It’s not all that. In this particular case, the BMW 1 Series M Coupe, a car which really solicits your knowledge of compliments, receives a makeover from such a word.

That’s because it’s a particular word a German tuning company chose to go by. Probably not the best decision they ever made.

The name is actually quite romantic in its appearance. Schwaben is a region in Germany we usually refer to as Swabia since we are hopeless at understanding the language completely.

Folia is somewhat simpler a name to understand since it doesn’t sound impossible to get right and is quite close to “foil”.

The name of the tuner is important since the BMW 1 Series M Coupe receives a striking lime green foil wrap, costing €2.150 or about $2.850.

A few other mods are available though, most notably the performance changes. You can get more power and sharper handling.

A power kit for the 1 Series M Coupe that lifts the output from 335 to 402 horsepower. That’s a well worth it upgrade which costs €1.299 or 1.700 USD.

If we’re honest, the Bilstein sports suspension (€2.499/US$3.300) is a matter of taste, since there are no complaints with the factory setup.

The titanium exhaust system Schwabenfolia charge €2.299 or $3.000 is not to everybody’s taste but having a louder sports car which drops some weight isn’t something you’d normally say no to.

Finally, you can get custom coating for the wheels if you’re willing to dish out another €800/US$1.100.

The post BMW 1 Series M Coupe by Schwabenfolia appeared first on BMW Car Tuning BLOG - BMW Car Modifications and Customization.

It is only now that they’ve made the 2013 Alpina B7’s model pricing available. The model is available in four trims with rear or all wheel drive.

All versions of the car are based on the BMW 750i and come with the same 4.4-liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine that’s the base for most M powered cars these days.

In the 2013 Alpina B7 the motor has been tweaked to an output of 540 horsepower and 538 lb-ft of torque. The power figure may have gone up but the gearbox is the same.

You’ll be relying on the same eight speed ZF-sourced automatic transmission as before since it can apparently take the extra grunt just fine.

On the serious decision and choice front you’ll have to tick some boxes on the Alpina order form and find out if you want the short or long wheelbase version of the car.

The xDrive all wheel drive version is now ever more popular with luxury cars so that’s going to be a tricky decision as well.

Before all these decisions are made, you’ll have to figure out if you can manage to swing the asking price around.

Alpina will be charging $128.495 for a standard B7 and 131.495 for one with xDrive. Move up market to the stretched version and the price starts at 132.395 USD.

Finally, the top of the line long wheelbase model with the added comfort of all whee drive will set you back 135.395 USD.

The post 2013 Alpina B7 pricing announced appeared first on BMW Car Tuning BLOG - BMW Car Modifications and Customization.

In the wake of that momentous launch, more and more news came in from BMW regarding the serious chances of having an M7 in production.

The news didn’t really follow through and while there’s still some speculation as to how and what’s happening to the potential BMW M7, specialist tuner Alpine went on with their normal business.

They’ve gotten down to updating their Alpina B7 Bi-Turbo model to get all the new stuff the regular car gets in the facelift.

Don’t worry though, Alpina’s custom touch is still there and they don’t offer a new diesel under the bonnet. That’s where you only get one choice of engine and it’s a proper one.

It’s BMW’s twin-turbocharged 4.4 liter V8 engine except it’s been tweaked to provide some extra grunt bringing the grand total up to 540 horsepower and 538 lb-ft of torque.

That’s nearly the same kind of power that engine develops in the M powered version of the 5 Series, X5 and X6 and it’s more than the power the standard 760 Li and that has a twin-turbo V12 engine.

With that in mind, it’s easy to explain how the new Alpina B7 Bi-Turbo can go from 0 to 62 in 4.3 seconds and has a top speed of 194 mph.

Let’s not forget that we’re dealing with a huge luxury sedan that weighs well over two tons. Pricing for the Alpina B7 Bi-Turbo ranges between 127.600 and 134.500 USD depending on body length and number of wheels driven.

The post Alpina brings B7 Bi-Turbo in line with new 7 Series facelift appeared first on BMW Car Tuning BLOG - BMW Car Modifications and Customization.

So what if the F10 BMW M5 looks almost exactly the same as it and very few people can tell the difference? It’s actually great, the whole point of the 5 Series is to be discrete while going fast.

The M5 takes it a serious notch further but doesn’t make up that big a difference in looks. Please admit that this is right.

For those of you who prefer to whine about the situation there’s plenty of tuning companies ready to take your money and make the car look as angry as you might want it.

3D Design, currently partnering with the British at Mulgari Automotive, will even do you the great favor of allowing you to buy the new kit they’ve developed one part at a time.

A full lower aerodynamic package is available, as well as a price list for each of the bits:

1. a front splitter costs £1.435,
2. arear diffuser costs £1.000,
3. carbon side skirts cost £1.363,
4. a rear spoiler comes in at £615.

If you’re not exactly satisfied with the performance levels of the F10 BMW M5, 3D Design will also offer some performance enhancing toys as well.

A new exhaust system, air filter kit and an ECU remap are available for £699 and are said to give the sports sedan an extra 15% more power.

We should remember that we’ve already covered the 3D Design M5 but the Japanese design is now available in Britain.

The post 3D Design F10 BMW M5 appeared first on BMW Car Tuning BLOG - BMW Car Modifications and Customization.