RECENT ARTICLES
BMW Will Make New Sports Cars, But Only After Focusing On Core Models
You don’t build a football team from the outside in, you build from the inside out. Once you’ve solidified the trenches, then you can spring for the pricey star-power wide receivers. That’s how BMW is going to build its portfolio moving forward, too—focus on the middle of the brand,...
BMW Files Trademark for “XB6”, Signaling a First for the Alpina Brand
Despite having made its own version of just about every BMW variant you can think of, Alpina never made its own version of the X6. Now that BMW owns Alpina, rather than it existing as its own manufacturer that just partnered wtih BMW, that’s about to change. A recent...
Schubert Motorsport Wins at The ‘Ring
The Nürburgring 24-hour race is one of the biggest races of the year for BMW M Motorsport, but there’s a lot of preparation that goes into getting ready for that race. Teams that plan to compete at the big dance in June usually compete in the Nürburgring Endurance Series...
Podiums In Every Class in GT World Challenge Europe Opener
The SRO GT World Challenge Europe season opened this past weekend with a six-hour Endurance Cup race at the Circuit Paul Ricard in France. There were 59 cars from 10 total brands on the entry list, including eight BMW M4 GT3 EVO entries spread among the four different classes....
Tech Talk | Handling Issues, Run Flat Conundrum, and Timing Chain Questions
Welcome to Tech Talk, where our resident BMW tech Nick Owen answers all your pressing BMW technical questions, frustrations, and issues. Have a question for Nick? Email him at techtalk@roundel.org. Let’s get into it. 2011 535i Handling Issue I have a 2011 BMW 535i with a manual transmission and...
Let Chris Harris Prove That the M3 CS Touring Is the Best Bimmer Ever
It’s no surprise that a wagon from the M Division is fast, comfortable enough for long journeys, and spacious enough for road trip luggage. It’s also no surprise that a wagon with “CS” on the back is capable of quickly lapping a track. But what’s remarkable about the BMW...
The Next BMW i7 Will Run On a High-Voltage Battery From Rimac
The BMW i7 is getting a refresh soon. And when it does, it’s going to get its juice from a very unexpected source—Rimac. BMW and Rimac have partnered to develop a new high-voltage battery system that uses 4695 cylindrical lithium-ion cells to give the i7 more energy density, faster charging,...
The Fuel Delivery Checklist
A friend messaged me this week with a fuel delivery issue on his ’76 2002. The car had the original-style mechanical fuel pump installed, and a fuel filter before the pump. As I wrote about here, I don’t believe that any carbureted 2002 ever had a fuel filter installed...
Mike Renner Is Living His BMW Dream
In the Seventies, racing wasn’t accessible to a kid growing up in South Carolina. Sim racing didn’t exist. Karting was dangerous and poorly regulated. And that was before considering the cost. Though less than today, it wasn’t what you’d call cheap. Mike Renner had to watch from the sidelines....
Tom Tang vs. The Mountain | The Path and the Goal
BMW News, Featured, Motorsport
Tom Tang has always loved cars. “I’ve been fascinated with cars for as long as I can remember, going back to being a kid and playing with matchbox cars,” he says. “My parents never understood it. When I was in middle school we moved out to California to the...
Multiple BTCC Champion Colin Turkington to Contest British GT Championship
Colin Turkington may be the most successful BMW racer that you’ve never heard of. We don’t see much about the super-competitive British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) here in the U.S., but it’s some of the best racing out there and Turkington is a four-time champion in that series, with...
The Fuel Delivery Checklist
A friend messaged me this week with a fuel delivery issue on his ’76 2002. The car had the original-style mechanical fuel pump installed, and a fuel filter before the pump. As I wrote about here, I don’t believe that any carbureted 2002 ever had a fuel filter installed...
Mike Renner Is Living His BMW Dream
In the Seventies, racing wasn’t accessible to a kid growing up in South Carolina. Sim racing didn’t exist. Karting was dangerous and poorly regulated. And that was before considering the cost. Though less than today, it wasn’t what you’d call cheap. Mike Renner had to watch from the sidelines....
Tech Talk | Trans Noises, Reliability, and Service Record Lookup
Welcome to Tech Talk, where our resident BMW tech Nick Owen answers all your pressing BMW technical questions, frustrations, and issues. Have a question for Nick? Email him at techtalk@roundel.org. Let’s get into it. 540i Reliability Now looking at the 540i; it seems some are hybrid and some are...
How To Get the Most Out of Your Warranty
The BMW warranty system has managed to keep a lot of BMWs on the road with little to no expense out of pocket. But with the evolution of the automotive industry and consumer trends, the warranty coverage for BMWs has shifted over the years. Back when I first started...
This Dinan-Tuned BMW M4 CS Might Have Been the Deal of the Century
Someone may have just gotten a steal, with this 2025 BMW M4 CS that just sold on Cars and Bids. Its original sticker price was $125,325, but it just sold to its new owner for $97,500. OK, so it isn’t unusual for a luxury car to depreciate so much...
Could an Electric Z4 Be On the Way? BMW Is Considering a Two-Seat EV Sports Car
BMW signed the Z4’s death warrant last year when it announced the Final Edition M40i, with no replacement in sight. Just as the Z4 was hitting its stride—with the long-awaited release of a manual transmission—it gets sent off to the junkyard in the sky. Without a new Z4 to...
The Alfa Valve Shim Trick
Well, Bertha and I aren’t going to The Vintage after all. I have a dear 84-year-old cousin with whom Maire Anne and I have done some travel. She has slow-moving lung cancer, but right now she feels fine and wants to enjoy life. She called us last week and...
Exclusive Event: Take a Sneak Peak Inside Steve Saxty’s “M: Beyond the Badge”
Last year, Steve Saxty—author of the award-winning BMW by Design books—gave some M Chapter leaders an early look at his new project, M: Beyond The Badge, and the presentation generated a great deal of excitement. It is an ambitious undertaking that has involved four months in Europe and more...
The Ultimate Driving Museum’s M3 Exhibit Opens Soon. Here’s What You Need to Know
The Ultimate Driving Museum is thrilled to announce that we will be joined by a distinguished panel of guest speakers for our BMW M3: 40 Years of Evolution Opening Ceremony on Friday May 15, 2026. From its track-inspired beginnings to its modern-day dominance, we are bringing the history of...
Tech Talk | Door Handle Issues and Hybrid Questions
Welcome to Tech Talk, where our resident BMW tech Nick Owen answers all your pressing BMW technical questions, frustrations, and issues. Have a question for Nick? Email him at techtalk@roundel.org. Let’s get into it. 2004 E46 330i NLA Door Parts I come to you with mounting frustration. My good...
Safety Third | The Diesel F31 Wagon Passes the Test
I’ve had my F31 328d wagon for over six months now, which is usually a good measure of whether a car will stick for a short-attention-span BMW owner like me. By the six-month mark, the novelty has worn off, most mechanical issues have made themselves known, and I’ve made...
Upcoming Electric BMW M3 Design Allegedly Leaked
Someone in Munich might be in a lot of trouble. Some photos were recently leaked to Bimmerpost, showing off what is allegedly the upcoming all-electric BMW M3, codenamed “ZA0.” BMW released official teasers of the M3 earlier this year, but that car was covered in heavy M-liveried camouflage. The...
This Mini Cooper S Looks Like a Sedate Daily Driver. It’s Really an M3 V-8-Powered Track Weapon
When you look under the hood of a Mini, there doesn’t seem to be enough room for a three-cylinder, never mind a V-8. But because David Power, the man behind Powerflex, is a bit of a madman and wanted something truly outrageous for his track-day toy, he figured out...
BMW CCA Dream Car Raffle – Meet the 2026 BMW M2 CS
The 2026 BMW CCA Dream Car Raffle has begun, and the grand prize is one of the most exciting M cars in recent memory: the highly exclusive 2026 BMW M2 CS. Built with a singular focus on performance, the M2 CS takes everything enthusiasts love about BMW’s compact M...
An Unusual Use of a Flashing Power Supply
I haven’t had a lot of flashing in my past. Not that kind—I mean updating the software in a control module. (Well, didn’t really have the other kind in my past either). I believe that there was just one time I needed to contact BMW coding guy Sam Aleksanyan...
The Fuel Delivery Checklist
A friend messaged me this week with a fuel delivery issue on his ’76 2002. The car had the original-style mechanical fuel pump installed, and a fuel filter before the pump. As I wrote about here, I don’t believe that any carbureted 2002 ever had a fuel filter installed...
The Alfa Valve Shim Trick
Well, Bertha and I aren’t going to The Vintage after all. I have a dear 84-year-old cousin with whom Maire Anne and I have done some travel. She has slow-moving lung cancer, but right now she feels fine and wants to enjoy life. She called us last week and...
An Unusual Use of a Flashing Power Supply
I haven’t had a lot of flashing in my past. Not that kind—I mean updating the software in a control module. (Well, didn’t really have the other kind in my past either). I believe that there was just one time I needed to contact BMW coding guy Sam Aleksanyan...
Spring (finally!), with The Vintage Around the Corner
Back in November, I brought Bertha (my transmogrified ’75 2002 that I turned into a track car in the Eighties, sold to my friend Alex in 1988, bought back 30 years later after it was stored and allowed to self-demolish, and resurrected) back from storage in Monson. The car...
The Risk of Buying a Modern Car That Needs Exhaust Work
About 10 years ago, I wrote a piece about a ratty 850i six-speed that I could’ve bought for four grand. I walked away from it because, even at that price, the numbers didn’t make sense. The problems included James-Bond-fog-level oil burning coming from one of the V-12’s cylinder banks,...
The Vacuum Advance Question
I’m still not quite over my RSV (and thanks to those who have sent me get-well emails), and the garage is still snowed in, so we’re still in non-wrenches-on-bolts mode. And thanks to Mike Self and Tom Jones for alerting me that I was completely wrong last week when...
