2010 Bmw 128i on 2040-cars

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Motorweek remembers the Bimmers that made us all fall in love

The enthusiast's tied-in-knots relationship with BMW makes the Bavarians one of those brands especially ripe for nostalgic flights. That's why as soon as we saw the opening shot of Motorweek's review of the 1986 BMW 325e and a 635Csi, we let out a long sigh and thought, "Ahhhhh, I remember those days..." The two red barons were the new entries for the year, the 325e offering a couple of extra doors for the first time, the 635CSi rounding up the powerplant's displacement compared to the 633CSi that preceded it. The inline six-cylinder in the current 335i sedan gets on with 300 horsepower; 28 years ago, the 325e made do with a 2.7-liter inline six offering 121 hp, taking 9.3 seconds to get to 60 miles per hour from a standstill. That's four seconds more than today. Those willing to pay $41,000 for the 635CSi got a 3.4-liter inline six with 182 hp, and Motorweek praised it as a "confident handling car that does feel big and clumsy at times." The more things change, you know... Check out the video for a reminder of how BMW got to be what it is, and to hear the most unusual use of the word "oriental" we've heard in a while. News Source: MotorWeek via YouTube BMW Coupe Luxury Classics Videos Sedan

BMW i8 headed to Frankfurt

According to Edmunds, BMW will reveal its production i8 hybrid sports car at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month. The i8 is the second vehicle to come from the automaker's new "i" initiative, following the debut of the smaller i3 hatchback last month.
The BMW i8 makes its debut nearly four years after the original Vision EfficientDynamics concept bowed at the Frankfurt expo in 2009. The production car is expected to use a 1.5-liter three-cylinder engine that drives the rear wheels, coupled to an electric motor that drives the front wheels. Combined output is said to be something like 393 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque, based on our earlier reports. The i8 is also expected to be very light, with curb weight coming in somewhere around 3,125 pounds. Finally, the i8 is said to have a pure electric range of 20 miles, and should be able to hit 62 miles per hour in just under five seconds.
Other publications had the chance to ride along in the i8 (in prototype form) and came away impressed. We're hoping we'll feel the same when the car officially goes on sale sometime in early 2014. Stay tuned for more at the i8's official unveiling in just a few weeks.

These BMW M6 GTLM racing liveries are great

This weekend we'll see a whole new crop of racing machinery line up for the start of the 24 Hours of Daytona, including the new BMW M6 GTLM. So far we've only seen it in flat black, but now the Bavarian automaker has revealed two special liveries for the two cars it will be fielding in the race this weekend. The number 25 car features a throwback livery that reinterprets BMW's classic racing stripes of red, dark blue, and light blue over white bodywork. It's designed to be reminiscent of – and even features images of – legendary racing machinery from the Roundel marque's history. Those include the 3.0 CSL that wore the same number when it took the company's first win in the US at Sebring in 1975, the M1 sports car from the early 1980s, the V12 LMR that scored BMW's only Le Mans victory to date in 1999, and the M3 GT that dominated the American Le Mans Series in 2011. The second car features a more futuristic livery, wearing the number 100 to mark the automaker's centenary and a multicolor lattice design applied with a luminescent 3D-effect reflective vinyl on a white body. They'll both be fielded by BMW Team RLL, a partnership between the manufacturer and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (of Indy fame), which took a class win at Laguna Seca last year. The new M6 GTLM replaces the previous Z4 GTLM and will proliferate across racing grids in motorsport series around the world following its race debut this weekend. But it won't be the only new piece of racing kit turning a wheel in anger for the first time at Daytona; the new Ford GT and Ferrari 488 GTE will be competing in the GT Le Mans class alongside proven competition machinery. BMW Team RLL reveals 100th anniversary livery for the BMW M6 GTLM race cars in Daytona. Daytona (US), 27th January 2016. BMW Team RLL today revealed two commemorative 100th anniversary liveries for the new BMW M6 GTLM race cars, with which Bobby Rahal's (US) team will compete in the 24 Hours of Daytona (US). The race forms the first round of the 2016 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IWSC). The number 25 car sports a look reminiscent of the iconic BMW 3.0 CSL, which contested its first season of racing in North America back in 1975 and claimed the first victory in Daytona 40 years ago. The second BMW M6 GTLM will race with the number 100. To mark BMW's 100th anniversary this year, its livery looks to the future.