Spy Shots: BMW's Answer to the Audi A5 Sportback is the 3-Series Gran Turismo

You just got to hand it to die Deutschen for their imagination and über clever marketing tactics.

What Japanese carmakers simply called liftbacks and the French didn't even bother naming differently as most of their family cars featured a sloping tailgate anyway (Citroen BX, Renault 25 etc.), the Germans came up with all sorts of fancy names.

For example, Audi calls its five-door vehicles with a top-hinged liftgate "Sportback" while BMW went one-step further baptizing its own lineup with the sporty sounding "Gran Turismo" moniker, which is a smart move if you think about it. I mean, would you be interested in a car called the 3-Series Liftback GLi?

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Scoop: 2013 BMW 3-Series Touring Loses the Heavy Camo

With the market launch of the new F30 3-Series sedan well underway, there's no point of BMW overdoing it with the camouflage on the soon to be revealed Touring variant, a prototype of which was caught by our scoopers while testing in Europe.

These photos afford us our best view yet of the new 3-Series Touring that follows the practice of its predecessors choosing style over substance.

That doesn't mean you won't find a little more cargo room at the back which can be accessed easier thanks to the tailgate, but don't expect it to be a load-lugger in the traditional sense.

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SPY SHOTS: 2013 BMW X1 Facelift, this One May Come to the States

The BMW X3's smaller brother, the X1, is getting ready for its first facelift after having been in the market for a little over two years. However, don't expect to see it in showrooms before 2013.

The fully camouflaged prototype suggests that the styling changes will be concentrated up front with the X1 likely to gain new headlamps along with tweaked kidney grilles and a re-sculptured bumper.

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SCOOP: New Photos Reveal Production BMW i8 Hybrid Sports Coupe's Scissor Doors

Up until now, we weren't sure if BMW would keep the supercar-like scissor doors seen on the original Vision EfficientDynamics concept and the evolved i8 study on the production model as the company's engineers avoided opening up the car in front of our scoop photographers.

However, being the diligent spy shooters that they are, they managed to snag the first pictures of the final production prototype with the passenger-side door wide open, and as you can see from the pictures, the i8 will indeed keep the concept's swiveling doors fixed to the A-pillars.

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SCOOP: BMW i8 Hybrid Sports Coupe Poses on Film for us

BMW aims to establish itself as a manufacturer of premium green vehicles through its new "i" sub-brand starting with the i3 hatchback in pure EV and extended-range EV flavors in 2013 and shortly after the i8 hybrid sports car, which is obviously the more interesting proposal of the two.

Following up on the spy pictures of the camouflaged production version of the i8 that we showed earlier in the week, our scoopsters also snagged a video of the test car quietly (perhaps too quietly for a BMW coupe) running around on the snow which you can watch after the break.

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BMW to Reveal New M6 Coupe in Geneva and M6 Cabrio in New York

For the past couple of years, we've been following the development of the next generation BMW M6 in both coupe and convertible guises but now the time has come to begin the final countdown for their reveal.

According to sources, the new M6 Coupe will make its grand premiere at the 82nd Geneva International Auto Salon in early March with the Convertible to break cover about a month later at the 2012 New York International Auto Show in April.

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Spy Shots: New BMW i8 Coupe Wears its Production Outfit for Testing

The last time we showed you a prototype of the BMW i8 hybrid sports car it was in May of 2011 with a scoop video of the car undergoing cold-weather testing. Now, our spy photographers captured another prototype of the i8 being driven on the snow.

So what's new about this test car? Well, a lot actually, as whereas the previous prototype was based on BMW's second concept for an i8, the car featured here is the final production version.

The design of the i8 has progressed with BMW moving the exterior mirrors from the window to the corner of the doors and refining other details such as the door handles, headlamps, bumpers and even the alloy wheel designs.

But while the Bavarians have made some necessary changes, the overall shape of the car along with the aerodynamic details like the rear wings and air channels in front of the rear wheel arches remain unchanged. We still don't know if the production model will keep the concept's butterfly-style doors.

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Rumors: BMW to Reveal 1-Series Grand Turismo at the Paris Motor Show [with Spy Video]

There's a lot going on at BMW these days but no project is bound to be more divisive than the firm's first front-wheel drive model, the upcoming 1-Series Grand Turismo, which was previously known by the acronym F.A.S.T., which stands for Family Activity Sports Tourer.

Citing inside sources, the crew over at the BMW Blog reported that the 1-Series GT would make its world premiere at the upcoming 2012 Paris Motor Show this fall.

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Spy Shots: BMW i3 Hatch Captured Out on the Move Again

One of BMW's most innovative projects is slowly taking its production form as evidenced by these fresh scoop photos of the i3 undergoing winter tests in Germany.

Previewed by the i3 concept study, the small hatchback will be the first member of BMW's new "i" sub-brand, which was created for models fitted with alternative drive trains, such as electric motors and hybrids. The i3 will go on sale in 2013 followed shortly after by the i8 hybrid sports coupe.

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Spy Shots: New BMW M135i with 320HP 3.0-liter Turbocharged Six

Earlier this week, BMW blew the covers off the first models of its new M Performance sub-brand, namely the M550d, X5 M50d and X6 M50d.

But that's only the beginning as the German firm plans to expand the range to include if not all, most of its models including the 1-Series five-door hatchback, a prototype of which our scoop photographers caught while testing in Europe (albeit with a fake 118i moniker on the tailgate).

So far, the most powerful model of the new 1-Series hatch is the recently announced 125i sporting a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder gasoline engine that puts out 218bhp and 310Nm (228 lb-ft) propelling the five-door model to 100km/h (62mph) in 6.4 seconds and on to a maximum velocity of 245 km/h (152mph).

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All-New 2014 BMW X5 SUV Spied on Video During Winter Testing

Our scoop photographers put down their cameras and picked up their camcorders to capture the first footage of the next BMW X5 luxury SUV undergoing winter weather tests in Europe.

As you can see for yourself in the video that follows below, BMW engineers were trying out the new X5's handling and vehicle dynamics on the snow.

The Bavarian premium automaker's largest SUV model will ride on a new and lighter platform with a longer wheelbase that will further improve cabin space.

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Spied: 2014 BMW X5 SUV Hits the Winter Slopes, May get 4-Cylinder Diesel-Hybrid Version

Exactly a week ago, we brought you the first spy shots of the third generation of the BMW X5 SUV spotted on the road.

While it's too early for the prototypes to start shaking off the heavy camouflage, our man with the long lens was able to snag another round of pictures, this time while the crossover was trying out the snow in Germany.

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Spy Shots: BMW Continues Work on the New 3-Series / 4-Series Coupe

These new spy photos plopped in our inbox today affording us a fresh look at the next BMW 3-Series Coupe, which may or may not be called the 4-Series. Regardless of the name, one thing's for sure: the two-door model will be based on the sixth generation of the 3-Series sedan.

Leaving aside the first 3-Series, codenamed E21, which was only offered as a two door model anyway, with the exception of the 1980s E30 model, all the rest of the 3-Series Coupes featured significant styling changes over their four-door counterparts.

This tradition will continue with the new F32 model that will share very few, if any, body panels with the four-door sedan. If you look at the pictures that follow, you'll see that the F32 has typical coupe proportions with long front doors and a lower greenhouse that is heavily slanted towards the back.

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Scoop: BMW Begins Work on New 2014 X5 SUV

Believe it or not, six years have passed since BMW introduced the second iteration of its X5 crossover, which means its replacement is not far away. In fact, if BMW keeps in line with its usual product cycle, we should see the third generation of the X5 arriving sometime as early as next year.

In the meantime, our eagle-eyed spies captured an actual prototype of the next X5, codenamed F15, while returning from testing in Germany.

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U Spy: 2012 BMW 3-Series F30 Sedan Prepped up with M Performance Parts

During a special dealer presentation in Europe, BMW showed off its brand-new 2012 3-Series Sedans fitted with the yet to be released to the public, M Performance and Accessories parts.

One of our readers was on hand and was able to snag some cell phone pictures of the two F30s on display.

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SCOOP: Design Patents of 2012 BMW 1-Series in Three-Door Trim Appear in China

Earlier this year, BMW lifted the curtains on the second generation of its 1-Series model range with the launch of the five-door hatchback model.

We already knew that the Bavarians were working on expanding the series with a number of body styles including a three-door hatchback, the two-door coupe and cabriolet and possibly, a longer Gran Turismo version similar to the upcoming 3-Series GT.

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SPIED: 2013 BMW 3 or 4 Series Convertible with Retractable Hardtop

Until BMW makes an official statement on what it has decided to name the replacements for today's 3-Series Coupe and Convertible models, we'll have to keep using both the 3- and 4-Series monikers to describe the two-door body styles of the Bavarian maker's most popular model.

Over the past few months and aside from the official presentation of the sedan in October, we have shown you spy shots of the next M3 sedan, the 3-Series Touring, the 3 or 4-Series Coupe, and the 3- or 4-Series Gran Turismo fastback, but this is the first time we're sharing scoops of the Convertible model.

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SPY SHOTS: Six-Cylinder BMW M3 F30 Sedan Spotted on the Road

With the unveiling of the 2012 BMW 3 Series sedan all done and dusted, the Bavarian automaker's engineers have now turned their focus on the other variants of the F30 series including the flagship M3 sedan that was captured by our spies testing on the streets of Germany in a fairly light disguise.

While BMW has done its best to hide the most telling styling features of the M3 such as the shape of the front and rear bumpers, the pictures expose the car's muscular front and rear fenders that house larger alloy wheels and brake sets, as well as the beefier rocker panels.

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Second Video Teaser on BMW's New X6 Powered by M, Likely Sports a Diesel Engine

While BMW officials remain extremely tight lipped on what's hiding under the hood of their brand new X6 Powered by M model, the company has published a second video teaser of the sporty crossover.

This time, along with the new blurred views of the X6 Powered by M, we also get to hear some statements from BMW M's people.

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BMW Releases Teaser Film on Mystery New X6 M Model, Could it be the Diesel?

Those Bavarians are always coming up with something to grab our attention. Their latest mystery film is about a new edition or model of the X6 with the famed M logo.

The only official information we get from BMW is that the vehicle seen in the teaser clip will establish "a new category of automobiles" and that it represents "a new chapter powered by M".

The vehicle itself or rather certain parts of the crossover like the lights, hood and, of course, the moniker on the tailgate, are craftily blurred out.

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