PSA Peugeot Citroen and BMW announced that their long-running partnership will be extended in the electric vehicles field with the creation of a dedicated joint-venture. The two groups have been working on this project for a long time, and the new company has been officially named BMW Peugeot Citroën Electrification.

The main goal of the newborn subject is to develop and build engine and transmission components that will be used on future hybrid and electric vehicles produced by its associates, meaning electric motors, generators, high-voltage batteries and so on. The first components made by this new joint-venture should be ready to enter production lines in 2015. Besides, the possibility that these parts will be made available for third parties as well hasn’t been ruled out.

BMW and PSA invested 100 million € in the project, money that will be used to build a dedicated research facility in Munich and a production site in Mulhouse, France. All in all, the project will lead to the creation of 650 new jobs.

Via | LeftLane

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BMW M3 5th generation will use a tri-turbo in-line 6 engine again. This is one of the few sure things about the development of this mysterious car, which will be launched at first as a saloon car and will be joined at a later time by a coupe/convertible version called M4. The latest spy shots reveal new air intakes on the front, a newly designed front bumper, bigger brakes and alloy wheels as well as modified quad exhaust pipes.

The six cylinder engine will have 3.3 liters capacity and about 450hp output, and will make use of two classic turbos and a third one that will be powered by electricity. Rumor has it that the bodywork will feature a mix of ultra high-strength steel and carbon fiber, a solution that will allow the new M3 F80 to keep down both weight and fuel consumption.

View the full BMW M3 F80 spy shots gallery

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BMW is currently working on a small facelift for the X6, just to keep the model fresh for some more years until its successor will come. In comparison to the original X6 - launched in 2008 - this restyled version will feature just some minor changes. The most remarkable one should be the new headlights, featuring squared off ‘angel eyes’ rings and LED daytimers (very similar to the ones we have seen on the BMW 1 series). Rear lights as well will get new graphics and will adopt BMW´s latest LED design, to match the rest of BMW’s line up. There will also be smaller changes to the bumpers, although the front bumper of the pictured prototype is still the same one that is being used on the current version of the car.

Way more interesting are the news concerning the mechanical side as a new six cylinder 3.0 tri-turbo diesel engine - which will deliver 750Nm of torque and a maximum power of around 390hp - will be made available for the M50d. The revamped X6 is scheduled to enter the market in spring 2012.

View the full BMW X6 facelift photo gallery

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AC Schnitzer presents the first upgrades for the new BMW 1-series F20. As usual, new models are initially altered only in parts that can be simply substituted, without heavily intervening on mechanics and aerodynamics. In fact, that kind of development requires much more time to get properly implemented.

As for now, AC Schnitzer offers 18″ and 19″ alloy wheels and a chrome exhaust end pipe, which has been built by coupling together the 2 original round shaped outputs. For the interior, AC Schnitzer offers aluminum sports pedals, custom handbrake lever, sports gear knob with illumination and a different kind of iDrive control custom-made by AC Schnitzer. More performance kits and, especially, new engine upgrades will be launched soon.

View the full AC Schnitzer BMW 1-Series F20 gallery

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The new Alpina’s D5 Biturbo is the car with the most powerful 3.0 turbodiesel engine in the world. Based on the 535d model and powered by BMW’s famous in line 6 twin turbo diesel engine, this car boasts a maximum output of 350hp, which is significantly more than the 313hp of the original version. This result has been achieved thanks to the fine work done on cooling system and intercooler (which now features 2 oil-water heat exchangers). Moreover, the electronics of the 8 speed ZF gearbox have been revised as well.

Despite all this power, D5’s average fuel consumption is claimed to be only 6.2l/100km (6.5 for the Touring version), which is a pretty impressive figure considering that the car accelerates from 0 to 100km/h in 5.2 seconds (5.3 for the wagon version), has a top speed of 270km/h (266) and CO2 emission of 165g/kgm (172 for the wagon). Also the tyres fitted on the 20′ alloy wheels are quite impressive: 255/35 on the front and 285/30 on the rear.

View the full Alpina D5 Biturbo gallery

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Five times BMW M5: first launched in 1984, BMW’s sporty saloon car just got to its 5th generation with the new model introduced just a few days ago at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. Although loyal to its own tradition, the new M5 shows a number of innovations that sets it apart from its predecessor. The most significant change of them all can be found under the bonnet.

As you might know, the M5 is now turbocharged. It will have a powerful 4.4 V8 twin turbo engine with Valvetronic and direct injection: very consistent at low revs (680 Nm at 1500 rpm), it boasts great acceleration. It unleashes its full 560hp power between 6000 and 7000rpm, and redlines at 7200rpm.

As for its performance: acceleration 0-100km/h in 4,4 s, 0-200km/h in 13,0 s, 305 km/h top speed with the M-Drivers-Package. BMW claims that the new M5’s average fuel consumption is 9,9 l/100 km, which is 30% less in comparison to the previous M5 thanks to the EfficientDynamics package, which features the start&stop function as well as a KERS.

View the full BMW M5 official pictures photo gallery

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BMW has just released a video that retraces the evolutionary path followed by its logo, which represents a propeller’s blades cutting through the blue sky. It was also developed from a combination of the round Rapp Motorenwerke logo - the company from which BMW originated - and the colours of the Bavarian flag - blue and white - to honour its roots and heritage. The BMW logo embodies 90 years of history and it has been revisited over time in order for it to reflect this company’s evolution, which started with the production of aircraft engines, followed respectively by motorbikes and automobiles.

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Back in February BMW had announced that they had chosen controversial artist Jeff Koons to design the company’s next Art Car. The series began back in 1975 has employed leading artists including Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Frank Stella and Jenny Holzer and Koons would be the 17th artist in the program.

On Monday at the Pompidou Centre in Paris, Koons officially unveiled the BMW M3 GT2 Art Car, which will be competing in the upcoming 24 Hours of Le Mans that takes place June 12-13 with this livery.

“These race cars are like life, they are powerful and there is a lot of energy,” said Koons. “You can participate with it, add to it and let yourself transcend with its energy. There is a lot of power under that hood and I want to let my ideas transcend with the car – it’s really to connect with that power”.

Continue reading: BMW M3 GT2 Art Car by Jeff Koons

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Check out this visual feast from BMW who’s viral ad campaign using building projections will leave you absolutely without words.

The company’s new “Joy” 3d interactive billboard was shown across two buildings in the middle of downtown Suntec City, Singapore and after you’ve finished watching the video and being amazed just like the people in the video, you’ll realize how serious BMW is about promoting themselves on the Asian markets.

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The CAFE legislation, which is creating many a headache for Rick Wagoner, is pushing BMW to think about a possible electric car. The chimera of hydrogen has been shelved and it seems that Munich is betting on the natural development of a hybrid - that is to be blunt, an electric car, at least for the US market.

We’re not talking pipe dream proposals, but news that has all the signs of being official from the moment when Norbert Reithofer, from BMW, discussed it in an interview with auto, motor und sport. According to him the first BMW electric will be a small citycar, that in one blow would throw into retirement all the studies conducted on hydrogen: too many obstacles for capillary distribution to the carburator that means any future is remote.

The step between hybrid and fuel cell, at least for BMW, will be electric but there remains a fundamental thing yet to be understood: will the Germans go it alone or will there be a partner to accompany them in the adventure? At the moment the latter appears more realistic and the believers indicate another possible colossal in the market could be the travelling companion. The incident was creating a cleft between American giants, two arch-rivals always united in the face of the common enemy, but not this time: the negotiations between BMW and Daimler over the project of beating toxic emissions and creating a no-emission vehicle unravelled and both will now go their own way.

Continue reading: BMW looking for partner to build electric car

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