Innehållsförteckning för February 2024 från TOTAL BMW

I was recently invited along to BMW’s Electric Showcase, a day where I got the chance to sample every electric car currently available in BMW’s lineup. You can read my thoughts on the range over on p48, so I won’t talk about the driving experience here, but I did come away with a few thoughts I wanted to share. Firstly, modern BMWs are amazing. If you’ve not driven something from the latest model range, let me tell you now that everything about them is incredible, and don’t listen to anyone who tries to tell you otherwise. Sure, you can nitpick certain things, and the styling remains divisive, but overall, they’re absolutely sensational. Honestly, BMW feels like it’s at the top of its game right now, across the board. And my…

It was only a matter of time before the 5 Series followed the 4 Series into electrification, and the time has finally come. As with the i4, the new i5 is essentially a conventional BMW saloon - in this case, the G60-generation 5 Series - powered by an electric motor, but the German brand is clearly placing more emphasis on the zero-emissions option than ever before. So much so that the only version of the 5 Series available for us to sample at the international launch is the i5, but does the electric car make a lot of sense, or is it set to be a weak spot in the new 5 Series range? At a glance, things look promising. BMW seems to have learned from its experiment with enormous…

F80 M3 “copper bolts and filler caps work with the carbon fibre intake heat shield and charge pipe covers, and body-coloured engine cover to create a ’bay that is both functional and pleasing to the eye We’ll start by dropping a bombshell. This jaw-dropping M3 is 26-year-old civil engineer Mahi’s (@copper_m3) first BMW. Yep, we couldn’t believe it either. Before seeing the Bavarian light, Mahi was a Wolfsburg man, enjoying his Golf R. This was enhanced with a Maxton Design aero pack, full custom exhaust and ambient lighting. Mahi recalls that fateful day that opened his eyes to BMWs: “I was driving behind an F80 M3, and I was stunned at how fat the rear end was,” he tells us. “The thing had such street presence with its swollen arches,…

How controversial do you want your E30? if modding was like the Nando’s chicken heat scale, we reckon air-ride would be somewhere near the bottom - Mild, we’d say. Most people are on board with it, and you’re not going to upset too many members of the BMW community. A wide-body conversion will take things up a notch to Medium - it’s getting a little spicy, and some people might get angry beads of sweat on their foreheads when they spy a car like that at a show, but, done well, it can definitely work. The next step up from there would be Hot, and we can safely say an LS V8 swap would achieve that sort of level of general displeasure among die-hard fans. Because how dare someone run…

EVENTS Is there any headier combo than modified cars, blazing summer-like sunshine (in November!), and the camaraderie of the global tuning community? It all comes together for SEMA, with the freshest and most radical builds in the scene all meeting up in Sin City for an extravagant display of stylish and offbeat naughtiness. Held annually since 1967, the SEMA show is a massive showcase of contemporary, traditional and cutting-edge modified car culture. The bustling chambers of the Las Vegas convention centre are crammed to the rafters with incredible builds, and all angles are covered, from massive lifted pickup trucks to custom choppers and everything in between. A particular highlight every year is the Toyo Treadpass line-up, which always features some brilliantly offbeat ideas (this year’s entrants included a Datsun 240Z…

There were several E30s sprinkled about the show, but this aired-out stunner was definitely our favourite. The latest build from Eliv Solis (@e30bruhh), the 323i is now running an S54 by 412 Motorsport boosted by a Precision 6266 single turbo. There are copious carbon fibre additions courtesy of Carbonetics, and the interior has been fabulously retrimmed in caramel leather and houndstooth by Chuy’s Auto Interior. All the bits you can’t see are just as good as the bits you can, too every single nut and bolt throughout the entire car has been polished. It really is a work of art.…

There’s an age-old Irish saying that has transcended the generations: “May you be in heaven a full half-hour before the devil knows you’re dead.” A notion that encapsulates, quite literally, a devil-may-care attitude to the concept of existence and the perceived rules therein, it’s a cheeky nod to those who fly by the seat of their pants, who embrace life’s more hedonistic thrills. Bon viveurs who’d happily snub a lifetime of meek humility in favour of a final frantic dash toward the pearly gates before the dark lord of the netherworld has a chance to catch up on his daily admin. This BMW 2002, proudly displaying the number of the beast on its plates to show that it couldn’t give a tinker’s cuss about what the devil may think, is…

The latest project from MStyle shows that the company is more than capable of improving performance as well as styling. This E46 M3 is equipped with an ESS 550 supercharger kit with a smaller pulley for more boost and a Snow Performance water/meth injection kit to provide in-cylinder cooling and anti-knock protection. The engine has also been treated to some cylinder head work and a set of Schrick uprated rocker arms. Naturally, the ECU has been remapped to suit these upgrades, and the clutch and flywheel have been upgraded to handle the newfound power. Other upgrades include a Supersprint exhaust system with an Eisenmann back box, a Brembo big brake kit. BC Racing coilovers, Ultra Racing under-body braces, a KED chassis brace and power steering reservoir, Powerflex poly bushes, a…

There are few monikers more iconic in motoring circles than BMW’s M badge. Applied to vehicles developed by the Munich firm’s Motorsport division, the simple capitalised letter ‘M’ preceded by three slanted stripes of light blue, dark blue and red is revered the world over as a sign of a race-bred driving machine. 2023 saw BMW celebrating the 50th anniversary of its racing branch, an enterprise that has enjoyed tremendous success both on track with its racing endeavours, as well as on the street with its range of high-performance road models. But as well-known as the brand is, when it comes to pinpointing the true genesis model of the range, even the most diehard BMW fans can be left floundering. While many would suggest the first M car is the…

The original Z3 received a somewhat mixed reception from the press when it first made its debut, but the ensuing years have been kind to the car, and these days, decent examples are becoming coveted and rising in value. What the Z3 always needed was a performance model, and despite the arrival of the 2.8-litre version a couple of years into its production run, it wasn’t deemed to be enough for a motoring press that seemed to be obsessed with the Porsche Boxster. What BMW really needed was an M-powered version of the retro roadster, and when the M Roadster was shown at the 1996 Geneva Motor Show, it was obvious that this was going to be a completely different beast to the standard Z3. Under the clamshell bonnet was…

The way this 2002 sits over its fabulous split rims is what first drew us toward it, but a closer inspection revealed so many more exquisite details. Built by Manofied (@manofiedcars), the key take-out here is that it’s packing a turbocharged S52, which is a pretty forthright way to behave. In addition to that, it’s got a beautifully trimmed interior that juxtaposes elegant wood trim with a substantial roll-cage, plus those fat Turbo-spec arches and period racer aero. And Manofied’s whole ethos is about road-tripping these BMW classics, so, of course, the ’02 is no trailer queen - they drove it to SEMA from Los Angeles.…

A quarter of a century after it first appeared, opinions are still divided on the styling of BMW’s Z3 M Coupé; the Z3 M Roadster’s looks, on the other hand, have received significant acclaim over the years. And that’s despite possessing a level of scuttle shake that takes the edge off the car’s handling for some enthusiasts. However, that hasn’t stopped the drop-top’s appeal from increasing over time, with collectors now seeing the Z3 M Roadster as an appreciating classic. Prices for good examples currently sit anywhere between £16,000 and £22,000, but there are only so many good examples left around, and most are likely to be snapped up in the next year or two. So, if you’re thinking about buying one, do it sooner rather than later. Fabricated in…

BMW has released full details of its second-gen X2 SAV Coupé, which is available for the first time ever in all-electric iX2 form. The new X2 is longer, wider and higher than its predecessor, and also has a longer wheelbase. The new X2 houses five full-size seats, with all occupants benefiting from increased shoulder and elbow room. With all the seats in use, the new X2 can accommodate 560 litres of cargo, 90 litres more than its predecessor. The load compartment’s capacity can be expanded to 1470 litres. The mild hybrid X2 sDrive20i has a boot capacity of 515-1400 litres, while the fully electric iX2 offers between 525 and 1400 litres. BMW X2 customers can choose from nine paint finishes, including two Frozen finishes from BMW Individual and a broad…

TURBO E36 Back in the day, when every BMW was NA, turbos were mysterious. Aside from the Turbo concept car, the 2002 Turbo and the turbocharged E23 745i, BMW’s road-going offerings remained unboosted. Even the early diesel offerings were naturally aspirated, and they really weren’t great… This meant that modders would spend 21000s to squeeze out an extra handful of NA horsepower or just add an aftermarket or homebrew turbo or supercharger kit to reap the benefits of forced induction, it was only when BMW launched the E92 335i that Bavarian enthusiasts finally got to experience petrol turbo power firsthand - the performance, the toque, and then the incredible tuning potential. And while every modern petrol BMW is now turbocharged and a remap is all you need to enjoy a…

E92 M3 Once upon a time, much in the same way that, during what we assume must have been a heavy night on the bier and brats, BMW’s M engineers decided that stuffing a five-litre V10 into the engine bay of the E60 M5 was a good idea, the decision was made to give the fourth-gen M3 some V8 muscle. This wasn’t the first time that BMW had mixed V8s and M3s, because before the E9x M3 came the E46 M3 GTR, of which quite literally a couple of road-going examples were built, and if you have the funds and can find one, you can buy one. However, as far as attainable and readily available V8 M3s go, the first mainstream massproduction model was the E92 M3. The decision to…

OUR CARS I think I left things last time with the X3 about to head off to BMW Park Lane’s Battersea service centre for a pair of replacement rear springs, and, in the end, this turned out to be a little bit more of a palaver than I’d been expecting. Despite having a lead time of several weeks, I’d eventually managed to persuade the booking-in staff that as it was an urgent repair they would take it in earlier than the booking system was showing availability. I wasn’t expecting a quick turnaround, so I said I was happy to leave it with them all week if necessary and that they could work it in around other jobs in the workshop. So far, so good. On arrival, I said to the…