With most major car manufacturers suffering from a downturn during 2008, and the uncertain financial situation, BMW has bucked the trend with news that its performance ‘M’ division has seen an upturn in sales during 2008.
M GmbH is the specialist performance arm of BMW, and over the last 30 years has been responsible for producing some of the most iconic cars in BMW’s history, both on the road and on the track.
Between November 2007 and November 2008 the division sold 22340 vehicles worldwide, an increase of 14092 vehicles in one year, with M GmbH bosses predicting that 2008 will

BMW have released new pictures of the Z4 roadster, which it plans to launch during 2009. The original Z4 was launched in 2002 and has been a sales success, with BMW now launching a second generation of the car.
Two versions of the car are available depending on specification levels, the sDrive30i and the sDrive35i. One of the most radical changes is the introduction of a new folding roof. Automatically powered, the roof opens and closes within 20 seconds, at the touch of a button. To help improve cabin space, a through-loading design has been incorporated into the boot. This

BMW have offered a bespoke version of their X5 SUV, designed to meet the highest levels of personal security. Known as the X5 Security, the new BMW is designed to meet the very highest ballistic protection standards, and in an age where the threat of terrorist attack is as high as ever, the X5 Security is designed to ensure the very highest level of protection from attack.
Designed for high-profile public figures, business leaders and government officials, the X5 Security boasts a major advantage in being constructed as an armoured car directly from the garage. The car is designed as

The new BMW Alpina D3 coupe is one of the most fuel efficient sports coupes available. With fuel economy and taxation brackets being more of a factor when it comes to choosing a new car, Alpina’s version of the 3-Series coupe has been developed to offer the very best driving thrills possible, whilst keeping fuel efficiency and carbon emissions as low as possible.
The car uses the BMW diesel engine found in the BMW 123d model, with Alpina engineers increasing the power input of the engine to an impressive 214bhp. This power gives a 0 to 60 time of 6.9

The BMW 3-series has been voted the most reliable car in the UK in a survey carried out on British vehicle leasing firms. Whilst the FN50 survey, completed by the Fleet News publication, usually sees Japanese companies come out on top, this is welcome news for BMW drivers in general, as the company was voted the most reliable manufacturer in the same survey.
Using data from several multi-marque leasing companies, 881,000 cars were assessed, with manufacturers being graded in terms of the number of breakdowns per 100 cars in each fleet’s line-up. Extra points were awarded by the number of

With the launch of the e36 version of the BMW 3-series in 1992, BMW re-launched its successful M3, with a change in emphasis on the car’s image. Whilst the original car was built to enable BMW to enter touring car races, and was very much a racing car on the road, the new version was developed and sold as an exclusive, high performance sports saloon in its own right.
Whilst the e36 lacked the motorsport credentials of the previous e30 version, the e36 M3 helped build the M3’s reputation as the ultimate sports saloon. One of the main improvements was

The BMW X3 is one of the most popular vehicles in the so called ‘soft roader’ market, the car is a small SUV that is arguably more common on the school run than on a country trail.
The X3 is BMW’s answer to the likes of the Land Rover Freelander, and is arguably a better car, although some say the build quality of the X3 is not as strong as on other cars in the BMW line up. The X3 still has far less stories of mechanical trouble that are associated with the Freelander.
The X3 also boasts good performance figures,

With the much publicised ‘credit crunch’ affecting the residual values of high performance saloon cars, the opportunity has arisen for buyers to obtain relatively new versions of high performance cars at prices cheaper than ever.
With buyers opting for smaller, less powerful cars, those that are prepared to put up with a slightly higher tax bracket will find their money goes further than ever before.
An example of this is the BMW 330d saloon. The 3-series diesel is known as one of the best performing diesels around, and whilst the boom in popularity in the 3-series (which in recent years has

The e30 version of BMW’s famous M3 coupe, introduced over 20 years ago, is the original version of the renowned M3, and is now a desirable classic car in its own right.
Like many exclusive high-performance road cars, the original M3 was introduced as a result of motorsport regulations regarding ‘touring’ cars. BMW was keen to take its 3-series to the racetrack, and had developed many high speed prototypes for the racetrack. But with touring car regulations requiring an official production version of the competition car to be built, BMW launched the M3 version of its e30 3-series in 1986.

The BMW E90 M3 made a recent appearance on Top Gear, with the car being pitted against the Lexus IS-F. The car featured on the show was the new BMW M3 saloon, with a price tag of £49,000. As part of the feature the two cars were pitted against each other on the Top Gear airfield, with British Touring Car ace Tom Chiltern at the wheel of the M3 and Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson driving the IS-F
The Lexus IS-F has been designed as a serious rival to the M3 in the sports salon category, with a 5-litre V8 engine