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German Car Blog, Performance, Tuning, Motorsport, and Modification News
Published on 02-28-2012 05:56 AM
Mercedes AMG Black Series cars are awesome. Cigarette speedboats are awesome. What is not to like with combining the two? Introducing the Black Series Marauder 50 foot speedboat. The boat has twin Mercury engines good for a combined 2700 horsepower. So what does the boat have in common with the C63 AMG Black Series that is said to serve as the inspiration other than the paint scheme and Alcantara touches? Who cares, stupid question, this boat is just plain badass whether it shares much of anything with the car or not. ...Volkswagen doubles their profits from last year ($9.1 billion) with $20.5 billion in revenue in 2011
Published on 02-28-2012 05:34 AM
Well Volkswagen sure looks in position to meet their goal of world domination. VW exceeded all predictions by industry analysts considerable with a total of $20.5 billion in revenue for 2011. This more than doubles up on their impressive $9.1 billion in 2010. So where did this extra revenue come from? Well, sales went up 15% but the Porsche merger is also factored into these earnings. We will see what happens as the merger gets finalized in 2012, especially with the pending lawsuits against Porsche. ...BMW pulls a "Zanardi" having the X5 M pass the BMW M3 on the outside of the corkscrew at Laguna Seca
Published on 02-28-2012 05:11 AM
Alex Zanardi. If that name does not ring a bell, please stop reading this and do some research about a legendary driver. Now, to be clear, this is a marketing piece. BMW did not accidentally have this happen while the X5 M was racing the M3 on the track. They chose a legendary Motorsport moment to mimic for a reason. That is fine, this still makes for a cool little video. We would like to see a real comparison of the two on Laguna Seca though just for fun. ...Published on 02-28-2012 02:58 AM
Before we get into the numbers for this performance package M157 CLS63 AMG we want to mention the dyno used here. Insideline uses the MD Automotive dynojet which usually reads high even for a dynojet. We posted a dyno comparison done by Renntech of a 2012 CLS 63 AMG stock, with the performance package, and with a tune, and the performance package number was 516 wheel horsepower so right inline with what Insideline hit. ...Published on 02-28-2012 02:47 AM
Here is the new M135i. The vehicle will be powered by the N55 single turbo six cylinder and have over 300 horsepower. How much over? Well, we expect it to be right around the same range with its crank rating as the BMW 1M. What it puts out to the wheels will be interesting to see. It will make its official debut in Geneva next month. Another interesting tidbit is that it will likely have an all wheel drive option when it goes on sale in Europe in July. Most likely not coming to the USA and we do not really mind. ...Published on 02-25-2012 07:32 PM
The TT-RS is a very quick little car, especially from a stop where its launch control with DSG is allowed to shine. The TT-RS in this video below is said to be stock and the M3 is said to be modded although we do not know what mods it has. It does not have enough horsepower however to overcome the disadvantage on the launch to the TT-RS though it does start to reel it in up top. The M3 also sounds like it is a manual during the gear changes which is a bit of a penalty. Goes to how how effective a dual clutch with all wheel drive is from a stop. Too bad Audi did not offer this gearbox in the USA. ...Published on 02-25-2012 08:31 AM
Well, this is something we would have never predicted. An SLS turned into a sedan? Really? Well, that is if you believe these patent drawing which sure seem to be authentic and are creating quite a bit of buzz. Mercedes seems to be considering meshing the gullwing doors with a traditional hinged door design for the rear. Mercedes will not confirm or deny the car but we think this would be an awkward and unnecessary step. However, at least they have the guts to try different things though and expand their model lineup every which way it can go. Even areas nobody would have guessed. ...Published on 02-25-2012 08:15 AM
This is not a new comparison as it was done previously with the F10 528. Now time to see how far the N20 has raised the entry level (in the USA) 3 series game. Just by how much does it do that? Well, Insideline compared the 2010 3.0 liter N52 naturally aspirated six cylinder powered 328i to the new 2.0 liter N20 turbo four cylinder and the results are not all that surprising. The N20 328i ran the 1/4 mile in 14.1@98.9. The N52 328i ran the 1/4 mile in 14.7@94.8, fairly large difference for two motors rated at almost the same horsepower (240 for the N20 vs. 230 for the N52). ...Published on 02-25-2012 02:14 AM
Introducing the Revosport Razor R titanium exhaust for the MKVI Golf R. As we all know titanium offers considerable weight savings. This exhaust weighs only 4.9 kilograms or 10.8 pounds. Additionally, the blue tips just plain look cool. In addition to the titanium rear section, a downpipe is available although it is not made of titanium. No dynos were provided (vendors need to get out of this habit) but claimed gains are 10 horsepower at the crank for the rear section and 15 at the crank with the downpipe. ...Published on 02-24-2012 07:00 AM
Congratulations to Renntech who simply keeps raising the bar on the M157 platform seemingly week after week. Renntech hit 602 wheel horsepower with STD correction on 93 octane pump gas. Yes, incredible. The CLS63 has a revised tune, intercooler upgrade, and a downpipe modification with 200 CEL cats. This provides 119 wheel horsepower over stock and 188 pound-feet of torque over stock. The best part? M157 tuning is just getting warmed up. ...Published on 02-24-2012 06:47 AM
The N54 had been stuck in a bit of a rut. There were upgraded turbo options out there but these were relegated to small twins often utilizing the stock housing. A large single turbo simply was necessary to take it to the next level. All the previous attempts at large single turbos had been abandoned. Vishnu showed it is in fact possible and at 22.5 PSI with 94 octane fuel and meth broke the 600 wheel horsepower barrier with a very impressive run hitting 626 although the graph was uncorrected. ...Published on 02-24-2012 02:52 AM
Why do people keep comparing the M5 to the GT-R? It is idiotic. We said as much when Autocar did it a few weeks ago. First, Mr. Harris starts with bagging on the E60 M5. The SMG III gearbox was really that confusing for him? The miles per gallon were an issue? It's a 5.0 liter V10 that revs to over 8000 RPM. Gallardo owners are not complaining about their MPG and neither was anyone who could afford an M5. The new F10 M5 is not going to be a Prius with its 17/22 MPG. Frankly, the fuel economy hit of the E60 M5 is worth it when you consider it does not need fake engine noise piped into the cabin. ...Published on 02-24-2012 02:50 AM
Insideline tested the new C63 AMG coupe and the results are what we expected and pretty darn good. 12.3@116 is no surprise but they managed to do this on street tires at California Speedway in Fontana. On better rubber and in better weather along with a P31 package will propel the car well into the 11's, stock. The curb weight is pretty much the same as the sedan although Mercedes quoted numbers have the sedan at 3,924. The coupe does not offer any performance advantage over the sedan other than center of gravity. ...Published on 02-24-2012 02:42 AM
Lumma Design does some, well, interesting things with their body kits. This CLR 558 GT program can be classified as interesting but ostentatious and overdone are likely more accurate. It's a widebody with LED's in the front bumper (LED's in bumpers are simply played out) and an awkward tripe tip exhaust setup in back. It works on a 458 Italia, but not on an SUV. The interior is done up for show with eye catching red leather. There is way too much tacked on here and this is an instance where less would be more. ...Published on 02-22-2012 06:02 AM
S85 V10 supercharger kits have lagged pretty far behind S65 development despite the V10 making its debut well before the V8. There are several reasons for this but the supercharged V10's are starting to come into their own. RPI refers to this setup as a Stage III and we are not exactly sure what that means. Higher boost most definitely but what else? Meth? Race gas tune? What fuel was used for the dyno runs and what boost? Why are these details missing? ...Published on 02-22-2012 04:00 AM
The 2011 Formula 1 season did not exactly go as planned for Mercedes. No point dwelling on the past as it is time to focus on the 2012 season and how Mercedes will fare with their new car. The main changes in the W03 are different maximum bodywork heights which create the "interesting" new nose style and exhaust placement changes. The new car has 4500 parts compared to 4300 of the old car. How will Mercedes fare this season and will Nico finally clearly surpass the aging Schumacher or will Michael prove his talent is timeless? We can not wait to find out. ...PP-P Performance tuned DCT E92 M3 takes on a P31 Performance Package C63 AMG Coupe in multiple races
Published on 02-21-2012 08:35 PM
The P31 C63 AMG is a very strong car in stock form. While the regular C63 AMG and the DCT M3 is a drivers race the P31 is definitively stronger than the DCT M3 performing more like a standard C63 with a tune. So what happens when a tuned DCT M3 with bolt on's takes on a P31 C63? Well, check it out below with multiple runs from the cars. The M3 is claimed to have a tune, pulley, exhaust, and x-pipe and and the C63 AMG coupe is stated to be stock.
...Published on 02-21-2012 07:25 PM
Here is the first graph we have seen of a stock internal Heffners twin turbo R8 5.2. EPL (European Performance Labs) tuned the car as Heffners Performance was not able to crack the stock ECU. The high 600's on stock internals is a bit underwhelming although that curve is gorgeous. Considering where Gallardo's are with twin turbo setups the R8 5.2 V10 is lagging a bit behind due to the difficulty in tuning them it seems. We hope to see built motor numbers soon.
...Published on 02-21-2012 04:22 PM
Here it is, the new Mercedes SL63 AMG. The finished product looks almost identical to the renderings BenzBoost provided. So, any surprises? Nope, not really, the car features the M157 twin turbo 5.5 liter V8 in a state of tune of 529 horsepower. With more power and torque than the previous SL63 combined with 242 pounds less weight, this should be an easy 11 second and 120+ mph car in stock form especially if equipped with the performance package. Job well done Mercedes, more power, better efficiency, and less weight.
...Published on 02-21-2012 04:10 PM
Porsche is doing a better job keeping the manual alive than most manufacturers. They offer a 7-speed manual transmission, something that nobody else does, and were the first to do so. However, Michael Schatzle (project manager of the new 911) stated the manual would only likely make it another generation beyond the current one. 78% of new 911 sales have been for the PDK globally. Where is the manual most popular? Oddly enough in the USA where it is currently an even split although we expect the PDK will be favored heavily soon here as well. ...
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