Innehållsförteckning för September 2023 från TOTAL BMW

There will undoubtedly be some people who look at this month’s cover car and get mad about it, and I understand why. The E30 M3 is held in such high regard as a performance icon and a slice of BMW history, that the idea of someone carrying out an engine swap, even one from the BMW back catalogue, feels wrong to them. In the case of our epic September issue cover car, there is context, that being that the car was purchased without an engine, so something had to be inserted into the engine bay. Naturally, some purists would insist that should have been an S14, but the S85 is too awesome to turn down, and it means another E30 M3 is still alive, with the help of a heart…

It’satestament to how well the E39 generation of 5 Series has stood the test of time that nigh-on 30 years since its launch, the good old ‘best car in the world’ epithet is still going strong. The Fives that have followed have all been great cars, but none have caught the imagination quite so successfully as the E39, with its near-perfect blend of performance, space, ride, handling and subtle good looks. Good though the E39s undoubtedly were, there’s always room for a little bit of additional spice, and, as usual, if you wanted a fitter and faster E39, it was well worth your while beating a path to Alpina’s door. Alpina was swift off the mark when it came to fettling the E39, and it wasn’t long after the car’s…

TURBO E36 The course of modding never did run smooth. That’s not quite what Shakespeare said, he was talking about love, but the sentiment also applies to cars. Let’s be real: they’re not always especially reliable at the best of times, and while people outside of BMW circles might equate the Bavarian brand with perceived German sturdiness, we know that’s honestly not the case. And when you throw some mods into the mix, the chances of things going south at almost every stage increase exponentially. But it’s all worth it. Okay, that does sound like a coping mechanism, but it’s true because even when it all seems to be going wrong, when it finally goes right, and you take a step back and look at what you’ve built, that sense…

Variety is the spice of life, and while we love to check out the BMs on display at the shows we go to, it's always nice to haveawide range of show machinery to enjoy, which is exactly what PlusFourFour Automotive's The Show delivers. PlusFourFour was started to build a brand, which the team has succeeded with, attending shows across the UK and Europe, making their own clothing and merchandise range, and building a great following. But one of the PlusFourFour team's main goals was to put on a new show in the southwest, and that's exactly what they did in 2021. Two years on from that, The Show once again returned to Wiltshire, with over 750 selected show cars attending this year's event. Whatever you're into, The Show has something…

G82 M4 Are we all agreed that the G8x M3 and M4 look okay now? Is that something that everyone is on board with? We’re sure there are plenty of people out there who felt that way from the off, but likewise, we reckon there are also plenty of people out there – quite possibly more – who didn’t share that enthusiasm for the latest generation of M3 and M4. We would count ourselves among those, and we’re not going to pretend we were on board with the styling – it was very much a hard nope from us. But, as is almost always the case, time (around three years at this point) has done wonders, and not only have we now got used to the styling, it’s honestly grown…

Much has been made of hydrogen fuel cells and their potential for use in passenger cars. Or their lack thereof. It seems many people are divided by the prospect of fuel cells, which combine hydrogen and oxygen to create water and electricity, the latter of which powers an electric motor. The advantages are numerous – hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, filling up takes five minutes, and the only ‘tailpipe’ emission is water – but there are issues, too. For a kick-off, it’s less efficient than electric power, primarily because a battery-electric car simply stores existing electricity rather than creating it, but also because while hydrogen may be abundant, it’s difficult (and therefore energy-intensive) to produce. As a result, some say hydrogen power is a distraction from…

This stunning E30 Touring was never intended to be as cool as this. Initially, it was just going to be a rough drift car cobbled together from BMW bits found in the parts bin. It didn’t turn out like that, though. And, like most of the BMWs handled by Qvick Motors, it’s pretty special. Kenzi Qvick’s father, Eric, has been racing and building BMWs ever since he accidentally stumbled across the 1970 Spa 24 Hours while walking through the local woods. Kenzi himself has been around motorsport since he was old enough to clean his father’s racing wheels, which was not all that long after learning to walk. He began developing his racing craft a few years ago in the Belgian Clio Cup, but as good for honing racing skills…

In the last update, I announced that my local BMW specialist (Auto Technik, Lutterworth) identified the source of the engine oil leak, with it being the upper and lower timing case covers. Given that it takes an enormous amount of labour to change the lower timing case cover, I decided that it was probably prudent to replace a few other bits, given thatIdo not want to have open heart surgery on this engine again (and all the labour that goes with it). As is widely reported, the timing chain guides are a massive weak point on the M62/TU engine, so I decided to get them replaced too. Oh, and also the timing chain itself. And the tensioner. And while they had easy access to them, all of the belts too.…

@totalbmwmag With the E36 nice and clean and sitting on fresh rubber, it was time to tackle a couple of things on the to-do list. Honestly, there weren’t actually that many items on the estimate that BMSport (www.bmsport.com, 0208 3049797) sent over for us, but one of them made for a rather sizeable bill. Cast your mind back to our March issue, and you will recall this was when the E36 paid its first visit (of many) to BMSport for a once-over. Overall, it wasn’t too shabby, but there was one rather shocking discovery that needed sorting urgently. It turned out that one of the rear brakes had been repaired at some point, and the repair had been well and truly bodged, as the pipe now travelled both above the…

Fans of small SAVs looking for something sporty have found what they’ve been looking for with the new X1M35i. Under the bonnet sits the B48 four-cylinder TwinPower turbo engine making 300hp in European models, and 317hp for the USA and other selected markets. Peak power is delivered between 5750-6500 rpm, while peak torque of 295 lb ft is on tap from 2000-4500rpm, and the X1 M35i hits 62mph from a standstill in 5.4 seconds. The car comes fitted with a seven-speed Steptronic gearbox with shift paddles, and if you pull the left paddle for at least one second, the M Sport Boost function activates, and all the powertrain and chassis systems are switched to their sportiest setting. Naturally, the X1 M35i features xDrive 4WD, which includes a mechanical limited-slip differential…

There are not many V10-powered production cars out there. It’s one of the least popular of the more exotic engine configurations, but it’s left its mark on the motoring world in a big way thanks to its incredible exhaust note. Think V10, and you immediately think of machines like the brutish Dodge Viper, magnificent supercars like the Porsche Carrera GT, Lexus LFA and Lamborghini Gallardo and Huracan, and, of course, BMW’s own E60 M5 and E63 M6. While BMW was not the only car manufacturer to produce a V10-powered saloon and estate, with Audi offering several NA and turbo models in both body styles, it was the first. Before the E60 M5, you had V8s for power and V12s for refinement: that was the established formula, and everyone was happy…

BMW’s Tourings always get a lot of love, especially among the modified community. It’s the saloons that you will always see out in force at shows, but that’s precisely what makes Tourings stand out in a sea of four-doors. It’s hard to put your finger on precisely what it is about estates that makes them so great, but perhaps it’s the appeal of that sensible, practical car turned into something that you wouldn’t expect. That’s why fast estates are such hot property, because you can have a big family wagon with space for shopping and kids and whatever else, combined with absolutely monstrous power and performance. It’s the concept of having your cake and eating it made tangible in rapid wagon form. Or the idea of the sensible diesel 3…

It might only be in its second year, but the Bespoke Show has established itself as a firm favourite on the UK show scene, and, looking at its formula, it's easy to understand the show's success. First of all, it's application only, with no public tickets or parking, which keeps the event much smaller and more intimate. As it's application only, the organisers, the trio of Tony Forbes-Marsden, Dave Smith and Steve Head – lifelong BMW fans and show regulars – and the team can keep the quality high, and they can also make sure the intimate Kent venue never feels overcrowded. And after testing the water last year and revising the layout slightly for 2023, Bespoke saw over 100 cars parked up on an exceedingly sunny Sunday in June.…

It’s all too easy to be drawn into the ‘futuristic’ aspect of electric cars. It is just another fuel, and if we embrace the concept that most of the world has grown up with only two pedals anyhow, there is very little left to make a fuss about. The EV accelerates with more vigour and more smoothness than any automatic car at the same price point, with only its energy recuperation characteristics being worthy of the description ‘learning-curve’. The rest of the technology is here-and-now market-wide stuff, and BMW has its own take and style upon it, with mixed results. Like many makes, BMW embraces the idea of ‘Driver Profiles’ for seat position, climate preference, radio station etc. with its ‘BMW ID’. Linking to the BMW app – more worthwhile…