BMW Bringing Four New Rides to Los Angeles Auto Show

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Posted by George Kennedy 

                               

 

The auto show season in North America is almost upon us. The aftermarket world descends upon Las Vegas for SEMA Nov. 3-6, and the Consumer Electronics Show will be the place to see the latest autonomous technology in early January. But the next major traditional auto show around the corner is the Los Angeles International Auto Show, and BMW is coming loaded up with an assortment of vehicles.

 

BMW is preparing four vehicles for their North American debuts when the doors open at LAIAS on November 18. Some of these vehicles we’ve previously covered here, but it is worth seeing how BMW is continuing to develop a full portfolio of vehicles.

One that we’ve already featured is the BMW 7 Series. It features a new carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic body structure making it light yet rigid. It also comes with plenty of high tech features such as a dynamic chassis selector, head-up display, and the BMW Display Key that allows you to remotely park the 7 Series, as you can see here:

The flagship sedan is coming with either a turbocharged inline-6, turbo V8 or a turbo four-cylinder hybrid. On the subject of hybrids, BMW is bringing another such fuel-efficient vehicle to LA.

The BMW 330e is a plug-in hybrid that is claimed to fill the void left by the conspicuous absence of the diesel 3 Series (which has nothing to do with industry-wide fallout from #Dieselgate, we’re sure!). It combines a four-cylinder engine with an electric motor to put out a combined 248 horsepower and 310 pound feet of torque. It is a plug-in hybrid, and can travel up 20 miles in electric only mode, at speeds up to 75 mph in full EV.

If you happen to live in the colder climes, the BMW X1 might be more to your liking. It is the first vehicle of its size built on the BMW UKL platform (shared with the BMW 1 Series, Mini 5-door, and Mini Clubman), and will feature a front-wheel-drive-based architecture.

But the vehicle we’re most excited to see is the M4 GTS. Building on the already-terrific M4, it is incredible to think that this beast is road-legal. BMW engineers have bolted on a unique water injection system to the turbocharged inline-6, allowing them to crank output way up to 493 horsepower. And graphite paint scheme with orange accents rounds out the sinister package.

BMW will also be bringing updated versions of the i3 and i8, and showing off the X5 xDrive40e. Press days for the 2015 Los Angeles Auto Show are Nov. 18-20. We’ll be bringing you live images of these rides, as well as debuts from every other automaker in attendance!