Comments BMW M4 Coupe Breaks Cover as a Pre-Production Concept, Gets 3.0 Straight-Six Turbo

BMW lifted the veils of its brand-new M4 Coupe, the successor to the outgoing M3 Coupe, at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California. In true BMW fashion, the car is presented as a concept, but it is very much production ready.

The Concept M4 Coupe is featured in a special color called “Aurum Dust”, exclusively developed for this model, and an aggressive bodykit worthy of an M vehicle. Although similar to the one seen on the 4-Series M Performance, the aero kit is a bit more aggressive, featuring large air inlets in the front bumper, a more “exaggerated” bonnet, bigger side sills on the front fenders and a different layout of the rear bumper including four exhaust pipes.

An attentive eye will spot even more differences, such as the flattened twin round LED headlamps and the BMW M double bar kidney grille, with the bars imitating the M double spoke design of the BMW M wheels. As all recent M vehicles, the M4 badge sits on the kidney grille and the boot. At the rear there’s also a spoiler lip integrated into the trunk lid which helps downforce.

The M gills incorporate the Air Breather, which together with the Air Curtain within the front apron helps ventilate the wheel arches and get better airflow values. The showcar rides on 20-inch bicolored M light alloys with the typical M double spoke design and has ceramic brakes.

The Concept M4 Coupe has several body parts made of CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced plastics) including the front splitter, the roof and the rear diffuser. While Unfortunately, BMWhas kept the technical package a secret for now but will most likely reveal it at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month. What’s certain is that the M4 Coupe and the M3 Sedan will ditch the V8 engine in favor of a brand new twin (or tri) turbocharged straight-six engine that is expected to develop at least the same power as the V8 (rated at 414 hp/420PS).

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 Spanish specialty carmaker Aspid Cars has dropped the first teaser images of its new GT-21 Invictus, a 2+2 seater sports car. This is Aspid's second vehicle series after the hardcore Super Sports (SS), which kind of resembles a Lotus 7 on steroids.

"The GT-21 Invictus complements the Aspid Super Sport, but is bigger and more powerful,” says the car’s chief designer and company founder, Ignacio Fernández Rodriquez. "It has been a challenging styling exercise, but fortunately we have a really talented design team in the company."

Aspid's latest creation is built around a lightweight spaceframe and makes use of aerospace grade aluminium, ultra-light high-strength steels, and composites materials for the body to keep its weight at a low 990kg (2,182 lbs) when dry.

The GT-21 Invictus is 700mm longer than the SS at 4,447mm (175 in.), while also measuring 1,883mm (74.1 in.) wide and just 1,226mm (48.3 in.) tall.

Whereas the SS utilizes a 398hp (402PS) 2.0-liter turbo'd four, the GT-21 Invictus employs a BMW-sourced 4.4-liter turbocharged V8 engine producing 450-horses. A dual-clutch transmission with F1-style shift paddles on the steering wheel transfers power to the rear wheels.

The Spaniards estimate that the 2+2 seater will be capable of reaching 100km/h (62mph) in less than three seconds and top out at 300km/h (186mph).

The company said production of the GT-21 Invictus will be limited to 250 units per year with pricing to be announced.

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The biggest change with the 2012 BMW X6 comes from under the hood. BMW will introduce a new X6 model to the European market: BMW X6 xDrive50d. The new model is said to feature the long-time rumored tri-turbo diesel engine.

The Tri-Turbo diesel engine is said to like an inline six-cylinder with 3.0 liter displacement and three turbochargers. The power of this engine will peak around the 400 horsepower mark. The standard consumption is also reportedly lower than comparable diesel engines.

Other changes are also coming to the X6 facelift. The company will also revise the powerplants in the X6 xDrive30d, xDrive40d, xDrive35i and xDrive50i. All these models will receive updated units with more power and better fuel efficiency.

The US market will continue to offer the xDrive35i and 50i models, while the X6 ActiveHybrid is being phased out.

The second-generation BMW X6 will be built under the internal code F16 and will arrive in 2014.

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