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German Car Blog, Performance, Tuning, Motorsport, and Modification News
Published on 02-13-2013 03:00 AM
APR has released software for 3.0 TDI diesel equipped Audi Q7 and Volkswagen Touareg vehicles. The upgrade appears to be rather mild with peak figures at the wheels increasing form 218 all wheel horsepower to 225 all wheel horsepower and all wheel torque up from 387 at all four wheels to 419 wheel torque at all four wheels. Peak gains however increase by up to 34 horsepower and 40 pound-feet of torque through the curve. ...Published on 02-13-2013 01:21 AM
All these new direct injected cars tend to get pretty frustrating once passing a certain power level and wanting to upgrade the fuel system. Fortunately, LOBA Motorsport has 2.0 TFSI guys covered with their HPFP (high pressure fuel pump) upgrade. LOBA claims this pump will increase fuel volume by 50% and that it can sustain 130 BAR of pressure making it one of the highest flowing and most powerful HPFP's on the market. ...Published on 02-13-2013 01:11 AM
So with BMW and Toyota announcing their deal to join forces with technology development it seems there are going to be some very interesting results from the collaboration. The initial announcement stated that BMW and Toyota would partner on a new sports car and interestingly enough it seems that sports car will indeed be the Toyota Supra successor as rumored. Additionally, it seems the GT86 platform which underpins the Subaru BRZ and Scion FR-S will play a role in a new car for both BMW and Toyota. ...Published on 02-13-2013 12:41 AM
Well this is not groundbreaking news as the CLA45 AMG was expected for the USA but it is nice to have official confirmation. The 2014 CLA45 AMG will make its debut at the 2013 New York City Auto Show on March 27th. There is an AMG sneak preview night to get a look at the car before the general public. It will be interesting to see what the USA MSRP is considering the CLA250 starts at $29,999 which means the AMG version will likely be in the $40's. ...Published on 02-12-2013 02:40 AM
Ok, so the new C117 CLA is here and it is a great looking entry level Mercedes-Benz. The vehicle is styled as a "four door coupe" which is styling Mercedes pioneered with the CLS class and the rest of the industry scrambled to catch up to them. The question was brought up however as what the new CLA would look like as a real coupe AKA having two doors instead of four. Well, the answer to this question is in the renderings below. ...Published on 02-12-2013 02:12 AM
Here is the leaked production chart for the new BMW 4-Series in F32 (coupe) and F33 (convertible) guises. What is interesting to note is the F32 4-Series coupe will have xDrive all wheel drive available right off the bat for either the 428i or 435i. The F33 Convertible however is available only in all wheel drive and it is unknown if it will gain the xDrive all wheel drive option but considering the F32 coupe already has it xDrive for the convertible eventually seems logical. ...Published on 02-12-2013 12:41 AM
The new 981 Cayman has some big shoes to fill. The previous generation 987 Cayman was widely heralded as one of the best Porsche drivers cars ever made. The reviewer early on states that he did not think Porsche could top the previous generation model yet they have done exactly that. The car is quite simply showered with praise regarding its styling, balance, and power. Autocar just is in love with the vehicle and rightfully so, it's a superb drivers car. ...Published on 02-12-2013 12:21 AM
Here is a new exhaust option for Audi S6 4.0 TFSI V8 courtesy of Milltek. The exhaust system is turbo back consisting of a front pipes, a center section, rear mufflers, and of course exhaust tips. The system is available either in a resonated or non-resonated version the non-resonated being the louder of the two so if one prefers a quieter the resonated version would be the choice. The 100mm exhaust tips add a nice bit of aggression to the rear of the car. ...Published on 02-11-2013 10:52 PM
Great runs here from two bolt on modified naturally aspirated cars. The E60 M5 obviously featuring a 5.0 liter V10 S85 engine and the 5.0 Mustang with as the name would suggest a 5.0 liter (Coyote) V8. As stated in the title this is a rematch and the modifications for the M5 have changed. Let's start with a look at how the cars stacked up before the newest round of modifications which is to say quite evenly matched. ...Published on 02-11-2013 10:20 PM
Congratulations to Weistec Engineering and BenzBoost member ecampbell for setting a new M156 1/4 mile world record with a 10.01@139 pass. Yep, incredibly close to a 9 second run and breaking into the 9's is clearly the next step. The 60 foot is not yet known (1/4 mile slip needs to be posted) but the car is hooking well as it improved on its previous 10.212@144.61 with the trap speed dropping likely due to a better launch as well as it being a different track (Famoso). ...Published on 02-11-2013 09:51 PM
Volkswagen decided to offer Golf VII buyers the option of all wheel drive with their new Golf alleviating the cause of concern many have with front wheel drive. This also openis up the Golf to more markets especially those with rougher Winters. This is a Haldex based 5th generation all wheel drive system. The Golf VII has yet to be made available for sale in the United States but when it does later this year buyers will be able to get it with the option right off the bat. ...Published on 02-08-2013 10:41 PM
Volkswagen revealed their new Beetle GSR at the Chicago Auto Show and the sportiest Beetle yet boasts some nice upgrades. It takes inspiration from the classic 70's Beetle. The 2014 Beetle GSR gets a very mild boost to its EA888 2.0 liter direct injected turbo motor which gets a bump to 210 horsepower up from 200. Only 10 more horses? Minor bump but at least they gave it more than just cosmetic pieces as they do in the R-Line. ...Published on 02-08-2013 10:22 PM
This video comparison shows what a huge difference having the right winter tire makes for your car. Even if one has all wheel drive putting summer tires on all four corners does not seem to help anywhere as much as having a dedicated winter tire. The E46 M3 has Michelin Alpin 4 tires and is able on a snow covered incline to do get better traction than any of the cars next to it on summer tires whether they be front wheel drive, rear wheel drive, or all wheel drive for that matter. ...Published on 02-08-2013 12:11 AM
The Alpina B7 got a horsepower bump as did every BMW N63 powered car (50i powered models, SUV's did not get the updated motor) thanks to the addition of Valvetronic and software changes. Alpina takes things a bit further with their upgraded turbochargers, intercoolers, and forged internals for an output of 540 horsepower over 445 horsepower of the 750i. This makes the Alpina B7 the closest thing to a BMW M7 that one can actually purchase since for now BMW thinks an M 7-Series does not fit the brand although SUV's somehow do. ...Published on 02-07-2013 05:22 PM
Just a couple days ago an article was posted regarding the 4.0 TFSI Stage I tune from APR on an Audi S7. APR decided to release a new video which is very cool and well done showing how the stock speedo compares with the speed of the car running the tune for a nice result. The difference is pretty eye opening with a claimed 60-130 improvement of 2.2 seconds which certainly appears from the video to be accurate. ...Published on 02-07-2013 01:43 PM
So the SLC AMG sports car that was put on hold due to being deemed too expensive is back on the table and apparently received the green light. Internal chassis code already given to the car is C190. The SLS aluminum spaceframe will be shortened as it is modular and applied to the SLC so this is how costs will be shaved. No gullwing doors or anything fancy like that for this car as the goal is to keep cost down to go head to head with the Porsche 911. ...Published on 02-06-2013 11:40 PM
Wow, simply wow. If you were not convinced the M157 is a beast you should be now. How about just a hair short of 10's in 700+ density altitude in Florida at Palm Beach International Raceway with a Renntech tune only car on street tires? Yes, on street tires. That is absolutely mind blowing and what is even more incredibly is this was done in positive density altitude. With drag radials and negative density altitude running 10's tune only in an E63 AMG is a real possibility. ...Published on 02-06-2013 11:02 PM
Interesting dynograph posted by APR here showing their Stage II software on a 3.0 TFSI B8 S4 versus a competitors Stage I software. The competitor is not named but APR was asked to retune the car and got just under 20 more horsepower at all four wheels out of it to bring it to just over 400 at the wheels on a dynojet in DIN correction. The graph gets choppy at the end where the S-Tronic transmission decided to upshift. ...Published on 02-06-2013 10:10 PM
So, retirement from professional racing for Michael Schumacher is not all that bad. As you know Schumacher announced his retirement from Formula 1 last year after Mercedes-Benz signed Lewis Hamilton. There were questions as to whether Schumacher would move to another series or take on some other capacity. Schumacher will officially take up a role which has not been specified with Mercedes-Benz road cars although one can assume he will be doing test driving and giving feedback much in a similar manner to Walter Rohrl for Porsche. ...Published on 02-06-2013 08:10 PM
Very good news here for Golf Diesel fans. You may remember a VWBoost article last month on the MKVI Golf GTD which unfortunately is for European customers only. Well, with the new MKVII Golf it seems the USA will not be skipped over when it comes to a hotter diesel Golf. Additionally, the car is to get more power with 180 horses (up from 168) and 280 pound-feet of torque (up from 258 pound-feet of torque). ...
Today, 01:13 PM