Filed under: Aftermarket, BMW

BMW has officially thrown its hat in the performance parts game here in the U.S., likely rivaling the products available from aftermarket firms and coming complete with a factory-backed warranty.

Beginning with the 3-series and Z4, BMW is offering a host of components, from brake upgrades to engine kits, that will boost performance and not cause owners to fear a trip to the dealer for service. Some of the parts include carbon fiber and aluminum strut braces, 3.07:1 performance diffs, lowering kits, performance exhausts and a engine package for three-liter models that includes new camshafts and a modified ECU that boosts output to 235 HP and 222 lb.-ft. or torque.

All of the wonderful tidbits can be procured after the jump, and we’d suspect good things to come from the Bimmer boys when they release packages designed for the 335i and the upcoming 135i.

[Source: BMW]

Continue reading BMW USA offering factory performance parts, with full warranty

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Filed under: Sports/GTs, SUVs, Plants/Manufacturing, Crossovers/CUVs, BMW

Despite slashing some 8,000 jobs worldwide, BMW plans to hire more workers to man its Spartanburg, S.C. production center, while simultaneously upping the night shift from eight hours to ten. The South Carolina plant currently produces the X5 and Z4, but with production of the X6 CUV beginning a few weeks back, BMW is looking to staff an additional 200 jobs to keep the assembly plant on boil. Although Z4 production is going to Regensburg, Germany in 2009, BMW plans to begin building the X3, which is overdue for a refresh, at the plant around the same time. Those of you looking for jobs in the Spartanburg area can apply through MAU Inc., BMW’s U.S. staffing firm, and should expect to bring in $12.50 an hour during the day shift and additional buck if you’re willing to toil away in the wee hours of the night.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]

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Filed under: Spy Photos, Convertibles, BMW

They’ve got it really well disguised, with extra padding down virtually every inch of the flanks hiding what lies underneath, but there’s a new crop of spy shots of the 2009 BMW Z4 from Swedish website Sportbilen. The Svensk site for sports car enthusiasts jumped on three shots from Tommy Kristiansen of a passel of Bimmers in Goth costumes at a fuel stop. Not much is discernible, other than the fact that the long hood/short deck profile remains, and the on-again, off-again cloth top seems to have been replaced by a hard top. Perhaps someone who understands Swedish could shed some light about what the page actually says, too. The resolution of the shots isn’t good enough to really make out whether it’s a removeable hardtop or a folding unit, and whatever flame surfacing might run down the sides of this car have been hidden under totally faux quarter panels front and rear, and a door with a intentionally confusing bowl in the middle. So - you can make out the general lines, which stay pretty true to the BMW two-seater convention, but we’re still waiting on more details.

[Source: Sportbilen.se]

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