All-New 2012 BMW 1-Series: Official Specs, Details and 126 High-Res Photos

With imagery of the brand new 1-Series hatchback making the internet rounds since Friday, it was only a matter of time before BMW came out with an official release and a full set of photos. The Bavarian firm’s entry-level model sports has grown in size and sports fresher –albeit, somewhat more controversial- looks, while also introducing a new generation of 1.6-liter turbocharged gasoline engines with up to 170HP.

For its debut, BMW chose to show the five-door hatchback model, but the range will eventually grow to include a three-door hatchback followed by the coupe, cabriolet and if the grapevine holds true, a longer and more spacious Gran Turismo version in the likes of the 3-Series GT we recently showed you in these spy shots.

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2012 BMW 1-Series Unveiled, gets New 1.6-liter Turbo Engine with up to 170HP [Updated with 60 High-Res Photos]

We knew that the next generation of the BMW 1-Series was coming but we didn’t expect to see the compact hatchback making its appearance so early. These official photos along with the first details showed up on a German website called Motor Traffic, as BMW has not yet made an announcement.

Seen here in a five-door format, the new 1-Series evolves the current model’s styling with sharper and more prominent creases all around along with a much more pronounced front end that sports unusually large headlamps pushed to the far corners of the bumper literally hugging the wheel arches.

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BMW Introduces M3 Carbon Fiber Limited Edition, but Only for China

Chinese customers love a good limited edition model and BMW tries its best to keep them happy. Not long ago, BMW had released the China market-only M3 Matte Edition and M3 Tiger Edition. During the BMW M Legendary Experience event held in China last week, the Bavarian automaker lifted the covers off yet another special M3, the Carbon Fiber Limited Edition of which only 111 examples will be built at a price of 1.23 million yuan (approximately US$189,800 at today’s exchange rates) a piece. Read more »

BMW and Cundari Produce the World’s Longest Internet Ad

In what’s either a clever bit of marketing or an epic jumping the shark moment, Canadian ad firm Cundari has produced what it claims to be the longest banner ad ever for the BMW X3.

The ad, which measures 300 by 18,000 pixels (!) when fully extended, contains some 5,500 words of text and just goes on and on and on. So much so that I just skimmed through, trying to figure out if there was a point to it. It certainly didn’t make me want to buy an X3, but maybe that’s not what Cundari was trying to achieve.

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Hail Fail: BMW 5-Series Owner Tries to Save His Car by Dressing it Up…

Unless you are able drive into to an enclosed garage nearby, there’s not really much you can do to protect your car -or anything else in danger for that matter- if you are caught out in a severe hail storm. However, this doesn’t mean that some people won’t try to prevent the inevitable like this owner of a previous generation BMW 5-Series sedan.

Said to be a Croatian tourist on a visit to Slovenia, the owner of the Bimmer attempted to save the body of his beloved car by covering it up with whatever he could find. In this case, the only available items were some clothes he had in a plastic bag. Somehow, it doesn't seem like such a great idea... Watch the clip right after the break.

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Hartge Gives the 2012 BMW 6-Series Convertible a Light Tuning Treatment

The German tuning industry is pushing full steam ahead with beefing up BMW’s new 6-Series sports car. We have already shown you the offerings from Prior Design, Hamann Motorsports and AC Schnitzer, but now it’s time for another traditional BMW tuner to release its goods for the F12 6-Series Convertible.

Hartge’s first take on the Bavarian model is somewhat restrained comprising of some mild styling and chassis upgrades. On the outside, the tuning firm offers its own emblems, new dual tail pipes on each corner of the bumper and a variety of alloy wheel designs in sized 19- and 20-inches shod in beefier performance tires.

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Lexus Loses Big In the U.S.A.: Outpaced by Two of its German Rivals

It took eleven years for Lexus to earn the title of top dog of the U.S. luxury car market, and roughly the same amount of time for it to lose it. As a result of parent company Toyota’s accelerator pedal recall saga and the fifty percent drop in production capacity caused by the Tōhoku earthquake, old guard automakers BMW and Mercedes-Benz have left the Japanese upstart gasping for air in third place.

According to automotive forecaster IHS, Mercedes-Benz will most probably sell 254,100 cars and SUVs in the States topping BMW’s estimated deliveries of 250,400 units. Lexus is projected to drop to third place with 192,900 sales.

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BMW’s Retrolicious 328 Homage Concept Makes Official Debut

The stage is set for this weekend’s Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este in Italy with automakers and individual owners of classic cars already rolling out their goods for the 2011 edition of the show. The famed event will also play host to the world premiere of a fresh batch of sports car concept cars such as the Aston Martin V12 Zagato that we told you about earlier today and the BMW 328 Hommage concept, which we present here.

The BMW 328 Hommage was created on the occasion of the original model’s 75th birthday. While the Bavarian automaker avoids to make the connection, the 328 Hommage appears to be based on (or at least developed from) the Vision ConnectedDrive roadster study, which premiered at this year’s Geneva Motor Show.

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BMW’s New Age 328 Roadster Concept: First Live Photos

Just a few minutes ago, the Belgian crew from Autofans dropped these cell-phone photos (courtesy of a Twitter user Sjoerdvstokkum) of a new BMW concept model into our e-mail box. The design study is called the 328 Hommage Concept and it was created by BMW to celebrate the original model’s 75^th birthday. Stay tuned as in a few minutes we’ll bring you the full details and photos of the 328 Hommage.

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Car Spotting: New BMW 6-Series Coupe

Carscoop reader Florian G. from Germany emailed us these photos of a 2012 BMW 6-Series Coupe that he spotted parked on a road in Munich. While not a scoop in the traditional sense given the introduction of the new BMW 6-Series Coupe at last month’s Shanghai Auto Show in China, it is an interesting find nonetheless.

The only thing we’re not sure of is what the ‘iCenter’ sticker below the vents of the front fenders means (that is, if it means anything). For the record, we’ve encountered the same logo on a few recent BMW prototypes. Follow the break for more pictures.

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Fiat’s 0.9-Liter TwinAir Scoops the “International Engine of the Year 2011” Award

And the big winner of the 2011 edition of the coveted International Engine of the Year is…Fiat’s 0.9-liter twin-cylinder gasoline engine also known simply as the TwinAir. A jury comprised of 76 journalists and industry experts from 36 different countries were convinced by the 875 cc unit's low emissions, high fuel economy and impressive output for its size, awarding it four awards: “Best New Engine 2011”, “Best Green Engine 2011”, “Best Sub 1-Liter Engine” and the “International Engine of the Year 2011” overall award. Read more »

Audi Challenges BMW, Mercedes and Lexus with new Ad Campaign

Audi of America has launched a new advertising campaign that will most likely generate a similar response from the competition in the premium segment. Under the tagline “Car Carrier”, the two Audi commercials feature a BMW owner that goes nuts when he sees a truck full of brand new automotive metal from Ingolstadt.

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U Spy: Is this the New Alpina B6 Based on the 2012 BMW 6-Series Coupe?

Back in April, BMW lifted the covers off its spanking new 2012 6-Series Coupe at the Shanghai Auto Show in China. Having already shown the Convertible version, the only model left to complete the series is the presentation of the M6 in both coupe and open top forms. Well, at least in absolute terms, as we’ve yet to hear from BMW’s longtime tuner, Alpina, which is considered a manufacturer in its own right.

And that’s where Carscoop reader Michael from Germany steps in. Michael spotted this partially camouflaged 2012 BMW 6-Series Coupe parked somewhere in Munich. And while the lack of any aero parts such as the typical M-style front bumper with larger air vents minimize the possibility of it being the new M6, there are two elements that make us believe it could be the upcoming Alpina B6.

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Toyota Overtakes BMW as World's Most Valuable Brand

The BrandZ Top 100 annual study revealed that Toyota is once again the world's most valuable auto brand, after losing the position last year to BMW due to the massive recall campaign. Toyota saw an 11 percent increase in its brand value, which is now rated at $24.2 billion (€16.85 billion). The research company Millward Brown, whose global brand director said Toyota’s recall had not affected consumers’ confidence in the carmaker, compiled the ranking. Read more »

SCOOP: New BMW 3-Series Gran Turismo Shows its Chic Tail

Over the past year, we brought you plenty of spy shots and videos of the next generation of the 3-Series sedan, codenamed F30, but now our spy photographers caught the newest addition to the family of BMW’s bread and butter model, the Gran Turismo.

When it goes on sale towards the end of 2012 or early 2013, the new 3 GT will join the existing body styles of the 3-Series, which include the four-door sedan, the two-door coupe, the five-door station wagon and the hardtop convertible, offering BMW a direct rival to the Audi A5 Sportback.

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BMW Showcases Fleet of Emergency Vehicles at RETTmobil 2011

Following in the footsteps of Mercedes that dressed up the SLS AMG as an emergency medical vehicle, BMW unveiled its very own proposals at the RETTmobil, the leading European trade for emergency services and mobility, held in Fulda, Germany (May 11-13).

BMW has a more down-to-earth approach to the show as its emergency models are based on mainstream vehicles that are more suitable for this line of work than the fast, but unpractical, SLS AMG. We're talking about the BMW 3-Series/5-Series Touring models and the X3/X6 SUVs, although the latter is not new, having premiered at the same show in 2008.

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Lumma Design (Over)does the E64 BMW 6-Series Convertible

Even though the new F12 BMW 6-series Convertible has already landed on the market, Lumma Design has set its eyes on the previous generation of the Bavarian firm’s flagship cabriolet with the release of a new cosmetics only package.

Known for its brazen styling choices when it comes to dressing up cars, the German tuning house’s latest proposal is no exception to the rule. On the outside, the team over at Lumma Design developed an a full aerodynamic kit that includes M-style front bumper, more prominent side skirts and a new rear bumper with side openings and a diffuser that houses quad tail pipes. The deal is sealed with a carbon fiber rear wing, and carbon fiber trim in a checkerboard design on the double kidney grille, the exterior mirrors and the rear diffuser.

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Study finds the Most Vandalised Car in Britain is the Lexus IS

Bad news for Lexus IS owners across the pond: if you happen to own one of the Japanese brand’s entry-level sedans, you’re in possession of the most vandalised car in the UK. Runners up are BMW’s Z4 sports coupe and MINI’s entry-level One model. It’s all been revealed as part of SwiftCover.com’s Vehicle Vandalism Index (VVI), whereby the UK-based insurer analysed some 2,000 motor insurance claims. SwiftCover claims director Robin Reames explains:

“Our analysis shows that luxury cars are more likely to be targeted by vandals, however, it's interesting to see the MINI One in the top three. The majority of vehicles in the top ten are what we call 'executive cars', likely to be driven by high earners who see their car as a status symbol, with just one 4x4 making up the top ten.”

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New Video Footage of 2012 BMW M5 Testing in the South of France

The hype surrounding the upcoming M5 continues with a new video released by BMW showing the Bavarian firm’s high-performance sedan being tested at the company's Miramas proving grounds in the south of France. Given that the M5 is scheduled to be unveiled at the Frankfurt motor show in September, these are probably the final rounds of testing before production begins. Read more »

Fail: BMW Driver Mistakes Loading Truck for Launching Ramp…

Here is yet another failed attempt to load a vehicle on a truck. In fact, this one is much worse –albeit far less costly- than the Porsche Carrera GT incident we showed you back in April. This time, the protagonist is a BMW - from what we can tell in this grainy video, an E36 3-Series Coupe.

As you can see for yourself in the surveillance footage in the video after the break, the driver of the bimmer, slammed the pedal to the metal as he was going up the ramp, and the result, well, let’s just say is painful yet humorous at the same time.

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