BMW’s new Vision M Next Concept looks like a hybrid-electric M1 successor

BMW is on a tear when it comes to electrifying its product portfolio. By the end of this year it wants to have 500,000 electric vehicles on the road around the world. Most will be hybrid or plug-in hybrids, along with the i3.The next step is to launch another 25 electrified rides by 2023, two years earlier than the companyd laid out in its original mission statement.The mix will include a plug-in version of the X5 SAV and an all-electric version of the X3the iX3 will launch next year.Eventually, the M performance division will also be turning to electrification. That future was revealed late June in the form of the Vision M Next Concept. It is set to be the first to marry the performance M badge with a hybrid powertrain.Its a radical-looking vehicle with i8-like scissor doors and laser-wire technology for both the headlights and taillights. It also uses facial recognition technology to unlock the car as the driver approaches.Pressing the touch sensor on the scissor door sees it swing open to reveal a minimalist cabinit blends a funky-looking interior with an F1-like steering wheel and truly neat gauge cluster. The drive modes are changed on the steering wheel like an F1 racer, while the key information like revs, speed, energy management and even the drivers heart rate are incorporated into the multi-panel curved glass display. Naturally, it features the latest autonomous capabilitythe iNext will include a Level 3 autonomous capability, so expect more of the Vision M Next.The Vision M has two core driving modes, Ease and Boost. Ease is where the riders take a back seat and let the Vision M Next to do the driving. Pieter Nota, the board member responsible for customers, brands and service, said future BMW models will continue to have a steering wheel. This is needed to support the Boost mode. It takes the plug-in hybrid powertrain and turns it over to the driver.And a serious drive it promises to be. The Power PHEV drive system gives the driver a choice between an electric all-wheel drive setup or a rear-wheel drive setup with either all-electric or turbocharged four-cylinder gas engine motivators. The system twists out 600 horsepower and has a top speed of 300 kilometres an hour. The proof of the M side of its personality is found in the run from rest to 100 km/hat three seconds, it will wow potential customers. On the other hand, it also offers an electric-only driving range of 100 kilometres.Asked what the likelihood of a Vision M Next-inspired production car might be, Nota was non-committal. However, he did not rule it out. It does make sense, as the concept takes the current i8 and ramps it up in all areas so it would seem like a natural fit for the
Origin: BMW’s new Vision M Next Concept looks like a hybrid-electric M1 successor

BMW’s M might build a standalone supercar

BMW M1 BMW’s M performance division is changing its mind about not building a standalone model, and is now instead studying how to build one. “We are investigating M variants that may also be standalone; that don’t have a predecessor,” BMW M chief Markus Flasch recently said in an interview with Australia’s Car Sales. The exec also noted the cars may not be range-toppers—the company’s already chosen specific categories in which the vehicles could reside. Flasch has previously said the new BMW M8 offers supercar-like performance, so the standalone model won’t be faster than the flagship GT. If the standalone model isn’t range-topping, then it isn’t likely we’ll see a competitor to Audi’s R8, or the Mercedes-AMG GT. A concept car is planned to be revealed at the end of June that should give us a better idea of things to come. Electrification and self-driving are expected to be present on the concept. If you’re old enough to remember it, BMW M did have a standalone supercar in the late ’70s; it was called the M1. Although the car was built for racing, the rules were changed before it was able to actually compete. It remains the only true supercar BMW ever built. The new M car is still very much in the early stages of study, but the company could have the vehicle approved before M’s 50th anniversary in
Origin: BMW’s M might build a standalone supercar

BMW’s 3 Series wagon is saying good-bye to Canada next year

Photos leaked mid-June of the wagon variant of the new BMW 3 Series, a good-looking Touring model that unfortunately won’t be headed for Canadian shores. Yes, the 2019 model year will mark your last chance to get a 3 Series station wagon here for a while, apparently. Der 3 has always been a worldwide staple for the brand, even in the face of ever-increasing SUV and crossover sales threatening sedans. And while spy pics of the new 3 Series Touring have been floating around the internet for a while, they’ve always shown a wagon draped in several iterations of camouflage. These images, posted by a member of Germancarforum, are allegedly the “first pictures G21”. Given what we’ve already seen, they’re surely not too far off the real thing. If accurate, the 3 Series Touring will be a bit of a looker. Its front end mimics that of the sedan, with angry headlights and a hood cutline that mercifully vanished during the redesign. The side looks familiar, too, at least until one get to the C-pillar. It might just be our jaundiced eyes, but that wagon liftback glass looks a lot more steeply raked than the old 3er wagon. Combined with taillights seemingly lifted part-and-parcel from the sedan, this is one car we hate to see go but love to watch leave. Twin sewer-cannon exhaust tips look righteous, too. We emailed the folks at BMW Canada, who confirmed our suspicions this über-wagon won’t be coming to our country. “The BMW 3 Series Touring, currently on sale as a model year 2019,” said Rob Dexter of corporate communications, “will not be part of the 2020 BMW 3 Series lineup in Canada.” The decision is understandable, as the Touring likely makes up a very small slice of the sales pie in this country. If you’re looking for a new Drei – German for three – Series Touring, then, best get yourself down to a BMW dealer before the 2019s
Origin: BMW’s 3 Series wagon is saying good-bye to Canada next year

BMW’s 2019 1 Series ditches rear-wheel-drive for front

Count another BMW lost to front-wheel drive: after fifteen years of primarily rear-drive motivation, the new 1er hatch makes a switch to pull rather than push. Consumer demands for space, and shareholder demands for platform efficiency, seem to be at the core of this decision. BMW says the new 1 Series’ interior is much roomier than its predecessor, especially in the rear compartment. There’s more space for kit in the cargo area as well, thanks to the space-saving packaging of front-wheel-drive. We pause now to remind our readers of ads that BMW used to run. Both iterations of the old 1 Series have always looked a bit gawping, with large headlights and slightly-off styling proportions. This new model, shown here in M135i form with xDrive, neatly integrates Munich’s current styling language, from an expressive set of headlights to slick horizontal tail lamps. Its twin-kidney grille has not grown to tumour size as it did in the X7, thankfully. For European-market cars at least, there are three diesel engines and two gasoline mills from which to choose. They are bookended by a 116-horsepower oil-burner at one end and the blue M135i shown here, which makes 306 ponies. BMW suggests the latter will scamper to 98 km/h from zero in less than five seconds. There will be a six-speed manual transmission available, at least on lowly 116d and 118d trims, plus the gasoline-powered 118i. Certain models in that range will be available with a seven-speed dual clutch. There will also be an eight-speed Steptronic ‘box, the only one mentioned as available in the snazzy M135i xDrive shown here. Keeping up with the other two-thirds of the German Drei, the new 1 Series will be offered with all manner of driving nannies, ranging from lane-keeping to city-braking functions. Active cruise control will help at the helm, at least up to 160 km/h, and an array of parking assistants will aid even the most hamfisted BMW owner in avoiding dinging up their new whip. The third-gen 1 Series will be unveiled to the public for the first time in late June at BMW Welt in Munich. Hosting the auto show premiere, meanwhile, will be the IAA event in Frankfurt later this year. The worldwide launch will get underway on September
Origin: BMW’s 2019 1 Series ditches rear-wheel-drive for front

For Daimler CEO Zetsche, retirement means embracing a forbidden love for BMWs

Dr. Dieter Zetsche, chairman of the board of management Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars addresses the media before the automaker unveils the new C-Class car during a preview night for the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.Carlos Osorio Retirement means harvesting the fruits of lifelong labor, trying out new things, and not giving a damn what others think. For Daimler Chief Executive Officer Dieter Zetsche, who stepped down on Wednesday, that spells out as a three-letter word: BMW. In a clip distributed on BMW’s Twitter feed, a camera follows a Zetsche lookalike – complete with signature walrus mustache and rimless spectacles – around on his last day at work. There’s Zetsche handing in his work badge at the front desk, bidding farewell to employees in the lobby with a few selfies, before being whisked back home by a chauffeured black Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedan. After the car drops him off and leaves, Zetsche sneaks into the double garage, only to emerge at the wheel of a flaming-orange open-top BMW i8 sports car to roar off his compound. The caption: Free at Last. The clip ends with a note of gratitude, saying “Thank you, Dieter Zetsche, for so many years of inspiring competition,” followed by the BMW emblem and the carmaker’s slogan: Sheer Driving Pleasure. The lighthearted display of humor on the part of Daimler’s fiercest rival highlights how the two carmakers have embraced a more cooperative approach of late, culminating in a joint car-sharing business and a pledge to work on autonomous cars. Both companies, like much of the industry, are bound together by the same challenges: the emergence of self-driving and electric rivals, new competitors like Tesla, a simmering trade war with the U.S. and changing consumer tastes on owning cars in favor of sharing them. Zetsche is stepped down at the company’s annual general meeting May 23, and will be succeeded by Ola
Origin: For Daimler CEO Zetsche, retirement means embracing a forbidden love for BMWs

BTCC 2019: Jordan continues BMW’s strong form

Andrew Jordan continued the strong start to the season for the new BMW 3 Series with a double victory in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship at Thruxton, staging a remarkable comeback after being hospitalised in a heavy accident in the previous round. The WSR BMW Pirtek Racing driver was involved in a heavy crash in the opening race at Donington Park that ruled him out for the remainder of the day, but was right back on form in Hampshire. But despite a pair of wins, it wasn’t a perfect weekend for Jordan, as a clash dropped him well down the order in the final race of the day. BTC Racing Honda Civic Type R driver Josh Cook took a commanding win in that event to strengthen his championship bid. The ultra-fast Thruxton circuit has not traditionally suited rear-wheel-drive cars such as the BMW, but Jordan qualified third in his 330i M Sport, and vaulted into second at the start of the opening race. He then battled past pole-sitter Sam Tordoff’s Civic Type-R midway through the race, taking a clear victory. Dan Cammish finished third in his works Civic Type R, ahead of WSR Team BMW driver Colin Turkington. BTCC EXCLUSIVE | VIDEO: Round 7 in 60 seconds #BTCC pic.twitter.com/am5jzDQ9jH — BTCC (@BTCC) May 19, 2019 Turkington, who had taken a double victory at Donington, made a great start of his own in race two to jump into second. He pressured Jordan for much of the race, but eventually settled for second.Cammish moved past Tordoff into third and briefly closed in on the two BMWs, but fell back near the end as light rain began to fall. Jason Plato took fourth in his Vauxhall Astra, ahead of Matt Neal (Civic Type R) and Tordoff. BTCC EXCLUSIVE | VIDEO: Round 8 in 60 seconds #BTCC pic.twitter.com/kl29Tscbzm — BTCC (@BTCC) May 19, 2019 Ash Sutton finished 11th in his Subaru Levorg, and was then drawn on pole for the reverse-grid final race. But in damp conditions Cook made a strong start, and squeezed past the Subaru at the first chicane to take the lead. He then survived two safety car periods to take his second race win of the year. Rory Butcher fought his way past Sutton with a bold move at the daunting Church corner to take second in his Civic Type R, a result that put him into a tie for the championship lead with Turkington, who claimed ninth. Jordan’s day didn’t end so well, as he was pitched into a spin mid-race, finishing 17th. BTCC EXCLUSIVE | VIDEO: Round 9 in 60 seconds #BTCC pic.twitter.com/swXtHtrZ4a — BTCC (@BTCC) May 19, 2019 Turkington and Butcher both have 102 points, with Cook just two points behind them, and Sutton three further back. The next BTCC round is at Croft in Yorkshire in June
Origin: BTCC 2019: Jordan continues BMW’s strong form

Autocar confidential: Morgan’s factory expansion plans, BMW’s hydrogen doubts and more

In this week’s report from the motoring grapevine, we hear why BMW isn’t prioritising hydrogen technology development, how Morgan will use some of the funds from its recent cash injection and more. No solid plans Solid-state battery technology remains several years away from production reality, according to new Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius. Speaking to Autocar, he claimed that none of the suppliers developing it “are currently at the stage where we can go out and say ‘please sell me these’”. Källenius reckons we won’t see a solid-state production EV before 2025. Citi limits The Skoda e-Citigo, launching this year as the Czech firm’s first electric model, will feature a range of around 186 miles. That will make the city car, based on the Volkswagen e-Up, “more than competitive in its class”, according to Skoda boss Bernhard Maier. New plot for old plot Morgan has built on only half of the 10-acre site where its Malvern factory is located. This means there’s plenty of room for the new museum, visitor centre, design studio and production increase (from 750 to 1500 units) it has proposed. The plans have received council backing. Not cooking on gas While Audi is ramping up its hydrogen programme, BMW’s product management boss Peter Henrich doesn’t see fuel cells “lifting off in the near future”, pointing out that infrastructure challenges with hydrogen remain. Any success fuel cells have is “very much dependent” on the speed of battery development, he
Origin: Autocar confidential: Morgan’s factory expansion plans, BMW’s hydrogen doubts and more