The most powerful kit features a larger turbocharger, a sports exhaust system with a different downpipe and a racing catalyst, reprogrammed ECU, a revised air intake system and a new intercooler.

The most powerful kit features a larger turbocharger, a sports exhaust system with a different downpipe and a racing catalyst, reprogrammed ECU, a revised air intake system and a new intercooler.

B&B claims that the 362HP Golf R sprints from standstill to 100km/h (62mph) in just 4.8 seconds and maxes out at 280km/h or 174 mph.

The tuning firm also offers a special 8-caliper high-performance braking system, an adjustable coilover suspension with new springs that lower the vehicle’s ride height and a set of black-colored alloy wheels in sizes 19” and 20”.

Where’s the best place to meet Jamie Lee Curtis? Why, at the bustling corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Federal Avenue near hippy-dippy Santa Monica, California, where you can’t toss a watermelon without hitting a Toyota Prius.

Jamie Lee will be the one in the merlot-colored Honda, gliding up to one of those rarest of things, a commercial hydrogen fuel pump. Stand there, enjoying the company of the loitering beach bums for a day or three, and you’re all but guaranteed to see her roll in, low on juice, her FCX Clarity shaped like an Australian lungfish and whining like a tomcat being scalped.

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After yesterday’s leak there was no point in keeping the new Countryman under wraps so MINI went ahead and released initial details and a full gallery of its first-ever crossover model. Bear in mind that the BMW Group owned automaker noted that the car may not be named Countryman in certain markets without giving out any further details.

The Countryman is not only the British firm’s first-ever crossover, it’s also the first modern MINI to have four doors, an available all-wheel-drive system, four full-size seats and to measure around four meters in length.

The styling inside and out is unmistakably MINI, with the Countryman trying to stand out from the rest of the range with its chunkier nose job, raised ride height and some unique styling cues such as the headlamps and the alloy wheel designs.

The company said that driver gets a slightly elevated seating position while a new feature inside is the MINI Center Rail that extends from front to rear allowing anything from a cupholder and sunglasses to audio devices and an armrest to be attached and slid wherever they are required.

The Countryman comes as standard with four seats, but a three-seat bench is available as a no-cost option.

According to MINI, the rear seats can move fore-and-aft either individually or in a 60 : 40 (three-seat bench) split, the backrests may be tilted for angle either individually or in a 40 : 20 : 40 (three-seat bench) arrangement, increasing capacity in the luggage compartment from 350 to 1,170 liters (12.2–41.0 cu ft).

When the Countryman goes on sale in Europe this fall (North America in early 2011), it will enter the market with a choice of three petrol and two diesel engines, extending from the 90HP turbo diesel in the One D to a 184HP 1.6-liter four-cylinder petrol with a twin-scroll turbocharger and direct fuel injection in the rang-topping Cooper S.

All versions will come equipped with Brake Energy Regeneration, Auto Start Stop system and a gearshift point indicator.

MINI said that as an alternative to the six-speed manual gearbox featured as standard, the petrol engine models will also be available with six-speed automatic tranmission.

As an option, the Cooper S and Cooper D models will be available with MINI’s ALL4 permanent all-wheel drive system that uses an electrohydraulic differential positioned directly on the final drive varying the distribution from front to rear.

Under normal driving conditions, the system sends up to 50 per cent of the engine’s power to each axle, but in more extreme situations, up to 100 per cent can be sent to the rear wheels.

As with the rest of the MINI models, the Countryman will be offered with a wide range of customisation and equipment options on both the exterior and interior including an extra-large Panorama roof.

The official presentation of the Countryman will take place at the Geneva Salon in March, 2010.

To fill the gap in the 3-series lineup between the 300-hp 335i and the 414-hp M3, BMW is introducing the new 335is coupe and convertible. We were unaware that said gap needed to be filled, but we’re told that the 335i is seen in the U.S. as just an ordinary 3-series, and, as such, there’s room for something more exotic than a 335i but less outlandish than an M3. Now that we’ve been given the chance to drive the 335is coupe, we’re coming around to accepting this whole gap idea.

More Power and a Body Kit and …

Conceptually similar to the 330i Performance Package model that was available as part of the previous-generation 3-series lineup, the 335is doesn’t go so far as to threaten the M3’s supremacy, but it definitely ups the sportiness quotient. To that end, the 335is gets 320 hp and 332 lb-ft torque from the twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-six engine, and an overboost function allows for seven-second blasts of 370 lb-ft of torque. Unlike the regular-grade 2011 335i, the 335is sticks with the older twin-turbo engine for the simple reason that BMW engineers had more experience tuning it. This same engine can also be found in the Z4 sDrive35is that was introduced at this month’s Detroit auto show. In the Z4, the engine makes 335 hp; a more restrictive intake on the 3-series accounts for the 15-hp difference.

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A little after a leaked brochure gave us our first taste of the lightly refreshed 2011 3-Series Coupe and Convertible models, BMW rushed out an official release and a whole bunch of pictures. For the 2011 model year, the Bavarian automaker’s bread-and-butter coupe and cabriolet models receive some minor cosmetic touches and updated powerplants.

The most notable – that is, if you’re a hardcore bimmer fan- changes on the outside concern the widened kidney grille, reshaped LED headlamps, front and rear bumpers with restyled lower fascias, new exterior mirrors and finally, reworked tail light cluster with a new color scheme.

According to BMW, these modifications slightly extend the front and rear overhangs by 1.14 and 0.12 inches respectively.

The only change in the cabin concerns the convertible models and the use of sun-reflective technology to mitigate temperatures on leather seating, armrest surfaces, headrests, and gear shifter. BMW says that this new treatment is able to reduce surface temperatures on dark interior colors by up to 20 Celsius degrees (36 Fahrenheit degrees) and by as much as Celsius degrees (27 Fahrenheit degrees)on light-colored upholstery.

In North America (we’ll bring you details on the Euro spec models shortly), the 2011 3-Series Coupe and Convertible models will be offered once again in two flavors, the 328i and 335i.

As noted in our previous post, the 2011 335i is fitted with BMW’s new twin scroll single turbocharged 3.0-liter straight six, designated N55, that replaces the previous model’s N54 twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter straight six.

BMW says that even though output has remained the same as before at 300 horsepower and 300 lb-ft of torque, the new single turbo engine is more responsive, more fuel efficient, and cleaner-running than its predecessor.

The rear-wheel drive 335i Coupe and Convertible accelerate from 0 – 60 mph (96km/h) in just 5.3 (5.5 coupe automatic) seconds and 5.5 (5.7 cabrio automatic) seconds, respectively, when equipped with a six speed manual gearbox.

The all-wheel drive 335i xDrive coupe is slightly faster at 5.2 seconds (5.3 sec for the automatic model).

The 328i’s 230 horsepower, 200 lb-ft, 3.0-liter inline-6 engine has been carried over unchanged from the 2010 model.

No word yet on the sporty 335is variants with a tweaked 3.0-liter twin-turbo churning out 322HP that were mentioned in the leaked sales leaflet.

In the U.S. and Canada, the 2011 3 Series Coupe and Convertible models will go on sale in Spring 2010, with pricing set to be announced closer to the on-sale date.