2012 Bmw 135i Base Coupe 2-door 3.0l on 2040-cars

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BMW tests M Lap Timer App with M4 Coupe at Brands Hatch

The 2015 BMW M4 looks to include all the necessary ingredients to offer dynamite driving experience. It's an M car after all. But in today's constantly connected world, the experience of hurtling a car around a track isn't always enough.
We want data, and while there are some solid telemetry apps available for smartphones (notably Harry's GPS LapTimer), manufacturers have been a bit slower to develop their own dedicated mobile telemetry trackers for their performance cars. With the new M4, though, BMW is taking the plunge, allowing drivers to track their lap progress through a new app, creatively called the M Lap Timer.
To show off the program, BMW has recruited touring car racer Andy Priaulx to perform a fast lap in an M4 at the UK's Brands Hatch circuit. The accompanying video doesn't do much to show off the app in action. Rather, it give us a stylized look at the metrics as Priaulx hustles BMW's hottest 4 Series coupe around the circuit.

BMW 2 Series specs leaked?

Thanks to spy shots from earlier in the year, we already know what the new BMW 2 Series will look like, but now we know a lot more about the coupe courtesy of an apparent BMW South Africa error and some quick-clicking enthusiasts. Though the information no longer appears to be posted on BMW's South African website, 2addicts.com managed to grab most of the details for the new coupe, including the model lineup, specs and most (if not all) of the options list for the upcoming replacement for the 1 Series.
Just like the latest 3 Series, the 2 Series model lineup starts at the 220i powered by a 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder, but the more exciting BMW figures to be the M235i with its 320-hp, 3.0-liter straight-six. With the automatic transmission, the info says that the M235i weights 3,240 pounds and will be able to accelerate from 0-62 miles per hour in 4.8 seconds - making it both lighter and quicker than the 135is currently offered in the US. The base 220i coupe should also be fun to drive with its 180 horsepower and sub-3,000 pound curb weight.
A quick side-by-side comparison of the dimensions for the base 220i with our current base 128i shows that the new coupe rides on a longer wheelbase (105.9 in. vs. 104.7 in.), is about two inches longer (174.4 in. vs. 172.2 in.) and is an inch wider (69.8 in. vs. 68.8 in.). 2addicts.com even shows available paint colors, interior trim options and lists pricing for South African-spec models. Head on over to the forum to check out all the info they have posted, but we expect the 2 Series to be unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show early next year.

BMW predicts 2 Series Active Tourer will have 75% conquest rate

In the last few years, BMW has definitively proven that it wasn't a slave to its legacy. In the US, the 3 Series was generally associated with smooth, flat-six engines, but the Bavarian brand dropped a four-cylinder turbo into it. The company was also known for its sports sedans, and it went green with the i3 and i8. Now, rear-wheel drive is off the table as defining its vehicles, as well. With the imminent launch of the 2 Series Active Tourer, the Bavarian's models are going front drive and opening up themselves to a whole new group of customers, so the thinking goes.
"We are expecting the Active Tourer will have a conquest rate of around 75 percent," said Frank Niederlaender, a BMW product manger, to Automotive News Europe. If you're not hip to the lingo, that means three quarters of the hatchback's buyers would come from other brands - an impressive figure, if accurate.
When it hits the road, the 2 Series Active Tourer will be the first BMW-branded vehicle to use the company's UKL front-wheel drive platform, already on the current Mini Cooper. The roomy hatchback is aimed at young families looking for a car that is luxurious but can still tote around the tots. It launches in Europe in September to compete against similar models like the Mercedes-Benz B-Class, but the Bimmer isn't crossing the Atlantic to the US until early 2015, according to ANE.