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2014 BMW M5 facelift shows up online

Is it that time already? Like its predecessors, the current BMW M5 has been endangering US licenses since it first went on sale here in 2012, but its design became a known quantity back at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. Apparently that also means that the F10 generation has already grown tired enough to the "Must Have Latest Set" who can afford these sorts of super saloons that a facelift is in order.
If these leaked images sourced from Autocar are anything to go by, BMW stylists have used a predictably light hand to rework their hottest 5 Series, with a revised grille that echoes the M6 along with modestly resculpted headlamps. The rear end appears wholly unaltered. Interior changes gleaned from a look at the cabin photos include an updated touchpad-equipped iDrive controller and a new steering wheel cribbed from the M6.
No new word on changes to the 4.4-liter, twin-turbo V8 powertrain, but in late April, we heard that BMW was readying new competition packages for the M5 and M6. The packages are said to include 15 more horsepower, revised suspension and steering, along with new wheels and blackened exhaust tips. Given that BMW is known for habitually underrating its cars' horsepower outputs (particularly its M models) we can't help but wonder if its engineers will need to do anything other than wave a magic wand to corral those extra ponies underhood...

Mini Rocketman concept reportedly going into production as an EV

Remember the Mini Rocketman Concept from the 2011 Geneva Motor Show? If you don’t thatÂ’s OK, as itÂ’s been almost an entire decade since Mini pulled the wraps off. Despite the massive time lapse, Mini decided to revive the concept, not just for show. The companyÂ’s finally going to put the Rocketman into production, as an electric vehicle. We've heard this before, a few years ago, but nothing was set in stone. Now it seems a decision has been made. AutoCar in Britain recently learned that the Rocketman will fulfill its premise as the companyÂ’s first subcompact city car. The production model, scheduled for 2022, will reportedly be heavily reworked and built as a joint project with Chinese automaker Great Wall Motors. “WeÂ’re advancing plans for a model along the lines of the Rocketman. ItÂ’s a car we have been looking at for a long time, but to build it profitably at the price point we think customers are prepared to pay, you need a joint venture partner to share costs. Great Wall Motors has provided that opportunity with a shared electric car platform that will be used by Mini,” an anonymous “senior BMW official” was quoted as saying. The production Rocketman will retain its three-door hatchback design and is expected to serve as the manufacturerÂ’s newest entry-level model. It will be built by Great Wall Motors in Jiangsu, China, while BMW oversees the design and production with plans to sell it in all markets globally. When the Rocketman first surfaced at Geneva, it was essentially BMWÂ’s direct response to DaimlerÂ’s Smart ForFour. However, even with positive feedback from prospective customers, the project was shelved because development discussions between BMW and its initial partner, Peugeot, ended abruptly. The companies were reportedly going to share platforms and powertrains in another joint venture. In the new agreement with the Chinese company, the production model will apparently use a small-car platform used by Great Wall Motors called the Ora R1. The Peugeot-BMW project was going to use either a three-cylinder gas or diesel engine. But the new model will gain an all-electric powertrain by Spotlight Automotive as a part of BMWÂ’s massive plan to launch up to 25 new plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles by the end of 2023. One of those models is the newly released all-electric Cooper SE.

Watch man destroy his M6 'lemon' with a sledgehammer and ax

Just to be clear, the owner of this BMW M6 isn't ready for another one. He and his friend destroyed the V10-powered coupe in anger at the entrance to the Frankfurt Motor Show in a decidedly public fashion. Bild and GT Spirit report that the owner was angry over mysterious quality and reliability issues that he claims BMW wasn't able to fix. What we have here, folks, is claimed to be a very expensive lemon.
As the story goes, owner Pourmohseni Hadi bought the 2007 M6 in 2008, and five years later, he is still complaining about mysterious vibrations, rattles and severe jolts during gear changes - the latter he says have caused passengers to become nauseous. The car was taken to several BMW repair shops in Italy and Hadi says he he has written a letter to the automaker about his issues, but the car was never fixed and the letter unanswered, he claims. What we don't know is how many miles the car has been driven and when all these problems started happening. The situation reminds us of a certain Lamborghini Gallardo from a couple years back.
While we understand Hadi's frustration, perhaps an M6 just doesn't suit his tastes. After all, we'd be lying if we said a perfectly functioning M6 of this generation wasn't bumpy over uneven surfaces and wouldn't make some passengers nauseous, with its stiffly sprung suspension and dizzying 500-horsepower V10. Anyone wanna bet his M6 was equipped with one of BMW's notoriously abrupt SMG single-clutch gearboxes?