Auto blog

BMW announces M235i xDrive, 7 Series Exclusive among summer upgrades

Like any automaker worth its lug-nuts, BMW is constantly striving to improve its products. And so it has announced a series of upgrades for the summer - none of them revolutionary, but a couple of them notable.
For one, the Bavarian automaker has announced that is is offering xDrive traction on the M235i coupe, a model that has been available until now only in rear-drive configuration. The all-wheel drive version comes with the same 3.0-liter twin-turbo inline-six with 326 horsepower (320 in the US market) and eight-speed automatic transmission as the rear-drive version, but now channels that power to all four wheels for a 0-62 time quoted at 4.6 seconds - two little ticks quicker than the existing version. It's the first time that all-wheel drive is being offered on the 2 Series, and will also be fitted on the convertible - at least, that is, in Europe. We're waiting on confirmation of North American availability.
Among the other announcements is a special edition of BMW's flagship luxury sedan. The 7 Series Exclusive Edition upgrades with metallic paint, 19-inch V-spoke alloys, Nappa leather upholstery and a leather-trimmed instrument panel. Buyers will also be able to opt for the Merino fine grain leather and Alcantara roof lining from the BMW Individual catalog, and choose between any available engine or either wheelbase lengths.

Automotive April Fools' joke roundup [w/videos]

Happy April, everyone. And we all know what this first day of the month means: April Fools' Day. Today is a national holiday for pranksters with the Internet acting as a serious enabler, and it's always fun to see what kind of vivid imaginations exist out there in the automotive world. The abundance of fake news gets a little old as the day rolls on, but we did manage to get in a few chuckles thanks to a handful of major automakers and automotive news outlets that got into the pranking spirit this year
Some of our favorites this year includes Subaru showing what happens when you combine a bunch of rumors, a Corvette some may have already thought was a joke or Honda providing some in-car innovation circa the late 1980s. Honestly, we're still waiting for official confirmation from Mitsubishi that the recently introduced 2014 Mirage is an elaborate April Fools' joke using a failed design intended for the 1995 Geo Metro. We dug up as much "official" OEM foolishness we could find, as well as some of our other favorites, and posted them all below.

Alpina bringing new B4 Bi-Turbo Cabrio to Geneva

Interested in picking up a new BMW 4 Series with a turbo six? You've got options: you can get the 435i with 300 horsepower or spring for the M4 with 425 hp. But if it's the convertible model you want, we're afraid you'll be limited to the latter as the M division can't help you (at least not for the time being). But that's where Alpina comes in.
The aftermarket tuner closely associated with BMW offers the B4 Bi-Turbo (at least in Europe) with that same 3.0-liter twin-turbo inline-six massaged up to 410 horsepower that starts to pose a threat to the M4. What's more is that the Alpina's 442 pound-feet of torque eclipses the M4's 406 lb-ft, to say nothing of the 435i's 300.
Best of all, Alpina just confirmed via Facebook that it'll offer the B4 in convertible form, bringing the resulting BMW Alpina B4 Bi-Turbo Cabrio to the Geneva Motor Show. We'd expect the weight penalty to knock it slightly off the coupe's quoted 4.1-second 0-60 time, but not by much. If only BMW were to bring this one Stateside like it does with the B7 sedan.