The 135i Coupé from HARTGE

Today Hartge announced a new tuning program for the 135i, increasing hp to 345hp and torque to 354lb-ft. They claim 0-62mph is 0.5s faster.
They also have a new aerokit complete with front spoiler lip, roof spoiler, lip for boot lid, rear diffuser and side sills. Interior offerings include 3-spoke leather steering wheel with silver (or black) carbon inserts, illuminated gear knob, alcantara gater and handbrake handle in combinations of leather and aluminium.

BMW 135i vs. Nissan 370Z vs.Mazda RX-8 R3 vs. Pontiac Solstice GXP

Honestly, this has to be one of the most weird comparison I have seen in a while, I mean really…what these cars have in common? Different market, different brands, different customers, different philosophy, you name it. BUT, these type of reviews make the reading more interesting, controversial and unique. We are all tired of comparing cars competing for the same segment, from the M3 vs C63 AMG and 335i vs. G37 to GLK vs. X3 or 750Li vs. Lexus LS460.

So, when I saw the article on Car and Driver, comparing the BMW 135i to the Nissan 370Z, Mazda RX-8 and Pontiac Solstice GXP, I knew I would take the time to read it.
Besides prices in the low- to mid-$30,000s, what’s the common thread? Sport. As in “sports coupes cum sports cars.” Granted, that’s an elastic category, but regardless of their differences, all have a little race car baked in. More than a little, usually.
Body styles aside, attitude and agility color all the players in this foursome. To what degree—that’s what we went to Southern California to find out.

What if the BMW 135i SuperSport will look like this…

I know I’m throwing myself to the wolves here, but let’s speculate a little bit. In the photo below, you can see a very speculative rendering of what the the BMW 135i SuperSport might look like. The computer generated image was created by the famous Huckfeldt, at Auto Bild. He is one of the most reliable source for getting information on how vehicles will look like many years in advance.
With that being said, I am pretty sure that his sources gave him some details on which direction BMW will go with their new design, so even thought the final product will not be identical, I wouldn’t be surprised if many design elements from his rendering will be reflected onto the production vehicle.

What do we know about the 135i SuperSport?
We know that BMW will be more adventurous with their new 1 Series, moving away from the “safe design” we see right now. We know that BMW needs to offer a new car for its enthusiasts, something that will replace the so-missed M1. With them moving towards smaller, more efficient cars, it is only wise to develop a super sporty car based on a 1 Series platform

2009 BMW Alpina B7 - Great looking car

Geneva Motor Show will host many world premieres this year. From the BMW 5 Series GT, to Alpina B6 GT3 and of course, the BMW Alpina B7. For a quite some time we have been following the spy photos of several B7 prototypes being driven around in Germany, and while some of them were sporting very little camouflage, it was still not good enough for us.

But to our surprise, a leaked photo made its way onto the web today, regardless if it was an intentional marketing leak or someone broke some rules, we’re happy to finally see the new B7. But what do you know about the Alpina B7 so far? Powered by a V8 4.4 liter twin-turbo engine, Alpina managed to squeeze out 507 horsepower and an impressive 516 lb-ft of torque. Official numbers show the B7 running from 0 to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds.

2009 BMW 7 Series available at dealerships in the Boston area

I was just informed by Alex Dytko at BMW of Peabody that the new 2009 BMW 7 Series made it to some BMW dealerships in the Boston area. They are available for drive tests and I encourage those of you that live in the MA, NH, CT, RI areas to take advantage of this opportunity.
Everyone I have spoken to and drove the new 7er, we’re highly impressed by the driving experience, a huge improvement over the previous generation.

The short wheelbase 750i has a base price of $80,300, only $3,700 increase over the previous model. While the 750Li starts at $84,200, a $4,100 increase over the older generation 7 Series.