time because the uptake was very low and the expense was quite high - the infrastructure isn't here to support it yet,” James says.As for the performance buyer, an M5 is not on the horizon yet.  "It's not in our planning in this stage, that's not to say it's been discounted - we haven't had an M5 Touring confirmed yet, there's plenty of speculation around the sedan but not the wagon," James says.

Europe is back in business, celebrating the end of the global financial crisis that rocked the car world and drove the biggest of them all - General Motors - into bankruptcy.There were green shoots of happiness at the Frankfurt Motor Show in late 2009, but this week's Geneva Motor Show shows the same sort of excitement and promise of an early spring morning in Europe.Every carmaker has something new in Geneva, from full-blown production models to quirky concepts. The Swiss show is often dismissed as a sideshow but this time, with 25 new models as diverse as the Nissan Micra and Porsche Cayenne, there is serious action on every front.Carmakers are predictably focussed on green solutions to meet the challenges of fuel economy and CO2 emissions - with Fiat even showing a tiny two-cylinder engine for its funkoid 500 - but there is also room for fun.  How else do you describe a Honda city concept that looks like a 20th-century take on the unicycles used by Circe du Soleil acrobats?But even the green machines have turned mean as Ferrari shows its 599 Vettura Labratorio hybrid, although BYD from China balanced things with its fully-electric E6 hatch.Porsche also has its 918 supercar concept and both it and the Ferrari tap Formula One technology with KERS hybrid packs - that's Kinetic Energy Recovery System - to store energy for a quick, explosive boost of extra power.Porsche plans to put the 918 into production but, as yet, Ferrari is only using the super-special 599 - painted symbolically in green instead of the Italian brand's signature red - as a rolling labratory.  "We want to understand how to use this technology. We are not yet at the point to see it in a road going Ferrari," says Amedeo Felisa, Ferrari's CEO.The upbeat mood at Geneva is captured by the top man at Bentley, Dr Franz-Josef Paefgen, who says the reaction to his company's Mulsanne and Supersports models has filled him with confidence after a shocking 2009.  "There is a feeling that it is behind us," Paefgen says as super-wealthy Bentley buyers emerge from their GFC-proof bunkers.Walking the stands at Geneva I see green machines that are more than just concepts and plenty of choices for small-car buyers, from budget hatches to baby prestige cars like the Audi A1.  The little Audi gets a rousing reception, Volvo wins praise for the safety and styling of the new S60 sedan and the Alfa Giulietta - replacement for the 147 - raises more questions about the often-promised renaissance for the brand.Lexus shows a compact new CT200h hybrid that brings petrol-electric power to a new group of buyers, Mini has the Countryman with extra ground clearance and the basics for a World Rally Championship challenge in 2011, and the Mitsubishi ASX crossover - test driven this week by Peter Lyon near Tokyo - heads the Japanese contingent.For Alfa fans, the Giulietta is pitched at the Volkswagen Golf with a range of 1.4, 1.6 and 2.0-litre petrol and diesel engines.  BMW’s new 5 Series and a 4-litre six-cylinder X5 diesel creates a predictable buzz among SUV fans.Kia’s head of design, Peter Schreyer, lifts the wraps off the stylish new Sportage, which is due in Australia later this year, with the promise of both turbodiesel and petrol engines, as well as front and all-wheel drive.  The Sportage could be major hit for the Korean brand, matching the impact of the Hyundai ix35, when it goes on sale with an opener in the sub-$30,000 bracket.Ford leverages the first European appearance of its new Focus hatch in Geneva by unveiling the Focus wagon, which at this stage is a Europe-only car. Europeans are big wagon buyers and the wagon is expected to account for one-third of all Focus sales there.But the Focus wagon is only the halfway point - the fifth of 10 proposed models - using the same basic building blocks and the future includes a Focus electric car. Currently, the wagon, hatch, sedan and C-Max and Grand C-Max all share the same underpinnings.“We are now using our global resources to develop cars for all countries, including Australia,” says Ford's technical chief, Derrick Kuzak.  He also reveals the current Europe-only Kuga compact SUV and North American Escape will be replaced by a single global car, which could head to Australia, and hints that a hot performance Focus with a more-powerful version of Ford’s 2.0-litre Ecoboost turbo engine will also be available in Australia.Lexus uses Geneva to showcase its critically important CT 200h hybrid, which it hopes to become a volume player.  But the CT 200h is not the only car to push the green theme at the affordable end.Hyundai has the stylish turbocharged 1.7-litre i-flow concept sedan, which uses a lithium-ion battery pack with six-speed dual-clutch transmission, and it is joined by the ix35 FCEV hydrogen fuel-cell car and Opel’s Flextreme GT-E.Apart from Ferrari, Porsche shows off its GT3 R Hybrid - also with KERS - and 918 Spyder, both exploring the outer limits of hybrid drivetrains for race and road cars.  The Cayenne, along with the VW Touareg, share their hybrid debuts as Audi uses the first appearance of its baby A1 to reveal a full-electric E-tron concept that joins earlier R8-based plug-in supercars.Apart from the conventional petrol and diesel A1, Audi also adds the RS5 coupe to its A5 lineup and a hybrid A8 sedan. The RS5 gets a powerful 335kW/430Nm 4.2-litre V8, quattro all-wheel drive and seven-speed S-tronic dual clutch gearbox.Like the BMW-built Mini, Audi has several distinctly styled A1s on its stand. It says owners will have access to so much customisation that no two A1s will be exactly the same.Audi has the Mini firmly in its sights with an expected starting price around $33,000 for the A1, with a three-door car to kick of sales with a five-door and cabrio expected. The range-topper is expected to be an S version with a performance-tuned turbo four cylinder engine.Citroen springs one of the few real surprises of the show with its hot-pink Survolt sportscar while Giugiaro teams up with Proton to deliver a stylish hybrid city car.  The Survolt is a pure design fantasy with no likely production expected. The showcar did not even have an engine and Citroen says it has been designed to go electric.Apart from the sleek Citroen, two Italian styling houses - Pininfarina and Bertone - have show cars based on Alfa Romeo mechanical parts. Bertone returns to Geneva for the first time in two years with the Pandion 2+2 concept coupe and Pininfarina shows the two-seater 2uettottanta.Apart from the twin concepts, Citroen has the DS3 Racing as well as its DS High Rider three door, a pointer to the next-generation C4, which is due to be launched next year as a five-door.  The company will only build 1000 versions of the DS3 racing and the head of local importer Ateco Automotive, Neville Crichton, says he would like to bring a few to Australia but will initially focus on launching the DS range.“It certainly is a good looking thing,” Crichton says.  Mercedes-Benz continues to create a buzz at Geneva with its SLS Gullwing supercar but the F800 Style, a pointer to the next-generation CLS minus its cantilever rear doors, dominates the Mercedes stand and shares the limelight with the E-Class cabriolet.Fitting in the quirky category in Geneva is Aston Martin’s Cygnet hatch, a remake of Toyota’s iQ city car. The $50,000 makeover model will only be sold to existing Aston Martin customers.  Aston Martin boldly has the Cygnet right next to its four-door flagship sports car, the Rapide.

BMW product communications manager Michael Blabst said there were many ways the new 5 Series could develop that would depart from the new design of the liftback GT models. “There are even many options just with the slant of the kidney grille,” he said.The GT is based on drawings by Christopher Weil which won an internal company design competition five years ago. Wolfgang Stadler, who runs the Dingolfing plant where the car will be produced, said the design merged a sedan with a station wagon and an SUV.The car features four doors with frameless windows, a coupe-like stretched roof line and a two-part tailgate that works like the new Skoda Superb. The chunky rear end of the vehicle is reminiscent of the old Rover Vitesse and SD 3500. It will be available in Australia in March with pricing and specifications available closer to the release date.BMW Australia product manager Tim James said it would cost more than an X5 or 5 Series starting at about $140,000-$150,000. It comes with three engine variants, two petrol and one diesel, mated to an eight-speed automatic gearbox from the 7 Series.James said it was difficult to determine customers and the mix of petrol to diesel because the GT was “a whole new category of vehicle”. He said it was a “niche vehicle” like the X6, not a volume seller like the X5. “But in saying that, X6 volumes exceed those of Porsche Cayenne,” he said.The engines are featured elsewhere in the BMW line-up, but the straight-six petrol 535i GT has been updated. It also comes as the 530d with a three-litre turbo diesel delivering fuel economy of 6.5 litres per 100km and CO2 emissions of 173g/km.Outside, it features the prominent nose of the 7 Series, LED daytime running lights and the two-part liftback that allows the boot to be used like a normal sedan, or as a one-piece, powered tailgate on a hatchback or station wagon.It will come in five and four-seat options, although the middle rear seat is suitable only for children or short stints. The back seats can individually recline and move forward and rear by 100mm. BMW claims the rear legroom of a 7 Series and the rear head room of an X5.The seats are also set higher than a normal sedan in what BMW describes as a ‘semi-command position’ which allows easy entry and exit from the vehicle without having to ‘climb’ up into it. The rear seats also fold flat in a 60-40 split to reveal a large cargo area. 

The Frankfurt Motor Show literally roared to life this morning when a classic BMW 507 roadster ran laps of a custom-built oval track inside the German carmaker's $30 million stand.

Just as the German brand's 7 Series flagship was eased back last year from the brutality of the 1990s, the upcoming 5 will ease away from the hard edges of the current E60 model when it hits the road next year.The first clear pictures of the 2010 5-Series have emerged from the Carparazzi cameras in Europe, complete with the signature psychedelic swirls now used to camouflage every new BMW model. The car is codenamed the F10 and could be presented as early as the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.The biggest change is coming at the front of the 5-Series, where a softer look and pedestrian-impact regulations will give it a much softer look. But the twin-kidney grille continues and the front overhang will be reduced.Carparazzi sources say the F10 will have a significantly larger cabin, with the wheelbase stretched by nearly 10 centimetres and the track also widened. The body will only be around two centimetres longer, while height will be cut a fraction.A new design of 17-inch alloy wheel will be standard, with 18 and 19- inch wheels as optional equipment.The mechanical package is likely to pick up variations of the existing 5-Series engines, but with tweaking for better economy and emissions. The starting motor is expected to be a 2.5-litre inline six and the top models will continue with a V8.There is no news yet on the Formula One-inspired V10 fitted to the M5 sedan, or whether BMW is likely to swing the hybrid powertrain it is fitting to the X6 SUV across to the mid-sized Five.

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.