BMW M3 Coupe and M5 Sedan Performance Editions

We get it that BMW wants to leave no stone unturned when it comes to serving its customers, but we must admit that introducing M Performance variants of its M brand cars makes about as much sense as buttering both sides of your toast. "Our new BMW M Performance Models are geared toward customers looking for high performance for everyday use," are the words BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer used to describe the M Performance sub-brand.
So what is the deal with the new M Performance Editions of the M3 Coupe and M5 Sedan? Well, BMW says that it will produce 30 units of each car for the UK market, equally divided in three unique Frozen paintwork colors (10 examples of blue, white and red for each model).
The Bavarian company's Spartan release adds that the cars will come with an "impressively high specification of standard equipment," but avoids to mention if the M3 Coupe and M5 Sedan specials will boast any performance upgrades as their moniker suggests.

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BMW M3

Egyptian Refuses to Pay $150,000 for BMW 1M Coupe

If you live in the States and can justify spending a little under $50,000 on a car, the $47,010 BMW 1M Coupe (335hp) is a sound choice for those looking for a fast and fun to drive bimmer as it only costs $7,710 more the $39,300 135i Coupe (300hp) and $13,090 less than the $60,100 M3 Coupe (414hp).
However, in other parts of the world where governments apply ridiculously high taxes on cars, not even the 1M Coupe is a reasonable choice. Take Egypt for example.
According to 1addicts forum member “hatembmw”, the 1M Coupe costs some US$150,000 in Egypt because of the insane taxes! Who can blame him for not wanting to pay that much money for BMW's entry-level M model?
“Hatembmw” settled on a different solution: he took a 120d Coupe, stripped it down and swapped the four-cylinder diesel engine with a 414hp 4.0-liter V8 from the latest M3!
The tune, which was completed in less than a month and cost him around US$45,000, also included the 1M's wider fenders and bumpers, side skirts, mirrors, and wheels, plus uprated suspension and brake bits.
You can check out the car in the photos and the videos that follow below.

[From Hatembmw's posting]
"Complete mods cost around $45,000. In Egypt we pay 300% custom charges on imported vehicles above 2000 cc, which makes a 1m cost a fortune to buy here. (more than $150,000 custom charges+ original car price) so we had the idea of having a standard e82 and fitting it with a bigger engine."
"The V8 dream came to mind since the whole car is gonna be stripped. I thoght the V8 has more roar sound than the turbo six 1m engine, more hp , and of course more challenge. The idea was thoroughly studied and thank god, it went perfect."

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2012 BMW i8 Concept Price With photos and Video

BMW i8 Price:
A production version of the BMW i8 Concept is expected to go on sale in 2014, with a predicted price tag of $300,000.

BMW i8 Concept specifications:
Length/height/width: 4632mm/1280mm/1955mm.
Wheelbase: 2800mm.
Number of seats: 2 + 2.
Kerb weight: 1480kg.
Acceleration: 0-100km/h in 4.6 seconds.
Electric range: 35km.
Luggage capacity: Approximately 150 litres.
Fuel consumption (combined): 2.7 litres/100km.
Battery charge time: 105 minutes for 100 per cent charge.
Output: 260kW/550Nm overall: 164kW300Nm petrol engine + 96kW/250Nm electric motor.

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