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Next-gen BMW 5 Series sedan spotted with production body, possible PHEV

The current BMW 5 Series is just a few years old since its 2009 debut, but the Bavarians are already preparing to put the model out to pasture. Here's our first glimpse at the production bodywork for the next-gen sedan after spotting the wagon version during testing – twice. While the cladding and swirling camouflage make specific details difficult to discern, it doesn't look like we should expect any massive changes in design language from the new model. The nose appears to dip a bit more at the tip of the front end, but otherwise there's no way to mistake this as anything other than a 5 Series. Squint hard enough at the front left fender and you can notice what seems to be a small door. Our spies think that this might be hiding the charging port for a plug-in hybrid version. While the styling doesn't appear to be changing much, the next 5er reportedly has a new platform underneath the skin that supposedly will help it shed around 220 pounds. The debut for this lighter but likely similar looking BMW is expected sometime in 2016.

Even 'Ring taxi drivers need to respect the Green Hell

The Nürburgring Nordschleife has the reputation as one of the most difficult tracks in the world to master - deservedly so. With 14 miles of roadway and about 160 corners over a massive amount of elevation change, the amount of grip can change from turn to turn. As the driver of the famous BMW Ring Taxi learned this weekend after a shunt into the barricades, the 'Ring can bite unsuspecting pros just as easily as amateurs.
The video of the incident below shows the M5 oversteering right into the wall as a phalanx of Porsche models arrive behind it. According to Bridge to Gantry, a website that specializes in news about the 'Ring, the taxi's passengers were picked up by another Ring Taxi and driven off with a fantastic story to tell their friends back home. "The accident happened at low speed, there were two passengers in the car, but no one had at any injuries," said BMW spokesperson Cypselus von Frankenberg to Autoblog via email.
The crash also closed track for over an hour to clean up and to haul the stricken BMW away. When a driver making a living from driving lap after lap at the Nordschleife has a crash even as seemingly minor as this one, it just goes to show why the course has the nickname 'The Green Hell.'

2014 BMW 4 Series drops its top, priced from $48,750*

BMW will debut its new 2014 4 Series Convertible at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November, and after seeing plenty of spy shots and, most recently, some leaked images, we now have all the official details. To no one's surprise, the 4 Series convertible is, essentially, a topless version of BMW's new-for-2014 4 Series coupe, and will be offered in the United States in the same 428i and 435i guises.
On the base end, that means the 428i Convertible arrives with the company's 2.0-liter turbocharged inline four-cylinder engine, good for 240 horsepower and 255 pound-feet of torque, and available with either rear- or all-wheel drive. BMW says the 428i will sprint to 60 miles per hour in a respectable 6.2 seconds. For folks in need of more thrust, BMW will happily sell you a 435i Convertible, available only with rear-wheel drive, powered by a 3.0-liter, twin-turbocharged inline-six that produces 300 hp and 300 lb-ft of twist. Hitting 60 mph in the 435i will take roughly five and a half seconds with the standard eight-speed auto. Curiously, BMW did not mention anything about a six-speed manual transmission for either model, so looks like this droptop might be an auto-only affair. We've contacted BMW for confirmation, so we'll keep you posted.
Like the 3 Series Convertible it replaces, the 4 Series uses a three-piece folding hardtop configuration, and BMW says that added sound deadening reduces audible wind noise by about two decibels. Folding the automatic roof takes just 20 seconds, and can be done at speeds up to roughly 11 mph. For chilly, top-down driving (something we're big fans of), there are now three-temperature neck warmers for the front seats - just like what Mercedes-Benz offers with its AirScarf system.