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BMW debuts 435i ZHP edition coupe [UPDATE]

Performance enthusiasts enamored of the BMW 4 Series but not quite ready to step up to the M4 will be excited at the arrival of the new ZHP edition. Reviving a code last seen on a package for the E46 series a decade ago, the 2016 BMW 435i ZHP Edition boasts a series of performance upgrades aimed not only at "improved optics and aerodynamics; it is also notably quicker with more precise handling." The special 4 Series packs a series of BMW M Performance accessories to give it a more aggressive attitude, including a new Track Handling Package, M Sport Package, limited slip differential and a range of M Performance parts. The Track Handling Package alone includes 18-inch alloys, M Sport Brakes with four-piston calipers up front and two pistons in the back and incorporates the Active M Suspension with variable dampers and steering. With revised software and a new air intake, the M Performance Engine Kit kicks in an extra 35 horsepower for a total of 335 hp and either 32 more pound-feet (with the automatic transmission) for a total of 332 lb-ft or a 17-lb-ft boost (with the manual) for a total of 317 lb-ft. That's enough to drop 0.2 seconds off the 435i's 0-60 time and 0.5 seconds off the run from 50 miles per hour to 75. BMW also promises better accelerator response and engine note. There's a sport exhaust that sheds 8.8 pounds of weight, a full carbon-fiber aero kit and visual enhancements inside, out and under the hood. The German automaker will only be offering 100 examples of the enhanced coupe starting in July, with pricing to be announced closer to the launch date. UPDATE: Of course, if you miss out on one of these special editions, you can always spec out your own from the M catalog with parts installed at BMW's Vehicle Distribution Center. And, as BMW points out in correspondence with Autoblog, you could even order one up with all-wheel drive and in convertible or four-door Gran Coupe body-styles if that's more your pace. Related Video: BMW UNVEILS THE SPECIAL EDITION BMW 435i ZHP COUPE Woodcliff Lake, NJ – May 19, 2015... Paying tribute to the iconic ZHP Performance Package, BMW today released details for a 2016 BMW 435i ZHP Coupe Edition.

BMW matriarch Johanna Quandt dies at 89

Johanna Quandt, matriarch of the family that owns the largest stake in BMW, has died at age 89. One of the world's richest women, Quandt ranked in her own right as the eighth wealthiest individual in Germany, and one of the 100 wealthiest billionaires in the world. Johanna Maria Bruhn was born in June 1926, the daughter of art historians in Berlin. She trained in medical technology before the outbreak of World War II, and after the war worked as a banker's secretary in Cologne. She started working for Herbert Quandt in Bad Homburg, near Frankfurt, in the mid-1950s, and eventually became his personal assistant. They married in 1960, shortly after increasing the family's stake in BMW to 50 percent in order to stave off a takeover attempt by Daimler-Benz. The Quandt family's fortune was controversially amassed during the war. Herbert's father, Gunther Quandt, was a top Nazi-era industrialist named by Adolf Hitler as a Wehrwirtschaftsfuhrer – Leader of the Armament Economy. After Herbert's mother Antonie died, Gunther remarried to Magda, a much younger woman. Following their subsequent divorce, Magda married Nazi master propagandist Joseph Goebbels (with Hitler as best man), and together raised Herbert's half-brother Harald. A recent documentary found that the AFA, the company that the Quandts controlled during WWII, used slave labor provided by the Nazi regime to manufacture battery and munitions for the German war effort. Due to the subhuman living and working conditions, AFA lost approximately 80 forced laborers each month. Despite earlier denial of any wartime wrongdoing, the documentary and ensuing public attention prompted the Quandts to open their books to another investigation that confirmed their wartime activities. The Quandts would later use the capital they amassed to buy BMW, of which they still hold 46.7 percent – the remaining 53.3 percent traded publicly. Following Herbert's death in 1982, Johanna took over 16.7 percent ownership in the company, with their son Stefan Quandt acquiring 17.4 percent and their daughter Susanne Klatten assuming 12.6 percent ownership. Stefan and Susanne, both members of BMW's supervisory board since 1997, are expected to inherit their mother's shares following her passing. Johanna's personal fortune was estimated at nearly $14 billion. Though reclusive from media and public attention, she gave generously to charitable foundations that supported such causes as medical research and business journalism.

BMW selects two artists to create M6 GT3 art cars

Whether it's Alexander Calder's 3.0 CSL or Jeff Koons' M3 GT2, BMW has had a role in some of the most beautiful art cars to ever see a racetrack since 1975. For the 40th anniversary of the series, the company will celebrate in the best way possible – making even more of them. Chinese artist Cao Fei and John Baldessari from the US will create two more artistic racers around the new M6 GT3, and after hitting the track, they'll go on display in museums in 2017. An international jury of museum directors and curators selected Cao and Baldessari to create the 18th and 19th art cars, respectively. Born in 1978, Cao is the youngest artist to create one with BMW. She seems to hint at the inspiration for her example in the company's announcement by saying: "Acceleration, a concept that reminds me of my desire for speed as a runner during the Young Pioneers days, is deeply connected to the entangled contemporary relationships between velocity, energy, and the country." Born in 1931, Baldessari will be the oldest person to produce a BMW art car. "This will definitely be my fastest artwork yet," he said in the release. BMW doesn't know yet exactly where either art car would race. "There is a possibility of one or both the [sic] compete in one of the major IMSA WeatherTech series races. However, this has not been decided yet," company spokesperson Thomas Plucinsky told Autoblog. "We expect to see the cars on track in 2017." Both artists have designs in the works but nothing to release yet. However, the gallery above shows some of the earlier creations. The M6 GT3 is BMW's latest racing weapon for customer teams, and it uses a modified 4.4-liter turbocharged V8 with up to 585 horsepower and a six-speed sequential gearbox. It will compete in places like the GTD class of the 2016 IMSA WeatherTech SportCar Championship in the US. Cao Fei and John Baldessari to create the next BMW Art Cars Racing tradition to be continued with the BMW M6 GT3 Munich/New York. Following commissions by Jenny Holzer (1999), Olafur Eliasson (2007) and Jeff Koons (2010), the BMW Art Car series will now be continued. On the occasion of the series' 40th anniversary, a jury of distinguished museum directors and curators chose two internationally renowned artists to design one car each. Chinese artist Cao Fei (*1978) and American artist John Baldessari (*1931) will be the youngest and the oldest artist represented in the collection respectively.