Happy New Year, Our Dear Readers!

The BMWBLOG team would like to wish you a Happy New Year and a prosperous 2018. We hope you will step into the new year with aspirations, goals and new challenges that will bring all you the satisfactions and happiness possible.

Some of you have already entered the new year, yet some of us in the U.S. are just about, so as we spend time with our loved ones we also reflect on the year behind us.

2017 has been an another amazing year for BMWBLOG with over 4,000 articles published, coverage from all major auto shows, special test drives, photoshoots while delivering news to tens of millions of readers.

It’s an understatement to say we wouldn’t be here today without you and your support, so we would like to thank you for giving us the opportunity to do this amazing job while having fun. We are grateful to love a brand that brings so many passionate people together, from all corners of the world.  We’ve made new friends, we’ve reinforced friendships and most importantly, we encouraged everyone to connect with each other, even when we disagreed on things.

2018 will be one of the biggest in the BMW history, with a record of models being launched, so what it means for all of us is even more coverage than ever, with lots of cool events to cover, starting with MINI Dakar Rally next week.

From the entire BMWBLOG team, Happy New Year and see you next year!

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Beautiful Austin Yellow BMW F80 M3 gets tuned up and modded

You can never go wrong with an Austin Yellow finish for your brand new BMW M3. The fetching finish has been one of the launch colors for the BMW M3 and BMW M4 – alongside Yas Marina Blue – and owners haven’t stopped admiring it ever since. With this particular Austin Yellow BMW M3, the addition of aftermarket forged wheels and a set of carbon fiber trim pieces, only serves to further enhance the already aggressive looks of this vehicle.

The BMW M3 is powered by a 3.0 liter BMW TwinPower Turbo engine delivering 425 horsepower and 486lb-ft of torque. In turn, it can accelerate from 0-62mph (0-100km/h) in just 4.1 seconds. The M3 will sprint easily to an electronically limited top speed of 155mph (250km/h) – just right for those high-speed autobahn runs. On the other hand, the vehicle is also a perfect foundation for an aftermarket build like this one.

This Austin Yellow BMW M3 features a set of Velos Designwerks wheels. Namely, the Velos VLS-01 forged wheels are installed. The wheels come in sizes of 20×8.5 in the front and 20×10.5 in the rear. With a Brushed with Double Dark Tint and Gloss Clear finish, and 50/50 Exposed Hardware option, they pose a perfect accentuating touch to this vehicle. Additionally, a carbon fiber front lip spoiler, sideskirts, a rear diffuser and a rear decklid spoiler add that perfect finishing touch to this vehicle.

Take a look at the complete media gallery of this project right below.

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MINI Motorsport presents the X-raid Team Rally Dakar

On January 6, 2018, in Lima, Peru, MINI Motorsport sets off in a new Dakar Rally championship with two different drive concepts being used for the first time: all-wheel drive on the MINI John Cooper Works Rally and rear-wheel drive on the MINI John Cooper Works Buggy.

“With these two cars we have the most powerful MINI family that ever raced at the Dakar Rally”, said Sebastian Mackensen, Senior Vice President of MINI, at the presentation in Paris.

The reason why a second vehicle concept was developed lies in the specifics of the Dakar Rally rules, which, in their current form, give two-wheel driven cars certain advantages. X-raid Team Manager Sven Quandt gave the go-ahead for building the MINI John Cooper Works Buggy in February 2017.

“This has been the biggest project in our company’s history so far and we have worked extremely hard at it”, he said at the vehicle presentation.

The MINI and X-raid range for the Dakar Rally 2018 will comprise seven cars and an experienced team of drivers and co-pilots. The three MINI John Cooper Works Buggies will be piloted by Mikko Hirvonen (FIN), Bryce Menzies (USA) and Yazeed Al-Rajhi (KSA). The driver seats in the MINI John Cooper Works Rally will be occupied by Orlando Terranova (ARG), Jakub Przygonski (POL), Joan “Nani” Roma (ESP) and Boris Garafulic (CHI).

The 2018 Dakar Rally incorporates extended desert stages as well as rock and boulder fields and asphalt tracks which take the cars up to an altitude of 4000 meters in the Andes. The final stage will be completed on 20 January 2018 in Córdoba, Argentina.

In the video below, MINI Motorsport talks about the upcoming rally and introduces its pilots. BMWBLOG will also be on-site next week to report live from Lima, so stay tuned on our social media channels for photos and videos.

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BMW 428i M-Sport On VMR V810 Wheels

To some owners, the unadulterated affection to the sleek lines of the BMW 4 Series Coupe is too much to pass on. In turn, a lot of owners decide to obtain a vehicle that is a perfect blend of daily usability and performance. While opting in for the BMW M4 is the best way of obtaining impressive performance, the price tag alongside fuel consumption, maintenance costs and daily usability turn owners to the more standard versions of the coupe.

With the BMW 428i, the owners get a vehicle that is powered by a 2.0 liter 4-cylinder TwinPower Turbo engine delivering 240-hp and 255 lb-ft of torque at only 1,250 rpm. This allows the BMW 428i to sprint from 0-62mph in just 5.7 seconds. It will accelerate all the way up to 155mph too. Not BMW M4 numbers, but it clearly will tackle most daily driving duties with ease. This particular BMW 428i is additionally spiced up, thanks to a factory M-Sport body kit and some aftermarket wheels.

These VMR V810 wheels are a perfect blend of a classy design, lightweight and price point. The wheels come sized 19×8.5 and 19×9.5 in the front and rear, respectively. The Gunmetal finish works perfectly with this car, giving it a stylish outer appeal. These wheels are a multispoke concave design that features a unique inner lip to augment the aggressive spoke design. This manufacturing process also results in a slight weight reduction and higher balancing accuracy.

Take a look at the full project media gallery right below.

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