BMW Creates New Performance Edition models to Celebrate Sponsorship of 2012 London Olympics

There are many ways to celebrate the sponsorship of an event like the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, but when it comes to automakers, the norm is the introduction of special edition models.

For BMW, the festivities over its sponsorship of the games begin with the UK launch of two new Performance Edition models based on the 1-Series hatchback and 3-Series sedan.

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BMW 357Ci: E46 Coupe gets Pontiac GTO 5.7-liter LS1 V8

Two observations: one, there’s nothing cooler than a LS1-engined BMW that is externally indistinguishable from its bread-and-butter cousins and two, the Apple iPhone is probably the worst thing for filming a movie ever. A little less of number two and a little more number one, if you please.

This BMW E46 3-Series coupe, or as its UK owner has appropriately named it, the 357Ci, started its life as a 2001 325Ci with an M Sport Package.

In the hands of its current owner, it received the same 5.7-liter LS1 V8 engine as the rather forlorn looking Porsche 911 we wrote about last week, making this the second American-powered German automobile we’ve featured in as many days.

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SPIED: 2012 BMW 3-Series Sedan Starts Taking Shape

The new, sixth generation of BMW’s 3-Series sedan, codenamed F30 is almost upon us and as a result, we’re seeing more and more prototype models with less camouflage making their appearance on the road or in this case, testing on the Nürburgring circuit in Germany.

Being that the 3-Series has been the backbone of BMW’s success over the years, it doesn’t come to much of a surprise that the F30 remains close to the current model in terms of design.

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New Exclusive and M Sport Editions Join BMW 3-Series Coupe and Convertible Range

You didn’t think BMW would leave its bread-and-butter 3-Series untouched for the new model year just because it’s actively working on a replacement, did you? Of course not. The changes to the 3-Series range are of far less importance than on the 6-Series and 5-Series lineups, and are mostly limited to the presentation of new special edition models and packages. Read more »

BMW Rumored to Rename New 1- and 3-Series Coupes into 2- and 4-Series. What Do You Say?

Citing unnamed sources from within the brand, Britain’s Car Magazine reported on Tuesday that BMW is seriously entertaining the idea of renaming the next generation of its two-door 1- and 3-Series models into the 2- and 4-Series respectively.

The new badges would be applied on the two-door coupe and convertible as well as the sportier GT fastback models of the future 1- and 3-Series lineup.

As some of you may recall, this is not the first time that BMW has toyed around with the thought of turning the 3-Series coupe and convertible into the 4-Series, with the Bavarian company coming very close to executing the idea in the beginning of the new millennium.

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Latvian Tuner Wraps BMW 3-Series in Crocodile Leather

There’s something about cars and animal leathers / prints that attracts certain tuners from Russia and the former Soviet states. You all remember the Russian design-house Dartz and it real whale penis leather-equipped Prombron and snake skin-covered Bentley Continental GT SS. Now another tuning firm called Vipon, this time from neighboring Lithuania Latvia, has come with a new animal leather themed proposal based on a pre-facelift E90 BMW 318i sedan. Read more »

New Scoop Photos Shed More Light on 2012 BMW 3-Series Sedan

With the new 1-Series out in the open, it is time for us now to take a look at the next car in line for replacement in BMW’s range, the 3-Series sedan with these freshly shot spy photos. As we’re nearing closer to the launch, BMW continues to peel away the disguise with the latest F30 prototype having shed not only plenty of swirly decals but also the fake front and rear end additions giving us a better look of the car’s styling.

BMW hasn’t really messed around with the design of the 3-Series since the introduction of the E36 in 1990, and the new F30 isn’t an exception to the rule. The styling of the F30 is a clear evolution of the current E90 3-Series borrowing certain elements from the 5-Series such as the stronger belt-line combined with a lower and more aggressive front end with larger double kidneys. Previous spy shots reveal that BMW will follow a similar formula with the 3-Series’ interior.

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