Spotted: X5 test mule and an unknown 3er variant....

I ain't no Beewang...but I'm in Owens Valley, CA for the weekend and looky what I saw at Mono Lake today:

I asked Hans a couple of times what was up with the "twice pipes" on the 3er and he kept walking away saying that he did not know what I was talking about. One of the guys was NOT happy with my picture taking and proceeded to move the X5 type vehicles behind our tour bus. One of the Z4's had South Carolina plates....almost everybody in the BMW clan was speaking german.




"Hey you! stop taking pictures!"

nice work! m3 sedan? only single exhausts, tho. was the front bumper different?

This looks an awful like an X3...what what what???

New M3

Did the Z4 have quad pipes ?

Was this near Lee Vining ?

Given the twin pipes and the obvious camoflage on the fenders, I'd say it's an E90 M3 mule.

Originally Posted by FierySphere

obvious camoflage on the fenders

i don't see any camo?

Originally Posted by Frank Rizzo

I ain't no Beewang...but I'm in Owens Valley, CA for the weekend and looky what I saw at Mono Lake today:

I asked Hans a couple of times what was up with the "twice pipes" on the 3er and he kept walking away saying that he did not know what I was talking about. One of the guys was NOT happy with my picture taking and proceeded to move the X5 type vehicles behind our tour bus. One of the Z4's had South Carolina plates....almost everybody in the BMW clan was speaking german.
"Hey you! stop taking pictures!"

LOL!! Nice job there Franko!! Now.. email to autoweek and get your free annual subscription

Yeah, that sounds about right... Munich engineers here in the US to test out new cars. What's up w/ these guys wearing funky blue tennis shoes?? The German dudes I ran into when the E90 was still top secreat were all wearing the same thing

Gonna haveta keep up w/ ya on this spy picture business

beewang

Damn DUDE... how the hell did you manage to snap off those photos?!?!
Seriously... I would be asking for a lot more then a years subscription.
I think the cars you see w/ dual pipes are Turbos. Just an educated guess... there's NO WAY its M3 material... unless they are doing nothing but drive train work... but even then... on 325i ZSP wheels and tires? Don't think so. Looks more like a possible ZHP replacement.

Way to go Rizzo!

Originally Posted by SpeedFreak!

...I think the cars you see w/ dual pipes are Turbos. Just an educated guess...

Its turbo DIESEL McFly!! Helloooooeee!!! As in 335iTD duh!!

Frank:

Great job.

Did you hear the 3 series start up? If it wasn't a gas engine, it could be the new 3.0 diesel that they might bring over stateside when we get no-sulfer fuel next year.. The diesel needs larger exhaust flow (more pipe area) than a gas engine of the same size. There appears to be a little soot on the lower portion of the pipes on that car.

Great close-upson the camo X3 mule. WTF are they hiding?

I eyeballed the interior of the 3er and it was for sure was not ///M material....regular steering wheel, headliner and the front end was completely the same as the current 3 sedan...wish I would have looked at the tachometer....did not even think about being diesel. I kept following Franz around pestering him with questions: "that cant be the new M3?....is it some sort of ZHP"? A: I do not wish to be rude but I kannot speak of these things of this nature right now"

They never started the car and look relieved when I got on the bus to leave.

.

M version of X3? You should watermark those photos pretty quick. Heck of a find by you.

Originally Posted by JonM

M version of X3? You should watermark those photos pretty quick. Heck of a find by you.

Deff. watermark... incredible find!
My vote is for "ZHP" versions of X3 and E90. Very high probability of Turbo... both gas and diesel... I wish you could have heard them... I still can't believe they didn't stop you sooner... un-freakin' believable. That is so incredibly cool.

Have you seen a picture of the new X5... it looks alot like a Bubbly Blown-up X3... i think we all might be looking at the new X5..........

Originally Posted by Steveo8998

Have you seen a picture of the new X5... it looks alot like a Bubbly Blown-up X3... i think we all might be looking at the new X5..........

I've seen the photos your speaking of... there is no way this is the same one or even close. This one is way to small... it's clearly an X3. Look closely.

My 3 cents:

V8 3er
X3 Diesel with new body to look more like new 3er body

How about the winner of this guessing game gets a bimmerfest sticker?

Nice scoop. 'Festers are everywhere,

Based on the aluminum front grills on these mules, I'd say they were turbos. Hopefully only diesel turbos. They need to drop in a V8 for the E90 M3. Gasoline turbos suck and are for girly men.

Originally Posted by SpeedFreak!

I've seen the photos your speaking of... there is no way this is the same one or even close. This one is way to small... it's clearly an X3. Look closely.

Looks like an X3 to me.

Obvious differences include twin exhaust split on each side unless that is part of the fake bumper.

On the rear side by side shot of the X3's I see one has roof rack and the other not.

However - how can they have the exact same licence plate numbers?

One with roof rack - the other without. The one without is toting a trailer hitch.

One with an antenna in addition to the shark fin?

Side body moldings? on the X3 and a possibly a similar bonnet to the E90 in relation to the kidneys...........

ooooooh! Diesel in California - could it possibly be??????

I thought diesels were verboten in Ah-nold's state?


Kudos to you, Mr. Rizzo!

Dear Californians, are those special registration plates that they get for test mules?

Originally Posted by JG

Looks like an X3 to me.
...
However - how can they have the exact same licence plate numbers?
...

The BIG numbers will all be the same for the company... up to a point... the differentiator is the little number you see to the right...

Originally Posted by SpeedFreak!

The BIG numbers will all be the same for the company... up to a point... the differentiator is the little number you see to the right...

I saw the small digits to the right - but figured the point of a plate is to be able to read the big numbers/letters (police etc.)

Thanks for the information...............

Originally Posted by Steveo8998

Have you seen a picture of the new X5... it looks alot like a Bubbly Blown-up X3... i think we all might be looking at the new X5..........

You may be right............

This site shows an X5 mule which is almost identical to the shots in this thread.

http://www.bmwinfo.com/517.html

It lools much more like an X3 than the current X5.

wow. I shoulda watermarked the photos....