Autoblog

BMW wasn't planning on releasing the M3 convertible just yet. It had its hands full with the production X6 crossover and those new-fangled turbodiesels the company unveiled at the Detroit show. The M3 drop-top wasn't supposed to debut until March at the Geneva show. But the Bavarian automaker evidently took a decidedly un-German "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" attitude when initial images and details leaked out. Rather than trying to hold the dam together, BMW has decided to join us for a swim and let the floodgates open on its new V8 hard-top convertible.

As exciting and versatile package it is, the real news here is BMW's new M DCT twin-clutch gearbox that stands in for the previous SMG transmission, which had its fair share of haters. The rest we already know from the M3 coupe and the more plebian 3-Series convertible. Unfortunately, the glorious M-tuned V8 is bogged down by an extra 450 lbs. of folding metal and electric motors, but that's the price you pay (on top of what promises to be a heart-attack-inducing sticker price) for the option of taking in the sunshine and that delicious exhaust note without sacrificing the security of a tin top. Swapping cogs at lightning speed, though, should help mitigate the half second the convertible loses on the coupe.

Check out the images in the gallery below and the full press release after the jump.

[Source: BMW]

Gallery: 2009 BMW M3 Convertible

Defying all the odds, we're glad to report that Top Gear host Richard Hammond has been released from the hospital and is recovering with his family at an undisclosed private location. Despite the very serious nature of his crash and the potential brain damage incurred, Richard's doctors all expect him to make a 100% full and complete recovery.

For those joining the saga a little late, "the Hamster", as he's affectionately known, was filming a segment for the popular BBC television program Top Gear, driving a record-setting jet-powered dragster when it blew out a tire at 288 mph, sending the car, with Richard in it, flipping endlessly through a field. Hammond was rescued from the overturned jet-car with his head plowed into the dirt, barely responsive. He was airlifted to an emergency hospital in Leeds before being moved out of intensive care to another hospital in Bristol.

Now speeding down the fast lane to recovery, Richard has given personal accounts to the Mirror, a British newspaper for which he writes a regular column. In four separate articles, Richard describes the crash, his hospitalization, the effects on his family and the things that have helped him recover. Click the Read link to see what the Hamster has to say about his ordeal and recovery.

[Source: The Mirror]