BMW Releases Stealthy Black Vermilion Edition X5

BMW has just announced two limited edition SUVs in the form of the Black Vermilion Edition X5 and X6. Both versions are based on their respective X5 xDrive40i and X6 xDrive40i models and receive a paint job that Darth Vader himself would be proud of – Frozen Black Metallic.

This color scheme is contrasted by a striking set of 22” Orbit Grey alloy wheels, a red-highlighted kidney bar grille, and red brake calipers. The aggressive body styling is also afforded by numerous upgrades borrowed from the M Sport line. The elegance also makes its way to the interior with red-stitched merino leather upholstery, an M Alcantara anthracite roof liner, Black Vermilion Edition badging, and a crystal glass application known as Crafted Clarity. The X5 and X6 will be limited to 350 examples (50 if you live in Canada or the U.K.) and will start at $82,300 USD. There’s also a BMW X7 M50i Frozen Black Edition as part of this series but in extremely limited numbers. Those interested can head over to BMW to order now where delivery is expected to take place in September.

BMW R18 to launch on September 19

The BMW R18 cruiser will launch in India this week. BMW Motorrad India began accepting bookings for the R18 cruiser back in April (for Rs 1 lakh), and over the last month has made its way to dealerships across the country. A dealer we spoke to said the price is expected to be revealed on September 19 and that both variants, Standard and First Edition, will be available here.

    BMW R18 India launch this week

    Will be available in Standard and First Edition variants

    Dealers say the R18 is expected to be priced around Rs 22 lakh

What do we know of the R18’s engine and powertrain?

There’s a lot to talk about BMW’s latest addition to the cruiser segment, but the massive 1,802cc, air and oil-cooled engine that powers the R18 is its crown jewel. This engine is the largest ‘boxer’ engine manufactured by BMW Motorrad. Another mechanical aspect that really sets this BMW apart is the use of an exposed drive shaft; this is similar to the old BMW cruisers from which the R18 draws inspiration. 

Can you customize your R18?

BMW is offering a wide range of customisation options that tweak the bike’s design to suit individual tastes. This includes custom-made seats, exhausts, side panels, and even a handlebar, giving you the opportunity to transform this motorcycle as per your liking.
Does the R18 have any modern electronics?

The R18 has three riding modes, Rain, Roll and Rock; a fun take on the usual Rain, Road and Sport. In addition, there's switchable automatic stability control (ASC) and engine drag torque control or MSR. The latter prevents rear-wheel slip under hard acceleration or aggressive downshifts. BMW also offers a reverse gear driven by an electric motor. This will probably come in handy, since the R18 tips the scales at a solid 345kg.

How are the two variants different?

Like we mentioned above, BMW will offer the R18 in two trims, Standard and First Edition. The First Edition gets extra chrome elements, a Blackstorm metallic paint shade, and a seat badge with a 'First Edition' clasp on the chrome cover. It also includes some more intricate additions like a tank emblem with copper letterings, copper screws, a pair of gloves, as well as a screwdriver to fix the emblem on the tank. Additionally, the First Edition will also feature hill-start assist, heated grips and cornering headlights.

What price can we expect the R18 to launch at?

At the moment, it isn’t clear how aggressively BMW plans to price these bikes. The challenges of the pandemic have led Triumph to price the Street Triple R quite aggressively, and it will be interesting to see if BMW Motorrad India takes a similar direction. Dealers we spoke with said they expect the bike to be priced around the Rs 22 lakh mark (ex-showroom, Delhi).

BMW M 1000 RR unveiled

BMW Motorrad has taken the wraps off the new M 1000 RR, a homologation special motorcycle that is based on the BMW S 1000 RR superbike.

    First BMW M division motorcycle

    999cc engine develops 212hp at 14,500rpm and 113Nm at 11,000rpm

    Kerb weight is 192kg, lighter than stock S 1000 RR by 5kg

The new BMW M 1000 RR is the first motorcycle to roll out of the company's hallowed M-division, a dedicated facility that for the longest time has been making high performance variants of BMW's cars. The M 1000 RR is a homologation special, designed to meet FIM WSBK specifications and is road-legal as well.
What are the BMW M 1000 RR design changes?  

As we've said earlier, the BMW Motorrad M 1000 RR is based on the sleek and angry-faced S 1000 RR, and hence shares most of the body panels.

The most obvious difference between the two motorcycles are the new carbon fibre winglets. BMW calls them M-winglets and these have been tested and developed using BMW Group's wind tunnel and on a race track. The winglets provide a maximum aerodynamic downforce of 16.3kg at 186mph or 299kph.

One advantage of the downforce generated by the winglets is that it helps reduce the tendency to wheelie under hard acceleration, that in turn minimises the intervention of traction control. The winglets also help pin the front wheel down into the tarmac during hard braking and improve stability in corners.

Besides the wings, the paintwork gives the M 1000 RR a distinct appearance with the characteristic BMW M colours slathered across the bodywork.

The M1000RR also gets a new, taller windscreen that BMW claims reduces wind resistance and helps the rider tuck in neatly.

In terms of equipment the motorcycle's 6.5-inch TFT screen has a special starting animation with an M logo. It also gets an OBD interface that can be used with an activation code for the M GPS data logger and M GPS laptrigger, available with the Performance pack. More on that later.
M 1000 RR gets more power

The engineers at the BMW M-division have infused their magic into the standard S 1000 RR inline-four engine by making some interesting changes. However, the ShiftCam technology with variable valve timing and lift has been retained, albeit with shorter intake funnels to improve top end performance. Is this related to air intake or the valve train?

The BMW M 1000 RR's 999cc engine uses new 2-ring forged pistons and each piston is lighter by 12g. The titanium connecting rods are 2mm longer and lighter, each weighing a mere 85g. BMW has also employed slimmer and 6 per cent lighter rocker arms, revised the intake port geometry, used titanium valves on the exhaust side and raised the compression ratio to 13.5:1. All of these changes result in a 5hp increase in power over the S 1000 RR and a redline that's pushed to 15,100rpm from 14,600rpm on the S 1000's engine.

The specs stand at 212hp at 14,500rpm and 113Nm at 11,000rpm. More importantly, the M engine produces more power than the S, between 6,000rpm and 15,100rpm; particularly relevant for the race track. The gearing too has been altered by adding one tooth on the rear sprocket, to increase the total count to 46 teeth.

This along with the lighter Akrapovic titanium full system exhaust, that helps shave 3.7 kg off the total weight, contribute to improved performance.

How fast is the BMW M 1000 RR?  

The result of all those changes to the engine is 0.2s faster time to get to 100kph from standstill while the 200kph barrier is breached 0.4s quicker than the S 1000 RR. It may not seem like a lot in the real world but on a racetrack, mere tenths could be the difference between a good or bad result.
What about the electronics suite?

The M 1000 RR, expectedly, is kitted with a vast array of electronic aids. For starters, there are five ride modes, Rain, Road, Dynamic, Race and Race Pro. The 'Race Pro' has three levels that allow tuning of the IMU-based traction control and wheelie control settings as well as the engine brake settings.

The motorcycle also gets launch control, bi-directional quickshifter, Hill Start Pro and a pit lane speed limiter as standard.

What about the M 1000 RR chassis?

Along with improving the engine, the engineers have also tweaked the chassis to enhance the handling.

The BMW M 1000 RR's chassis is based on the S 1000 RR's, with the frame made of aluminium. The steering geometry has been optimised, with a flatter steering head angle at 66.4 degrees and reduced fork offset, by 3mm to 26.5mm. Besides this, the wheelbase has also been increased from 1441mm to 1457mm, achieved by employing a longer swingarm. The pivot point of the swingarm can be adjusted in keeping with the need to alter the geometry to suit a particular race track.

While that takes care of one aspect of the chassis, BMW also went on a mission to shave as much weight at possible. The M 1000 RR tips the scales at 192kg (kerb) only and that's mainly because of the lighter exhaust and standard M carbon wheels that are 1.7kg lighter than the aluminium ones on the S 1000 RR. Regular Pro model also gets carbon wheels

The brakes have been developed in association with Nissin and the calipers are finished in an M-divison specific blue paint. These calipers are lighter and bite on to thicker discs than those on the S 1000 RR.

With the changes made to the chassis and the lighter weight, BMW claims improved performance, drivability and agility around a racetrack.

M performance package

For those who want more than what the new M 1000 RR offers in standard trim, the M competition package provides a vast range of components to kit out the motorcycle.

The list includes the M GPS laptrigger software and the corresponding activation code, M milled parts package, the M carbon package as well as a 220 g lighter swing arm. You also get BMW's new DLC-coated, maintenance-free M-Endurance chain while the passenger package includes a tail-hump cover. The cost of the M-performance package is a whopping Rs 3.82 lakh.

Price and competition

With all the exotic components and extra performance on offer, BMW Motorrad has managed to price the M 1000 RR quite well. In international markets, the M 1000 RR is priced at £31,000 (Rs 28.86 lakh) which is nearly double the price of the standard S 1000 RR sells at a base £15,590 (Rs 15 lakh)

That said the BMW M 1000 RR is much cheaper than the Ducati Panigale V4R that sells at £ 35,141 or (Rs 32.89 lakh), its direct, homologation special rival.

Whether BMW Motorrad launches the M 1000 RR in India remains to be seen.

The BMW R18 – beauty in imperfection

BMW's R18 has been a long time coming. First unveiled as a concept in spring last year, BMW then brought us another concept and the engine before revealing its finished form this spring.

Now, some 18 months later, BMW entrusted one to us for a week, so what else could we do with it, but take it on the Great Malle Rally: a 1500 mile journey from one end of Great Britain to the other.

Along the way we took all 345kgs of it on A roads, B roads, little grass up the middle unlisted roads, on mountain passes, through fords, on motorways and even on one far too lumpy farm track. And what did we learn? It’s really rather good, although it’s far from perfect. The real centrepiece of the bike, both literally and figuratively, is the new 1802cc boxer engine. Performance figures are pretty much on the money compared to the competition (89bhp & 117ft lbs).

That might not sound like a lot from such a big engine, but 110ftlbs is available between 2000 and 4000rpm, which is where you do 95% of the riding. It just makes riding the thing totally effortless.

The engine puts its power down through an exposed shaft drive, which runs into a bevel box that’s locked into a ‘softail’ cantilever rear end. Holding that cantilever in the air is a preload adjustable rear shock, which offers 90mm of travel from its perch under the seat. Out on the road, the suspension as a whole is on the firmer side with the damping far better suited to getting on with it, than dawdling along. It does crash over bigger bumps, potholes and the like, but it’s no kidney bruiser.

Where the R18 seems to make the most sense is if you ride it like a giant R nineT. Pay no heed to its weight, length or limited ground clearance and you’ll have an absolute riot.

Fire it into a corner, haul on the brakes, shuttle it round scraping the pegs then unleash the big engine. Ride it like that and you’ll have an unshakeable grin from ear to ear. There are issues though.

For a BMW it’s bereft of tech: there’s no cruise control, no fuel gauge, no range indicator and what tech there is needs work. The ignition is keyless but the fuel filler and steering lock aren’t, while the Hill Start Control is jerky and the self-cancelling indicators turn off too soon. Not really good enough for a £19,000 bike. That’s also the other problem.

The First Edition model (which is the only one available at the moment) costs £18,995, which gets you some pinstriping and fancy chrome bits over the standard model but the one we rode with all the fancy bits was £20,945. However you cut it, that’s a lot of cash.

If nothing else, you have to commend BMW for building the R18 at all. In a world of tightening emissions and downsized engines, building not only a new air-cooled engine but their largest ever engine to date deserves some serious respect. There really is no telling how well this will go for BMW but right now, it has all the foundations of an instant classic.

For a much more in-depth review of the bike, plus a history of how BMW have crammed 100 years of tech into the R18, pick up the next issue of MCN, out on Wednesday, September 23.

BMW M1000RR homologation special targets range-topping Ducatis

BMW have unveiled the M1000RR – a tuned, lightweight, hyper-expensive version of their S1000RR that officially stretches their M range from four wheels to two.

Built to dominate on the track for everyone from privateers to WSB teams, the M-RR has been designed as a no compromise racing machine – although if you want to rip it up on the road, it’s got indicators and a numberplate too. Sitting inside the growling belly of the beast is a redesigned version of the 999cc ShiftCam engine out of the S1000RR.

Through a long list of changes including shorter forged pistons, adapted combustion chambers, longer and lighter conrods, new rocker arms, altered cam profiles, increased compression ratio and reprofiled intake ports, BMW have found 500 more rpm and five more horses.

The power curve has shifted slightly too, with a bit more of it found in the top end, which is better for racing, plus they’ve gone one tooth bigger at the back for more va-va-voom. It now breathes through a full titanium Akrapovic system, which alone has helped to remove nearly 4kg of mass. There are fresh electronics, too – including some flashy Race Pro modes that are only unlocked when you dispense with the road-going parts. Inside those you can alter almost every possible parameter, with throttle response, engine braking and power delivery differing between gears.

Also aimed at the racetrack are the new carbon fibre winglets which offer up to 16.3kg downforce (at track speeds). Chassis set up has also been modified for better high-speed handling with a flatter head angle, reduced fork offset and a longer, single-piece swingarm. Weight distribution has been shifted back, perhaps to offset issues teams were having with rear wheel lift. Meanwhile, braking duties are now taken on by new calipers developed with WSB team suppliers Nissin, delivered in the M Sport blue. There’s also a heap of extras including a Competition pack, kit engines, lap timers and even a WSB level race kit.

In a startling twist though, compared to similar bikes, it’s not actually crazy money. At just shy of £31,000 it’s nearly four grand cheaper than a Panigale V4R.