The BMW Z4 in Pure Fusion Design

Classic roadster proportions, superior engine and drivetrain technology plus innovative equipment features highlight the individual character of the BMW Z4. The two-seater features an electric retractable …

Classic roadster proportions, superior engine and drivetrain technology plus innovative equipment features highlight the individual character of the BMW Z4. The two-seater features an electric retractable hardtop that can be raised or lowered when the vehicle is in motion, a feature that makes driving a joy under sunny skies or any kind of weather conditions all year long.

The equipment package known as Pure Fusion Design adds an exclusive aesthetic appeal to the sporty open-air experience.

Pure Fusion Design refines the interior of the BMW Z4 to intensify the premium character of the car even more. The various exclusive colors and materials available are expressions of sporty luxury. These are embellished with precision seams, surfaces and exclusive stitching that bring harmony to the orchestration of the interior. The package includes extended premium Nappa leather trim, specially designed sport seats in Ivory White with contrasting brown stitching that highlights the perforated surface of the contoured side supports in the seat backs. The armrests, door panels and the passenger pull handle are also enhanced by the exclusive leather and contrast stitching. The lower portion of the dashboard also presents itself in Ivory White and adds to the harmony of the interior color tones. The same effect is achieved with the black leather contrasted with brown lapfolded seams that cover the window sills, the top of the dashboard and the instrument cluster scoop.

Another bold and stylish accent of note is the horizontal trim line made of Saddle Brown Nappa leather with bright contrast stitching that stretches from the passenger side into the driver’s cockpit. The trim on the center console and near the five round controls just below the central air vent in the dash are finished in Fineline wood, a new addition to the interior accents now available. The look and feel of Pure Fusion Design is rounded off by sun visors covered with black Nappa leather.

As an exclusive touch and only in combination with the Pure Fusion Design package, the BMW Z4 can now, for the first time, be ordered with the Sparkling Brown metallic paint finish. A rich choice of other colors is also available. Pure Fusion Design can also be combined with the M Sport package.

see more in source : [ bmwblog ] 

BMW Z4 Widebody Kit by Duke Dynamics

Duke Dynamics introduced a widebody kit for the E89 BMW Z4. Designed to give the model an aggressive look, the wide bodykit includes a new …

Duke Dynamics introduced a widebody kit for the E89 BMW Z4.

Designed to give the model an aggressive look, the wide bodykit includes a new front bumper, revised side skirts and extended fenders.

To widen the rear end, the wheel arches are now 9 cm wider than the standard Z4 Roadster. In addition to changes for the wheel arches, the car includes a blacked out kidney grille, new hood, rear diffuser and quad exhaust pipes.

Test Drive: 2012 BMW Z4 sDrive35is vs. 2013 Porsche Boxster S

A carbon fiber front lip spoiler and a “CSL” trunk are offered as well. Both are constructed from carbon fiber and fiberglass reinforced plastic. This particular car has also been equipped with 20×9 at the front with a 5 mm spacer and 20×11 at the rear SSR Executor CV01 wheels that are wrapped in Nitto Invo rubber.

The BMW Z4 sDrive35is doesn’t get a power upgrade, so it still delivers an impressive 335 hp at 5,800 rpm and a maximum of 370 lb-ft of torque between 1,400 and 4,500 rpm with the Overboost function enabled.

The carbon fiber body kit costs $10,400 (€7,585) and is currently available for order.

See more in source : [ BMWBLOG ]

Short Drive: ALPINA Roadster V8

A supercar or a roadster? The same very question was posed by the famous Top Gear host Jeremy Clark where referencing the BMW Z8. In …

A supercar or a roadster? The same very question was posed by the famous Top Gear host Jeremy Clark where referencing the BMW Z8. In our recent trip toPebble Beach, we had the opportunity to drive the “step-brother” of the Z8, an ALPINA Roadster V8, a vehicle with similar looks, but with ALPINA DNA underneath.

In 2003, the final model year, the BMW Z8 model was augmented by the ALPINA V8 Roadster which marked the entry of Buchloe-based company into the American market. Also, the Roadster V8 was the first ALPINA model that offered less power than the base BMW model.

Instead of the original six-speed manual and 4.9 L (S62) engine featured in earlier Z8′s, the ALPINA came only as an automatic, using a five-speed BMW Steptronic transmission coupled to a downgraded upgraded 4.8 liter ALPINA-tuned V8 motor from the original X5.

Power was reduced to 375 horsepower while peak torque was raised to 383 lb-ft (519 Nm). Its power peak comes at 5800 rpm, vs. 6600; its torque peak occurs at the same 3800 rpm.

The electronically limited top speed was officially raised to 161 mph (259 km/h).

To market the car towards a Tourer or a comfortable Roadster, ALPINA also tuned the suspension, offering a more relaxed setting, a “feature” that became evident in our short drive around Pebble Beach and its curvy roads. The Roadster V8 offered more bodyroll that one would expect from a vehicle of this size and construction, and the ride was softer that we have seen in other roadsters.

Cornering through the hills of the Carmel Valley was a bit more challenging than we expected, rear tires were skidding and understeering occurred quite often.

The car compensates though with its agility coming from more than sufficient 375 ponnies and its quick-shifting Steptronic transmission tuned by ALPINA, even though we would have preferred to see the six-speed manual in this car.

See More In Source : [ BMWBLOG ] 

BMW Z8 by Senner Tuning

One of the best looking BMWs of all time gets some special attention from the German tuner Senner Tuning. The special and limited Z8 receives …

One of the best looking BMWs of all time gets some special attention from the German tuner Senner Tuning. The special and limited Z8 receives a slight visual upgrade, along with a power boost. Here are the full details:

The Z8 model manufactured by BMW between March 2000 and July 2003 is included in the number above. It also includes 555 Alpina version cars (450 of them were equipped with an automatic gearbox and were shipped to the USA). They feature a wider radiator grill and side air intakes which were created by Henrik Fisker – based on the 1955 BMW 507 – and have almost become a rarity, certainly better known to experts as the E52 internal type. Even the standard roadster featuring a 5.0 liter V8 engine from M5 (E39S) provides impressive 294 kW (= 400 hp) and max. torque of 500 Nm.

To overhaul this sports car (this time the car is available for order only in full optional) as delicately as possible and make its overall appearance elegantly understated, Benno Senner of SENNER Tuning AG, Ingelheim, with his crew implemented the best existing concepts. At the very start the engine was supplied with a sports air filter set. Then parameter adjustment followed, including the exhaust system balancing featuring a welded exhaust manifold with a stainless steel silencer and flame tubes designed with metal catalysts. This adds the total of 37 kW (50 hp) and 535 Nm torque. This dramatic increase enables to raise the maximal possible speed to over 300 km/h.

When picking the perfect wheel-tire combination, SENNER Tuning AG chose Work Schwert SC1 wheels in Diamond Black varnish with an anodized 9×19 and 10×19 inch chrome outer rims, and Continental Sport Contact 5P 255/40R19 and 285/35R19 tires. To compensate for the fact that RunFlat tires were mounted on non-emergency run-flat wheels, the tool kit was complemented with a tire-repair set and a compressor. A glance through the wheel provides a view of Racing Gold varnished brake calipers. And a few words on the chassis technology: In addition to the coilover suspension Variant 2 Inox-Line with an adjustable rebound, a strut bar was installed on the reinforced shock mount in the front in order to stabilize the front end.

This Ingelheim-performed conversion of the Z8 into an elegant black-colored piece of art costs € 18,900.00, but taking into account the total number of vehicles manufactured it should be seen rather as an additional increase in value.

Audi TT Offroad Concept to take on the BMW X2?

At the 2014 Beijing Motor Show, Audi unveils the TT Offroad Concept which extends the TT line-up. Audi board member Professor Ulrich Hackenberg says the …

At the 2014 Beijing Motor Show, Audi unveils the TT Offroad Concept which extends the TT line-up. Audi board member Professor Ulrich Hackenberg says the concept points to an expansion of the TT brand into the premium SUV space.

Audi says the concept is powered by a 215kW turbocharged 2.0-liter engine augmented by a pair of electric motors that work as a plug-in hybrid system. The power system produces 300kW and 650Nm, enough for the car to accelerate to 100km/h in just 5.2 seconds.

Audi claims the car uses just 1.9L/100km of fuel, offering a battery-only range of 50 kilometers and a total range of 880 kilometers. Its batteries are fueled by inductive charging, allowing owners to charge the car by parking over a special plate as opposed to plugging it in.

The TT Offroad concept looks about as good as a five-door TT hatchback could, with much of the sports car’s sleek lines preserved, particularly in that in-your-face front end. The overall body resembles the Audi Allroad wagon.

Inside the four-place cabin is Audi’s forthcoming Virtual Cockpit Technology with a customizable 12.3-inch TFT display projecting high-quality 3D graphics to the driver. Other technology includes three Audi Smart Displays, which serve as mobile infotainment systems both in and out of the car, and a cabin ionizer to remove allergens from the cabin atmosphere.

With an exterior length of 4.39 meters, the Audi TT Offroad is only slightly shorter than the upcoming second generation BMW X1.

While Audi has prepared the Q3 against the X1, the TT SUV could take on a possible BMW X2 Coupe.

See More In Source : [ BMWBLOG ]

BMW insider explains the Vision Future Luxury Concept and what it means for the BMW brand

The usual BMW insider Scott27 returns with some insights into the new Vision Future Luxury Concept and how its design translates into future models. Scott27 …

The usual BMW insider Scott27 returns with some insights into the new Vision Future Luxury Concept andhow its design translates into future models. Scott27 has been known to provide some great insight into future products, but there have been a few mishaps as well.

Let’s have a look at the slightly edited report:

“Vision Future Luxury is a concept to gauge customer appetite for a car that would cost considerably higher than the current flagship 7 Series limousine.
Originally there was the option to use an extended 7 Series model like the previous E38 7 Series LXi. But research uncovered that in markets like China there is room for a further push upmarket to connect that bridge to Rolls-Royce.

The Vision Future Luxury Concept is a five meter long vehicle, but also referred to internally as the 9 Series, aimed at a progressive ultra wealthy clients who like BMWs but feel that there is nothing more to offer. VFL could potentially rival brands such as Bentley which like BMW deliver a performance message ahead of luxury.

Vision Future Luxury is being presented at the Auto China show in Beijing as a way to test customer opinion in the world’s largest car market and by 2015 the worlds largest market for luxury cars. The Vision Future Luxury brings BMW full circle from its initial experiment with the 2007 CS Concept Car 7 years ago.

Concept CS aimed to see if the BMW brand could be stretched further upmarket bridging to the Rolls-Royce brand. Seven years later we have now arrived at that point that customers do indeed wish to see the brand stretched further upmarket.

For now the Vision Future Luxury is more than just a concept. It’s a window into the next generation BMW 7er, not just in design, but technology and engineering. The VFL heavily reflects previous BMW comments about the next 7er being the most advanced BMW to date as many feature illustrated and mentioned will arrive with the all new car.

The recent announcement of the BMW X7 is also illustrated by the Vision Future Luxury especially at a time when luxury sedans are being outsold by luxury SUVs.

The X7 brings forth the same advancements from the 7 Series to have a vehicle that must be individual and not simply be an enlarged X5. The X7 will be the epitome of a luxury activity vehicle , distinguished by individuality, and technology as the next generation 7er.

BMW’s effort comes as rival Mercedes-Benz is also testing appetite for reviving its disbanded high-end Maybach brand, although this is going to be an extended S-Class, not a bespoke model like the Vision Future Luxury BMW 9 Series

The BMW i3 and BMW i8 showed how some new BMWs can be different. Some segments have become boring and the luxury car market is one of these there is so much that can be done with wood and leather but BMW are now taking a new approach to this segment.

The next 7er can be described as a full revolution but in the way it progresses everything you have thought about a luxury car from BMW.

The next 7er has the potential to be a very different , luxury car and for BMW to become a very different brand but never forgetting about its core philosophy “Sheer Driving Pleasure”

See More In Source : [ BMWBLOG ]

How to track your BMW i3 from order to delivery

Are you one to the early adopters that has taken a leap of faith and ordered aBMW i3? I say leap of faith since …

Are you one to the early adopters that has taken a leap of faith and ordered a BMW i3? I say leap of faith since it is BMW’s first real production electric vehicle. Plus, there so few of them here in the US that many people have placed their orders without actually ever seeing one in person let alone taking one for a test drive. If you have been lucky enough to test drive one, it was likely only for a short distance and on a designated route.

Plus, since there were no actual US spec i3’s here in the US until this week, all of the cars used for test drives have been pre-production European spec vehicles that didn’t have the polished fit and finish of a production vehicle. Oh, and if you did test drive one, you drove the fully electric i3 because there were no i3’s with range extenders here for test drives at all. So yeah, if you already have an i3 on order, you are likely an early adopter that is pretty excited about this revolutionary vehicle. Enough so to place your money down on one without really knowing for sure if BMW has delivered on their promise to make the i3 a “real” BMW.

So what can you do while your i3 is being built? You can obsessively track it’s every move, that’s what you can do, and this article is meant to help you do just that. There are various steps you can take listed below, depending on just how much you want to stalk your i3. Have at it!

Step One:  Get your production number from your client adviser. Sign into My BMW account at bmwusa.com. Enter your production number and select Track my BMW. There are six steps listed: Order documentation, Production begins, Production ends, En route to the U.S., Finishing touches and At your BMW dealer.

Step Two: Obtain the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number)

The VIN is typically assigned when the vehicle is well into production. Until it’s been assigned a VIN you’ll only have the production number to work with however you can get the VIN from that without even asking your client adviser.

To do so you need to look into the source code of your bmwusa.com tracking page. Here’s how:

- Log in to the My BMW section of the bmwusa.com web site.

- Go to the “Track my BMW” section.

- Once you see the state of your i3, use your browser to open the source code for the web page (browser dependant, but often a right click and ‘View Page Source’ or some such). Search in the HTML code for “VIN_7″, and right after one of those instances you will see value=”VX…..”.  That VX***** value field is the last 7 alphanumeric characters of your VIN.

(For the Safari browser on Apple machines, to view source code of a web page, you need to A) go into Preferences in the Advanced section and select “Show Develop menu in menu bar; B) Click on the “Develop” menu in the top menu bar; C) ”Click on “Show Page Source”; D) follow instructions above.)

Step Three:  If you only have a partial VIN, use the VIN decoder website to get the whole VIN: http://www.bmwarchive.org/vin/bmw-vin-decoder.html

Step Four:  Once your car has shipped, and is on a ship across the Atlantic, you can track that ship here: https://att.2wglobal.com/gstattweb/ocean.do?method=getDefaultOceanQuickSearchPage
Enter the last 7 alphanumeric characters of VIN in the Cargo ID box on right side. Alternatively you can enter your entire VIN. If you want to see all the i3’s listed on the ship, enter the wildcard “WBY1%” and you’ll see the list of every one on the ship.

See More In Source :  [ BMWBLOG ]