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

We know Mercedes has been testing the B25 AMG and A25 AMG. The CLC spotted testing here will share the drivetrains of the A and C class cars and feature similar front wheel drive and all wheel drive options. It is likely to follow then that Mercedes will do an AMG variant of this vehicle as well likely with all wheel drive and a 340 horsepower 2.0 liter turbochaged direct injected four cylinder. The base CLC will have a 1.8 liter turbo four cylinder, expect it next year. ...

124 pounds does not sound like all that much. When put into context of large 4000+ pound all wheel drive luxury sedans where it is a smaller % of their total weight it seems almost irrelevant. This interesting comparison by Insideline shows that weight always if of paramount importance and the effect it has on all performance aspects. These cars have the same motors and transmissions with the same exact same horsepower and torque ratings. The only major difference is the Audi A8L is heavier by 124 pounds and that the A8L is on 19's versus the A8's 20's. ...

Ah, BMW knows how to make money. These turbo motors are a cash cow for them and here you can see exactly why. The M Performance Packages raise output in the N55 by 15 to 315 horses and in the N63 V8 by 40 horses to 440. Torque gains are 30 pound-feet for both. What does this require of BMW? Nothing more than a software change. M Performance has become a different ECU tune on a base motor. This should at the very least show those people who are scared to tune their turbo motors that they should not be as BMW is doing it themselves. We also should no longer hear, "If BMW could get more power they would have done it already." ...

We do not know why these German manufacturers keep trying these various GT cross-over style hatchback models. BMW failed miserably with the 550GT. Why create a niche that isn't necessary? Audi already makes fantastic wagons. Trying to create a niche that isn't even necessary and other manufacturers have already failed with makes no sense. Since BMW seems intent on pressing forward with a 3 Series GT, Audi is now considering an A3 GT to rival it. Will it happen? Autozeitung says it will come in 2014. ...

The B-Class is coming to the USA as we reported Mercedes plans to boost sales with a B-Class plug in hybrid. The hybrid does not interest us but this AMG version certainly does. The B25 AMG will likely share the powertrain of the upcoming A25 AMG. That means a turbocharged direct injection 2.0 liter four cylinder putting out about 340 horses. Will we get the B25 AMG in the USA? We would not shed any tears if the hybrid had to be cancelled to bring us the AMG version instead. ...

Here it officially is, the new diesel era of M. The new triple turbo 3.0 liter inline-6 cylinder finds its way into four models, an M550d xDrive sedan, M550d xDrive touring/wagon, X5 M50d, and an X6 M50d. The new motor offers an amazing 116 horsepower and 120 pound-feet of torque over the X5 xDrive 35d we know so well in the USA. The motor revs up to 5400 rpm. All that torque is sent to an 8 speed automatic as well as all four wheels. Sound awesome and you can not wait to order one in the USA? Too bad, BMW wants you to go lease an electric 1 Series instead. ...

The Panamera GTS was just unveiled at the LA Auto Show a couple of months ago. Pretty impressive that Akrapovic already has an exhaust system available for it. The exhaust is basically a rear section but one lighter than stock being made of titanium. It is valved meaning it the exhaust is compatible with the factory sport button used to open the valves for extra growl. We are waiting on further details from Akrapovic such as the weight, power gains, and the suggested retail price. ...

The aphorism "it’s not the destination, but the journey that counts” is a well worn one, and a lesson that can be applied to any life situation. When looking back at the development of IND’s portfolio service thus far, this old wisdom applies perfectly. More than a means to an end or part of some master plan for IND’s success, IND’s Portfolio Service has made the projects themselves the goal all of us are working for. Working with each client to customize their M3 to their specifications has become an opportunity and a privilege here at IND, and I’d like to thank all of the readers of Bimmerboost for helping us realize these opportunities. ...

Sad, sad times at BMW these days. We understand electrics are going become more and more popular in the future but how in the world is it that the company who coined "The Ultimate Driving Machine" is pushing slow and heavy electrics in the USA over their best performance cars? Is there really a bigger market for people to be guinea pigs for an unproven all electric car for 24 months at $499 a pop (plus downpayment of $2,250) than for an M3 GTS, CSL, or even the new diesel M cars? Ultimate what? ...

The Infiniti M35h is pretty impressive. We showed you a comparison between it and the Mercedes E350 Bluetec where the M35h absolutely trounced the Benz. It seems that Infiniti now wants to claim it has the fastest production hybrid sedan in the world and set out to create a video showing the M35h going head to head with the Porsche Panamera S Hybrid. Now, we have a couple big problems with this video and think the outcome shown is highly questionable. ...

GIAC finally has shown their ecu software for the B8 S4 with the 3.0 TFSI supercharged V6. The car was dyno'd on 91 octane with nothing else but an AWE intake. The gains are amazingly almost 100 wheel horsepower. We can not explain how GIAC was able to do this on 91 pump gas considering APR is getting about 64 all wheel horsepower with their software. APR hit a peak of 361 wheel horsepower on 93 octane with an exhaust on a Mustang dyno. GIAC hits 404 wheel horsepower with their software and an intake on 91 octane. Hard to believe but if independent results verify this, wow. ...

Hybrid versus diesel. We tend to stand on the side of diesel when these two are brought up and we wish there were more diesel options from German manufacturers in the USA. One would expect a turbo diesel motor making a bunch of torque to have no problem with a hybrid. Well, that was not the case here. Insideline tested the two different approaches against once another which made for a very interesting comparison. ...

Porsche and VW have been vying for control of one another for years now but it seems the battle is finally coming to an end. AutoNews Europe reports the takeover may finally be over this year. Volksagen already owns 49.9% of Porsche automotive and intends to buy up the rest of the shares and create a holding company in charge of Porsche to make for a smooth transition/acquisition. Why is VW making this move even with Porsche being sued by investors? The taxes from VW buying up so much stock would amount to over 1 billion Euros if they did not complete the deal before 2014. ...

Here are spyphotos of the upcoming Audi RS6 which will be competing with the BMW M5, Mercedes E63 AMG, and Panamera Turbo. The vehicle looks great with its aggressive widebody work and reworked front/rear bumpers. The RS6 will be the only other all wheel drive entry in the luxury super sedan category. It will also be sporting the same 4.0 liter twin turbo V8 used in the Audi S8. We wonder if it will be in a higher state of tune though as in the S8 it only puts out 512 horsepower which is not going to cut it against the competition this generation. ...

The first generation 955/957 Cayenne was a controversial move for Porsche. The success of it can not be denied however. That success led to Porsche developing the second generation 958 Cayenne which was released in 2010. The second generation has already surpassed the 100,000 unit mark in record time with not even a full two years of production under its belt. The Cayenne is here to stay and a huge success allowing Porsche to continue to build some of the greatest sports cars in the world. Well done Porsche, here is to another 100,000! ...

Volkswagen feels the Golf is getting away from its roots and becoming too big and expensive. As the Golf gets more sophisticated it leaves room for an entry level hatchback. Well, here it is, the VW Up! Not exactly an exciting car for enthusiasts but it is economical with a price of $13,295. Engine choices are a 60 horsepower 1.0 liter 3 cylinder or a 75 horsepower version of the same thing. We doubt this will come to the USA and that does not bother us in the least. ...

This should come as a surprise to nobody that the N52 6 cylinder in the BMW X3 is being replaced by the BMW N20 turbo direct injected 4 cylinder. The switch will happen for the 2013 model year which will launch in April of this year. For those of you about to buy an X3 xDrive28i it is probably best to hold off and get the better motor. Additionally, those who really want the car now can use this information as a bargaining chip as the newer motor is going to be much more popular. ...

Mercedes has set the lofty goal of raising sales by 20%. How are they going to get that increase? Well, in a variety of ways but they intend for plug-in hybrids to be a part of it. The plug-in hybrid B-Class variant will be a USA only car. With BMW barely outselling Mercedes 247,907 to 245,192 in the USA Mercedes seems to want to push to the top by offering more efficient and entry level models. Should enthusiasts start to panic? Not while Mercedes is still able to deliver awesome Black Series cars to us. ...

We love these time lapse videos. Whether it be a race car build, supercharger install, exhaust install, whatever, they are great to watch. It really is awesome to see everything that goes into a supercharger install compressed into a short time span. This is a VF-Engineering supercharger for the E46 M3 and the install is done by VS Motorsports. A very well done video by that BMW performance geeks of all shapes and sized should enjoy, check it out below. ...