Here's your chance to get, if not the, one of the rarest and most beautiful BMWs ever made and which ironically, as Jalopnik's Raphael Orlove put it, wasn't even really a BMW.
It's the BMW-Glas 3000 V8 Fastback by Frua and it's heading to Sotherby's Villa Erba sale that will take place on the shores of Lake Como, Italy, on May 23, 2015.
Glas was a small and independent German carmaker with humble beginnings that was mostly known for its tiny and cute Goggomobil before it started building the 1300GT coupe in 1964 and later the 1700GT penned by famed Italian designer and coach-builder Pietro Frua who was responsible for the Maserati A6G and is even said to had a hand in the styling of the Volvo P1800.
After running into some financial troubles, Glas was acquired by BMW in September of 1966, with the Bavarian carmaker re-branding the firm's newly developed 3000 V8 coupe, which was often referred to as the "Glaserati" due to the styling similarities to Frua's Maserati Quattroporte, as a BMW-Glas model. Only 418 BMW-Glas 3000 V8 coupes are believed to have been produced between September of 1967 and May of 1968.
Along with the regular production models, Frua also designed a number of experimental prototypes including the one-off BMW-Glas 3000 V8 Fastback you see pictured here and which was the only 3000 V8 model to sport BMW's double kidney grille. It made its debut at the 1967 Frankfurt Motor Show and at the time, it was thought that it could enter series-production as a BMW model, but the Bavarians abandoned the idea and concentrated on the E6 3.0 CS.
The next M5 will likely even have have all-wheel drive as an option as this should dramatically improve its driveability in colder climates.
This rendering that tries to preview the upcoming BMW M5, based on the next-gen 5-Series, looks rather convincing. The quality of workmanship is not perfect, but the design looks spot on what BMW itself would do –RM Design even added the xDrive badge next to the M5 one for extra credibility…As for the design itself, BMW should just spare itself the cost of penning the new 5-Series and just use this design instead. Nobody would suspect it’s not one of their own, and it’s neither better no worse than their own attempts – this isn’t a compliment.Check it out after the virtual jump and tell us what changes you’d like BMW to operate on the next M5 to correct some of the current car’s faults… other than “drop in a naturally-aspirated V10...”
The BMW M550d is one heck of a long distance cruiser. However, what surprises you about it most is its monster torque output and M-like agility. And yet, it has nothing on this 'Hurricane'.
One would think that at 381 hp and 740 Nm of torque you're pretty much set if you're looking for a wickedly fast diesel-powered BMW 5 Series. Of course, if a fast diesel is all you want, most of you will be quite happy even with a 530d.
The goal of the M550d is to take things a lot further, straight into M Division territory. The M550d looks, feels and handles about as good as a proper M5. It may not go as fast in certain situations, but considering the fact that you get all that torque as well as excellent fuel consumption, we think there shouldn't be any complaints.
Unless of course you work for G-Power and you figure you might as well take the M550d and oh say light a fire under it so that it now produces 435 HP and an awesome 850 Nm (625 lb-ft) of peak torque - all dyno-tested.
G-Power are using their D-Tronik 5 V1 module in order to keep the M550d in check and we must say, it all sounds rather clever. The module is set up so that it only releases additional power if the correct cooling water temperature has been reached.
In extreme situations, if the oil temperature reaches its limits, the power output is reduced to stock.
As for traffic situations, the D-Tronik 5 module can correspond to the actual accelerator level, which is a very German way of saying that it will basically "mold" to your right foot and once again, revert the power to stock while driving slowly.
But when you want that extra available power, it will be instantly made available to you, giving you the pleasure of accelerating from 0 to 100km/h in just 4.5 seconds (0.2 seconds faster than a stock M550d and 0.2 seconds slower than an M5, but with so much more torque).
Your top speed will be 270 km/h, but you can get that electronic limiter lifted and blast your way to 300 km/h (186 mph).
Looks-wise, you've got your 21" G-Power Hurricane RR forged wheels, wearing 255/30 ZR21 and 295/25 ZR21 tires. The wheels have a double spoke design which we obviously like, and thanks to the use of lightweight aerospace aluminum (that sounds so cool doesn't it?), they're among the lightest wheels in their class.
All things considered, this thing might just be a 'best buy' if you're in the market for an ultra-fast German Wagon. Rivals such as the E63 AMG 4MATIC Estate and the Audi RS6 are quicker off the line but they're down on torque and most important, they're not helping you out with fuel in any way.
The best thing about the M550d, be it a factory model or a G-Power version, is that if you're somehow able to purchase one, you'll actually be able to easily live with its fuel consumption.
It may start from $136,500 in the United States and €130,000 in Germany, but apparently the BMW i8 is in such high demand that the automaker has recently doubled production.
Currently, buyers of the plug-in hybrid sports car have to wait four and a half months for their vehicles to be delivered, BMW production boss Harald Krueger said at the company’s annual press conference. And that’s despite the fact that BMW has recently doubled i8 production at its plant in Leipzig, Germany, to 20 cars a day. Krueger explained the long waiting list with the fact that demand for the i8 continues to rise.
BMW sold 17,800 i3 and i8 models worldwide in 2014, 16,052 of which were i3s and 1,748 i8s. The United States accounted for more than a third of global 2014 sales, with 6,647 i vehicles sold: 6,092 i3s and 555 i8s.
Story references: Automobil Produktion
One of the biggest criticisms on the world’s only RWD hot-hatch was the way it looked. The M135i wasn’t the prettiest child of the Germans but BMW addressed the issue with its latest facelift.
The new M135i finally lost that awkward, sad-looking face that personally reminded me some famous egg-stealing pigs (I’m talking to you, Angry Birds fans), using the much sleeker style from its coupe-convertible sibling, the 2-Series.
The slimmer headlights are a much welcome addition to a package that on paper looks unbeatable, offering a turbocharged 322hp straight-six driving the rear wheels in a segment full of front-driven 4-cylinders.
The new BMW M135i may not be a full-fat M model but this doesn’t detract anything away from its desirability, especially now with that new, so much better face on it.
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