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34-604: Russian Bears Motorsport was formed in March 2007, and started by running BMW 320is in the Dutch Supercar Challenge , with drivers Viktor Shapovalov (who also owns the team), Lev Fridman , Evgeny Zelenov and Oleg Petrikov. Shapovalov, Fridman and Zelenov all made their WTCC debuts in the BMWs at Circuit Park Zandvoort , and Shapovalov and Fridman also competed in the following round at Circuit de Valencia . The team returned to

68-735: A 320i. The E46 has also competed in the British, European and Russian touring car championships. In the United States, the National Auto Sport Association and BMW Car Club of America (BMW CCA) organized a "Spec E46" amateur racing series. The Spec E46 cars were built to a standard with limited modifications, to create a level playing field and increased competition between drivers. By mid-2020, Spec E46 had become one of BMW CCA's three largest racing classes. Christopher Bangle Christopher Edward Bangle (born October 14, 1956)

102-555: A curb weight of 1,450 kg (3,197 lb), the E46 328ci is 55 kg (121 lb) heavier than the E36 equivalent. In tune with BMW's core values regarding handling dynamics , the E46 was initially available with a rear-wheel drive layout and a 50/50 weight distribution . All-wheel drive , which was last available in the 3 Series in 1991, was reintroduced for the E46 on the 325xi, 330xi and 330xd models. The electronic components in

136-447: A lower ride height, heavy duty steering rack, and slightly more negative camber . Car and Driver magazine track-tested the car, which recorded a 0–60 mph (97 km/h) acceleration time of 5.6 seconds and a 1/4 mile time of 14.3 seconds. In some parts of the United States, BMW sold a version of the 325i which met the super ultra low emission vehicle (SULEV) emissions standards. California, New York, and Massachusetts received

170-554: A new BMW concept car, called GINA on June 10, 2008. On February 3, 2009, Bangle announced that he was to quit both his position at BMW and the auto industry altogether, to focus on his own design-related endeavours. He was replaced by Adrian van Hooydonk . Bangle now works for his own firm called Chris Bangle Associates based in Clavesana , Italy. In 2012, Bangle was hired by Samsung . His styling themes have generated intense controversy among automotive designers, and have had

204-497: A polarizing effect with respect to their visual cues. Bangle acknowledges that his designs do not look good in photographs, suggesting to critics that they should see the cars in real life before judging them on their looks. Bangle himself did not (as is commonly believed) coin the phrase "flame surfacing" to describe his work; this can be attributed to a motoring journalist, and is probably the first time Deconstructivism has been adapted to automotive design. The reason for this design

238-536: A redline of 8,000 rpm. As with most M engines, the S54 has 6 individual throttle bodies , in this case electronically operated ( drive-by-wire throttle ). The transmission options for the M3 were a 6-speed manual or the 6-speed "SMG-II" automated manual transmission . There was also a lighter and faster M3 CSL model; CSL stands for Coupé Sport Leichtbau ("Coupé Sport Lightweight). Weight was reduced by removing equipment and replacing

272-848: Is an American automobile designer. Bangle is known best for his work as Chief of Design for BMW Group , where he was responsible for the BMW , MINI and Rolls-Royce motor cars . Bangle was born in Ravenna, Ohio , and raised in Wausau, Wisconsin . After considering becoming a Methodist minister, Bangle attended the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California , earning a Bachelor of Science degree. Bangle started his career at Opel in Germany , where he worked from 1981 until 1985. The first work that he designed

306-619: Is powered by the BMW S54 straight-six engine with either a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed SMG-II automated manual transmission. The E46 line-up was phased out starting from late 2004, following the introduction of the E90 3 Series sedans. However, the E46 coupé and convertible body styles remained in production until August 2006. In 1993, the development programme for the E46 began under the lead of chief engineer Wolfgang Ziebart and head of R&D Wolfgang Reitzle . In late 1993, design work began under

340-723: Is the interior of the Opel Junior concept car. He moved to Fiat in Italy in 1985, to work on the second generation Fiat Panda (released 2003). From 1990 he worked as a chief designer of the Fiat Coupé (released 1993). Still in Centro Stile Fiat he designed Alfa Romeo 145 . He became the first American chief of design of BMW on October 1, 1992, where he designed the Z9 Gran Turismo concept car . Bangle's designs were incorporated in

374-631: The International GT Open . For 2014 the team campaigned in the World Endurance Championship, running a Ferrari 458 GT3 Italia in the LMGTE-am class and a pair of Oreca 03Rs in the LMP2 class. BMW E46 The BMW 3 Series (E46) is the fourth generation of the BMW 3 Series range of compact executive cars manufactured by German automaker BMW . Produced from 1997 to 2006, it was

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408-445: The facelift versions of the sedan and Touring were released for the 2002 model year . In March 2003, the facelift versions of the coupe and convertible models (except M3) were released for the 2004 model year . Andy Priaulx won the 2004 European Touring Car Championship season and 2005 World Touring Car Championship season championships driving a 320i. Franz Engstler won the 2006 Asian Touring Car Championship season in

442-585: The 3 Series in the E46 generation, including satellite navigation, electronic brake-force distribution, rain-sensing wipers and LED tail-lights. The E46 was produced in Germany ( Leipzig , Munich and Regensburg ) and in South Africa ( Rosslyn ). Local assembly of complete knock-down (CKD) kits was used for cars sold in China, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Thailand and Russia. The highest selling year for

476-508: The E46 and were powered by inline-six petrol engines. The Performance Package was an option sold in North America, which is commonly referred to by its order code in the United States, ZHP (the order code in Canada was ZAM). It was available for 330i sedans from model years 2003 to 2005, and available for 330ci coupés and convertibles from 2004 to 2006. It included various aesthetic changes over

510-608: The E46 are more integrated than previous generations of 3 Series, including the use of a CAN bus system. Drivetrain information (such as engine, transmission and stability control) is communicated using the CAN bus. Vehicle electronics (such as the radio, navigation, television and telecommunications) can communicate to each other via the K-bus. The E46 was the first 3 Series to be available with an engine using Valvetronic (variable valve lift). Various electronic features were also introduced to

544-454: The E46 chassis was 2002, when 561,249 vehicles were sold worldwide. The body styles of the range are: The shorter three-door hatchback version of the E46 was marketed as the BMW 3 Series Compact . The exterior styling has several differences to the rest of the E46 3 Series range, notably the distinctive headlights and tail-lights. Mechanically, the Compact shares many elements with the rest of

578-476: The E46 range, however the steering rack has a faster ratio. Factory specifications are listed below. Coupé and convertible models were badged as "Ci (petrol) or Cd (diesel)", and all-wheel drive models were badged as "Xi (petrol) or Xd (diesel)". The E46 M3 was introduced in October 2000, available with the 3.2-litre S54 M-tuned engine. It was offered in coupé and convertible body styles. The M3's S54 engine has

612-747: The SULEV E46's in 2003, and Vermont in 2004. They utilised a variant of the M54 engine named the BMW M56 . The M56 meets SULEV standards, as well as partial zero emission vehicle (PZEV) and zero evaporative emissions requirements. The M56 is claimed to have identical power output as its M54 counterpart. The Clubsport package was available only for the 320Ci/325Ci/330Ci M-Sport models in 2002 and came in these colours: Estoril Blue, Velvet Blue, Titanium Silver and Carbon Black. The package removed 20 kg insulation materials, added an optional rear M spoiler and two spoiler lips on

646-513: The WTCC to run Lada 110s in 2008 , with Dutch driver Jaap van Lagen joining Shapovalov with driving duties. Kirill Ladygin joined the team in a third car for the final four rounds. For 2009 , the team attracted support from Lada, with the Russian company thus becoming the fourth manufacturer in the championship alongside SEAT , BMW and Chevrolet . The introduction of the new Priora at Porto and

680-515: The addition of former British Touring Car Champion James Thompson to the driver lineup helped the team to increase their competitiveness during the season. Drivers points were achieved by Thompson for a pair of 6th places at the Imola round, which were also the first for either a Russian Bears driver or a Lada driver in the series. In order to make room for Thompson, Shapovalov had stepped down from driving duties to concentrate on team management. For 2011,

714-570: The car's aggressive stance. Design patents were filed in Germany on 16 July 1997 and in the US on 16 January 1998. Chris Bangle and Wolfgang Reitzle were responsible through 1995 for the production sedan's exterior, as evident in the 1997 design patent. Production development of the sedan took 24 months following design freeze and was 31 months from executive board styling approval in 1995 to its start of series production in December 1997. Erik Goplen designed

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748-597: The entire BMW lineup, including the BMW Z4 , 1 , 3 , 5 , 6 and 7 series as well as the X3 , X5 , and X6 the newest design SUVs, and the concept car Gina . These span the automotive platforms E81 / E82 / E87 / E88 , E90 / E91 / E92 / E93 , E60 / E61 , E63 / E64 , E65 / E66 and E53 . During the Bangle era, BMW overtook Mercedes as the global leader in premium car sales, despite Bangle's controversial design language. He introduced

782-458: The front bumper, and chromed exhaust tailpipes. Style 71, M-Double Spoke Split rim wheels were standard while interior equipment included M short gear shift, aluminum or black "Alu-Tech" trims, silver rings on cluster, door sills with "M Clubsport" letters, and an interior finished in half-leather and half-fabric "M Texture" cloth. The Clubsport was offered with the 5/6-Speed manual, 6-Speed SMG, or 5-Speed Steptronic transmissions. In September 2001,

816-471: The lead of chief designer Chris Bangle and continued into 1995. In May 1995, the general exterior design of the E46 by Erik Goplen of DesignworksUSA was approved and as a result DesignworksUSA was contracted by BMW to work alongside BMW Group's in-house design team to create the exterior bodywork for the 3 Series range in February 1996. The design team put an emphasis on improving aerodynamics and increasing

850-509: The preceding E38 generation which was conservatively styled. In fact, van Hooydonk's original 1998 sketch for the E65 was a much more radical sleek fastback, but the final design was toned down considerably to resemble a more conventional three-box sedan. Time magazine named the E65 as one of the 50 Worst Cars of All Time for its rear end styling and iDrive functionality, while there were several online petitions pressing BMW to sack Bangle. While

884-448: The production coupé, convertible and station wagon during between 1996 and 1997. The E46 sedan was unveiled via press release on 11 November 1997 and was launched on the market at the end of April 1998 with customer deliveries. The body shell of the E46 was claimed by BMW to be 70% more rigid than its E36 predecessor. Aluminium was used for an increased quantity of suspension components, in order to decrease unsprung mass . However, with

918-481: The regular 3 series, as well as functional and mechanical enhancements. The ZHP was equipped with sportier camshafts and revised engine tuning to increase power output from 225 to 235 hp (168 to 175 kW) as well as a shorter final drive gear ratio, and a corresponding increase in redline from 6,500 rpm to 6,800 rpm. Suspension was modified over the standard suspension with firmer springs and dampers, larger anti-roll bars, stronger front control arm ball joints,

952-400: The right shock towers. The redesigned front and rear fascias and the rear wing optimised aerodynamics. The roof, the hood, the rear wing and front and rear fascias were made from carbon-fibre in order to reduce weight. Notable changes made to the interior included leather Recaro bucket seats, removal of rear seats and special M3 GTR sill plates. The Alpina "B3 3.3" and "B3 S" were based on

986-611: The roof, door panel, and centre console with carbon fibre pieces. In order for the M3 GTR race car to compete in the American Le Mans Series , BMW produced 10 examples of the "M3 GTR Straßen Version" (street version) in 2001. As per the race M3 GTR, the roadgoing Version was powered by the BMW P60B40 4.0 L V8 engine which was slightly detuned and generated a maximum power output of 283 kW (380 hp) at 7,000 rpm. Power

1020-548: The sales for the 2002 and 2003 models years were off 60% from the 2001, the E65 7 series became the best-selling 7 Series of all time. Bangle aggressively defended his designs against criticism. He was supported by the BMW board of directors, who wanted to move BMW's image into the future. He said it was necessary for product lines to follow a cycle of a revolutionary generation followed by an evolutionary generation followed by another revolutionary generation and so on. Indeed, he oversaw

1054-598: The successor to the E36 3 Series , which ceased production in 2000. It was introduced in November 1997, and available in sedan , coupé , convertible , station wagon and hatchback body styles. The latter has been marketed as the 3 Series Compact . The M3 performance model was introduced in June 2000 with a 2-door coupé body style, followed by the convertible counterpart in April 2001. The M3

Russian Bears Motorsport - Misplaced Pages Continue

1088-570: The team participated in the new European Production Series (EP Series) with Kirill Ladygin and Vyacheslav Maleev driving two SEAT Leons and in the Lada Granta Cup driving two Lada Grantas Sport . Kirill was the 2011 Granta Cup Champion. For 2012, Russian Bears Motorsport began a new FIA GT3 European Championship campaign. This time Kirill Ladygin and Vyacheslav Maleev drove a Ferrari 458 GT3 Italia . In 2013, Russian Bears Motorsport renamed themselves to SMP Racing . The team entered

1122-435: Was delivered to the rear wheels via a race type 6-speed dual clutch sequential transmission with M locking differential. The engine featured dry sump lubrication as its racing counterpart and bigger radiators. The stiffer chassis and suspension system were a carryover from the race version. The car was lowered further than a standard M3 and featured additional strut braces between the firewall and strut towers as well as between

1156-463: Was to use BMW's new technology of 3D panel pressing allowing a single press for compound curves, which had previously needed multiple pressings unless the panel was shaped by hand. This is further evidenced by the fact that Bangle has often pointed out architect Frank Gehry 's work as a major influence. Arguably the most controversial of Bangle and van Hooydonk's work was the E65 7 Series , a sharp contrast to

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