BMW Blog, Performance, Tuning, Motorsport, and Modification News

BMW released two new videos showing off the F12 coupe and F13 cabriolet M6. The videos are not super exciting just short clips showing the cars moving. No acceleration comparison or thrashing around a road course. The videos would have been better without the music for us to be able to hear the engine opened up on the M6. What we really want to see is how the F12 M6 stacks up to the F10 M5. With the M6 being much lighter than the M5 this generation the fastest vehicle in the BMW lineup is poised to be the new M6. ...

In December of last year we brought you a baseline MAHA dyno of the new F10 M5 by PP-Performance. PP-Performance has now finished their Stage I F10 M5 tune and the result is 492 at the wheels or corrected out by the dyno to 617 horsepower at the crank. Compared to the baseline dyno this is a gain of 48 horsepower at the rear wheels and 54.1 at the crank. Once the dyno corrects the numbers for the weather conditions the gain stated at the crank is 44 horsepower. It seems we are looking at a gain around the 50 horsepower range for a Stage I tune on the F10 M5. ...

So, the new M6 we all were aware was on the way is here. BMW did not seem to want to wait for an official Geneva reveal for whatever reason and released the car in their press feed today. It is exactly what we expected, a 6 series sharing the M5 drivetrain with a 560 horsepower S63tu twin turbo V8. Wheels are the same style as the previous M6, maybe BMW is running out of ideas? No curb weight stated in the press released (read it below) which is just odd but they do state the power to weight so we were able to calculate it out to 4088, heavy. Regardless, car looks great and we are happy to have it. ...

The reveal of this information did not go exactly as planned as BimmerBoost vendor Evolve automotive wanted the reveal to take place here. Unfortunately, certain competitors got wind of Evolve entering the hotly contested E92 M3 supercharger market and set out to do their typical discrediting of competing products. It is for this reason that Evolve wanted to stay away from any other sites and do their reveal here. The official reveal may have been spoiled somewhat but here are the details on the three upcoming versions of the Evolve supercharger kit. ...

Yes, you read it right. 692rwhp with an HPF Stage 2 running AEM. We swapped in the new Precision 6766 turbo and turned the boost up from 13psi to 15psi on Gus's brutal M3. This car has quite a bit of weight removed and has an amazing powerband. It pulls so hard and so clean. The torque is almost perfectly flat to red-line which makes driving it so amazing. This is the perfect track powerband. Gus has the ECU unlocked so he can make any changes he wants and do datalogging himself. Enjoy Gus. ...

BMW made a wise decision to include a six cylinder model in the Gran Coupe lineup. The only real competition for it is the Audi A7 and Porsche Panamera V6. The Panamera starts at $75,200 but does not offer a turbocharged powerplant. The Audi A7 3.0 TFSI six cylinder on the other hand starts at $60,125. The BMW price starts to look bad once on considers a CLS550 with a twin turbo V8 starts at $71,300 meaning you can get the V8 Benz for less than the six cylinder BMW. ...

Finally some direct comparisons between the two super sedans. These are runs on the track between two brothers one of whom has the F10 M5 and the other with a 6 speed manual CTS-V. Both cars we are stock. The runs are very close with the first video featuring a roll on that is neck and neck. The second video has runs from a stop and the M5 takes two runs and the CTS-V takes two showing whomever got the better launch got the win. ...

BMW has been doing a lot of things as of late that their hardcore enthusiasts are questioning. One aspect of BMW performance that BMW is still holding true to is balanced weight distribution. There are many other cars in the world that do no offer a 50/50 split which also takes driver weight into account. It is this perfect balance that plays a large role in how a BMW feels so naturally tossable yet controllable. This is also why a nose heavy Quattro Audi will simply never be able to match the driving experience of a BMW. ...

Someone needs to get British people to stop reviewing / comparing cars. The main similarities between the M5 and the GT-R are that they have twin turbocharged motors mated to dual clutch transmissions. The M5 is a luxury sport sedan that is heavier and rear wheel drive. Comparing the two in a sprint from a stop where the M5 can not apply its power on street tires makes no sense. A roll on comparison would have been far more telling of the horsepower difference rather than allowing an all wheel drive car to showcase why all wheel drive is useful from a stop. ...

And the good news from BMW just continues to roll in. Was it not bad enough the US will not get the M550d, X5 M50d, or X6 M50d? To make matters worse, one of the few diesel options we actually had in the USA from BMW is now being taken away from us. Why? BMW wants us to buy their upcoming hybrid 3 series instead. They are slowly conditioning the US market toward electric powertrains it seems in preparation for the all electric "i" brand. So, the 335d is axed in favor of a hybrid. ...

With increased competition from Audi who intends to bring a Q4 to market as well as the Mercedes GLC and Porsche Cajun BMW is preparing its US plant to produce an F26 X4. The X4 will share the powertrain and platform of the X3. So, the motor, horsepower, and transmission options as well as the weight are all pretty much known. Expect an X4 xDrive35i with 300 horsepower from an N55 turbo inline six and a curb weight of about 4200 pounds. ...

The E92 M3 is a car that has sparked a great deal of passion among car enthusiasts all over the world since the day spy shots of BMW’s secret test cars started appearing online. The M3 has always been BMW’s most focused M car, and fans of the M bloodline waited for the E92 M3’s release with buzzing anticipation. As a strong supporter of BMW’s M program, Eisenmann GmbH sensed the community’s excitement and knew they had to answer with an exhaust system that could give the amazing S65 V8 the sound that it deserved. ...

The VF-Engineering kit may have been the last to market of the major US players for the S65 V8 in the M3 but it definitely is making some waves. The M3 receiving the install here is an E90 with DCT. The baseline on the car completely stock was a very healthy 351 wheel horsepower on the EAS dynojet. After the install? 521 wheel horsepower on 91 octane. A very healthy gain of 170 wheel horsepower which is a realistic gain on 91 octane. ...

Fluid Motor Union does top notch work as was displayed previously with their amazing attention to detail in their jaw dropping Weistec Supercharged CLK63 AMG Black Series build. This is simply a rear section for the E39 M5 but just look at the quality of the welds and the rear section as a whole especially when compared to the OEM setup. No word on pricing but quality work like this does not come cheap. Fluid Motor Union would likely be able to build a quality exhaust setup like this for anything out there. ...

There will be a total of six M3's racing in DTM next season against Audi and Mercedes. Here is the first one revealed wearing a Castrol Edge and Aral livery. Since 2005 DTM cars have been using Aral Ultimate high-performance racing fuel in case you were wondering. The looks hot and we are sufficiently teased already, bring on the 2012 DTM season. Knowing BMW though and how aggressive they are being with DTM, we are probably going to get each car one by one . ...

You all may remember that the F07 550 GT did not fair all too well. BMWNA president at the time Jim O'Donnel stated he wished the company kept its wagon for sale instead of switching to the 5 GT in the US market. The 3 Series GT is not shaping up much differently other than we think the 3 Series wagon will still be for sale alongside it. Manufacturers seem determined to make this type of model work as Audi is mulling over a GT model for the A3 and BMW is pushing forward with their F34 3 Series GT which will be here next year. Simply selling a 3 series wagon is likely the better idea than creating a needless niche. We will see if this idea works (sells) better on a 3 series chassis than it did with the 5. ...

Presenting Electric Motor Werks or EMW (creative play on BMW, right?) E46 electric conversion kit. This electric conversion kit that Electric Motor Werks is working on is supposed to offer a 0-60 time of less than 6 seconds, 120+ mph top speed, and a recharge time of 1 hour all with a range of over 100 miles. Those are some bold claims but if true this sure seems a heck of a lot better than BMW's own electric vehicle. ...

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." ...

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. ...