6-speed Manual Convertible Stick Shift Navigation Black Leather 9 Financing Used on 2040-cars

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Next-gen Mini could sire 10 different models including PHEV

The first generation of the reimagined, BMW-backed Mini was a simple things, confined to two body styles - hatchback and four-seat convertible. It wasn't until the second-generation platform came along that Mini began truly expanding, offering a long-wheelbase model, a roadster, a coupe, a five-door crossover, and a three-door, um, thing?
BMW is aiming for 10 to 12 different vehicles from just two brands off one platform.
According to an interview between Automotive News Europe and the BMW board member that oversees Mini, Peter Schwarzenbauer, the funky British brand will be expanding far beyond the seven body styles it currently offers. "With the new ULK architecture, we currently have in mind eight to 10 models," Schwarzenbauer told ANE. That architecture he mentions, will also underpin the BMW 1 Series GT and the BMW X1, meaning that BMW is aiming for 10 to 12 different vehicles from just two brands off one platform (and that's only what we know about).

We'll finally see the BMW M2 in Detroit

Despite being unveiled in October, the world will finally get to meet the BMW M2 at the Detroit Auto Show. The entry-level M coupe brings 365 horsepower and 343 pound-feet of torque from the M TwinPower Turbo engine, as well as an active rear diff and lightweight components. We'll also get close-up looks at the intense exterior design, which seems to have opinion divided opinion concerning its front fascia. The X4 M40i will also storm Detroit, its inline-six M Performance TwinPower Turbo with 355 hp and 343 lb-ft is also making a world debut. This isn't a proper M version of the X4, but there's been heavy revision throughout the crossover-coupe, and it gets special 19-inch wheels to stand out. Elsewhere of note on the stand will be the 330e and 740e plug-in hybrids that we first met in Frankfurt, and the i8 with laser lighting. The press release below has more. BMW M2 AND BMW X4 M40i TO MAKE WORLD DEBUTS AT THE 2016 NORTH AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOW IN DETROITAdditional Featured BMW Vehicles include: BMW 330e, BMW X1, BMW 7 Series and BMW i8, among others.18.12.2015 - The BMW M2 and X4 M40i will make their world debuts at the 2016 North American International Auto Show on Monday, January 11, at the BMW Stand at 10:05 a.m. in Detroit's COBO Center (One Washington Boulevard Detroit, MI 48226). In addition, BMW will feature the new, BMW X1, BMW 7 Series, the plug-in hybrid BMW 330e, the high-performance BMW i8 and the all-electric BMW i3 among other BMW models at the BMW Stand. English, German and Spanish speaking BMW representatives will be available for interviews throughout the day.Making its highly anticipated world debut, the 2016 BMW M2 features the renowned BMW M Performance complimented by a sleek interior and exterior design. A newly developed M TwinPower Turbo technology 3-liter, 6-cylinder engine produces 365 bHP and 343 lb-ft of torque, catapulting the high performance vehicle from 0-60 mph in 4.2 seconds. Inspired by its motorsport history and enhanced by BMW EfficientDynamics technology, the BMW M2 sets the pace in its segment when it comes to agility, driving feeling, directional stability, steering precision and controllability at the limit, without any compromise in everyday use. The 2016 BMW M2 will be available in US showrooms in spring 2016. Pricing will be announced shortly. BMW M2 Press Kit.The BMW X4 M40i also will make its world debut in Detroit.

Looking back at 84 years of BMW roadsters

Today BMW is a top player in the luxury vehicle market, but it wasn't always so. With origins as an airplane engine builder early in the 20th Century, it broke into the automotive industry when it bought Automobilwerk Eisenach in 1928. That German manufacturer was licensed to build the Austin Seven under the name Dixi DA-1, which could be had in a roadster body style. In 1929, BMW dropped the Dixi name, and by 1936, it was building a car it designed in-house, the 326 sedan. That was followed by the company's first roadster of its own design, the swoopy two-door 327 of 1937.
XCAR picks up there, and gives a history of BMW's iconic roadsters starting with the 327, ending with today's Z4, and covering everything in between - including the beautiful post-war 507 of 1957 and the funky, plastic-bodied 1989 Z1.
The video, which we've included below, is a good history lesson and a great chance to see a bunch of classic BMWs, spanning 84 years, all driven back to back within the safe confines of a racetrack. When you have a spare 20 minutes, go ahead and take some time to watch it.