The 4 Series Gran Coupe (F36) has now taken its development to the Nurburgring for some high speed performance testing. It’s the first we’ve seen of the prototype on the Ring, as well as being fitted with M Sport Brakes.
As always, don’t worry about the headlights and tail lights of the prototypes at this stage of testing. They are merely fakes for testing purposes. Expect the 4GC to share the lights with the rest of the upcoming 4 Series lineup.
Codenamed as the F36, the 4 Series Gran Coupe will be positioned and priced in the 3/4 Series lineup just as the 6 Series Gran Coupe is positioned in the 5/6 Series lineup (in between the coupe and convertible models). [See our recent article previewing the future … CONTINUED
Check out how the BMW M Performance exhaust for the F30 335i sounds in these videos from startup, idle, and revving at stop.
Studie AG has started work on their F30 3 Series, an Alpine White 328i. It’s been lowered on H&R springs and has taken on several different looks already with Hamann Anniversary EVO wheels, limited edition BBS LM wheels, BBS RZ-D wheels, ATS Superlight wheels, and M Sport package.
AC Schnitzer showed its full F30 3 series sedan program last week and now reveals its F31 3 series touring program, which features similar components to its F30 3 series.
It features a front spoiler, chromed front grille, rear roof spoiler, rear spoiler and rear skirt extension. The interior features aluminum pedals and trims, a gear knob with digital display and custom floor mats. The car is lowered on AC Schnitzer springs which drop the car 25mm.
Performance tuning features software tunes that bring the diesel engines 318d and 320d up to 126 kW/171 HP and 160 kW/218 HP, respectively. The upcoming performance upgrades (in final development stage) for the 328i and 335i will achieve 216 kW/294 HP and 265 kW/360 HP, respectively.
Just announced today is the short list for possible North American Car of the Year (NACTOY) winner, which will be announced at the NAIAS (Detroit Auto Show) in January. Per tradition, this list will be culled down to an even shorter finalist list prior to the show.
For the cars on this list that do not ultimately win, being named to the list is already a sign of distinction given the number of new cars introduced per model year. Below are the car and truck lists.
2013 NACTOY Car short list
BMW 3 Series
Cadillac ATS
Chevrolet Malibu
Dodge Dart
Ford Fusion
Honda Accord
Lincoln MKZ
Nissan Altima
Scion FR-S
Subaru BRZ
Toyota Avalon
2013 NACTOY Truck/Utility short list
Acura RDX
Audi allroad
BMW X1
Ford C-Max
Ford Escape… CONTINUED
The 2013 Cadillac ATS 2.0T tries to dethrone the 2013 BMW 328i from the front of the entry-level luxury segment on the latest episode of Car and Driver: Tested.
MORR Wheels and Precision Sport Industries have started on their F30 3 Series collaboration with this Estoril Blue F30 335i M-Sport on 19″ MonoForged VS8.2 wheels. Check out the initial photo set inside.
We recently reported on the F31 3 series touring hitting dealership floors, which meant that deliveries were not far behind. The first F31 deliveries are now underway and here is our very first F31 touring owner. This F30POST member just brought home a Mineral Grey F31 320d M Sport. Congrats to him and all our soon-to-be F31 drivers!
Nothing new was shown on this F30 with M Performance Parts at the 2012 Paris auto show, but it’s still good eye candy. Here’s a quick rundown of the parts you see in the photos below (we’ve also reposted photos we took at the 2012 AMI show in May). Also reference the full BMW M Performance Parts Catalog.
Parts List:
20 inch M Performance Wheels: 20” forged alloy wheel set (style 405M) - forged and reduces weight by 1 kg (2.4 lbs.) per wheel when compared to a similar size wheel.
M Performance Brakes: Brembo big-brake kit with painted calipers (in yellow, orange, or red). 4-piston aluminum fixed calipers on the front axle and 2-piston aluminum fixed calipers on the rear … CONTINUED
