While this car is probably not testing for the US market (or any market since it is not taped up at all) it still is ok to dream sometimes! We are fairly sure many of you would be interested in a 5 door hatch like this, in say: 123d form. It has about 200 HP, 295 ft/lbs. of torque and achieves around 44 mpg. in mixed driving. Performance wise this car can hit 60 in just under 7 seconds and has an available manual transmission so it is no slouch!
First, I would like to apologize for the lack of posts over the past few days, lots has been going on behind the scenes here at BimmerFile!
Next up are some real spy shots from Jeff Budzinski’s Flickr account. These shots he took show a variety of BMW models being tested in the heat of California. These may in fact be ///M versions of the X5 or X6 though we would hope them be performance versions (as BMW has given us in the past) with the ‘S’ adder to the badge.
The shots of the unwrapped X5 is our first glimpse of the bumper that will be on the higher performance performance models, we expect a similar look from the X6 once that loses the wire mesh.
The 1-series in this set is what is really interesting to us. Our insiders reported to us about a month ago that BMW was testing something new in the 1. Other clues we were given at the time were that the mule had a single blacked out tailpipe (like the 135i but only 1), different wheels and a kit similar to the current 135 though not identical, at the time we were unable to confirm this information but now that we do see BMW is testing something in the 1 we thought we would spill the beans! The car in this set is sporting EU lights so this is not a US spec car… Could this be the upcoming 4 cylinder turbo?
We have seen several sets of spy photos of what can be interpreted as a BMW X6 ///M over the last month. Originally it was thought that it would feature an over boosted version of the Twin Turbo V8 in the xDrive50i as the source of wheel spinning power.
Indications now are that these test mules could be featuring a advanced hybrid system designed under BMW’s F1 program, a Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS). This is an different system to the previous hybrid X6 (non-///M) we had featured which will utilize the system jointly developed with MB, GM and Chrysler.
Here are some shots of future additions to the BMW lineup; the PAS (based on the next generation 5) and the X1. The redesigned X3 was caught in its swirled disguise as well. We have been hearing the X1 should premier in “concept” form this fall while the X3 will relieve the current one some time next year. This is a year earlier than the normal life cycle as the current version is based on the E46 and is looking very dated. The PAS will debut around the time of the new F10 5 series.
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: E81/82/E87 1 Series, EfficientDynamics, Spy photos Aug 5th, 2008 19 Comments 
