BMW’s only UK engine plant continues to be a big player in engine manufacturing. The plant produces both MINI and BMW four cylinder powerplants and is integral in the MINI production triangle that ends at the Oxford Plant.
Official Release: Today, a four-cylinder 2.0L petrol engine will be the two millionth power unit to be built since production commenced nine years ago at the BMW engine production plant in Hams Hall, North Warwickshire.
As BMW is taking the wraps off of its latest 5 Series in Geneva, it will also be unveiling its latest hybrid. Yes the mystery concept car that had been speculated about is indeed the Active Hybrid 5. The car has a straight-six combined with an automatic transmission plus an electric motor developing maximum output of 40 kW (drawing its energy from a high-voltage battery at the back of the car). While it’s not the revolutionary drivetrain that we’ll see in the Megacity vehicles, it does bring a fair share of high tech to the masses. It’s also a glimpse of what is to come with the next generation 3er. But we’ll have more on that later.
Official Release: The new concept car offers a particularly good rendition of the new BMW 5 Series Sedan in all its dynamic, efficient and innovative qualities, at the same time representing the ongoing development of the BMW ActiveHybrid X6 and the BMW ActiveHybrid 7 with their drivetrain technology already in production.
The drive system featured in the BMW Concept 5 Series ActiveHybrid consists of a straight-six gasoline engine with TwinPower Turbo technology, eight-speed automatic transmission, and electric drive. Integration of BMW ActiveHybrid technology in a sedan already extremely efficient with its “conventional” combustion engine reduces both fuel consumption and emissions once again by more than 10 per cent. At the same time the electric motor offers a boost function, supporting the gasoline engine in generating particularly dynamic drive power for an even more sporting driving experience in the car.
This morning BMW officially took the wraps off of the latest iteration of the X5 M Sports Package. Along with all the improvement of the 2011 X5 LCI, the M Sports Pack brings the following:
19″ & 20″ M Wheels
Special tailpipes
M Aero-package
M door sills
Satin-finish aluminum window frames (similar to the Z4 35si mirrors caps so we’re sensing a trend)
BMW Individual roof rails in satin-chrome
Electric adjustable sport seats
M leather steering wheel
M Footrest
So if you’re keeping score at home, BMW now has four sport oriented crossovers; the X5M, X6M, X6 BMW Performance and the X5 M Sport.
Official Release: The new BMW X5 – set for launch in spring 2010 – now cuts an even more commanding figure with new, even more powerful engines and an extended selection of innovative driver assistance systems. All of which takes the characteristic driving pleasure of the Sports Activity Vehicle into a new dimension. This latest boost to its dynamic capability can be highlighted particularly vividly by the addition of the also new M Sports package, available for the new X5 from launch. A top-quality and perfectly judged combination of exterior, interior and chassis components gives you everything you need to experience the enhanced sports performance of the BMW X5 with even greater intensity – and to showcase it in suitable style.
Our friends over at MWerks recently sat down with BMW’s head of design Adrian van Hooydonk for a one on one interview of sorts. The interview is interesting as it discusses the current design of BMWs and some insight as to what the future may bring. There are some other facts about the man and his passions as well. It is a great read.
Excerpt from the Mwerks Interview:
MW- How will we remember the “van Hooydonk” era?
AvH- It’s too early to say. Plus, my mission is not to create a van Hooydonk era. I work for BMW, and I want to do good BMWs, good Minis, good Rolls-Royces. That’s my goal; history is written later.
MW- Which production car best exemplifies your design ethos?
AvH- I would say the new 5 Series is a good example. We are about to launch it soon; in Geneva we will show the car. The 5 Series is a very important car for BMW. It is bought by people who drive long distances, so they know what it means to drive a BMW; they like sporty driving. The 5 Series needs to express all of that, and it is really the 120% BMW. It’s what the brand stands for.
I think the design team did a good job on that car. We developed it in a way that is more elegant and more sporty at the same time. That is the essence of the BMW brand. Elegance combined with sportiness. It’s quite difficult to develop both of them. Sometimes you cam make a car more elegant but then it becomes less sporty, or you make it more sporty and it becomes less elegant. I think in the 5 Series we were able to do both.
All of us we here at BimmerFile are enormous fans of the Nordschleife. Some of us dream of driving there while some of us already have and await the next trip to the Green Hell.
What better way to start your daydreams about speeding around the “Karrusell” than a piece of toast branded with the ‘Ring on it? Heck we can’t think of one better except for having a tall glass of Gerolsteiner and lemon to wash it down.
It seems we are not alone as the Nürburgring fan shop has an officially licensed toaster available for just shy of 30 euros. We know of at least one person out there that should own this piece of machinery… it would match the plate on their Z4- (MB; we’ll get you one if you do not already have it sitting on your counter!)
A few months back BMW Motorsports announced that they’d be building a Z4 GT3 car with a fixed roof and a V8 engine. We all gasped and the questions started. Did this mean the return of the Z4 Coupe for the street as well? How fixed was the roof. What V8 are they using? We have a few answers (no the car will not be sold to the public, yes it’s using a version of the M3’s V8) but perhaps most importantly we can now say we’ve seen the car. The Schubert Motorsport team took delivery of one of the first Z4 GT3s from BMW and has hit the track in Germany this week to shake down the car.
BimmerFile is dedicated to bringing you the most interesting news, links and reviews related to the BMW brand and it's vehicles.
We believe in the old school BMW ownership experience. We believe in garage nights with a six pack and some friends. We believe in 2002s, in E30 M3s and E34 540s with the 6 speed. We believe in progress in both design and engineering but we haven't lost sight of what made the brand and its products great all those years ago. And yes, we believe in the manual transmission.
We long for the days of the wave and for the days of roll-up windows. Yet we love the gadgets on the inside and the xenons on the outside.
In short, we can't get enough of BMWs. This is BimmerFile.
Sections: Official News Feb 28th, 2010 No Comments 
