What can we say, except BMWs are great for racing and we at BF love it! The next round of the Joy campaign features real people as opposed to hired spokespeople or actors; people like you and I that happen to love BMWs. What “Joy” is may be a bit hard to explain but get yourself out on the track and you will be full of it! I hope you enjoy this well put together video as much as I did (love both Lime Rock and WGI).
BMW NA is officially rolling the new range of Carbon Fiber accessories for the M3 and we thought it was a good opportunity to take another look at a car most of us can’t get enough of. The current E92 M3 with the Competition Package is nothing if not aggressive. In fact we’d have to say it’s our favorite E90 era 3 Series ever (sans the GT3 of course).
So for no real good reason, we present you the 2011 M3 with Competition Package in Alpine White.
Let’s get a few things straight; the sun was out and the pavement was as dry as could be. As I entered the corner I thought about that torque vectoring system I had read so much about (and felt in the X6 50i we tested last year). I knew what it was capable of and I knew very well the X5 M had moved the goal posts even further. Exactly where that limit was I didn’t quite know.
Yet here I was entering a 90 degree turn with substantial speed on a desolate rural road in the heart of Wisconsin. I simply turned in smoothly and began to feel the impossible. The 5,000 lbs BMW X5 M started to oversteer. And I’m not talking a little wiggle. The M Division’s first AWD vehicle actually drifted out of the corner and then elegantly got back in line (with appropriate correction) for the next 90 degree coming up in 300 feet.
This article was suppose to be a thrashing of the X5 M as an overweight impostor to the hallowed M brand. But that begs the question of how do you even measure what M is? While the answer is inevitably personal, there are a few core ingredients that we can all agree on. Power, balance and precision. However thanks to the X5 M, the scale of which we measure those attributes has just shifted. Is it a true M based on tradition? Can a vehicle with all wheel drive, turbos and an automatic transmission be mentioned in the same breath as the E30 M3 or the original M Coupe? After 1,000 miles in seven days the answer is a little complicated, but during those few seconds in that corner it was nothing but pure joy in the most raw “M” way.
Is this the new front wheel drive MINI based BMW 1 Series? The image above was taken from the promotional video below. Our gut feeling is that it’s likely not the car but perhaps something that didn’t’ make the cut. Regardless it’s a sneak peak into how BMW designers create the products we see on the street.
As enthusiasts we are elated that BMW and ///M are creating a product that should in theory get closer to our ideal driver’s car- the 1 ///M. Here at BimmerFile we love the concept of this work in progress. Both staff and readers have been following the progress and speculation of this much anticipated model almost with religious fervor. All of the information we have acquired from sources have painted a fairly decent picture of what this future model will bring in terms of performance and how it will be priced somewhere in the mid forty thousand dollar range for a base car.
The pricing makes us wonder a bit as to what demand such a vehicle would have. In the speculated price point there will be many similarly priced cars fulfilling the same needs. Some of these competitors will either be new or slightly used. That begs the question: What would you buy for $45k? The model years of the choices in the poll take into account that the 1 series ///M version will not appear stateside until after March of 2011 as a 2012 model year from what we are hearing.
Traditionally, the last days of May and first days of June see the Grand-Am Rolex and Continental Sports Car Challenge Series holding back-to-back events at Lime Rock Park and Watkins Glen International.
A serious accident on back roads near the ‘Ring has claimed the life of Toyota’s famous chief test engineer and driver, Hiromu Naruse. He was behind the wheel of a Lexus LFA prototype when it was involved in a crash with a BMW 3 Series.
The BMW involved was a production 3 Series sedan with two people working for BMW on board. The Police investigation is ongoing so BMW will not comment on circumstances of the crash.
The official unveiling of the new X3 is coming very soon (next week if what we are hearing is correct). BMW has teased the X3 over the last year but now they have launched a teaser website with more images and bits of info about the 8 speed transmission and the new 35i version.
The teaser site can be found here. While it is not earth shattering in nature it is worth a few minutes if you have time to kill.
Oh and the login is from the folks in marketing: JOYX3
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: Motorsport, Video Jun 30th, 2010 3 Comments 
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