2014 BMW 2-series Active Tourer first drive

First impressions are of a dumpy, rounded shape, unmistakably BMW, but that’s as much to do with the grille and badge as it is any inherent BMW-ness. Overall it feels a competent design, but a country mile from the sharp lines of the initial Concept Active Tourer shown two years ago.
The UK range at launch comprises two new turbocharged engines: a 2.0-litre 148bhp diesel (badged 218d) and a three-cylinder 1.5-litre petrol (218i). Both are available with a six-speed manual gearbox or an eight-speed automatic. A four-cylinder 2.0-litre petrol engine and four-wheel drive will follow in the autumn, and eventually there will be a plug-in hybrid model.

Rain stops play for the BMW M4 Convertible

Trying to get to the bottom of the BMW M4 Convertible's talents on a wet day in Germany is mission impossible, says Chris Knapman

Things improve once you’re inside, where the leather-lined four-seater cabin wraps itself around you with a sense of quality and purpose. And if the sports seats and chunky steering wheel didn’t give away that you were in something built to do light-speed, then the number of buttons should. These control not just the folding roof and neck-warming heaters, but a multitude of different modes for the steering, suspension, engine, gearbox and traction control, leading one to believe that the M4 Convertible has every situation covered.

BMW 1Q profit beats estimates

BMW 1Q profit beats estimates
BMW, the world's largest luxury car manufacturer, reports a first-quarter sales boost

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Hip to be hybrid: BMW i8 supercar sells out

BMW has sold out of its i8 supercar just two weeks after deliveries started, with new buyers now being told they’ll have to wait up to 10 months to get their hands on the £95,000 hybrid machine, the company has said.
The most successful dealer so far has been BMW’s i showroom on Park Lane in London’s Mayfair with 170 orders. The sales manager there, Peter Adams, told The Telegraph he was staggered at the car’s success. “We’ve had numerous people asking to buy the display car. Many have said to me: name your price,” he said.

2014 BMW M3 review

The BMW M3 is now a saloon only. The Coupe version is now called the M4
So now we’ve got the Mark V M3 built in a world quite different from the hedonism of the mid-noughties. And it’s quite a refreshing return to the traditional launch format of the Munich engine company, where the first item is the engine. So take a special casting of BMW’s silky straight-six, very stiff with closed-deck construction, equalised bore spacing and a forged crank to keep it safe at 7,500rpm, where it’s producing a spirited 425bhp, about 10bhp more than the old V8.

BMW to spend billions buying Samsung SDI Batteries

BMW agreed to spend billions of euros increasing its orders of Samsung SDI batteries as the world’s largest maker of luxury cars expands its line of electric vehicles.
BMW is planning to increase its purchases of SDI battery cells for the electric i3 city car and the plug-in hybrid i8 sports car as well as for “additional hybrid models” in the coming years, the Munich-based carmaker said today in a statement. BMW assembles the cells into batteries at a facility in Dingolfing, Germany.

BMW i8 price shock

Demand for the BMW i8 hybrid supercar is so high that used models are selling for nearly 50 per cent more than the list price.
Anyone who had the foresight (and finances) to put their name down a couple of years ago would have paid £99,845. But there are now examples on used car websites with between one and 250 miles going for £139,995.
“It’s a sellers’ market,” said Tim Marlow from Magnitude Finance. “Some dealers are now pricing them in the region of £150,000.”