Production Version of New BMW i3 Revealed in Patent Drawings

This ladies and gentleman, is what the production version of BMW's foray into the pure and extended range electric vehicle category, the all-new i3, will look like when the Bavarian carmaker presents it to the public before the end of the summer and ahead of its public premiere at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

While these are drawings, they are official patents of the production i3 previewed by a concept of the same name some two years ago at the 2011 Frankfurt auto show. To see the differences between the conceptual and the actual i3, we placed pictures of the two cars side by side.

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BMW to Debut New Active Tourer Outdoor Concept Next Month

New production and concept models are coming in thick and fast for BMW, which has now announced plans for the world premiere of a fresh iteration of its Active Tourer Concept at the OutDoor Business Show in Friedrichshafen, Germany on July 12.

The second conceptual version of the compact minivan study that we first laid eyes on at the 2012 Paris Motor Show is named the Concept Active Tourer Outdoor and according to the Bavarian carmaker, "it is aimed at meeting the special needs of an outdoor and leisure time oriented target group".

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This is what a BMW 860i Based on the Pininfarina Gran Lusso V12 Could Look Like

Even though personally, I wouldn't necessarily agree on the use of the 8-Series moniker on such a large and more luxury-orientated coupe like the BMW Pininfarina Gran Lusso V12 Concept, some officials over in Munich disagree and have hinted that the  Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2013 study "gives an indication of how such a car [8-Series] might look".

While there's no question that the concept model is very close to a production car, it isn't quite there yet, which brings us to this very convincing Photoshop from the creative minds at Autoprojecoes.

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BMW X4 Heads Out of Photo Studio and Onto Revolving Platform in New Unofficial Video

Studio shots make cars look a certain way and you only get to appreciate a vehicle the first time you actually see it in the metal. Still, with the BMW X4 we have a while to wait for that moment, despite being confirmed for production with minor changes from the concept. Read more »

Pininfarina and BMW Design Directors Talk about the Gran Lusso Coupe

BMW’s first-ever collaboration with renowned Italian design house Pininfarina resulted in the Gran Lusso Coupe, a luxury grand tourer that was displayed at this year’s Villa d’Este Concorso d’Eleganza.

As we find out from Pininfarina’s design director Fabio Filippini, the concept’s styling was entirely the Italians' job, with the Bavarian carmaker only checking from time to time that the project would fit its design DNA.

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BMW Pininfarina Gran Lusso V12 Coupe Filmed at Concorso d’Eleganza

BMW’s main exhibit at this year’s Concorso d’Eleganza was a large luxury coupe concept developed together with one of Italy’s finest design houses and coachbuilders, Pininfarina.

You’ve probably read all about the BMW Pininfarina Gran Lusso V12 Coupe and seen the official video, but it’s one thing to see the car in the studio and another in a real environment.

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BMW Concept Ninety Sports Bike Is the R 90 S of the 21st Century [w/Video]

The BMW Pininfarina Gran Lusso V12 Coupé is not the only new concept from BMW for the 2013 Villa d’Este Concorso d’Eleganza. The Bavarian company also brought along a motorcycle named the BMW Concept Ninety, which is both a present for BMW Motorrad’s 90th anniversary and a tribute to its iconic R 90 S motorbike that turns 40 this year. Read more »

New BMW Pininfarina Gran Lusso V12 Coupé Looks More 7-Series Coupe than 8-Series [Video]

BMW and Pininfarina have blown the covers off their new jointly designed and developed Gran Lusso Coupé in advanced of the one-off model's world premiere at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2013 this weekend.

The large coupe model is the outcome of the first collaboration between BMW and Pininfarina, and it follows the BMW Z4-based Zagato Coupé presented at last year's Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este.

When the Bavarian carmaker shared a sketch and a couple of cropped details of the car along with the information that it uses a V12 powerplant earlier this month, the first thing that came to mind was the possibility of a 21st century version of the 8-Series Coupe that was built from 1989 to 1999.

In our eyes, the BMW Pininfarina Gran Lusso V12 Coupé looks more like a two-door, coachbuilt version of a future 7-Series made to compete against the Bentley Continental GT, than a true successor to the 8-Series, but BMW officials think otherwise.

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New BMW Pininfarina Gran Lusso V12 Coupé Brings Back Memories of the 8-Series

The last time BMW had a V12-powered coupe in its range was at the end of the previous decade with the range topping versions of the 8-Series (the 850Ci and 850CSi specifically). The reason why we mention this has to do with the Bavarian carmaker's announcement on the world premiere of the one-off Pininfarina Gran Lusso Coupé at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2013 on May 24.

Designed and created in collaboration with famed Italian design house Pininfarina, the Gran Lusso Coupé follows in the footsteps of the BMW Z4-based Zagato Coupé that was presented at last year's Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este.

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New Photo Gallery of BMW's Sporty Looking X4 Crossover Concept

While BMW isn't willing to divulge anything new in the way of information about its X4 Concept car other than what it has already told us (we'll give you a summary further down), the Munich brand wants us to get a better view of the study with the release of a fresh gallery comprising more than 30 photos.

These new pictures were published just a few days ahead of the X4 concept study's world premiere at the Auto China 2013 in Shanghai (April 20 to 29).

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Designers Pays Homage to BMW Z8 and 8-Series Models with MZ8 Concept

Two of the most recognized sport models to come out from BMW's factory in the past quarter century are the 8-Series, built from 1989 to 1999, and the Henrik Fisker-designed Z8 roadster, offered from 1999 to 2003.

These two cars stimulated a design thesis from Christophe Jourd'hui, a graduate in transportation design management at the International School of Design (IDS) in Valenciennes, France, for a new BMW sports car named the MZ8.

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BMW Describes New Concept X4 in Video, We Visually Compare it with X6

The star of BMW’s booth at the upcoming Shanghai Auto Show will no doubt be the Concept X4, a pre-production model that reveals how the brand’s second Sports Activity Coupe (SAC) will look like. As with the larger X6 model, BMW wanted to combine the high ground clearance and powerful aspect of an SUV with the dynamic lines and elegant roofline of a coupe. Read more »

BMW X4 Concept Unveiled, Enters Production with Minor Changes Next Year [w/Videos]

If consumers want crossovers and SUVs (as all sales charts suggest), why should premium carmakers like BMW disagree? The brand with the roundel logo is keen to capitalize on the growth of this segment, something that is evident from the sales of its X-series models, which now account for one in every four new cars it delivers worldwide.

BMW has split its SUVs into two basic categories, the more mainstream "Sports Activity Vehicles" (SAV), which include the X1, X3 and X5, and the "Sports Activity Coupé" (SAC), which up until now, was represented only by the larger X6.

Today, the Bavarian carmaker previewed its second SAC model in the form of the X4 Concept, a couple of weeks ahead of its world premiere at the Shanghai Auto Show in China on April 21.

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New BMW X4 Concept: First Official Photos Surface Online

This is it; the pre-production version of BMW's next crossover model, the X4, seen in these official photos wearing a concept moniker, which it justifies through the use of some chrome bits, huge alloy wheels and uniquely trimmed bumpers, but other than that, what you see is what you will get when it goes on sale in 2014.

There's no information accompanying the leaked images, but the timing and the fact that the only major international car show coming up this month is the Auto China 2013 in Shanghai from April 21 to 29, means it's our best bet for the world premiere of the new BMW X4 Concept.

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BMW Asks If You Can Identify the New Model in This Sketch

When they're not blasting us with covered up or smoked teasers of future models on their social media sites, automakers and their respective marketing agencies tend to get interactive with viewers.

Such is the case with BMW and this sketch of one of its new / upcoming models, which was shared on the Bavarian brand's German FaceBook page with the following question in its native language: "Welcher BMW ist hier in einer frühen Design-Skizze zu sehen?", which Google translates to, "Which BMW is seen here in an early design sketch?".

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BMW 3-Series F30 Art Car by Andy Reiben is an LSD Trip on Wheels!

As far as the matter of turning a car into art goes, those who argue against it say art cannot serve any other purposes aside from being what it is. So what should we make of cars such as this hand-painted F-30 BMW 3-Series? Well, all we know is that its graphic designs are extremely detailed and some parts even glow in the dark – that's got to count for something… Read more »

BMW M7 Sports Saloon Speculatively Rendered

If you take a look at BMW's current range of models, the closest thing you can get to a high-performance 7-Series model is the 540hp Alpina B7, which was not only created with the blessings of the Bavarian automaker (like all Alpina models), but in some countries, including the U.S., it’s also distributed by BMW itself. Read more »

BMW i3 Concept Coupe to Make European Debut in Geneva, Range-Enhancing Features Detailed

The BMW i3 Concept Coupe, which was launched at the Los Angeles Motor Show last November, will make its European debut at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show alongside the i8 Concept Spyder.

This time, though, the Bavarian carmaker is not dwelling on the concepts so much as on the eDrive technology that will form the nucleus of all models in its “i” sub-brand.

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BMW's 4-Series Coupe Promo Sounds Conspicuously German to Us

There's a new BMW coming our way next year: the successor to the two-door 3-Series Coupe and Convertible models, the newly named 4-Series. But you already know that since the Bavarian carmaker brought a thinly disguised concept of the coupe to last month's Detroit auto show. Read more »

BMW Debuts New Two-Man Carbon-Fiber Bobsled Prototype for Team USA

After more than a yearlong development process, BMW of North America presented a new prototype of its two-man bobsled for the official U.S. team.

Designed in collaboration with the USA Bobsled & Skeleton Federation (USBSF), the high-tech bobsled will be used for the first time today at the FIBT World Cup in Igls, Austria.

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