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

Here it is ladies and gentlemen, 10 seconds boost only. And not just barely breaking into the 10's but getting close to mid 10's. What changed since the last time out for this car which set the boost only record? Launch control used with Mickey Thompson ET Streets. The 60 foot record was obliterated with the first 1.6x at 1.63. A major improvement over the previous 1.776. For those wondering if launch control is the way to go at the strip, this should be definitive proof. ...

Good news scooter fans, BMW will be bringing two scooters to the USA in 2012. The first one is the sporty oriented C600. The second is a touring model, the C650 GT. The Vice President of BMW Motorrad USA when asked on how the scooters will do in the American market stated the US is, "a step in the dark." Both scooters have 647-cc engines putting out 60 horsepower. Pricing is expected in the $10,000 range when the scooters go on sale as 2013 models next fall. ...

We like seeing diesels get modification attention. AWE Tuning released their exhaust at a very reasonable $359.96. It is available with two different 90mm slash cut tips in silver and black diamond ($404.96). The exhaust offers weight savings of 7.5 pounds over the stock exhaust and features T304 stainless tubing. No word on any horsepower gains but this seems to be mostly just for sound to add some aggression. ...

Now what is wrong with this picture? We have four very fast sports sedans here. All of them have forced induction except for 1. All of them are the most powerful available from the respective manufacturer except for one. Which one is at a disadvantage? The Porsche Panamera S which does not have turbos or a supercharger and is outgunned by the 3 models in the Panamera lineup: the Panamera GTS, Panamara Turbo, and Panamera Turbo S. ...

The BMW 6 series Gran Coupe 650i will have 450 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque. This is 50 more horses than the standard 650i coupe. The N63 V8 was revised for duty in the heavier Gran Coupe but we do not know what changes were made. It will be interesting to see if it is software only or if there are hardware changes which no doubt many 650i, 550i, X5 xDrive50i, and X6 xDrive50i owners will be interested in retrofitting. ...

And the records continue to be broken in the cold Winter weather! Congratulations to BenzBoost member lowprofile for raising the bar for the W211 E55 platform. At MIR (Maryland International Raceway) he was able to run a 10.59@130. This is the quickest ET achieved to date although not the fastest trap achieved on the platform but there is some controversy over the accuracy of the recorded record trap. ...

Well here it is, the BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe. The final product is... stunning. The car will come in two flavors initially with the 640i and 650i. All wheel drive is likely to be an option but it is unknown if it will be available for both motors. The interior of the car is especially striking with BMW simply doing a great job on the interior. There is far more leg room offered by the Gran Coupe by virtue of it using the F10 wheelbase. It will go on sale in late 2012, pricing yet to be announced. ...

Congratulations to Audi for winning this award! This would make the third straight time the Audi 3.0 TFSI supercharged V6 has won this award. A very, very nice run. Audi trails BMW and General Motors however for overall wins and Audi's wins do include Volkswagen as well. Audi is ahead of Ford, Nissan, Mercedes, Porsche, and several other distinguished competitors. Direct injection and forced induction are starting to dominate this ward which obviously does not take performance or the aftermarket into account. ...

PP-P Performance put up a dyno vide of the new F10 M5 on their dyno dynamics. The car put down 444 horsepower to the wheels (we are trying to get the graph) and PP-P based on their baseline corrected this out to 573 horsepower. Is the M5 putting out more than the 560 horsepower BMW rated it at? We would think it pretty much has to as the X5M with all wheel drive, less boost, and lower compression is rated at 555 horsepower. The F10 M5 routing its power to the rear wheels through a more efficient dual clutch drivetrain with more boost is likely much stronger. This dyno run is just the first solid evidence we have to prove it. ...

The new N20 4 cylinder has not even made it into the 3 series yet it is already winning awards. Offered in the F10 528 and Z4 sDrive 28i the motor is getting tons of praise from just about everyone. The BMW N55 also made the list for the second year in a row. This brings BMW's total number of times to receive this award at 33, more than any other manufacturer. The real test though will be to see if the N20 is recognized by the International Engine of the Year awards. Definitely a good start for this motor. ...

A big congratulations to BenzBoost member Dodger63. He raised the bar significantly turning a 10.6@130 all motor at Maryland International Raceway this week. This is the quickest naturally aspirated pass to date for any M156 equipped vehicle. The vehicle essentially has bolt on's with a new race gas tune and was run on drag radials with skinnies up front. There is also a bit of weight reduction provided by carbon fiber body pieces. Congratulations once again! ...

We like what IND does. We really like what IND does. They simply have a way with modifying BMW's (and other cars) to a high level inside and out. Their paint work, parts, and the quality of their application just flat out sets the standard. Take a look at the 1M below if you need proof. The Orange color scheme is carried over to the interior and under hood tying everything together beautifully. The exhaust, diffuser, and aero pieces all compliment the 1M very well. A great job, as usual. ...

Mercedes seems to be quite serious about expanding its all wheel drive offerings on all their vehicles. Just recently we announced that the AMG models would be more widely adopting 4Matic and Mercedes intends to put it on entry level cars as well. The 2012 C350 coupe will have optional all wheel drive and we expect it to make it to the sedan as well. Some Mercedes cars are 4Matic only already such as the E550 and CL550. ...

The 993 is still argued for today as possibly the greatest 911 generation ever produced. Hard to disagree when you consider it had the last air cooled motor and classic Porsche lines that seem timeless. The GT2 possibly being the greatest example. Porsche fans would seem to agree as they requested on Porsche's facebook page to hear what the motor in the 993 GT2 sounds like. Porsche obliged and provided this awesome video below highlighting the motor sounds, check it out. ...

Walter de Silva let it slip in an interview with Automotive News Europe that the Audi Q6 is in fact coming, "We will definitely launch a sportier crossover in between the Q7 and Q5." No timetable for when it will come to market was mentioned. This model will be a key piece in Audi's goal of taking the overall sales lead from BMW. Silva went on to say they also plan to challenge the future BMW X4 with a sportier model based on the Q5 which would likely be called a Q4. ...

We have completed our rapid prototype testing and are happy to report that we will be sending our HPF N54 intake manifold off to production next week with an expected genearl release date of May 2012. This new manifold allows everyone to run a secondary fuel system in conjunction with the N54 direct injection or turn the direct injection off and just run a standard fuel system. We will be selling the fuel rails and injectors that fit with our rail but anyone can source their own if they so desire. ...

This is not a joke although we wish it was. This "modified" (more like destroyed) Mercedes SLR belongs to Swiss entrepreneur Ueli Anliker who is selling it for a cool $11 million dollars. Nope, no typo. 30,000 hours of work were apparently put into this SLR that features 24 carat gold accents and 600 rubies. The vehicle will be brought to the Middle East next month which is the only place on the planet someone might have bad enough taste combined with deep enough pockets to buy this. Ronald McDonald apparently is not on the potential client list even though this SLR would fit his color scheme perfectly. Our advice? Get a stock SLR if you are in the market and keep the change. ...

Vorsteiner has released their aero kit for the E70 X5M. Just like with the X6M, the pieces compliment the car well and are not overdone. The complete kit includes a vented hood, diffuser and add-on front lip. The parts are made out of autoclaved pre-preg carbon fiber and they simply look great. Pricing is yet to be announced, check out the official Vorsteiner X5M site here: http://www.vorsteiner.com/x5m/ ...

Vorsteiner released their titanium exhaust for the F10 550i with the twin turbo N63 V8. The exhaust offers weight savings although Vorsteiner did not specify what the exact weight saved with the exhaust over the OEM piece is. The exhaust has dual canisters dual walled adjustable exhaust tips. Pricing was not announced although it is available for order and for additional information please contact Vorsteiner directly: www.vorsteiner.com ...