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BMW invests in carbon fiber for use beyond i and M models

The immense amount of resources BMW has poured into its i brand program hasn't stopped, and recent developments indicate it's likely to pay off for BMW and BMW buyers outside the i brand. The i8 has already sold out its first year run, the i3 racked up 10,000 orders before it even went on sale and is already the subject of public discussion about being stretched into an i5, and a new investment in carbon fiber production has the automaker talking about CFRP use in non-i and non-M models.
BMW and SGL Group got together to form SGL Automotive Carbon Fibers (ACF), and the joint venture produces all of the CFRP for the i3 and i8 on two production lines at its plant in Moses Lake, Washington. After already investing $100 million to increase capacity, BMW has announced that another $200 million will add four more production lines, tripling production from 3,000 tons per year to 9,000 tons. When the expansion is complete in 2015, BMW says the Moses Lake facility will be the world's largest carbon fiber plant.
That's a lot of weave and the long view is that it will find its way into core models, with BMW exec Dr. Klaus Draeger saying, "As part of an intelligent mix of materials, we will apply carbon also beyond our BMW i and BMW M models in the future," and be able to do so "at competitive costs and in large quantities."

BMW to change model designations, further yet from actual displacement?

Once upon a time, you could look at the back of a trunk lid of a BMW and come up with a pretty fair idea of what sat under its hood. For example, a 320i was a 3 Series with a fuel-injected, 2.0-liter engine, a 328i was a 3 Series with a fuel-injected, 2.8-liter engine and a 328Ci was a two-door 3 Series with the same engine. Those were good days.
Today, though, that simplicity is dead and gone. A 328i now has a 2.0-liter engine, just like the 320i, while the simple "C" designation that was affixed to two-door models has been replaced with a "4," so we have a 428i and a 435i. It gets worse, though. A 550i uses a 4.4-liter, twin-turbocharged V8 (it should be a 544ti, although we'd be willing to hear an argument for "tti") and a 740i uses a 3.0-liter, turbocharged six-cylinder, which is the same engine found in a 535i. It's madness.
And, well, it's about to get madder, if a post on a BMW enthusiast forum is to be believed. According to f30post.com, we could see a shakeup in at least the 3 and 4 Series nomenclature, thanks to an impending refresh that will see the addition of new, turbocharged four- and six-cylinder engines, codenamed B48 and B58, respectively.

2014 BMW M5 facelift shows up online

Is it that time already? Like its predecessors, the current BMW M5 has been endangering US licenses since it first went on sale here in 2012, but its design became a known quantity back at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. Apparently that also means that the F10 generation has already grown tired enough to the "Must Have Latest Set" who can afford these sorts of super saloons that a facelift is in order.
If these leaked images sourced from Autocar are anything to go by, BMW stylists have used a predictably light hand to rework their hottest 5 Series, with a revised grille that echoes the M6 along with modestly resculpted headlamps. The rear end appears wholly unaltered. Interior changes gleaned from a look at the cabin photos include an updated touchpad-equipped iDrive controller and a new steering wheel cribbed from the M6.
No new word on changes to the 4.4-liter, twin-turbo V8 powertrain, but in late April, we heard that BMW was readying new competition packages for the M5 and M6. The packages are said to include 15 more horsepower, revised suspension and steering, along with new wheels and blackened exhaust tips. Given that BMW is known for habitually underrating its cars' horsepower outputs (particularly its M models) we can't help but wonder if its engineers will need to do anything other than wave a magic wand to corral those extra ponies underhood...