The ActiveHybrid 5 is (officially now) the newest concept from BMW's Efficient Dynamics division, and ED has shaken things up a bit in the power train department. Instead of going with a V8-based mild hybrid setup a la the 7-Series and X6 hybrids, BMW decided to try the system out with their award-winning TwinPower Turbo'd 6-cylinder with Start/Stop tech running the show.

The system is fairly straightforward: up front is the engine, followed by the electric motor which is connected via an automatic clutch, and the 8-speed automatic transmission is the caboose [...]

Here's your chance to get a look at the North America-only BMW 335is Coupe in motion at the media presentation that took place at the Estoril race track in Portugal. If you follow the jump, you'll find two videos, one that includes a walk around the sporty coupe that nests between the 2011 335i and the M3, and the other with some driving impressions from the circuit.

The newest model in the facelifted 3-Series range packs an upgraded, twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six with 320HP and 332 lb-ft of torque (370 lb-ft with overboost) mated to either six-speed manual or seven-speed dual-clutch automated manual gearboxes.

The high-performance 335is Coupe will go on sale in the United States in June at an MSRP of $50,525, or about $7,000 more than the 2011 335i Coupe that's powered by a new single-turbocharged 3.0-liter straight-six with 300HP.


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This week, BMW held a press event for its 2011MY 5-Series saloon in Lisbon, Portugal giving journalists their first taste of the all-new premium sedan before it goes on sale in Europe this March and shortly after in other key markets around the world. If you follow the jump, you can watch videos of both the new 535i and 530d from the Lisbon presentation as well as a short film on sedan's new parallel-park assist system.

As a reminder, the 2011 5-Series is based on a newly developed vehicle architecture also featured in the 5-Series GT as well as the 7 Series luxury sedan.

The 530d is powered by a 3.0-liter turbo diesel with 245hp and 540Nm of peak torque (398 lb-ft) that propels the car from standstill to 100km/h (62mph) in 6.3 seconds and on to an electronically-limited top speed of 250km/h (155mph).

BMW claims that the 530d returns a combined fuel economy in the EU cycle of 6.3lt/100km or 37.3 mpg US.

The new 535i gets a new 3.0-liter straight-six with a single, twin-scroll turbocharger pushing out 306HP and 400Nm (295 lb-ft) of torque for a zero to 100km/h (62mph) sprint time of 6.0 seconds and an electronically-limited top speed of 250 km/h or 155mph.

The petrol model returns a combined fuel economy of 8.5lt/100km or 27.7mpg US.

In Europe, the new 5-Series will also be available with two more diesels, a 184HP 2.0-liter four-cylinder unit (520d) and a 204HP 3.0-liter inline six (525d) as well as three more petrol engines, a naturally aspirated 3.0-liter straight six with 204HP (523i) and 258HP (528i) and a twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 with 407HP (550i)>

All versions of the new 5 Series saloon are available as an option with BMW's new eight-speed automatic transmission.



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BMW has released a short teaser film of its new Concept ActiveE, a fully-electric version of its 1-Series Coupe that will begin trial runs with selected private and fleet drivers in the very near future. The prototype model, which will make its world premiere in Detroit next month, is powered by a an electric motor with 170HP that drives the rear wheels [...]

AC Schnitzer, the well-known BMW tuning house, has earned the bragging rights for having the world's fastest street-legal diesel car. The German firm's BMW 335d-based ACS3 3.5d Coupe reached a top speed of 288.7 km/h or 180 mph at the 13 kilometer-long Nardo test track in southern Italy breaking the previous record set in 2006 by an additional 8.7 km/h.
The tuner did not release technical details on the specific model, but we assume that it features the standard 310HP upgrade to the twin-turbocharged straight-six diesel engine.


Together with the record breaking ACS3 3.5d Coupe, AC Schnitzer also tested the ACS4 3.5 turbo, which is based on the BMW Z4 sDrive 35i, at Nardo [...]

A pair of prototype models of the next BMW 6-Series Convertible have been spied on film. The folks over at Bimmerpost that posted the video support that, like the new Z4, the 2011 6-Series Convertible will most likely be equipped with an electric folding hardtop and that for now, the Bavarians are concealing the roof with a faux canvas top.

Unless someone goes and fiddles around with the top, there's no way of being 100 per cent certain, but looking at the creases on the roof, we'd say that these test cars appear to feature a classic fabric top.

In any case, the new 6-Series Convertible will continue to be a four-seater while we suspect that the styling will follow the cautious evolution of the firm's latest models like the Z4, 5-Series and 7-Series, with BMW's designers toning down the flame surfacing and eliminating the so-called Bungle butt.

Under the hood, the new 6er's engines will be sourced from the 2011 5-Series that was revealed last week [...]

You've seen the photos, read the details, now it's time to watch the all-new, sixth-generation BMW 5-Series sedan on film. If you follow the break, you'll find three videos including one from Monday's press event, a digital presentation of the executive sedan and of course, driving footage and static beauty shots [...]

In typical BMW fashion, the Bavarian automaker has published a brief press release stating that the next-generation 5-Series Sedan will be officially revealed to the world on November 23. The release was accompanied by a short trailer teasing the executive sedan's silhouette through the use of the kinetic sculpture from the BMW Museum.

There's nothing else official on the sixth-generation 5-Series, but we do know that it is closely related to the controversial 5-Series GT and that the sedan model will be followed by a Touring version and of course, an all-new M5 that will get a twin-turbocharged V8 engine instead of the current model's naturally aspirated V10.

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"Born on the Racetrack to Live on the Streets" is BMW's motto for its newly revealed M3 GTS, a stripped-out 450-horsepower version of the M3 Coupe that marks the M division's return to its roots. Following the presentation of the first photos, details (click here to read our previous post) and a rather dull static teaser film, the Bavarian firm has now released a pair of impressive and beautifully executed videos showing off the M3 GTS on the race track [...]

The BMW Vision EfficientDynamics is a new "green" sports car concept that will be officially revealed in a few weeks time at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Until then, the Bavarian automaker is happy to tease us with this video that contains some driving footage of the concept without actually showing the car itself.

However, towards the end of the film, there's a vague shot of the concept and our guess is that it shows part of the car's rear-end design.

Allow us to remind you that earlier this month, a set of spy shots, allegedly depicting the Vision EfficientDynamics concept, made their way into the net [...]

Chrome-painting was never our cup of tea but when it comes to style /fashion /design etc, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. This particular creation is the work of a Russian tuning firm called Dereiter Racing - and yes, we did notice the American flag waving outside the shop [...]

Blame our corrupted minds, but for a moment there we thought BMW was trying to tell us something with their choice of letters on the final prototype model's license plates... But anyway, this is the first official promotional video of the soon-to-be revealed, X1 crossover [...]

This 12-second long video hypothetically shows a prototype version of the next-generation BMW M5 sedan that's expected about a year after the introduction of the new 5-Series Sedan and Touring models in 2010. There's no way of being 100 percent sure if it's an M5 or not, but it certainly sounds the part [...]

BMW's "terrible twins" have been officially unleashed upon us. Details of the X5 M and the X6 M have been confirmed, from the engine size and power output to styling details [...]

BMW seems to believe that Arctic Circle is not only an ideal test ground but also a perfect playground for its forthcoming X1 SUV / Crossover which is seen here in prototype form fooling around in the snow. If you could magically strip away the X1's psychedelic camouflage, with the exception of a few minor details, what you would get is the production version of last year's X1 Concept that was shown at the Paris Salon [...]