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German Car Blog, Performance, Tuning, Motorsport, and Modification News
Published on 05-30-2011 02:31 AM
Porsche is starting to open some eyes with their GT3 R Hybrid race car. We thought it was mostly a marketing gimmick but the vehicle is starting to come into its own. The car claimed its first victory at the fourth round of the Nurburgring Long Distance Championship. Hartmut Kristen, Head of Porsche Motorsport stated, “We’re very pleased with the technical level of the vehicle and the reliability of the hybrid system. Compared to our rivals, we saved one pit stop and with less external energy input our lap times were just as quick. This is what we mean by Porsche Intelligent Performance. ” ...Published on 05-30-2011 01:34 AM
A major congratulations to ICS performance is in order. There was some controversy a couple weeks back regarding this M coupe putting down 784 whp on the dyno. Whether the runs were made on pump gas or not the fact is the car is incredibly fast recording a major BMW performance breakthrough. There were members asking for performance figures other than the dyno and now they have them, with the car breaking all BMW records at the Texas mile and being the first BMW to run over 200 mph in the mile. Congratulations to George and everyone at Imported Cars of Stamford. ...Published on 05-29-2011 07:05 PM
We are not sure what to say at this point but Mercedes-Petronas does not seem to be able to right their ship. Michael Schumacher was not able to complete the race and Nico Rosberg finished in 11th place, out of the points. Sebastian Vettel won again which we do not even know what to say at this point regarding his dominance, amazing. The good news for Mercedes is that the McLaren-Mercedes team finished in 3rd and 6th place with Jenson Button and and Lewis Hamilton respectively. Tough, tough season thus far for Schumacher and Rosberg. ...Published on 05-29-2011 02:22 AM
Champion Motorsport's Werks 1 arm will be releasing a carbon fiber intake manifold for the Porsche 997 Turbo and GT2. The part looks awesome, that is a given, but how does it stack up performance wise vs. the factory pieces? Well, Champion had Wilson Manifolds do some flow testing and the results are rather interesting. The GT2 manifold actually flowed the worst at 252.1 CFM vs. the 997 turbo factory manifold at 265.96. The Werks 1 manifold? 283.4 CFM. Expect this to be for sale soon, and cost a pretty penny. ...Published on 05-28-2011 10:12 PM
Well here it is, finally. Car is basically the same as its gullwing coupe sibling except that it loses the gullwing doors which add so much character to the coupe. The car looks great as a roadster, just as it does in coupe form, and the transition came without much of a weight penalty. Only 40 additional kilograms for the reinforcement of the already stiff aluminum chassis. All other mechanicals remain identical to the coupe, so the same M156 563 horsepower 6.2 liter V8 and the same dual clutch transmission. The car goes on sale in the United States in the fall, this year. ...Published on 05-28-2011 09:30 PM
Well, not so fast. We have some great renderings here that show what an A7 convertible would potentially look like. We think the A7 actually looks better as a 2 door without its sloped rear back. Will it happen? We doubt it, as this is the same type of rumor that the Porsche Panamera convertible rumor was with a rendering setting off a ton of speculation. There is no doubt that it looks good however. Hey, you never know, Audi is considering a Q5 convertible after all. ...Published on 05-28-2011 04:55 AM
This is some HUGE news for a number of reasons. First of all, the price point Maximum PSI is aiming for with this turbo kit is under $10k. That basically blows every other competitor away. Secondly, it is being tuned on the stock DME. We hear the talented Nick G of Technique Tuning (M54 / 330i turbo kits) is doing the tuning and aiming for a factory DME tuned setup with fully functional CEL (check engine light). ...Published on 05-28-2011 04:00 AM
This is what we like to see. No nonsense babling, no British people rambling on and on about their feelings, just two cars head to head on the track with actual numbers. Yes, driver skill plays a part here but this is a great head to comparison. It's a nice back and forth battle between the two with the TT-RS taking the lead under braking at one point and..., well, we won't spoil it. We think the 1M could have done a quicker lap without some of the showoff drifting but watch and decide for yourself. These cars really are so close it comes down to driver skill. ...Published on 05-28-2011 02:41 AM
OE Tuning continues to showcase its ability on a variety of platforms. Here we have a Porsche 987 Boxster S with the 3.4 liter direct injected motor. In stock form the car puts out 310 horsepower. The baseline dyno is on 91 octane with custom headers and an exhaust. With the OE Tuning custom dyno tune gains are of a peak 15 horsepower at the wheels at 17 wheel torque with solid gains through the entire curve. ...Published on 05-28-2011 12:37 AM
Seems like everybody is tuning the SLS these days. German tuner MEC Design decided to get in on it and their offering is the standard fare. They offer a new front bumper with an LED option of course since that is the hot new thing. A modified rear diffuser with 3 options is available including a GT3 carbon fiber style diffuser. Side skirts are included as well with optional LED's just in case an SLS with the doors going up at your local Starbucks doesn't get you enough attention as is. ...Published on 05-27-2011 11:44 PM
This is what we like to see. No nonsense babling, no British people rambling on and on about their feelings, just two cars head to head on the track with actual numbers. Yes, driver skill plays a part here but this is a great head to comparison. It's a nice back and forth battle between the two with the TT-RS taking the lead under braking at one point and..., well, we won't spoil it. We think the 1M could have done a quicker lap without some of the showoff drifting but watch and decide for yourself. These cars really are so close it comes down to driver skill. ...Published on 05-27-2011 09:42 PM
We are skeptical of the i8, no doubt about it. Make that petrified of the entire BMW "i" brand and the impact it will have on BMW performance. The newest i8 commercial from BMW has us thinking the news might not be all bad. BMW puts forth some very bold claims including 0-60 in 4.8 seconds along with 62 MPG (3.8 liters per 100 km). Check out the commercial below which makes the i8 looks very appealing and for those wondering this is what they were filming when the car was spotted in Abu Dhabi back in January. ...Published on 05-27-2011 06:15 PM
Ok, so this is not a street BMW but a dedicated drag car. Still, it is powered by a fire breathing 1850 horsepower 4.8 liter S85 V10. The bore has been slightly reduced to increase cylinder wall thickness. The body is designed to look like an E92 and made out of carbon fiber by Kjell Arne Solberg at Carbon Design. This drag car has run 6.93 @ 203 mph on 26 psi fueled by methanol. Your tuned BMW doesn't feel quite so fast anymore after seeing this, does it? ...Published on 05-27-2011 02:04 AM
A group of Audi enthusiasts has started an online petition to get Audi to produce a B8 RS4. Thus far, Audi has not announced any plans to produce such a vehicle. We find it odd that it would take a petition to force Audi to do so especially with how good the B8 S4 is. An RS4 version would be exactly what they need to compete with the higher performance offerings coming out like the C63 Black Series. Hey, signatures worked to convince Audi to bring the TT-RS to the United States, can't hurt to sign the petition. Kind of odd though that it takes so much effort to get Audi to produce and sell high performance variants when other manufacturers do so willingly without the need for such extremes from their fans. ...Published on 05-27-2011 01:13 AM
The other day we showed you the heavily modified Topcar Porsche 997. Well, Topcar continues their aggressive Porsche modification with their Stingray package for the Porsche Panamera. The kit consists of widened wheel arches, new sideskirts, front fascia, rear spoiler, and rear diffuser. The entire kit retails for $63,500 of which only 25 will be made. There is no pricing, and more importantly, dyno or performance figure information for their 740 horsepower upgraded turbo package claim. ...Published on 05-26-2011 10:20 AM
Earlier this year we reported there was a rumor going around that Mercedes was planning an AMG version of the GL. Turns out the rumors were true as the AMG version of the GL, the GL63, was spotted testing on the ring. There should not be any major surprises here, the powerplant will be the M157 twin turbo V8 we are all growing to love which produces plenty of torque which will be needed to move this behemoth. Considering the performance package version of the motor, which will be available for the GL63 as well, can move the nearly 5000 pound S-class to low 12's, this should be one quick SUV. ...Published on 05-26-2011 05:32 AM
Now this is how a comparison is done. Take note Autocar, when you compare two cars you get actual laptimes with the same driver on the same course. It also doesn't hurt to have Vicki driving. The 911 Carrera is a great sport scar and the entry level 911 while the Evora S is the supercharged version of the Evora and currently the top Lotus offering. Power wise, they are very similar with the Evora S having 5 more horsepower at 345 vs. the 340 for the Carrera. Check out the video for the results. ...Published on 05-26-2011 04:44 AM
We tried to stay optimistic about Autocar's view of the 1M but it sure was hard when they claim the 1M is a return to a traditional raw M car and that one could argue this is the car BMW has been longing to build since the E30. They state the E36 was too broadly focused. Did they forget the E36 M3 actually weighs 150 pounds less than the 1M? Did they forget the E36 M3 had a naturally aspirated motor with individual throttle bodies offering up greater response? Did they forget BMW made an E36 M3 lightweight which was far more raw than the 1M ever will be? Autocar, don't talk down on the E36 or make E30 comparisons with a car that weighs 500 pounds more than the original M3 which was built with racing in mind, not profits. ...Published on 05-26-2011 02:01 AM
We haven't heard much regarding this Russian tuner and that may be for good reason. This is their take on a Porsche 997 body kit and it is... different. There are some aspects we like (such as the front) but there just are way too many vents. It is incredibly busy and the side profile just makes it appear a lot of body pieces have been tacked on that don't flow together. We would refer you to their homepage to take a look at their product offering and prices but they do not seem to have one. ...Published on 05-25-2011 11:01 PM
Now, the BMW N54 twin turbo has been underrated since inception. The first 335's dyno'd in the 270 whp range which is right around what an E46 M3 puts to the tires. The difference is, the E46 M3 was rated at 333 horsepower and the E9X 335 was rated at around 300 horsepower. M3 owners have fragile egos that need to be protected after all and BMW protected the M3 image. The underrated N54 trend continues with the BMW E82 1M that Insideline dyno tested to 331 wheel horsepower. The car is only rated at 335 horsepower at the crank, meaning this is the most underrated vehicle BMW has ever produced. ...
Today, 05:42 AM