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German Car Blog, Performance, Tuning, Motorsport, and Modification News
Published on 01-13-2012 11:01 PM
Veilside is a Japanese tuner that builds some extravagant body kits. Their "Fortune" kits in particular tend to make a bold statement. The word fortune being accurate as this kit is going to cost exactly that. 3,000,000 yen is roughly $39,000 at current exchange rates. That is a lot of dough for what will essentially be another R230 body kit inspired by the SL65 Black Series. This kit will be limited to 300 units which we think they will be hard pressed to sell anywhere near that number. We look forward to seeing the final product unveiled at the 2012 Tokyo Auto Salon but will not hesitate to mention there are much more affordable options out there to get this same look. ...Published on 01-13-2012 05:32 AM
This is great news especially considering that the A-Class is coming to the USA. The A25 AMG will be sporting 340 horsepower from a new 2.0 liter direct injected turbo 4 cylinder. This same motor will likely power AMG variants of the upcoming CLC25 AMG as well as GLC25 AMG. It will make for a great entry level AMG tuning platform and with 340 horsepower will offer strong competition to its rivals namely the BMW 1 Series and Audi A3. ...Published on 01-13-2012 05:10 AM
The title may seem a little odd but let us explain. Audi revealed the interior for the new 2013 Audi A3. As you can see in the pictures below, the interior is stunning and typical Audi quality. The nav screen in the interior happened to have digital renderings of the exterior of the car which were snapped up and passed around the internet. So, Audi's intention to reveal the interior also gave us an idea of the exterior design which borrows heavily from the A3 Sedan Concept. Expect the official reveal in Geneva. ...Published on 01-13-2012 04:34 AM
Thank you for kicking your American performance enthusiasts in the balls yet again BMW. Fortunately, we are used to it (CSL, GTS) so it no longer hurts the way it used to. Would someone please make sense of this? BMW hypes the hell out of its new X6M50d with teaser videos telling us how great of an "M" it is and gets us all turned on at the prospect of a high performance diesel only to leave us hanging. BMW, you are the girlfriend from hell. ...Published on 01-13-2012 02:30 AM
Remember the VW BlueSpot roadster concept? A very cool little roadster that was supposed to share its platform with the Audi R4 and Porsche 550 Spyder relaunch. Volkswagen is re-evaluating whether the BlueSport makes sense as they do not believe they will be able to sell the 50,000 units annually that would be necessary for the model to be profitable. VW engineering head Uli Hackenberg told AutoCar, “It’s not a technology problem, but of finding enough customers. I don’t have enough sales volume to get the go-ahead." ...Published on 01-11-2012 08:20 PM
You have to love the internet. Makes waiting for details in magazines or at shows seem outdated. Case and point, we already have pictures of the new 2012 981 Boxster before it is officially revealed at the Geneva auto show. And boy, does it look good. While the 911 continues to be held in the past styling wise due to Porsche purists the Boxster continues to evolve without constraint. The car looks much more aggressive than it did previously with excellent updates to the front and rear lights. The side intakes also give the car a new hint of aggression. ...Published on 01-11-2012 08:00 PM
Everyone should know by now that BMW is replacing their naturally aspirated N52 6 cylinder with the N20 turbocharged and direct injected 4 cylinder. How do these motors compare in the same model? Insideline did that exact comparison with a 2011 N52 powered F10 528i vs. a 2012 N20 F10 528i. Both motors are rated at the same output by BMW but the results below as well as dyno numbers show the N20 is in fact putting out more power. ...Published on 01-10-2012 10:21 PM
Well here it finally is, GermanBoost.com. GermanBoost is the central site of our network featuring all forums and front page updates from BimmerBoost, AudiBoost, PorscheBoost, BenzBoost, and VWBoost. For those interested, you no longer have to flip between pages or sites but can get all the information in one spot with your same login that you already have. For those who just want single make information, all the other sites will work just as they did with no changes. This central site should increase activity and potential growth tremendously. ...Published on 01-10-2012 09:46 PM
We all know the Carrera and Carrera S are just the beginning for the 991. Porsche is going to roll out the usual variants over the next several years. The cabrio has already made its debut but what we are truly waiting on are the Turbo, GT2, and GT3. These details come from EVO who states the 991 Turbo will come as a 2013 model offering a modest boost up to 520 horsepower. After the Turbo, we should see the next generation 991 GT3 in 2013 which EVO states will get a PDK transmisison as well as 470 horsepower. And the big daddy GT2? Expect it in 2014 with around 600 horsepower fed through a PDK transmission to make for a flat out beast. ...Published on 01-10-2012 06:51 PM
Here is another great video from our Russian friends at dragtimes.info. A stock 997 GT2 dyno's in the low 500 wheel horsepower range. The supercharger on the E92 M3 here is an ESS VT2-650 which is the highest horsepower stock internal offering from ESS pushing 8.5 psi of boost. Dyno numbers for the VT2-650 have been claimed to be in the 600 wheel range so we are surprised to see the trap speed at the mile favoring the GT2 with 179.67 mph versus 169.46 for the M3. Both clearly are very fast cars but 10 MPH is quite a difference especially considering it is in the favor of what is supposedly the much less powerful car. Interesting result to say the least. ...Published on 01-10-2012 06:41 AM
Here it is, what everyone anticipated was right on the heels of the Weistec M156 superchargers, the Weistec Mercedes SLS AMG 750 Supercharger Kit. This supercharger is the same 2.3 liter twin screw unit used on the M156 motors however the setup on the SLS is much stronger. 638 wheel horsepower for a Weistec M159 SLS 750 supercharger vs. 538 for a Weistec Stage I+ M156 supercharger. A 100 wheel horsepower difference is nothing to sneeze at and anything over 600 wheel is simply incredibly powerful. ...Published on 01-10-2012 06:01 AM
Good news, we are getting the Q3! Audi made the announcement when they unveiled the Q3 Vail concept at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The Vail Q3 (yes, named after Vail in Colorado) shows what a Q3 can be. A 2.5 liter TFSI turbo 5 cylinder under the hood borrowed from the TT-RS with 314 horsepower is some serious muscle for a compact SUV weighing in the 3300 pound range. It is fed through all wheel drive with 20 inch wheels. ...Published on 01-10-2012 02:55 AM
Well, it didn't take long for M157's to start running 10's in the 1/4 mile now did it? 10.9@129.40, absolutely incredible. The Renntech tune on the M157 in Stage I form previously powered a car to 11.3135 in the 1/4 mile. This was the Stage II package which is rated at more horsepower with a "conservative" 688 horsepower crank rating. Expect more details to come shortly on the Renntech Stage II package for the M157. For now, enjoy the World Record 1/4 mile run video below. ...Published on 01-10-2012 01:32 AM
Many of you are familiar with Caractere who is a Belgian company that makes body kits for Volkswagen, Porsche, and Audi. They recently launched the Caractere Exclusive brand which will focus more on higher end luxury vehicles. Their first offering is for the 958 Cayenne and is a widebody kit that includes wide fenders, revised front and rear bumpers with diffusers, and a roof spoiler. 22 inch Caractere CW1 wheels finish out the package which may be the best looking aftermarket offering for the 958 Cayenne today. No word on pricing. ...Published on 01-09-2012 08:51 PM
BMW published a press release today confirming the 6 speed manual for the US market we all knew was coming. It is nice the US market is getting something the rest of the world is not so at least one small gesture for North American BMW enthusiasts. The manual will share the DCT's final drive ratio (likely to lower cost on differentials for BMW) but the individual gearing will be changed obviously as the manual has 6 speeds versus the DCT's 7. ...Published on 01-09-2012 07:14 AM
Audi likes billboards and making direct comments at their intended audience through them. It is doubtful that any of you forgot the famous Audi and BMW billboard war. This advertisement however should work out much better for Audi as they are not picking a fight with BMW but instead playfully warning residents of Lake Forest, Illinois to stay out of the fast lane as there is an R8 GT on the prowl. Cool, brash, and we like the attitude. ...Published on 01-09-2012 05:20 AM
We like the redesign of the Beetle. VW made it more aggressive and more masculine leading it to not be so much as a "chick" car as it was portrayed previously. We do not mean to sound sexist, but the damn thing did come with a flower vase. VW takes the Bettle design further here with the Bugster which is even more aggressive and sleek. Chopping the roof 3 inches and adding 20's certainly has a great effect. ...Published on 01-09-2012 04:28 AM
The Chinese economy seems to be dropping off quite hard in the automotive sector. BMW, Mercedes, and Audi are all slashing prices some by up to 16%. The future of the Chinese market does not seem to be as bright as it seemed in early 2011 at least when auto sales are concerned. The three mentioned manufacturers all had record sales in China but things slowed at the end of 2011 as the Chinese economy took a downward swing across the board. Manufacturers doing big capacity expansions banking on China to hold steady may be facing a lot of unsold inventory. ...Published on 01-09-2012 01:40 AM
This is a comparison that with the previous generation 997 Carrera S people would laugh at having. Well, the new 991 Carrera S has raised the bar considerably. We knew the PDK version would be faster than the manual but we were not expecting 118 traps out of the box and almost a full second improvement (and 5 MPH) in the 1/4 on the manual version. That makes the 991 Carrera S with PDK just as fast as a 997 GT3 despite having less horsepower and more weight, impressive. ...Published on 01-09-2012 01:13 AM
We really like the Car and Driver Lightning Lap articles where they take a nice group of cars and run them all on the same roadcourse comparing the laptimes. The 2012 edition includes the X5M which surprisingly outlapped the 335is by over 2 seconds. What else is interesting is that the top speed the X5M hit matched the much lighter BMW 1M although the smaller bimmer did outlap as it should. Something to keep in mind is that VIR is a 4.1 mile long course meaning it is fairly long so power is at a premium. ...
Today, 02:28 PM