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2014 BMW 2 Series is a 1 and then some

Pricing for the new coupe starts at $32,100 for the 228i and $43,100 for the M235i.
BMW has taken the wraps off its replacement for the 1 Series, the 2 Series, ahead of an official debut at the 2014 North American International Auto Show in January. Pricing for the new coupe starts at $32,100 for the 228i and $43,100 for the M235i that we showed you earlier today - not including $925 for destination. And before you break out the torches and pitchforks, know that those numbers compare favorably with the current 128i Coupe and 135is Coupe, which start at $31,500 and $43,550, respectively.

BMW M boss denies supercar collaboration with McLaren

The first time there was a McLaren Honda Formula 1 team, McLaren did some moonlighting with BMW on a supercar for all time, the F1. It just so happens that McLaren Honda is a thing again, and Car magazine recently ran a piece saying McLaren and BMW would get back together on another hopped-up coupe with roughly the same working agreement as before: BMW supplies a screaming V8, McLaren builds the body to go around it. Only this time the car would be a BMW model, not a McLaren, and be BMW's version of the next-generation McLaren 650S. The Car piece said that BMW head of R&D Klaus Frolich first got in touch with McLaren nine months ago, however, the head of BMW's M division, Frank van Meel, said he doesn't know anything about it. Mentioning every BMW exec referred to in the story, van Meel told Australia's Motoring, "I haven't had a phone call, [CEO] Harald Kruger hasn't had a phone call, and Klaus Frohlich hasn't had a phone call." The Car story said the reason BMW hasn't done a conventionally powered exotic recently is that former CEO Norbert Reithofer didn't want anything to eclipse the i8, the i brand, and the eco credentials the brand is charged with promoting. Changes in the executive suite – new CEO, new M boss, new R&D chief – were thought to meant changes in approach. Not according to van Meel, who gave those same i brand reasons to Motoring as then reasons BMW has no interest in a 750-horsepower, quad-turbo coupe. On top of that, after spending billions to move the game forward with in-house carbon fiber technology, van Meel asked, "I don't understand why we would need to work with McLaren for a supercar anyway. All of the technologies the story suggested are technologies that are core competences here at BMW and at M. Nobody in the world is more advanced with carbon-fibre than we are." The extent of the denial is so detailed that we're inclined to believe BMW on this one; cover stories usually stop at curt phrases like "We have no knowledge of that" or "We don't comment on future product." So you can put away your dreams of a McLaren F1 Part Two. For now. Related Video:

BMW Pininfarina Gran Lusso Coupe and Concept 90 pics from Villa d'Este

Royalty and the ultra-wealthy rubbed damp shoulders at this past weekend's Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este on the shores of Italy's Lake Como, but even the rain couldn't extinguish the excitement generated by the millions of dollars of cars and bikes on display. Nowhere was this more true than with BMW, which marked the occasion with the reveal of two stunning concepts with six wheels between them - the shark-nosed Pininfarina Gran Lusso Coupe and the retrosexual Concept 90 motorcycle.
Conceived with Italian design house Pininfarina, the Gran Lusso Coupe is a power broker on 21-inch wheels. While we're not completely sold on every element of its design, this twelve-cylinder two-door concept moves us more than the current 6 Series, and not just because it has four more cylinders underhood and 48,000-year-old kauri wood paneling inside. BMW is sadly mum on production hopes, but we're not entirely optimistic - the company has graced us with a number of attractive concepts at Villa d'Este before, only to pack them away again without ever affording them a production future.
If one of these concepts has a better shot at finding its way into dealers, we have to believe it's the Concept 90 under the BMW Motorrad umbrella. Designed to celebrate the 40th anniversary of BMW's R 90 S, we think this Roland Sands Design air-cooled boxer would look fantastic on today's streets, especially with the rising popularity of vintage motorcycles and cafe racers.