BMW News, Photos, Videos, Reviews, Test Drives
BMW i8 First review
Autocar magazine had one of the first reviews on the super technical electric sports car under development by BMW, the electric prototype i8. The video review takes place on the frozen roads of Sweden where most cars are usually tested in rough conditions. The BMW i8 model development is all about a new breed of sports car that will take BMW into the future. Is all about fuel economy, low emissions and at the same time great street performance, by using very lightweight chassis and a hybrid powertrain composed of an electric engine and a three cylinders conventional termic engine. The All wheel drive electric system helps the i8 to face no problem on the icy roads.
From inside, the i8 possesses all the hallmarks of a proper sportscar. You sit low, below the level of the carbonfibre sill, with your legs well out in front. The seats are tight, hugging, hard shell affairs. The deep but low dashboard is very prominent. However, it is the instrument binnacle – whose mesmerising graphics alter depending on the driving mode chosen, going from a calm hue of blue in eco-pro and comfort to a racier orange hue in sport mode – that initially steals my attention as we set off down a slip road and out on to BMW’s test track.
BMW M6 vs Koenigsegg Agera R
Though the title of this post stand as a versus, the below video is more a review of the Swedish supercar Koenigsegg Agera R, most probably the fastest car available for sale today. The video starts with a short introduction of the 2013 BMW M6 cabriolet, explaining how a fast car like the new M6 feels, and then move the game to Koenigsegg league. As the presenter say, there is also a direct drag race in the video, between the two: German Schnitzel vs Swedish meatballs.
The latest creation from Koenigsegg, managed the fastest speed ever recorded on the Nordschleife track – 402.km/h.
Drifting Video: BMW M5 F10 and BMW M6 F13 Coupe
In their latest review, Car plus Driver takes the 2013 M5 F10 and M6 F13 coupe to a slow motion drifting session . Both cars are using the same chassis, engine, brakes and of course the party piece, the M slip differential, which allows perfect drifts.
A different type of M5 F10 review
Usually, i post BMW reviews from popular sources like Grip, Autoblogger, Fifthgear, Chris Harris, but this time the review of the 2013 BMW M5 comes from Moscow, from Smotra TV youtube channel.
Eric, the presenter, is owner of a popular M5 E60 painted in Gold and a well-known city race driver in Moscow. After a shortdrive in Moscow, he tries to find out what is the real power output of the new turbocharged M5. The Dyno figures for the new M5 are 552 Hp and 701 NM , a bit less power and a bit more torque than the estimated 560 hp and 680 NM official figures.
I agree with most of the things described by Eric, because when you want to release a new version of a product, do not just improve the bad things from previous version, but also do no remove the good ones (In this case BMW removed the party piece, the core of the M5, which was the V10 NA engine revving to 8500 RPM). The 5 liters V10 NA with direct injection plus an improved exhaust system would have had probably the same output around 550 HP, and with the new 7 speed dual clutch gearbox it would have put the power down even better.
BMW M550d F10 review by GRIP
Niki Schelle from GRIP German magazine, has tested the 2012 BMW M550d, which is considered to be the first M5 Diesel. Based on the latest 5 series F10 model, the M550d is tweaked by the M division, to get the most out of the current Diesel technology. The M 550d is like a blasphemy for M true fans, because of the m550d recipe, which is in contradiction with the entire heritage that made the M cars so popular: xDrive all wheel drive transmission, diesel engine, automatic gearbox, turbocharged.
All the performance aspects of the car are reviewed by NIKI, with a series of tests : engine, acceleration, traction, comfort level etc. How does the M550d perform? Watch the following video.
BMW M550d xDrive review by Autoblogger
Autoblogger has reviewed the BMW M550d xDrive, the fastest diesel production car in the world. The F10 BMW M550d is boosted by a the triple-turbo (three!) straight-six has 376bhp and 546lb ft of torque, shooting the M550d to 62mph in 4.7 seconds: barely slower than the M5. With an ECU update, the m550d gets even closer to M5 in terms of everyday performance, and becomes a true M5 diesel equivalent.
381 Hp + 740 NM + x-Drive + 8 speed ZF gearbox = translates in a 4.7 s 0-100 km/h run, faster than any previous BMW Diesel model, while the 100-200 km/h acceleration run is handled in about 13 seconds.