New Car Modification

The new BMW 5 Series was unveiled today at the exclusive BMW pavilion which has been specially constructed for the launch in India. The new BMW 5 Series is available in two petrol variants – 535i and 523i and two diesel variants – 530d and 525d and can be ordered at BMW dealerships across India.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Peter Kronschnabl, President, BMW India said, "The 5 Series is the core model in our product portfolio. Each generation of the BMW 5 Series has been a winner and has played a major role in the company's success around the world. And we intend to keep it that way in India. You can imagine what high expectations we have of the new BMW 5 Series Sedan: It has to live up to its highly successful predecessor both in terms of innovative technology and sales achievements."
"Splendid design, flawless workmanship, driver orientation with ideally placed instruments and intuitive operation, the new BMW 5 Series embodies a formula to captivate the senses. The new BMW 5 Series is everything a BMW sedan is meant to be: aesthetic, dynamic and efficient." Mr. Peter Kronschnabl, President, BMW India further added.

The BMW 5 Series has significantly contributed to the success and image of BMW in India. BMW India has sold over 3600 units of the 5 Series in India since 2007.

The all India Ex-Showroom Prices in INR Are as Follows.
The new BMW 523i : 38,90,000
The new BMW 525d : 39,90,000
The new BMW 530d : 45,90,000

Ex-showroom price excludes RTO registration charges, tax, insurance, handling charges; Octroi and entry tax (as applicable). The above ex-showroom prices are exclusive of sales tax / VAT applicable on sale to the customer. Prices and options are subject to change without prior notice.

The 523i, 525d and 530d will be produced at the BMW Plant Chennai. The 535i will be available as a CBU (completely built-up unit) and will have an ex-showroom price of INR 58,00,000. The new BMW 5 Series will be available in Alpine White as non-metallic paintwork and in the following metallic colours: Space Grey, Titanium Silver, Black Sapphire, Havanna, Cashmere Silver, Deep Sea Blue, Milano Beige, Imperial Blue Brilliant Effect and Sophisto Grey Brilliant Effect.

Dakota leather is the standard upholstery for the new BMW 5 Series and is available in the following colour combinations: Oyster / Black, Black / Black, Vento Beige / Vento Beige, Oyster / Oyster dark and Cinnamon Brown / Black. The following interior trims are available: Fine-wood trim Ash Grain Brown and Fine-wood trim "Fine line" anthracite.

The new BMW 5 Series: Description in Brief:
The sixth generation of BMW’s immensely successful four-door stands out through modern aesthetics in design, conveys all of the Sheer Driving Pleasure so typical of BMW and offers unparalleled luxury in the upper midrange segment.

The sophisticated aesthetics and dynamic looks of the new BMW 5 Series Sedan are the result of perfectly balanced proportions. Again in the typical style of the brand, the new BMW 5 Series Sedan boasts of a long and contoured engine compartment lid, short overhangs, a coupé-like flowing roofline as well as the longest wheelbase in the segment. The charismatic flair of the upright front section and the BMW kidney grill inclined slightly forward from certain perspectives, the stylish elegance of the side view and the muscular sportiness of the rear end all come together in typical BMW design language to provide an outstanding look of style and supremacy.

Within the interior, horizontal surfaces and exciting lines create a truly generous and harmonious ambience. The clear structure of the cockpit enhances the high level of driver orientation, while the stylish, modern design of the interior is further refined by top-quality material and tastefully composed colour combinations.

The new BMW 5 Series Sedan is entering the market with the world’s first straight-six petrol engine with Twin Power Turbo, High Precision Injection and Valvetronic (225 kW/306 hp) in the BMW 535i as well as straight-six petrol engine in the BMW 523i (150 kW/204 hp). The latest generation of straight-six diesels featuring an all-aluminium crankcase and common-rail direct injection develop 180 kW/245 hp in BMW 530d and 150 kW/204 hp in BMW 525d.

Eight-speed automatic transmission comes standard with the BMW 523i and the BMW 525d. Eight Speed Sports Automatic transmission with shift paddles on the steering wheel is standard feature on the BMW 535i and theBMW 530d . With its innovative gear set configuration, a unique level of inner efficiency and optimised weight, the eight-speed automatic transmission combines outstanding gearshift comfort, dynamic performance and efficiency of the highest level.

The combination of a double track arm front axle and the Integral-V rear axle ensures supreme driving dynamics and motoring comfort all in one. Further efficiency is provided by Electric Power Steering (EPS) including Servotronic as standard feature for the first time in the BMW 5 Series. The clearly structured cockpit and intuitive controls enhance Sheer Driving Pleasure in typical BMW style to an even higher level, at the same time underlining the sophisticated ambience within the passenger compartment of thenew BMW 5 Series. The driver-oriented cockpit in Black Panel technology, the multifunction steering wheel featured as standard, the two highly functional steering wheel columns, and the separation of driving and comfort functions further enhance the feeling of supremacy at the wheel.

Courtesy: BMW India

According to the British magazine AutoCar, company BMW prepares one more crossover. It will receive name BMW X4, and as it is possible to guess, the given model will be intermediate between Х3 and Х5. But, perhaps, another is more important. New BMW X4 is supposed to exhaust only in a three-door body, moreover and with a sloping roof. So it will be possible to name this model the first bonus off-road coupe.

According to representatives BMW the idea about creation Х4 has arisen at once after it became clear that big BMW X6 uses huge demand of buyers. And Bavarians are assured that cheaper X4 is capable to become the present hit of sales.

On a motor show in Beijing company BMW has presented concept under name Concept Gran Coupe. The main feature of a new 4-door coupe from BMW is not only rather aggressive appearance, but also small height - concept at once on 100 mm below standard "seven".

It is necessary to notice that it's already second concept four-door coupe from BMW – earlier Germans showed the model under name Concept CS. It has been presented in 2007, too in China. And here after three years Bavarians have made the new version of a 4-door coupe. So it possible to wait and the serial version of similar model. It will be called, most likely, BMW 8th series. The main competitors of new "eight" already well-known. This existing Mercedes-Benz CLS, Porsche Panamera and Aston Martin Rapide, and also preparing for premiere Audi A7.

BMW is planning to launch BMW 5-series and BMW X1 in India by the second half of 2010. As per the news from sources that BMW 5-series will launch from July this year & X1 launch in December.

Both BMW 5-series and BMW X1 are launched in European market in 2009. New BMW 5-series and BMW X1 will be assembled at the BMW's Chennai plant for which the company will increase its production capacity as well. Indian luxury car buyers will get better options after the launch of this 2 new BMW cars. "The new 5 series in completely knocked down (CKD) version will be available for Indian customers by July 2010." said BMW India's President Peter Kronschnabl at a press conference in Munich.

Kronschnabl confirmed that the new BMW X1 model will available for the Indian customers from December 2010. Both the models will be imported and will be assembled at its Chennai plant. "Though we haven’t yet started bookings, we have got a phenomenal response from the customer survey in India for both the models." he added further.

BMW expects a good growth from Indian automobile market.

BMW 5-series Price in India: Around Rs 45-55 lakhs

BMW X1 Price in India: Around Rs 25 lakhs

Speed Read

Vehicle Tested:
BMW ActiveHybrid X6 2010

Base Price:
$89,775

Engine:
twin-turbo 4.4-liter V8 + two electric motors

Gearbox:
7-speed automatic

Power:
400 hp @ 5,500 rpm (engine alone); 480 hp (total system power)

EPA Rating:
17 mpg city/19 mpg hwy.

On Sale:
December 2009

First Impression:
Possibly the smartest dumb vehicle we've ever driven.

Specs & Performance

Vehicle
Make BMW
Model ActiveHybrid X6
Model year 2010
Style 4dr Crossover
Base MSRP $89,775
Drive type All-wheel drive
Transmission type 7-speed automatic
Engine type Twin-turbo direct-injection V8, 10:1 compression ratio
Displacement (cc/cu-in) 4.4
Horsepower (hp @ rpm) 400 @ 5,500 (engine alone); 480 hp (total system)
Torque (lb-ft @ rpm) 450 @ 1,800 (engine alone); 575 (total system)
Brakes, front Electrohydraulic, four-wheel ventilated discs
Steering type Electric speed-proportional power steering
Suspension, front Double wishbone
Suspension, rear Multilink
Tire size, front 255/50VR-19
Tire size, rear 255/50VR-19
Curb weight, mfr. claim (lbs.) 5,688 (mfr claim)
Fuel type Premium unleaded (required)
Fuel tank capacity (gal) 22.5
EPA fuel economy (mpg) 17 City/19 Highway


Specifications
Length (in.) 192
Width (in.) 78.1
Height (in.) 66.5
Wheelbase (in.) 115.5
Seating capacity 4
Cargo volume (cu-ft) 25.6
Max. cargo volume, seats folded (cu-ft) 59.7

The BMW X6 coupe-ute is already a plenty weird thing. The X6 M is weirder still, adding incomprehensible performance capability to this plenty weird thing (to say nothing of pissing off so-called M purists).

But the 2010 BMW ActiveHybrid X6 is nothing short of utterly fantastic. And we mean "fantastic" in all of its shades of meaning offered by the Encarta dictionary in the right column of our screen as we write this.

Let's see: The X6 ActiveHybrid is "extraordinarily good," at least compared to other hybrid SUV/coupe things. It is "apparently impossible but real," because, honestly who could have thought of such an impossibly complex thing? It exists "only in the imagination," or it will for the vast majority of humans, as the $89,775 base price will keep it off virtually all streets. That it's "extremely strange in appearance" needs no further clarification, although we note the additional bulge in hood of the X6 hybrid isn't helping make the vehicle look less strange.

And finally, the X6 hybrid is "unusual and unlikely to be successful."

Stop Making Sense
Because there is no conventional frame of reference in the automotive realm that will make the 2010 BMW ActiveHybrid X6 make sense, we will from this point forward, avoid trying to make some sense of this vehicle.

After all, what are we to make of a $90K sport-ute with little utility, almost as much sport as the standard and much cheaper X6, but without the big fuel-economy gains that you'd hope would come with 420 pounds of increased complexity?

The ActiveHybrid X6 (which we will refer to from this moment forward as simply the X6 hybrid) is the result of BMW's participation in a consortium of automakers including General Motors and (then) DaimlerChrysler that's since been disbanded. The consortium has to show for its work and money several technically impressive but practically vexing trucks such as the unpopular Chevy Tahoe hybrid and GMC Yukon hybrid, the Silverado and Sierra pickup truck versions, the guilt-assuaging Cadillac Escalade hybrid and, soon, a Dodge Ram hybrid, the BMW X6 hybrid and the Mercedes-Benz ML450 hybrid.

BMW is understandably not eager to talk about the consortium's other offspring, preferring instead to play up the fact that it has built the BMW of full hybrids. In other words, the 2010 BMW X6 Hybrid is meant to maintain as its guiding principle the traditional BMW ideal of performance driving.

The Ultimate Driving Hybrid?
So all right, we'll take that bait. BMW claims that the X6 hybrid does zero to 60 mph in 5.4 seconds. That is indeed high-performance. And that it's done by a vehicle weighing in at a flab-tastic 5,688 pounds is really very, very impressive. Such performance is but a tenth of a second slower than the standard V8-powered X6 and about a second quicker than the six-cylinder X6. And in what surely must be a first, BMW says the X6 hybrid's hypercomplex electronics incorporate a launch control function (although we were unable to make it work on our test car despite repeated tries and guidance from the X6 hybrid's head powertrain engineer).

The 2010 BMW X6 Hybrid uses the same twin-turbo, direct-injection 4.4-liter V8 engine as the conventional X6 V8. For accelerative force the hybrid also brings two electric motors incorporated into the transmission to overcome the hybrid's additional 420 pounds of heft (thanks, NiMH batteries and magic transmission!). Possibly, as children the BMW engineers liked to try to run up the down escalators, just like us.

How It All Works
Look, there's no disputing that the X6 hybrid is a quick thing. BMW says that the powertrain system can make a maximum 480 horsepower. That is enough to move just about anything, but if you floor the throttle from a standstill or from a steady cruise, be prepared to wait awhile for the silicon brains to grab a cup of coffee and figure out what the hell to do about this recent request. We trust that, like many of the aspects of the X6 hybrid (and, for that matter, the related two-mode hybrids), this is possibly the state of the science — that such complex matters might not be able to be sussed out any more quickly. But the end result in the real world of non-engineers is that the X6 hybrid is slow to react to its throttle.

Of course, the presence of four fixed mechanical gears; two electric motors trading duties as power delivery devices or generators for the batteries depending on speed and load; three "virtual" gears that act something like electric continuously variable transmissions but using fixed ratios (for gears 2, 4 and 6); and a handful of magic beans, means that it might take us several lifetimes to figure things out, only to have load, speed or throttle position change when we'd just begun our calculations. Except that it wouldn't, because we'd sooner push the nearly 3-ton X6 hybrid to our destination than to try. Oh, and that's just the transmission.

A more impressive aspect of powertrain performance (though decidedly less typically BMW) is its ability to run on electric power alone up to 37 mph. This is faster than the related GM two-mode utes are capable of doing. And it's a claim with some merit. Furthermore, the gasoline engine fires up and shuts down in a most agreeably smooth fashion. Like the GM offerings, the 2010 BMW X6 Hybrid is all-electric in reverse so we think maybe BMW should just mount the seats the other way around and just forget about the gas engine.

Does Not Compute
So what about those characteristic BMW brakes and steering — two elements arguably more responsible for BMW's ultimate driving machine that powertrain performance?

Well, you won't be surprised to learn that the braking system for the hybrid is complicated by electronics. BMW calls this Sensotronic Brake Actuation, which de-couples the brake pedal from the rest of the mechanical/hydraulic braking system. This is because light braking is accomplished by the regenerative braking system, wherein the electric motors act as generators to recharge the batteries. Beyond a 0.3g threshold of braking force, the conventional hydraulic/mechanical system takes hold. Because there is no mechanical connection between the system and the pedal, BMW is forced to fake it, using an "integrated pedal force simulator." This doesn't so much simulate actual braking feedback as it does simulate stepping on a rubber playground ball. There's an initial light resistance followed immediately by an apparent collapse of all structure, followed by high pressure and unexpectedly high braking force. It's not like a BMW in any conventional way that we know about.

Electrons are responsible for the steering assist in the 2010 BMW X6 Hybrid as well, and, like many such systems, the steering feel is a little light for the old touch receptors. We'd be able to tell better if we didn't drive the X6 hybrid on the highway and surface streets in and around Miami Beach, where there is no geographical feature that a straight road or bridge can't be built directly through.

Just Like Crockett and Tubbs
Miami Beach also proves to be perhaps not the finest place to test handling prowess, unless you're into 90-degree corners and using tourists as apex markers.

The X6 hybrid's reason for being is its purported status as the most dynamic and characteristically BMW of hybrids. Unfortunately BMW's marketing position does not entirely jibe with the fact that the excellent torque-vectoring system from the standard X6 could not be fitted to the X6 hybrid because the battery pack took up the space under the cargo floor. An extra quarter-ton of heft doesn't help, either.

But we'll have to reserve judgment on the hybrid's handling until we get it on roads that curve or undulate or, well, do anything. It gets new, stiffer springs and dampers along with stiffer antiroll bars to cope with the added weight and replicate the tuning of the conventional X6. Also, the hybrid gets its own sassy 19-inch wheels that can only be described as "swoopy."

Those wheels, a few discreet badges and a big old lump in the hood (to accommodate electronics that sit atop the engine) are the only real identifiers of this X6's alternative powertrain.

Also, if you stalk the owner of an X6 hybrid, you'll notice he'll make slightly fewer trips to the gas station than a standard X6 (either V8 or six-cylinder). The hybrid is rated by the EPA at 17 mpg city and 19 highway. Compared to the atrocious mileage of the standard V8 model (13 mpg city/18 mpg highway) and the pretty-darn-bad mileage of the six-cylinder (15 mpg city/21 mpg highway), the X6 hybrid represents a big gain. Still, a rating of 18 mpg combined means this hybrid achieves a combined fuel economy roughly equal to a Chevy Avalanche and an annual gas cost of about $2,300.

The 2010 BMW ActiveHybrid X6 represents more work for less meaningful results than most first marriages.

BUCHLOE, Germany — Alpina, a specialist in tuner BMWs, is making a return to racing after a 20-year absence with a car based on the BMW 6 Series. The public will be able to see that car, the B6 GT3, at the Geneva Auto Show next month.

The Alpina factory team will enter the FIA GT3 racing series with its B6 GT3, derived from the BMW 6 Series. The B6 GT3 is also inspired by Alpina's B6 S road car that makes 523 horsepower and 535 pound-feet of torque from a supercharged 4.4-liter V8. That B6 S is capable of accelerating to 60 mph in less than 3.9 seconds and can hit a top speed of 177 mph.

In addition to putting up a factory team, Alpina will sell B6 GT3s to individuals and teams looking to compete in the series.

Inside Line says: Alpina's expertise in tuning BMWs with the quality and polish of major manufacturers should help the company when it comes to racing. — Eric Tingwall, Correspondent.

Base Price: $33,675 - $51,525

Vehicle Details
$33675 328i Sedan
4-Door Rear Wheel Drive Car, 230 bhp, 200 lb-ft, 6-sp Manual, 18 (2009)/28 (2009) mpg
5 passengers, 3350 lb, 3-liter, inline-6 engine, 14.5 lb/bhp

Engine
Engine Type Gas I6
Displacement 3.0L/183
Fuel System N/A
SAE Net Horsepower @ RPM 230 @ 6500
SAE Net Torque @ RPM 200 @ 2750

Transmission
Drivetrain Rear Wheel Drive
Trans Type 6
Trans Description Cont. Manual
First Gear Ratio (:1) 4.32
Second Gear Ratio (:1) 2.46
Third Gear Ratio (:1) 1.66
Fourth Gear Ratio (:1) 1.23
Fifth Gear Ratio (:1) 1.00
Sixth Gear Ratio (:1) 0.85
Reverse Ratio (:1) 3.94
Clutch Size N/A in
Final Drive Axle Ratio (:1) 3.23
Vehicle
EPA Classification Compact

MECHANICAL
6-speed manual transmission
3.0L DOHC 24-valve I6 engine-inc: double-VANOS variable valve timing, Valvetronic
Engine start/stop button
Electronic throttle control
Rear wheel drive
Double-pivot strut front suspension-inc: coil springs, aluminum lower arms, aluminum steering knuckles, aluminum subframe
5-link rear suspension w/coil springs
Front/rear twin-tube gas-pressurized shock absorbers
Front/rear stabilizer bars
Engine speed-sensitive variable-assist pwr steering
4-wheel ventilated pwr disc brakes
Chrome-plated dual exhaust tips