Tag Archives: BMW

NEW CARS

2027 BMW X5 Caught Howling at the Nürburgring

The BMW X5 has always been the sensible SUV that somehow manages to wear its gym shorts under a three-piece suit. But now, the 2027 G65-generation X5 has been caught storming the Nürburgring, and if the spy footage is anything to go by, Munich isn’t planning to slow things down.

Camouflaged like a German trying to sunbathe incognito in Majorca, the test mule doesn’t reveal much in terms of styling—but it’s what’s hiding under the bonnet (and behind those quad tailpipes) that’s got us grinning like a M4 driver who’s just discovered an empty autobahn.

At the 0:39 mark, you hear it. That unmistakable B58 inline-six howl—raspier than a smoker’s cough after Oktoberfest—suggesting this could be a spicier performance trim. BMW’s already rumored to be cooking up multiple fast X5s, so this prototype could be a sneak peek at one of them. Or maybe the engineers simply fitted an exhaust so loud it could rattle the Weißwurst off a Bavarian breakfast table. Either way, it sounds delicious.

Fast forward to 2:33, and things really get interesting. The same prototype family barrels past the lens with quad pipes and a soundtrack that only a twin-turbo V8 can produce. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the mighty V8 lives on. And it sounds angry—like it’s been told the electric iX gets more marketing budget.

Visually, you’ll need to squint hard. The bumper design seems tweaked, the rear spoiler maybe a fraction different—but it could all be camouflage trickery. What we do know is that both these test mules are PHEVs, as proven by the charging flap on the flank. But if this is what hybridisation sounds like, sign us up.

Remember, the X5 isn’t just any BMW—it’s the best-seller, the family golden child. So the G65 has a big job ahead of it: replace the G05 and eventually stand shoulder to shoulder with the all-electric iX. Production kicks off in Q3 2026, which gives BMW just enough time to finish torturing these SUVs around the ’Ring before handing us the keys.

Until then, watch the footage, turn the volume up, and enjoy the sound of Bavaria reminding the world that hybrids don’t have to be boring.

Source: BMW; Photos: CarSpyMedia

Tuning

BMW M2 by ALPHA-N Corse: When a Compact Coupé Decides It’s a GT4 Refugee

The BMW M2 has always been the naughty child of the M Division—short, wide, and perpetually looking for a fight. But now, a German tuner named ALPHA-N has shoved it into full military service. The result? A pocket-sized track weapon that looks like it’s just been rejected by the Nürburgring 24 Hours grid for being too aggressive.

ALPHA-N, based in Rheinbach, has launched a new “Corse” division, which is tuner-speak for “we’re done messing about.” The highlight? A carbon-heavy aero kit that makes the stock M2 look like it’s playing dress-up in its dad’s suit.

At the sharp end, there’s a track-grade carbon spoiler that bolts straight to the chassis. Not to the bumper. To. The. Chassis. You know, just in case you were worried it might fall off at 280 km/h. Flanking it are canards, aero blades, and enough vents to make a McLaren blush. The hood? Carbon, of course, with dual heat extractors that scream “I do track days on Tuesdays.”

Walk around the back and things get properly serious. There’s a sculpted carbon diffuser and, on the demo car, a wing so tall you half expect it to interfere with passing aircraft. This is a GT3-style rear wing, fully adjustable, fully outrageous, and fully guaranteed to make your neighbors think you’ve lost your mind. Prefer subtlety? ALPHA-N also offers a toned-down “Class 3” spoiler with gurney flaps. Still racy, but less likely to take someone’s eye out at the supermarket.

Even the underbelly hasn’t been ignored—carbon cladding smooths out the airflow and reduces lift at autobahn speeds, while TÜV approval means some of this lunacy is actually legal for the road. Germany, ladies and gentlemen.

But ALPHA-N didn’t stop with cosplay. They threw on forged F-ONE wheels—20 inches up front, 21 at the back—which trim unsprung weight and make the M2 dance more gracefully. The suspension is swapped for an Öhlins TTX coilover setup, the kind of kit normally reserved for people with race licenses and titanium kneecaps. Handling, as you can imagine, is sharper than a set of IKEA hex keys.

Power? Still courtesy of BMW’s 3.0-liter S58 twin-turbo straight-six, but with engine software borrowed from the incoming M2 CS. Translation: more grunt, faster response, and a soundtrack that’ll make your hair follicles vibrate.

Inside, things get stripped and serious. The standard dials are binned in favor of a CANchecked digital display, delivering everything from boost pressure to engine temps. If the phrase “oil temp readout” excites you, congratulations—you are the target market.

The result of all this? The M2 Corse isn’t just a hot-rod coupe. It’s a junior GT4 car that you can, technically, still drive to Lidl. It’s loud, it’s unapologetic, and it’s very German. Think of it as an M2 that’s gone on an exchange program with the DTM paddock and come home fluent in Race Car.

And in yellow, with that skyscraper wing, it doesn’t so much whisper performance as shout it through a megaphone. If you ever wanted your compact BMW to terrify Porsche Cayman owners and cause small children to point, this is it.

Source: BMW; Photos: ALPHA-N

News

Warhol Meets Hybrid: BMW’s Rolling Art Show Hits Pebble Beach

There are car shows, and then there’s Pebble Beach. A place where billionaires in Panama hats sip champagne while arguing over the authenticity of door handles on pre-war Bugattis. But this year, amid the polished chrome and concours snobbery, something a little different is happening. BMW has decided to bring along two of its greatest hits — not straight from Munich, but straight out of the art world. Yes, it’s time once again for the BMW Art Cars to take centre stage.

For fifty years, the Bavarians have been throwing their cars at artists and saying: “Go on, then. Do your worst.” The results? A global collection of rolling sculptures painted, sprayed, wrapped and occasionally vandalised by some of the biggest names in contemporary art. This August, at the 74th Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, two of the wildest will be on display: Andy Warhol’s legendary M1 from 1979 and Julie Mehretu’s M Hybrid V8 from 2024.

The Pop Art Cannonball

Warhol’s BMW M1 Group 4 is the kind of thing you’d doodle on the back of a maths textbook if your crayons were dipped in LSD. Painted by hand in just 28 minutes (because even Warhol had places to be), the M1 wears broad, furious brushstrokes of colour that look less like precision engineering and more like a rave in a paint factory.

The story goes that Hervé Poulain, the French racing driver and art dealer who dreamt up the entire BMW Art Car concept, described Warhol’s performance as “like a live dance.” Which is a polite way of saying he attacked the car with paint like a man possessed. The result? Still utterly mesmerising today, a half-race car, half-canvas mashup that thundered through the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1979.

Fast-Forward to 2024

On the other end of the timeline sits Julie Mehretu’s BMW M Hybrid V8 — a furious, electrified Le Mans prototype that looks like someone detonated a colour printer in a wind tunnel. Mehretu, one of the most acclaimed artists of her generation, isn’t interested in pretty patterns. Her work wrestles with politics, conflict, and identity — and now it does so at 200mph. First revealed in Paris at the Centre Pompidou before racing at Le Mans, it’s now set for its North American premiere at Pebble Beach.

And because BMW loves a good cultural detour, Mehretu’s project is tied to the African Film and Media Arts Collective, making this the first Art Car to double as both a racing prototype and a platform for global storytelling.

The Grand Tour of Art on Wheels

The Pebble Beach appearance is just the start. Warhol’s car is off to Washington D.C.’s Hirshhorn Museum, where it’ll sit beside America’s most famous monuments, confusing tourists who were expecting another marble statue. Mehretu’s car, meanwhile, will head to Bridgehampton’s ultra-exclusive The Bridge event — where 200 of the world’s greatest sports cars gather on the site of a defunct race track. There, it’ll share the spotlight with another crossover curiosity: a McLaren Artura GT4 given a wild new skin by American artist Mickalene Thomas.

Think of it as an art-off, or perhaps a support race in the great competition between colour palettes and horsepower.

The Bigger Picture

BMW’s Art Car project began in 1975 when Alexander Calder daubed a BMW 3.0 CSL, the same year the German brand officially started doing business in the USA. Half a century later, the roster of names who’ve taken a brush (or computer, or chisel) to BMWs reads like a Tate Modern greatest hits: Frank Stella, Roy Lichtenstein, David Hockney, Jeff Koons, Jenny Holzer, Esther Mahlangu, and now Mehretu.

And that’s what makes the collection so unusual. Each car is wildly different, each one completely shaped by its creator’s obsessions. Some are beautiful, some divisive, all of them utterly unique. Unlike most art, however, these pieces don’t sit still. They roar down straights at Le Mans, they snarl on racetracks, and they occasionally get splattered with bugs at 200mph.

Which, let’s be honest, is how art should be.

Source: BMW