In an interview with Automotive News, Jaguar’s global brand director, Adrian Hallmark, lets known that the UK automotive company is currently considering bringing a small sedan to market. This new sedan would slot in under the Jaguar XF and compete directly against the F30 3-series or the Audi A4/A5.

The last time Jaguar introduced a smaller sedan with lower pricing to take on the 3-series was with the Ford Mondeo based X-type, which had little success in the competitive compact sports sedan segment.

But, Jaguar may be ready to try again, citing the need for different and lower priced models. “We need to play in that world,” Hallmark said. Jaguar needs a small sports car for image and a sedan for volume, he said. “We have to do … CONTINUED

Not many details have been confirmed yet on the upcoming F10 M5, but in a recent interview with the head of M division, Dr. Kay Segler has confirmed that ceramic brakes for the F10 M5 is in the works! When posed with the question whether future M cars will be available with a ceramic brakes option, he responded that it’s being worked on, for the M5.

This would represent the first time that ceramic brakes are offered as an option on a production BMW. Ceramic brakes provide great braking power, well wear over time, produce less brake dust, and are very lightweight.

Ceramic brakes are options currently standard on the best performance cars (Carrera GT, 911 GT2, Nissan GT-R, Corvette ZL1, etc.), so it’s safe to assume that … CONTINUED

This image is said to be a close approximation on the looks of the upcoming BMW 1-series Gran Turismo (GT). The 1-series GT will be the next Gran Turismo model in the BMW lineup following the 5-series GT and preceding the next generation 3-series Gran Turismo model.

The 1 series GT is a mixture of a 5 door hatch and a touring shape. Rear legroom is almost on par with the 5-series sedan.

China has really proved itself to be ahead of the curve on the EV front and it seems BMW will come on board and produce an all electric 5-Series exclusively for the Chinese market.

This new car is not to be confused with the ActiveHybrid 5, which will have its official launch in September 2011. The ActiveHybrid 5 still has a gasoline motor afterall. No this new car will be an all electric vehicle and would likely fall under BMWs growing ActiveE project.

Autonews Europe is referencing a report from the Beijing Youth Daily newspaper which pinpoints a partnership between BMW and Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd in order to produce the vehicle. Brilliance is BMWs current partner in building standard Chinese market BMW 5-Series, which includes … CONTINUED

Although the BMW Z2 Roadster and Z2 Coupe are not expected to debut until 2013, we should begin to see and hear more news and renderings in 2011, like this latest one from Carmagazine UK. The Z2 has been designed at Designworks and will be based on the next generation F20 1-series platform. BMW’s design philosophy is to keep the car lighweight, dynamic, and sporty by using a high strength steel body with aluminum doors and front bonnet. Based on earlier rumors, the target weight for both the Z2 coupe and roadster is 1000kg (only 2,200 pounds)! We’ll believe that one when we see it, but it’s good to hear that keeping the Z2’s weight down is a principle concern.

Here are the other previously rumored (speculative) … CONTINUED

On the heels of the big BMW turbo 4-cylinder news yesterday, SCOTT26 has provided some dates for the switchover of certain BMW models from the current inline 6-cylinder to the new twinpower turbo I4 motor, as well as the end of production of the current 3-series, M3 and 1-series.

Here is the I4 switchover and end of production schedule (inside).

We reported earlier about the rumor that BMW was considering to build a fourth model at the US plant in Spartanburg, SC. Ian Robertson, member of the BMW board of management responsible for sales and marketing, now confirmed with FAZ that they were actually looking into this. While there’s no final decision, Robertson said they “would by no means put that off the table.” The US market continues to be the most important market for premium vehicles, so an US production would make sense for either the F10 5-series or the new F30 3-series coming later this year.

BMW currently produces the X3, the X5 and the X6 at the Spartanburg Plant. As Robertson puts it, “the Spartanburg plant still has enough capacity to allow the … CONTINUED

Automobile has just tweeted some interesting news on the base Z4 which corroborates a recent report from a ZPOST member. If these reports are correct, the base BMW Z4 will soon be powered by two turbo 4-cylinder variants (sDrive20i and 28i) instead of the current naturally aspirated inline 6-cylinder. This would not come as a huge surprise as recent rhetoric from BMW has pointed to the likely use of turbo 4-cylinder engines in future BMW base models (i.e. next generation F30 3-series), especially with improvements in forced induction technology and the overall goal of increasing efficiency throughout its entire fleet.

The exact tweet states “BMW new 4-cyl coming this year in Z4 roadster. Replaces nat asp 6, so at least 200 hp” but according to the info … CONTINUED

Autocar Magazine in the UK is speculating that the rumored 3-cylinder engine that BMW has been working on for some time now, will be seen under the hood of the F30 3-Series. This should come as no surprise, as the 3-Series is the bread and butter volume car in the BMW brand, and such an efficient engine would go a long way into promoting BMW as THE brand for sustainability.

The engine itself is rumored to be a 1.5L 3-Cylinder diesel engine putting out 150HP and produce less than 100g/km of CO2. Its already been rumored that this engine setup, which will come in both diesel and regular gasoline formats will drive the smaller cars in the BMW lineup such as … CONTINUED