BMW’s M Division wants to Develop a Mercedes SLS AMG Rival

BMW boasts quite an extensive range of models, from the base 1-Series hatchback to the flagship M variants and everything in between. Hatchbacks, coupes, saloons, estates, hybrids, SUVs, you name it and there is at least one model with the red and blue badge on it. Recently, even a diesel-powered X6 M was spotted making the rounds at the Nordschleife.

The M division's engineers, though, think that there's something missing. In a recent interview, the F10 M5's project leader Max Ahme revealed that the company is currently considering a pure supercar – something it lacked since the Lamborghini-built M1 that was produced between 1978 and 1981.

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BMW M5 Project Leader Says Company is Considering All-Wheel Drive

BMW’s M Division looks set to break almost every tradition it has created in the last three decades. First it put the M badge on not one, but two SUVs – the X5 M and X6M. Then, with the new M 1 Coupe and M5 sedan, it abandoned natural aspirated engines that were a hallmark of all M coupes, cabrios and saloons no matter how many cylinders they had.

On the other hand, the M5's new twin-turbocharged engine is more powerful, has more torque and consumes less fuel compared to its predecessor. At least, unlike future small BMWs, the company's sportiest models will continue to direct torque to the rear wheels, right?

Well, not so fast. During the new M5’s press launch in Spain, project leader Max Ahme told journalists that as power and torque figures increase, four-wheel drive may be the only possible way to harness all those ponies.

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Nissan GT-R Pwns Competition in Mega Drag Race with 11 Sports Cars [Video]

The latest Nissan GT-R has put another victory under its belt, this time in a drag race against ten of some of the world's most wanted sports cars at an empty airstrip.

The quarter-mile duel was organized by Motor Trend magazine. The eleven cars assembled were worth more than $1.5 million, and featured a combined 82 cylinders delivering over 5,000 horsepower and 4,000 lb-ft of torque.

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IAA 2011: AC Schnitzer Puts 400-Horses Under the Bonnet of the BMW 1-Series M Coupé

While BMW officials were content with the new 1-Series M Coupé's 340-horsepower strong, the German tuning industry thinks otherwise.

Just before the grand opening of the largest motor show of the year that takes place in Frankfurt from September 13 to 25, AC Schnitzer released details on its comprehensive tuning package for the smallest member of the BMW M family.

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APP Europe Turns up the Wick on BMW 1 M Coupe with 410HP Tune

The new BMW 1 M Coupe is by no means a slow car but for those looking to push themselves into new arenas of performance European tuning house APP has assembled a new package comprising of mechanical and styling mods.

To improve performance, APP Europe turned to MR Car Design that developed a new kit for the 3.0-liter turbocharged straight six, which includes a larger intercooler, ECU upgrade and a lightweight, titanium sport exhaust system boosting output from 340-horses to 410-horses.

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Kelleners Sport Tunes the BMW 1-Series M Coupe to 410HP

German aftermarket firm Kelleners Sport is one of the first official tuners to get its hands on the new BMW 1-Series M Coupe and offer a complete conversion. Named KS1-S, the modified 1 M Coupe’s turbocharged straight-six now delivers 410-horses, or a good 20% more than the standard car, and just 10HP short of the E92 M3, while torque is increased from 450 to 550 Nm or 405.7 lb-ft. Read more »

Audi RS3 Sportback Takes on BMW 1 M Coupe in Quarter Mile Duel

The Audi RS3 Sportback and the BMW 1 M Coupe represent two very different approaches on the compact sport model segment.

Ingolstadt’s proposal is a five-door model that looks more like a hotted-up small station wagon than a hatchback. It features a 2.5-liter turbocharged inline-five producing 340-horsepower and 450 Nm (331.90 lb-ft) linked to Audi’s all-wheel drive quattro system and a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox.

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VIDEO: Automobile Mag’s Take on the BMW 1 M Coupe vs M3 Debate

From the moment BMW introduced the new 1 M Coupe, it was more than evident that the smallest member of the Bavarian firm’s M family would be compared with the brand’s most illustrious product, the M3 Coupe.

Automobile Magazine’s West Coast Editor Jason Cammisa voiced his thoughts on the 1 M Coupe versus M3 debate in a rather amusing way during his first drive of the sports car in California.

The skinny? “If you want an M badge, go ahead and buy an M3. If you want what an M3 could be, buy one of these things [the 1 M Coupe]”. Follow the break to watch the full video.

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BMW to Debut New 2012 M5 Saloon at The Goodwood Festival of Speed

The all-new 2012 BMW M5 sports sedan will be making its first public appearance at The Goodwood Festival of Speed, which takes place in the UK between July 1 and 3, the German automaker announced today.

The most powerful production version of the M5 series to date comes with a high-revving 4.4-liter turbocharged V8 pumping out 560hp from 5,750-7,000rpm and 680Nm [501.5 lb-ft] of torque from 1,500rpm. It goes on sale this fall.

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The BMW 1 Series M Coupé Drifts Through Walls in new Canadian Ad

BMW of Canada has published a new and rather entertaining promotional film on the firm’s new limited production 1-Series M Coupe. The video shows the Bavarian automaker’s sports car pushing its 335-horsepower twin-turbocharged inline-six to the limit and burning plenty of rubber in doing so while passing sideways through set of imaginary walls on the road.

Truth to be said though, BMW’s advertising agency could have skimped on the somewhat farcical CGI (computer-generated images) cement walls and still have an engaging commercial in its hands. Take a look at it in the video after the jump and tell us what you think in the comments section below.

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2012 BMW 1-Series M Coupe hits the Tuning Scene

The newest member of BMW’s high-praised family of M models has just begun arriving in the hands of its owners, yet we already have one of the first tuned examples of the 2012MY 1-Series M Coupe. A member of the 1addicts forum, who goes by the nickname Flex///M, owns the car you see pictured here and which has been baptized “Clockwork Orange”.

The list of modifications include a mix of performance and styling bits such as collection of decorative carbon fiber parts for the exterior, a different steering wheel, forged alloy wheels and a KW sports suspension.

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Italdesign’s Sexy BMW Nazca M12 Concept Could be Yours for $1.1 million

One of the most memorable concept models from the decade that brought us grunge, the internet, Playstation and the Prius, is Italdesign’s series of BMW Nazca supercar studies. Designed by the great Giorgetto Giugiaro who was also responsible for BMW’s production M1 sports car, the Nazca M12 made its debut in 1991 and was followed in by a more hardcore version called the Nazca C2 in 1992 and an open-top Spider C2 model in 1993.

Now, one of the Nazca concepts has been put up for sale by a dealer located in the Czech Republic. The car seen here is based on the body of the 1991 Nazca M12 but features an Alpina-prepped 5.7-liter V12 engine (sourced from the 750i / 850i of the era) producing 379HP.

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Barely Driven BMW M1 with Less than 3,000 Miles on the Odo up for Sale on eBay

Today’s eBay find brings us a seemingly immaculate BMW M1 from 1980 that’s offered up for an undisclosed price. One of 455 (albeit some bring this number down to 451) examples ever built, this one is finished in a classic red hue with a black interior. Claimed to be in original condition, the seller says it has been driver a mere 4,418 kilometers or 2,747 miles since it left the Bavarian automaker’s factory some 31 years ago.

According to the eBay listing, the M1 was “garaged for all of its life and pampered” in a German private residence, before it was imported in the U.S. having surpassed the 25-year age requirement. At the time we wrote this article, the current bid on the car was US$130,500, but the reserve had not been met.

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Video Tour of the Unmade BMW M Cars Including the M3 Tourer and Compact, Ur-Roadster and M5 Cabriolet

It is by far, the most sacred place for a BMW M fan. We’re talking about the BMW M Division’s underground facility where the company stores copies of all the production cars and prototypes it has ever built, including a variety of never before seen in public vehicles. In a surprising but much welcomed move, the German automaker recently opened the doors of the special M garage to the members of the press and select enthusiasts revealing an array of models that most had only heard about.

We already brought you a video of the wild M8 Coupe with the 580-horsepower V12 engine that was eventually used on the McLaren F1, but now we have several videos showcasing the entire lineup of M cars.

These include the E46 M3 Touring (BMW for station wagon), the E36 M3 Compact powered by the same 321HP straight-six from the M3 Coupe of the time, the E34 M5 Cabriolet with open-top seating for four, an M3 powered E30 ute and possibly the strangest creation yet, the so called Ur-Roadster. The latter is said to have been developed after the Z1 with power being delivered by the E30 M3’s 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine.

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From Norway with Love: BMW 1M Hatchback Packs M3 Coupe’s 4.0-liter V8 with 435 Ponies

If BMW’s upcoming, limited production 1-Series M Coupe with its 335Hp 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged straight-six doesn’t tickle your fancy, you may want to take a look at this custom made 1-Series 5-door hatchback that’s being offered for sale in Norway.

This particular Bavarian hatch sports a modified version of the E92 BMW M3 Coupe’s 4.0-liter V8 engine tweaked to produce 435-horsepower, or 100 more ponies than the normal 1-Series M Coupe. The car also gets the M3’s gearbox, differential and brakes, plus a Bilstein sports suspension, a BMW performance exhaust system and 19-inch BBS alloy wheels in 235 tires up front and 265 at the back.

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BMW Introduces One-Off 1-Series M Coupe MotoGP Safety Car

The upcoming BMW 1-Series M Coupe will serve as the official Safety Car for the 2011 season of the motorcycle road racing world championship (or simply MotoGP), which kicks off this weekend. The 1-Series M Coupe Safety Car is a one-off built by BMW’s M division specifically for this race series, with the Bavarian automaker stating that only the 340HP twin-turbocharged straight-six engine and the entire drivetrain were taken over unchanged from the production model, which launches in late April.

The Safety Car is lighter than its production counterpart thanks to a series of weight saving measures such as the carbon fibre-reinforced bonnet featuring additional large air vents, polycarbonate side and rear windows and the elimination of the rear seat bench. In addition, BMW’s M team developed a bespoke lightweight titanium race exhaust system that not only saves weight but also promises to delivers a much more exciting sound.

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BMW M Car Sales Increase by More than 14 Percent in 2010

Sales of BMW's M car series continue to sprout as the Bavarian company's performance division concluded the 2010 business year with a 14.2 percent increase to 16,967 units, despite the phase out of the V10-powered M5 and M6 models.

The M brand's most popular model remained the M3 with 5,729 units of the coupe, 2,544 units of the Convertible and 1,843 Saloons. Worldwide sales of the newly introduced all-wheel drive X5 M and X6 M totaled 2,778 and 3,082 respectively.

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Video Spoof of Hitler Criticizing BMW 1 M Coupe's N54 Turbo Engine

We've lost track of how many times we've seen crazy edits to the English subtitles of a scene from the 2004 German-language movie titled “Downfall" in the United States, in which Adolf Hitler explodes with anger. This four-minute-long video spoofs BMW and the company's decision to make use of the N54 twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter straight-six engine on the 1-Series M Coupe. Enjoy some laughs in the video after the jump.

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ItalDesign’s Nazca Reborn in Sabino Leerentveld Homage

Ever since the demise of BMW’s M1 in 1981, designers and illustrators alike have speculated on the look of a possible successor to the Bavarian automaker’s only mass produced, mid-engined vehicle. Some – like industry stalwart ItalDesign – have gone so far to build full scale, drivable mock-ups.

One such speculative mock-up was ItalDesign’s Nazca M12 of 1991 featuring a mid-mounted V12 and BMW’s ubiquitous rear wheel drive. The Italian design house also presented a race-spec version of the car called the Nazca C2 at the 1992 Tokyo Motor Show, followed by a Spyder model in 1993.

Now, twenty years later, Dutch designer Sabino Leerentveld has resurrected the Nazca C2 in the form of this rather slick homage.

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BMW Prices U.S.-Spec 2011 1-Series M Coupe and 2012 650i Convertible at NAIAS 2011

At the 2011 Detroit Auto Show, BMW announced pricing information for the U.S.-spec 2011 1-Series M Coupe, face-lifted 2012 1-Series, and the all-new 2012 650i Convertible.

The revised entry-level 128i Coupe starts from $31,825, while the much anticipated 1-Series M Coupe with the 335HP turbocharged inline-six is priced at $47,010 and will be available in limited quantity. The new generation of 650i Convertible starts at $91,375. All prices include an $875 destination and handling fee.

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