1997 Bmw 528i Base Sedan 4-door 2.8l on 2040-cars

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BMW reminds us what made the original M3 so great

Just because many are slavering for the global debut of the 2016 BMW M2 at the Detroit Motor Show doesn't mean BMW will let us forget the coupe that gave the letter "M" its global moxie: the M3. The Roundel has posted the first in a five-part series devoted to that seminal M, the 1987-1991 E30. Built as a homologation requirement for the race car BMW needed to beat Mercedes 190E 2.3/16V in the German Touring Car Championship, it was 1.5 times more expensive than the 325i of the time and company sales heads had doubts about being able to sell all 5,000 of them. As we know, that story had a happy ending. The first models came with a 2.3-liter four-cylinder with 195 horsepower, a chopped and tuned combination of the four-cylinder M10 block first used in 1962 and in Formula 1, with a cylinder head from the six-cylinder M88 that did duty in the M1. By the time the M3 Sport Evolution models marked the end of the first-gen production run, displacement had risen to 2.5 literz and output to 238 hp, but more important than those numbers were the phenomenal handling and relentless race victories. You should definitely check out the video above for BMW's peek into the backstory of the fourth M car after the M1, M535i, M635 CSi, and M5, and arguably most important. But if your M-centric tastebuds prefer a more modern take on the German brand's most driver-friendly vehicles, take a look at the videos below. Related Video:

Behind the scenes of BMW's 'Drift Mob,' Part 1

Generally speaking, marketing and journalism don't mix, but every now and then, what goes into the marketing of a car - the 2015 BMW M235i, in this case - is worth documenting. In that spirit, we took BMW up on its offer to bring us behind the scenes of its upcoming "drift mob" video, starring five red M235i coupes frolicking around a traffic circle in a major world city (BMW has asked us to be coy about which one so as not to blow its cover before the shoot).
The five drivers can all be considered legends of modern-day drifting and stunt driving: Rhys Millen, Samuel Hübinette, Dai Yoshihara, Rich Rutherford and Conrad Grunewald.
As the only US media outlet in attendance, Autoblog plans to follow up with a full story on the experience once BMW polishes and releases the video in a month or so. In the meantime, check out our photos of this epic practice session we captured on our first day hanging with the crew, and be sure to watch this space for more behind-the-scenes action.

More details emerge on hotter BMW i8S coming next year

The BMW i8 recently won the Autoblog Technology of the Year award, and it's going to get even better. In October, Automobile magazine reported that BMW's i brand is working on an i8S that would be stiffer and more powerful, and celebrate the marque's centenary in 2016. At the time, one of two power unit combinations was suggested, either one of them good for more than 500 horsepower. Car magazine has added more info on the coupe said to be called Project M100, saying that in addition to being a birthday gift for BMW, it will also be a going-away statement to current chairman Norbert Reithofer, who is expected to retire in 2016 or 2017. It will also be so thoroughly reworked that there will be plenty of daylight between it and the standard i8: a more integrated carbon fiber and aluminum chassis, a wider range of materials used in the build, a larger luggage bay due to the omission of rear seats, a more aggressive suspension supporting heartier brakes and wider tires, and - perhaps - a different aero and ground-effects package to be visually different and make the most of the alterations. As for that power unit, Car says that the two options mentioned by Automobile are still under consideration, being either a 2.0-liter twin-turbo four-cylinder with 320 horsepower and a 204-hp electric motor, or a 3.0-liter straight six with 480 hp and an electric motor with 109 hp. Either choice gets an integrated starter motor good for another 27 hp, and a total torque number of roughly 520 pound-feet, 100 additional lb-ft than the current car. Word is that it will be shown for the centenary in 2016 then go on sale by the end of 2017.