Great Lease/buy! 14 Bmw X1 28i Xline Premium Cold Weather Harman Kardon New on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Alpina Edition 50 models boast 204-mph top speed, company's most-powerful V8 ever

The folks at Alpina bridge the gap between a full factory outfit and traditional tuners. It currently only builds around 1,700 cars a year, but you're not going to find any massive rear wings or garish paint from the company. Instead, the business has been perfecting how to make BMWs better for the last 50 years and has decided to celebrate with its most powerful road model yet. For the Edition 50 models, Alpina is crafting 50 sedans or wagons and 50 coupes for European buyers based around its B5 Bi-Turbo and the B6 Bi-Turbo, respectively. The real birthday present is the upgraded, twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 under the hood. It makes 591 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque, a bump of 59 hp and 52 lb-ft from the regular versions. The extra grunt comes thanks to additions like an optimized intake, water-cooled intercoolers near the turbos, lightweight pistons and a titanium exhaust. Alpina claims that these celebratory vehicles can get to 62 miles per hour in 4.2 seconds and a top speed of 204 miles per hour. Beyond just the major improvement in power, these special vehicles wear Alpina's more aggressive, though still understated body kit. They also ride on an updated version of the company's famous wheels that feature added side cuts on the multiple spokes to reduce weight. These exclusive cars are only available in Alpina's own shades of green and blue, plus a special color called Edition 50 Sepia from BMW Individual. There are also special logos on the seatbacks and center console to further promote the models' limited nature. Celebrating the brand's birthday in one of these high-speed vehicles retails for 86,850 pounds ($130,000) for buyers in the UK. NEW 204 MPH SUPERSALOON CELEBRATES 50 YEARS OF ALPINA ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE 26/03/15 Extensively revised V8 is the most powerful roadcar engine in the company's history Nottingham - Bespoke car manufacturer ALPINA will create 50 remarkable saloons (or estates) and 50 similar coupes to celebrate the company's half century this year. Based on the B5 Bi-Turbo and the B6 Bi-Turbo respectively, each vehicle will include hand-crafted Edition 50 body and trim features and a remarkable, heavily revised V8 that will propel the luxury five seater from 0-100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.2 seconds and on to a top speed of 204 mph. ALPINA's fifty year heritage includes the creation of some of Europe's most highly-regarded luxury performance road cars and iconic race cars including the legendary BMW 3.0 CSL.

2014 BMW X5 doesn't upset the formula

BMW has unveiled the 2014 X5, and fans of the company's CUV will find plenty familiar in the machine. The biggest change to the recipe comes in the form of the X5 sDrive35i, which is the first rear-wheel drive version of the high-riding five-door to date. Buyers will, of course, continue to be able to opt for all-wheel drive, and both models will get their thrust from a 3.0-liter, turbocharged inline six-cylinder engine. That powerplant makes 300 horsepower and 300 pound-feet of torque and is mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission. BMW says the combination is good enough to get the SUV to 60 miles per hour in around 6.2 seconds.
Those who require more thrust can step up to the more potent X5 xDrive50i with its twin-turbo 4.4-liter V8 engine. Drivers get to enjoy an extra 45 hp over the previous model, with final output up to 445 hp and 480 lb-ft of torque. Paired with an eight-speed automatic of its own, the engine can hustle the big X5 to 60 mph in 4.9 seconds.
The 2014 BMW xDrive35d continues to offer diesel power, though output has dropped 10 horsepower to 255 hp and 413 lb-ft of torque. Even so, BMW says the X5 diesel will be just as quick or quicker than the 2013 model. You can check out the full press release below for more information.

BMW planning to stretch i3 into i5 family hauler?

If you're sweet on the new BMW i3 but wish it had more space to carry people and stuff, we've got good news for you. According to Autocar, BMW is planning on stretching the platform that underpins the i3 to create a new model, expected to be called i5.
The stretch job would add an extra four inches of legroom in the back and another six inches of rear overhang to the benefit of cargo space. The result would create a vehicle longer than the current Mini Countryman - although the next Countryman is likely to be even larger. As Autocar points out, the process of extending the i3's composte passenger cell likely wouldn't be as difficult or cost-intensive as lengthening a conventional metal chassis, although the rear doors would need to be re-engineered.
Whether the resulting vehicle would more closely resemble a hatchback, wagon, minivan or something in between remains to be seen, however BMW is said to have already registered the nameplates i1 through i8, signalling that the possibility is at least there to add more members to its new EV family.