German Car Blog, Performance, Tuning, Motorsport, and Modification News

Autocar reports the new C7 Audi RS6 will get a 572 horsepower version of the 4.0 TFSI Twin Turbo V8 currently putting out 520 horses in the Audi S8. The V8 needs the boost to be able to compete with the BMW F10 M5 as well as the Mercedes E63 AMG. Audi will need to put out more at the crank than the M5 or E63 in order to compete as that power will be routed to all four wheels making for greater drivetrain loss. One advantage for the RS6 versus the E63 will be that the RS6 will get a dual clutch transmission just like the M5. ...

The M278 4.6 liter twin turbo V8 may not get quite as much attention as its 63 AMG M157 big brother but it is a plenty potent motor. It shows here with a Renntech tune only S550 on street tires managing a 12.4@112 in 90 degree Florida heat. The Camaro runs a 11.8@122 which is not all that impressive for a built motor 6.8 liter LS3 with 4.10 gears and a supercharger. The heat definitely affects both cars but it goes to show how quick the S550 can be with a tune. ...

The European Union said it would not bail out the Nurburgring (which frankly we would much prefer over Greece) but Germany will. The track announced it was bankrupt last month and there were rumors of Bernie Ecclestone stepping up to the plate to help out which were quickly debunked by Ernie himself (as well as when he skipped a meeting). The German state of Rhineland-Palatinate agreed quickly to guarantee hundreds of millions of Euros to keep the track operating. ...

Wish this was a party we were invited to. The Porsche 918 Spyder hybrid supercar that we have seen testing over the past year was displayed in close to production form at a private party at Canoe Studios in New York. There was a video posted to Youtube in addition to these photos but it would seem someone at Porsche had the video taken down. We hope somebody managed to snag the video before it was deleted. ...

There has been some controversy regarding the 231E factory software update on the E9X M3. Claims have been made regarding BMW providing a more aggressive tune by some vendors who have been touting the new software as adding power which in our opinion is unsubstantiated and solely to make money. We recently came across this dyno of a car with the 231E software that was then tuned with VF-Engineering aftermarket software. ...

Here is a very good race video showing two runs from a dig featuring a Weistec supercharged C63 AMG and a modified 2003 Mutang Cobra. The Cobra has a ported blower and is putting out 515 wheel horsepower. The C63 AMG has the Stage I Weistec Supercharger kit with a full exhaust. It may be the Stage I or Stage I+ so in the 500-530 wheel horsepower range, possibly more thanks to the full exhaust. ...

Volkswagen found a winning formula with the Passat CC. BMW found a winning formula with the X6. Volkswagen believes it can repeat the success of the Passat CC and create a rival for the BMW X6 with a Touareg CC as AutoBild reports. The car has yet to receive the green light but would be based on the next generation Touareg and no doubt Audi would get a variant as well. Pricing would be in the 52,000 Euro range making this a premium model. ...

By now you know that BMW released diesel M models. You should also know that we do not get these fantastic 381 horsepower and 546 pound-feet of torque models here in the USA. Definitely sad especially when we get fed a constant stream of Efficient Dynamic marketing BS from BMW. We wish this was not a consolation but the performance of the M550d is not as impressive as we hoped it would be. ...

The new SLK55 AMG makes for one of the better drivers cars in the Mercedes lineup due to being a lightweight (for a Mercedes in the USA) two seat roadster. The new Variant 3 suspension allows for the car to be lowered between 5mm to25mm at the front and 15mm to 30mm in the back. The rebound settings are adjustable as well by 16 setting and the compression has 12 settings. ...

The Lamborghini Murcielago may be a model no longer in production and replaced by the new Aventador but it is still a car that gets enthusiasts mouths watering. On paper this is actually a pretty even match both cars having all wheel drive and trapping in the 122 range. The cars do not really get any clean runs as they are messing around in traffic (which we do not endorse). It seems whomever gets the jump is able to hold it although the Murci seems to edge slightly as speeds rise. ...

The PDK transmission does wonders for the new Porsche models and the 911 Turbo is no exception. How does a stock 10 second car sound? Well, that is exactly what the 997.2 Turbo S is capable of. Insideline tested the car at 0-60 in 2.8 seconds and through the 1/4 mile at 10.9@125. Launch control certainly helps as without it they only managed an 11.5@124 which is still blazing fast. Simply spectacular performance from a bone stock car. ...

The exhaust tone of the new F10 M5 is a major disappointment and an area routinely criticized on the new car. Especially with BMW feeling they need to pipe in synthetic engine noise to make up for the weak stock exhaust tone. In comes Akrapovic with their exhaust system to remedy this weak point and their exhaust most definitely improves the exhaust sound. Not only does the exhaust give the car the sharper tone it so desperately warrants it also saves weight and adds power. ...

Here are the latest spyshots of the F80 M3 making their rounds on the internet. We aren't huge on spyshots usually but these reveal some details. First of all, the front bumper design appears to mirror the new F12 M6. Simple, elegant, nothing radical. There is also a slight hood bulge similar to the E9X M3 series. The brakes certainly appear to be quite large filling out the rims in front and in back. We would not be surprised to see 19's as standard with optional 20 inch rims (hopefully with a different design). ...

Prior Design has some great looking Mercedes body kits (check out their W216 CL widebody kit) and this is no exception. Now keep in mind this is just a rendering but we have faith the final product will mirror the pictures here based on Prior Design's previous products. This kit includes a new front bumper with LED's under the headlights, vented hood, blacked out grilles, and rear diffuser. This kit on a G55 or G63 would make for a very, very mean looking G. ...

Gintani has been developing more and more body pieces for various cars under their aero line and following their E92 M3 kit they are now releasing their Porsche Panamera kit. The kit consists of a new hood with carbon fiber accents, carbon fiber rear diffuser, side skirts with carbon accents, carbon front lip, carbon fiber wing, and carbon fiber bumper vents. We saw the car with the pieces in person and it looked fantastic with great fitment. ...

When it comes to Volkswagen and Audi tuning, APR really is the big dog. The way they go about their business, racing, community support, product releases, they set the standard. Drive visited APR which is located in Alabama. They also sampled APR's Stage III TT-RS which we recently reported hit 0-60 in 2.8 seconds and that it dyno'd in the 517 all wheel horsepower range. That TT-RS is supposedly up to the 560 wheel horsepower range according to Drive. ...

Just to preface both Evolve and Cobb are vendors on BimmerBoost for good reasons, they have great tunes powering some very fast BMW's. What you see here in this video are two very different tuned vehicles. The E60 M5 with a Stage I Evolve tune and Eisenmann race exhaust for its naturally aspirated 5.0 liter V10 is the camera car. The E82 135i has the Cobb Stage II aggressive with downpipes and a twin turbo N54 3.0 liter I6. ...

Hot on the heels of the Insideline C63 Black Series test Motortrend now provides their results. It even looks like this is the exact same test car which likely will be passed around to many automotive journalists. Motortrend hit a 12.1@117.6 which is more along the lines of what we expect versus the 12.2@115 that Insideline hit. Chalk this slight difference up to the change in test locations as well as the weather. ...

Like it or not electric automotive performance is a field set to rapidly expand in the next decade. Most of us do not yet take electric cars seriously as a performance alternative to internal combustion but here is an electric hill climb race car that should get enthusiasts to at least entertain the notion of electric performance. The electric E36 M3 rally driver Bill Caswell drives in the video below features a single Warp 11 electric motor for a claimed output approaching 700 horses. At that power level the juice only lasts about 12 minutes. ...