Our first M3 CRT delivery! M3POST member igirl has taken delivery of the lightweight M3 CRT sedan, of which only 67 were made worldwide. Photos and initial review inside.
The M3 CRT sedan features 450hp at only 3,483 Pounds. The BMW M3 CRT (Carbon Racing Technology) embodies a concentrated blend of state-of-the-art development expertise – inspired directly by motor sport – in the areas of drive system and chassis technology and intelligent lightweight design. It also represents the worldwide debut of a new production process for carbon-fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) components in the automotive industry. This process allows CFRP to be introduced widely in the construction of the high-performance BMW M3 Saloon-based sports car created by the BMW M GmbH factory. And that … CONTINUED
Gas prices are up, emission requirements have become more stringent, and vehicle weights have increased in the past years; which is not a good combination. Increased efficiency without sacrificing performance is the name of the automotive game going forward in the 21st century. A big step towards this goal is reducing the weight of vehicles.
BMW says the answer is carbon fiber technology, which it believes will fundamentally change the car industry, becoming increasingly important in the quest for lighter-weight materials to reduce fuel consumption and lower CO2 emissions. For that reason, the company started the joint venture with SGL Group to take the carbon fiber production process mass scale.
Although we’ve seen carbon fiber roofs on some BMW M models, the upcoming BMW i3 and i8 electric … CONTINUED
Now that the F30 3 series sedan has been released, testing continues on all the other F3x variants - the F32 coupe, F31 touring, and this F34 Gran Turismo (GT) model.
These photos provide the best look yet at the trunk, tailgate, and rear portions of the roofline. The 3 Series GT prototypes previously wore heavy camouflage paneling concealing the true shape and styling of the trunk. The loss of the rear deck camo has shortened and tightened the car’s size and proportions.
With its sleeker trunkline and frameless windows, the 3-series GT looks to be sleeker in shape than the 5-series GT and appears generally sportier in nature. The 3-series GT will offer a simple hatch function rather than the twin trunk arrangement on the 5er GT.
The … CONTINUED
BMWNA announced two weeks ago the starting price for the 2013 640i Gran Coupe sedan at $76,895. We’ve now posted the full U.S. price list / pricing guide for the first variant of the 6 Series Gran Coupe.
The TwinPower Turbo 6-cylinder powered 640i Gran Coupe is the initial model of the range, and arrives early this summer. Later in the summer, the TwinPower Turbo V-8 powered 2013 BMW 650i Gran Coupe and the all-wheel drive 2013 BMW 650i xDrive Gran Coupe will join the line. Pricing for the V-8 powered models will be announced closer to the time of launch.
Download the full pricing PDF inside.
We bring you the first dyno results from a 2012 335i (F30) sedan, performed by Challenge Mfg. USA (GTM_Challenge) on their recently delivered 335i. The F30 335i is powered by the N55 6-cylinder TwinPower twinscroll turbo engine and its factory quoted power figures are 300hp / 300lb-ft.
The 335i N55 dyno run resulted in 270whp and 273lb-ft torque. Note that the dyno was performed on a AWD Dynojet with linked AWD rollers. On a normal rear-roller-only system the numbers would be slightly higher (probably 5-10hp) given the less roller weight that would need to be moved.
What does this translate to in terms of crank HP (for comparison to the factory quoted figures)? Taking 275whp and 278lb-ft as the starting point and assuming a 15% drivetrain loss, it … CONTINUED
We’ve posted the full tech specs of the BMW M550d sedan and touring, along with some more details, specs, and power output dyno graph of their TwinPower tri-turbo diesel inline 6-cylinder engines. Check it out inside at our official M550d info thread.
Insideline puts the 2012 328i (F30) through a battery of performance tests on their own track to get some real life test results. Here are the results:
0-60mph: 5.9 sec
0-60mph (with 1 ft rollout): 5.5 sec
1/4 mile: 14.1 sec @ 98.9mph
60-0mph braking: 115ft
Skid Pad: 0.88g
Slalom: 67.1mph
Respectable results, but a bit slower than some other outlets have tested.
Evolution Racewerks didn’t take much time to tear into their F30 328i’s N20 engine, removing the engine cover and revealing some of the plumbing underneath. Check out the photos inside.
An alpine white F10 M5 has now been delivered to a site member - Singularity. Although the owner and car are now experiencing some wintry weather, we nonetheless get some nice insight and review of another new M5.
There’s now been several deliveries in our M5 forums and more to come as we head towards the warmer weather of Spring and especially when US deliveries begin this Summer.
