2013 BMW Z4 Speculatively Facelifted After the New 3-Series

The second generation of the BMW Z4 roadster that swapped its predecessor's soft top for a retractable metal roof has been with us since 2009, meaning if the Germans stick to their usual product timeline, we should see a mid-life facelift within the next year.

BMW's recent history tells us that these updates vary from barely noticeable styling tweaks like the 2013 7-Series F/L to somewhat more visible changes as was the case with 2009 E90 3-Series F/L.

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Patent Images Reveal that BMW is Exploring a 7-Speed Manual Gearbox

Automakers in general but even more so German brands among themselves, tend to waste no time to replicate technologies or features developed by their rivals.

When Porsche debuted the world's first production 7-speed manual gearbox on the new 911 series last year, we knew that it was only a matter of time before one or more of its German adversaries would do the same.

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Spy Video: New BMW 4-Series Convertible Filmed at the Green Hell

We have just filmed the replacement of the BMW 3-Series Convertible while the brand's engineers were driving a camouflaged prototype on the Nürburgring track.

BMW is rumored to replace the 3-Series badge with the 4-series moniker for the two-door coupe and convertible variants of its newly revealed 3-series sedan, in much the same way that it does with the larger 5-Series (sedan, Touring and GT) and 6-Series (Coupe and Convertible) models.

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Spy Shots: New BMW 4-Series Convertible Lets its Metallic Top Down

For the second time in a month, our crafty scoop photographers were able to capture BMW testing the open-top replacement for the 3-Series Convertible, which as you probably have already heard, may be named the 4-Series if –and that's a big if- the rumors turn out to be true.

What makes these latest pictures of particular interest is that we see the 4/3 Series Convertible with its electrically operated, three-piece metallic top neatly tucked away in the trunk.

Furthermore, our scoopsters were able to get close enough to the camouflaged prototype to snap a few photos of the interior that will be shared with the coupe model. Not surprisingly, even if BMW does change the name of the two-door models, the dashboard will be identical to that of the latest F30 3-Series sedan.

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Spied: Next BMW 3-Series Coupe Snagged in Italy

Evidently, BMW was over in Italy this past week to try out the replacement for its 3-Series Coupe, also known with its internal codename F32. An Italian reader of Autoblog.it stumbled upon a camouflaged prototype while it was filling up at a gas station in the town of Arzachena in Sardinia.

The video is not clear enough to see which variant of the F32 this is, but the large alloy wheels point to a top model in terms of performance.

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BMW Confirms Facelifted 7-Series, will Launch this July, May get Tri-Turbo Diesel

BMW has evidently completed the development of its refreshed 7-Series limousine as the Bavarian company's CEO Norbert Reithofer revealed that the 2013 model will arrive at dealerships in July during a conference call on Thursday.

The BMW boss did not provide further information on the car, though our spy shots suggest that the styling tweaks on the 2013 7-Series will be limited to the redesigned bumpers, LED headlamps, the front kidney grilles and the alloy wheel designs, along with new trims and better materials inside.

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Spied: New BMW M135i Three-Door Hatch Flexes its Turbo'd Straight-Six on the Nürburgring

After presenting the M135i Concept sports hatch at last month's Geneva Motor Show, BMW is now concentrating on finishing the development of the production model that will arrive in European showrooms either at the end of this year or in early 2013.

If you exclude the patches of swirly camouflage on the car's profile and the lack of the M Performance brand's traditional tricolor stripes on the sides, nothing else has changed over the prototype model.

The production M135i is based on the soon to be revealed three-door hatchback body-style of the latest 1-Series adding an assortment of M aero parts such as the front bumper, side skirts amd a different rear bumper that accommodates an integrated diffuser and dark chrome-trimmed exhausts pipes.

Other parts worth mentioning include the mirror caps in Ferric Grey and side window surrounds in gloss black plus the new 18-inch alloy wheels.

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Scoop: BMW Shows us How the Next Generation of the 3-Series Convertible's Hard Top Works

With spring upon us and the temperatures slowly rising in the northern hemisphere, BMW's engineers have no problem opening the top of the next 3-Series Convertible, which like the coupe, you may or may not be forced to call the 4-Series.

Luckily for us, one of our spies was in the right place at the right time to snag more than a dozen photos of BMW's testers opening and closing the electrically operated, three-piece hardtop, which neatly tucks away in the trunk at the touch of a button.

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2013 BMW M6 Gran Coupe Visualized in New Renderings

The last time our scoop photographers nabbed the 2013 BMW M6 Gran Coupe, it was undergoing winter tests in northern Europe, with the company’s engineers having cloaked parts of the car in light camouflage.

If you need more help to visualize the new M6 Gran Coupe, photoshop artist Wildspeed and the crew over at Bimmer Post have created a series of speculative renderings to show us what the sports saloon could look like in real life.

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SCOOP: New BMW 3- or 4-Series Hardtop Convertible Nabbed Playing in the Cold

The convertible edition of the BMW 3-Series may be the least popular body style in the range, but it's one that is widely considering to be leader in its segment while also returning higher profits per unit compared to the regular models.

And whereas most manufacturers prefer to offer either a coupe and a soft top cabriolet or a single hardtop convertible model, with the presentation of the fifth generation 3-Series Convertible in 2006, BMW decided to do both.

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SPIED: BMW's New M3 Sedan Drops Two Cylinders but Gains Turbochargers

The engineers over at BMW's M division have their hands full with a variety of upcoming projects, one of which is the new M3 captured here in a sedan body style.

The first thing you'll need to know about the next M3 saloon and its two-door siblings (rumor has it they may be named M4), is that the current model's 4.0-liter naturally-aspirated V8 will give its place to a smaller displacement six-cylinder engine that will follow the example of the M5 employing the use of turbochargers.

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