Video Tour of the Unmade BMW M Cars Including the M3 Tourer and Compact, Ur-Roadster and M5 Cabriolet

It is by far, the most sacred place for a BMW M fan. We’re talking about the BMW M Division’s underground facility where the company stores copies of all the production cars and prototypes it has ever built, including a variety of never before seen in public vehicles. In a surprising but much welcomed move, the German automaker recently opened the doors of the special M garage to the members of the press and select enthusiasts revealing an array of models that most had only heard about. We already brought you a video of the wild M8 Coupe with the 580-horsepower V12 engine that was eventually used on the McLaren F1, but now we have several videos showcasing the entire lineup of M cars.
These include the E46 M3 Touring (BMW for station wagon), the E36 M3 Compact powered by the same 321HP straight-six from the M3 Coupe of the time, the E34 M5 Cabriolet with open-top seating for four, an M3 powered E30 ute and possibly the strangest creation yet, the so called Ur-Roadster. The latter is said to have been developed after the Z1 with power being delivered by the E30 M3’s 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine.
Check out all of the cars in the videos below.

Sources: M5Board, Bimmerpost and Car

VIDEO

From Norway with Love: BMW 1M Hatchback Packs M3 Coupe’s 4.0-liter V8 with 435 Ponies

If BMW’s upcoming, limited production 1-Series M Coupe with its 335Hp 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged straight-six doesn’t tickle your fancy, you may want to take a look at this custom made 1-Series 5-door hatchback that’s being offered for sale in Norway.

This particular Bavarian hatch sports a modified version of the E92 BMW M3 Coupe’s 4.0-liter V8 engine tweaked to produce 435-horsepower, or 100 more ponies than the normal 1-Series M Coupe. The car also gets the M3’s gearbox, differential and brakes, plus a Bilstein sports suspension, a BMW performance exhaust system and 19-inch BBS alloy wheels in 235 tires up front and 265 at the back.

On the outside, the 1-Series M Hatch gains an M Sport aero package with bespoke front and rear bumpers, an AC Schnitzer lower front apron and roof spoiler, and BMW Performance stripes and carbon fiber rear diffuser.

Interior mods include a variety of BMW Performance goodies such as the alcantara-dressed bucket seats and sports steering wheel, M Sport instrument panel and more.

The price in Norway for the 2005MY-based 1-Series M Hatch is set at a whopping 749,000 Kr, which comes to about US$135,600 or €96,000.

Source: Finn via Vwvortex

PHOTO GALLERY

BMW Introduces One-Off 1-Series M Coupe MotoGP Safety Car

The upcoming BMW 1-Series M Coupe will serve as the official Safety Car for the 2011 season of the motorcycle road racing world championship (or simply MotoGP), which kicks off this weekend. The 1-Series M Coupe Safety Car is a one-off built by BMW’s M division specifically for this race series, with the Bavarian automaker stating that only the 340HP twin-turbocharged straight-six engine and the entire drivetrain were taken over unchanged from the production model, which launches in late April.

The Safety Car is lighter than its production counterpart thanks to a series of weight saving measures such as the carbon fibre-reinforced bonnet featuring additional large air vents, polycarbonate side and rear windows and the elimination of the rear seat bench. In addition, BMW’s M team developed a bespoke lightweight titanium race exhaust system that not only saves weight but also promises to delivers a much more exciting sound.

Details that set it apart from the production version include an additional splitter integrated on the underside of the front apron, an adjustable rear wing that provide the added downforce, white LED flashlights incorporated in the front grille, and blacked out 19-inch alloy wheels shod in 255/35 tires at the front and 285/30 at the rear.

In the interior, there’s a safety rollover cage bolted behind the B-pillar that has taken the place of the rear seats, an M steering wheel in alcantara, two racing bucket seats with 6-point safety belts, and a fire extinguisher.

BMW said that it has also revamped the suspension of the 1 Series M Coupe which now boasts an adjustable race track set-up that includes a sports-tuned chassis in which the dampers are independently adjustable for bump and rebound. Furthermore, the standard braking system of the series production model has been replaced in the Safety Car with a six-piston fixed-calliper racing brake system.

In addition to the 1-Series M Coupe Safety Car, BMW will have plenty of other cars at the 2011 MotoGP series including two reserve Safety Cars - an X6M and an M3, a 535i Touring serving as the Medical Car, an X5 M for the Safety Officer and an ActiveHybrid X6 for the stewards, as well as two Safety Bikes, the BMW S 1000 RR and a HP2 Sport.

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