BMW M3 Convertible

By Stephen Dobie

First official pictures

18 January 2008 15:08

The M3 family has swelled further with BMW’s announcement of the new convertible version - and a twin-clutch gearbox. This is the first M3 with a folding metal hardtop, and the first with BMW's new transmission.

It's a new seven-speed gearbox called M DCT gearbox – a double-clutch affair (like VW's seven-speed DSG) allowing near-instant changes, with little drop in power. The new transmission works with BMW’s Drivelogic, offering 11 different settings including Launch Control. Expect it as an option to be added across the M3 range when the convertible arrives in summer 2008.

Styling changes

The M3 cab is distinguished from regular 3-series drop-tops by the powerdome on the bonnet and enlarged front air intakes; other telltale signs are the M-division gills on the side and fast M3 door mirrors. Beefed-up alloys are borrowed from the coupe, the carbon roof is not (for obvious reasons).

BMW claims the new convertible is 50 percent stronger than its predecessor, with less flex but added weight. The M3 Convertible weighs 135kg more than the coupe.

The performance from the M3's 414bhp V8 suffers from the extra heft, but the 4.0-litre still pulls the car to 62mph in 5.3 seconds - not exactly slow. Top speed remains a limited 155mph. The M-differential also makes an appearance, potentially making this one of the most entertaining open-tops to sling around.

As with other M3s, Regenerative Braking will be part of the package, although it's not some sort of fancy hybrid. All M3s only charge the alternator when on the overrun, so when you lift off the throttle the energy isn't waisted, although with a combined 21.9mpg and 309g/km emissions, owners won’t be buying this one for its green credentials.

The car will be shown to the public at Geneva and is expected to make it to the UK, one of the M division’s strongest markets, nicely in time for summer. Expect to pay round £55,000. And fear not, the air-conditioning adjusts when you open the roof, so you can stay warm, even if the British weather is anything but.

BMW X6 show debut

By Gavin Green
First official pictures
14 January 2008 01:34
Affluent German makers now try the shotgun rather than the sniper’s approach to new model sectors – fire enough speculative models out into the market, and some are sure to hit the target. We’ve had sports activity vehicles, urban activity vehicles and just about every other type of crazy crossover as carefully focused as a blunderbuss. Now BMW invents yet another niche – the sports activity coupé.
What exactly does that mean?
It’s summed up by the new X6, unveiled today in Detroit. BMW says it mixes the driving brio of a sports car with the practicality of an SUV: X5 meets 3-series coupé. With its new ‘Dynamic Performance Control’ – a clever rear diff that apportions torque side-to-side to improve traction and handling – and new top-end twin-turbo 408bhp V8, it may well be the world’s sportiest 4x4.
But that’s about as meaningless as the world’s roomiest coupé (or the world’s sportiest semi-articulated lorry). If you want a sports car, don’t buy a vehicle that’s closer in dimensions to a Ford Transit than a Ferrari.
So how practical is the X6?
Not very. It has four seats only – not very clever in a two-ton-plus vehicle with a bigger footprint than an X5 – and rear seat room is absurdly cramped for a car so long and tall. What’s more, although it’s a four-door (and not a proper coupé), the back seat is awkward to climb into (or out of).
Carrying versatility is less than many smaller hatchbacks. The backrests fold down increasing boot space – and that’s it for seating gymnastics. You sit lower than in an X5 – ‘to increase the sporty feel’. Yet the weight, wheelbase, fascia and diesel engines (the big sellers in Europe) are the same as in the X5.
So, contrary to the goal, this crossover seems to marry the practicality of a 3-series coupé with the performance of an X5. The X6 comes to a UK school run near you in May, priced from £41,955.
They say: Invents a whole new category of SUVWe say: Sports futility vehicle CAR verdict: 2/5

G-Power Hurricane

By Tim Pollard
First official pictures
02 January 2008 11:49
M5 not powerful enough for you? German tuner G-Power has announced a frankly ludicrous supercharged version of the fast BMW. The Hurricane is an apt name for the blown Beamer – it produces a scarcely credible 720bhp and has been certified at 211mph.
G-Power uses two belt-driven compressors for each bank of the 5.0-litre V10; using two smaller superchargers keeps the weight down and makes them more efficient – each uses 0.5 bar of boost pressure. And it’s not just a bolt-on-and-leave-the-rest-alone job. The German tuners have also fitted new forged pistons, a new intercooler, bigger oil cooler and revised engine mapping.
Peak power lands, with considerable force, at 7500rpm while maximum torque of 516lb ft arrives at a heady 7200rpm. Sounds worryingly peaky, but G-Power claims the Hurricane out-pulls the M5’s maximum thrust by 3800rpm.
End result? The two-tonne saloon scampers to 62mph in 4.2 seconds (half a second faster than the regular M5) and by 124mph the gap has stretched to five seconds. G-Power has a barrage of performance claims, and says the Hurrican will keep on accelerating all the way to 211mph.
The sort of people who’ll buy the maxed-out M5 will love the styling accoutrements. There’s a new front apron (crafted from carbonfibre upon request), rear diffuser and spoilers to channel air to the correct places, while 21-inch wheels wear chunky 30-section Dunlop high-speed rubber and house bigger, six-piston brakes.
All this excess carries a price, of course. The finished item costs a faintly ridiculous £178,000, or you can convert an existing car for £66,000. Which is the same as the M5 costs in the first place…
We’d dispute G-Power’s claim that the Hurricane is the most powerful street-legal BMW on sale. Californian tuner Currency Motors produces a twin-turbocharged M5 that develops 800bhp. Just goes to show you can have too much of a good thing.