First Drive: 2011 BMW Alpina B7 breaks the luxo-barge mold
Alpina is as familiar to German enthusiasts as Shelby, Hurst, Saleen and Yenko are to American gearheads. And like its American counterparts, Alpina has made a business out of taking the best vehicles from one marque and making them substantially better than anything rolling off the assembly line.
The relationship between BMW and Alpina started in 1962 when a German enthusiast named Burkard Bovenseipen realized his BMW 1500 had plenty of untapped potential. Bovenseipen developed a dual carburetor kit for the 1500’s four-cylinder, and as the carbs flew off the shelves, he realized there was a serious market for BMW-based performance parts. Mr. B formed ALPINA Burkard Bovenseipen KG in 1964 and in the decades since, the company has become known simply as BMW Alpina B7.
But while the name has changed, its mission remains the same, and its line of upgrades have grown considerably since its inception. Bovenseipen’s team continues to recognize the potential in almost every new BMW product, and the small but competent company, now managed by Bovenseipen’s son Andreas (his staff calls him Andy), delivers better, less compromised, higher-performance versions of BMW production cars.
Categories: Auto Review, BMW, Car Review, Sedans/Saloons Tags: BMW
First Drive: 2011 BMW M3 with Competition Package
Our eyebrows arched when we read BMW’s introductory press pamphlet. One line in particular warranted another read: “The M3 with Competition Package is the best-handling production M car ever built.” Now that’s a bold statement.
A run-of-the-mill BMW M3 crafted by M GmbH is a machine that’ll have you drawing up plans for an expanded dream car garage. It holds the underlying pavement with falcon-like grip, pushes like a Caterpillar hopped up on NOS, and brakes as if it has a pair of General Electric reverse thrusters perched atop its sculpted trunk.
Two years ago we put the sedan against its top rivals, the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG and the Lexus IS F. After driving each, executive editor Ed Loh opined that the “Lexus and Mercedes are great hot-rod sedans. The M3 is a race car with four doors.” MT testing mastermind Kim Reynolds said, “The Lexus and the Mercedes feel like performance versions created out of something else. The M3 feels like it was born this way.”
Categories: Auto Review, BMW, Car Review Tags: BMW
BMW Gran Coupe Concept design studio photos released
BMW has released a behind the scenes glimpse at how the Gran Coupe Concept (GCC) was designed.
While the company declined to release additional information, BMW has previously stated the GCC was created to blend the “exclusivity of a Gran Turismo with the fascination of a high-performance sports car.” Key design features include a “forward-tilted shark nose” front end, headlights with LED technology, a gently tapered roofline, frameless doors, and the iconic Hofmeister kink.
As you may recall, the Gran Coupe Concept was unveiled at last month’s Beijing International Automotive Exhibition in China. It previews the next-generation 6-Series and a possible four-door coupe competitor to the Mercedes CLS and Audi A7.
