Wedging BMW's V10 into an M3 is nothing new, but what if you want the convenience of a wagon? Manhart Racing has the answer. The German tuner has converted an E91 to look like the M3, then stuffed M5's V10 into the engine bay complete with its seven-speed SMG. To quote Manhart Racing..."Attention all sporty, family men!"
The transformation from a standard E91 3-Series Estate to super wagon begins with the exterior, where the car gets the front fascia, front fenders, side skirts, and the powerdome hood from the M3. Manhart Racing then adds their own rear wheel arches and rear fascia that makes room for a stainless steel exhaust system sporting quad exhaust tips. Next, the 5.0-liter V10 gets stuffed into the engine bay along with the the gearbox, and a limited slip differential is mounted out back.
Manhart claims a 0-100 kmh time of 4.3 seconds and a top speed of just over 200 mph. You can buy your own turnkey version for a mere €120,000 or Manhart will gladly upgrade your current E91.
Lexus has been the undisputed king of luxury automotive sales in the U.S. for the 21st century. It hasn't even been close. BMW has played second fiddle the entire decade, but through the first eight months of 2009, the German luxury car maker has made some major gains on its Japanese luxury competitor. In fact, through August only 2,293 vehicles separate BMW from becoming the new king of the mountain.
BMW's climb to the top of the sales charts comes during a sales downturn the likes of which hasn't been seen in decades, yet the Bavarian automaker has weathered the storm much better than Lexus. BMW sales are down 33,000 units versus the first eight months of 2008, a 28 percent decline. Lexus is down an amazing 40 percent through eight months, a 40,000 unit decline. BMW owes much of its momentum to the venerable 3-Series, which is down 24 percent on the year yet still handily outselling the Lexus IS and ES. Lexus is staying in the lead on the back of its perennially successful RX crossover, which is down only four percent over the year.
While BMW has plenty to be proud of in a down year, catching Lexus is no sure thing. Lexus actually bested BMW by a substantial 3,600 units in August, proof that Toyota's luxury arm is getting stronger as the year progresses. In the end, top luxury sales is only good for one thing, and that's marketing. Lexus has been number one so long that it doesn't even need to brag any more, but if BMW manages to pull out the win in 2009, we're sure there'll be more than a couple celebratory commercials.
The BMW 3 Series is one of the most fun cars to drive for under $50,000, and if you live near Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver, you may be eligible to try out the entire lineup at no cost to you. BMW is inviting select Canadian registrants to drive all flavors of the 3 Series for two hours and compare them to the competition from Lexus, Audi and Mercedes. The fun won't be relegated to yourself, either, as BMW encourages you to bring a friend along, as well. The goal, obviously, is to sell more BMWs, so the German automaker will pick only registrants that are found worthy (or able to afford) a fine piece of German engineering. In other words, if you're 19 and currently driving a Dodge Neon, don't wait by the mailbox. The BMW train stops in Vancouver from April 17-19, in Montreal from May 8-10, and in Toronto from May 29-31 and June 5-7. More information, including registration information, can be found on the BMW Canada website.
Global Motors just posted some spy pics of what is believed to be a next-generation BMW 3-Series mule. The taped up rear and chunky fender flares distinguish it from a stock 3. If you're scratching your head thinking we just got a new 3-Series from the Bavarians, you're right. The E90 debuted in 2006 and just received a freshening for '09, so we don't expect anything to come of this project until 2011 at the earliest (which goes some way toward explaining why there's no new production bodywork in evidence).
The latest iteration of BMW's all-singing, all-dancing plutocrat limo will roll out the door starting at $81,125. That sum will get buyers the 2009 750i (including $825 for destination charges), but those who are looking for a bit more legroom in back will have to pay $85,025 for the 750Li. Production for these models began last month, but don't expect to see them on the forecourts of your local BMW Center until later this spring. The rest of the BMW lineup is also getting a nudge on pricing, with the average MSRP climbing by 0.7 percent. All pricing increases are effective January 1, 2009; so if you're planning on gifting yourself a M5 or X6 for the holidays, make sure you do so before New Year's.
High commodities prices and the unflattering value gap between the Euro and U.S. Dollar are forcing a lot of European automakers to bump their prices here in the States. We told you a few weeks ago that BMW was planning on raising the sticker price on many of its products, and now we're starting to see the extent of the damage. The price changes range from an increase of $600 on a 128i to $1,400 on an M6. The 335i received several MSRP increases, with the sedan going up by $800, the coupe by $1,200, and a raise of $1,300 for the convertible. The 328i sedan, meanwhile, rose $700 to an MSRP of $33,400. Options also went up in price, as the dual clutch on the M3 has gone up by $200 making it a $2,900 option. The sport package for the 335i sedan and coupe has risen by $450, and some standard equipment like the Logic 7 Sound System has been nixed for 2009. Beginning in October, iPhone integration can also be had for $150. Since $150 is almost the price of the phone, that one smarts just a bit.
Rest easy, torque-lovers, BMW will be releasing the diesel version of its uber-popular 3 Series sedan in the United States later this year, exactly on schedule. Because it's so late in the year, the Bavarian automaker will be labeling it as a 2009 model, leading some to believe that the 335d was not going to be coming until next year. Not so, according to BMW spokesman Tom Plucinsky, who confirmed to KickingTires that both the 335d and the X5 35d will be making it Stateside sometime in November after production begins in September.
Both upcoming diesel models from BMW will use a 3.0-liter twin turbo oil-burner rated at 265hp and 425 lb-ft of torque. That's plenty of stump-pulling torque, but the best news could be the expected fuel mileage of 23 mpg in the city and 33 mpg on the highway when paired with the six speed automatic.
The 2009 BMW 3-series will be revealed in all its facelifted glory at the Paris Motor Show and sales will begin across North America this October. The only discernible differences up front are a new fascia that apes the recently unveiled 7-series, new headlamps with "altered graphics," a contoured hood and modified mirror housings. Out back, the subtle changes continue, with a new taillight design that integrates more cleanly into the trunk lid and a reworked bumper that will join a one-inch wider track on high end version of the 3-series.
Inside, you'll find a revised armrest on the driver's side door, an updated iDrive controller and software, a high-resolution 8.8-inch screen, with options for an 80-gig hard drive that can store MP3s and the sat nav software.
The 335i's (claimed) 300 hp, 3.0-liter twin-turbo six will remain, as will the 328i's 230 hp, 3.0-liter inline-six. The new addition to the family is the 335d, which is packing a 265 hp, twin-turbo 3.0-liter straight-six diesel, equipped with urea injection to keep the U.S.'s SMOG sniffers happy. However, if you were hoping for a 335d coupe, you're out of luck – the oil burner is only available in the sedan and fitted with a six-speed automatic transmission. Otherwise, the tranny choices will include the six-speed manual or six-speed auto 'box. However, Autoweek makes no mention of the DCT gearbox. Too bad.
For those fond of delving deep into E90 minutiae, these are the best shots yet showing off the subtle changes coming to the BMW 3-series. For the rest of us, the tweaks are largely inconsequential. World Car Fans has unearthed some of the clearest shots yet, and the change that most people will notice are the taillamps, which look to get a slightly different shape. It even appears that the cutlines between the taillamp pieces on the trunklid won't line up with the rest of the cluster mounted in the quarter panel - asymmetry. The mirrors look to gain large repeaters for the blinkers, possibly just a camouflage ruse, and minor updates likely go on inside and underhood, too. Also likely to be quite noticeable once the wraps come off is a reshaped front fascia, which appears to place foglamps next to the license plate. Overall, a mild refreshing until a new 3-series can be whipped up. In the meantime, the new 7 will set the template for BMWs to come.
We've known that BMW has plans to revive the tii series name ever since the automaker unveiled the Concept 1-Series tii at the Tokyo Motor Show. While we don't have anything as official as a press release from the Munich-based automaker, CAR online got BMW chief Norbert Reithofer to fess up that tii models are on their way. What we don't know, however, is whether they will be equipment packages that include upgraded mechanicals, perhaps that can be ordered a la carte, or full fledged models that have been fleshed out by BMW engineers. Reithofer did indicate that the 1-Series and 3-Series will be first in line for the tii treatment, and that subsequently an M model of the 1-Series is not being planned.
Over the past 20 years, BMW has managed to back up its claim of building Ultimate Driving Machines despite each of its cars growing in size and gaining weight with each new generation. It's done this largely by adding bigger, more powerful engines to its cars. With new CAFE standards demanding more fuel efficient vehicles in the U.S., and BMW already indicating that cutting cylinders to help meet those standards is a distinct possibility, the tii ethos of subtracting weight and focusing on handling more than passing power seems like the most probable path down which BMW will run.
