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German Car Blog, Performance, Tuning, Motorsport, and Modification News
Published on 02-26-2011 04:00 AM
Here is the Fab Design Mercedes SLS widebody. There are times where less is more and well, this is that time. These were taken in the Dubai (no surprise) showroom. We don't really know what to say, it looks bulky and tacky but apparently this stuff sells... in Dubai. ...Published on 02-25-2011 07:01 PM
National Geographic has an interesting video on the construction of the SLS and just what goes into it. It is a very, very high tech build. If you weren't impressed by the SLS before you may be impressed by just how much effort it takes to produce one. The aluminum chassis build itself is just amazing and the paint process and detail that goes into takes 30 hours alone. Check out the video. ...Published on 02-25-2011 04:11 PM
BMW has released this animation of the N20B20 motor. It essentially shows the motor in action in a 3D format. You get to see the internals, valves, springs, etc., all in operation. There is also a very cool shot of the manifold and the turbo being fed. Quite interesting for the engineering geeks. ...Published on 02-25-2011 12:48 PM
My friend and I got a chance to do a few pulls during a meet last weekend.. Both cars have exhaust valves. We did several pulls, 2 of which I got on video clearly. Each time were about dead even, nobody really gained. This is a bit of a shock to the Audi community as well as myself. However, the numbers behind each car don't exactly put the S5 ahead by much at all. ...Published on 02-25-2011 12:43 PM
My friend and I got a chance to do a few pulls during a meet last weekend.. Both cars have exhaust valves. We did several pulls, 2 of which I got on video clearly. Each time were about dead even, nobody really gained. This is a bit of a shock to the Audi community as well as myself. However, the numbers behind each car don't exactly put the S5 ahead by much at all. ...Published on 02-25-2011 11:20 AM
PAW Motorsport was nice enough to send us these pictures of a C74 that stopped by. No, it is not a 7.4 liter. The 74 refers to the 74 inch rear track width. The pieces are all carbon fiber and they better be for the retail of $15,450. We don't even find that pricing to be that bad in comparison to the ridiculous price Vorsteiner charges for their E92 M3 widebody kit. Enjoy the pictures! ...Published on 02-25-2011 07:32 AM
We thought this was pretty cool and hope it pushes Audi to make the Quattro Concept. AutoCar got to spend some time with this special A5. How is it different? It is built off a custom aluminum chassis with aluminum body pieces and a CFRP hood and trunk. It weighs only 3,000 pounds about 700 pounds less than the standard V6 A5. The TT-RS motor is tweaked to put out 400 horsepower. This car is intended to show what the Quattro Concept would drive like if it were to be produced and AutoCar states it is the best handling Audi they have ever it driven... it just might convince the board to give the green light. ...Published on 02-25-2011 04:00 AM
Alpina will be revealing its new F11 Wagon at the Geneva auto show. What does it pack under the hood? Well, much the same as the F10 B5 it has a tweaked N63 twin turbo V8 putting out 500 horsepower. The motor is mated to a ZF 8 speed gearbox. The other noticeable changes are obviously the body kit and the classic Alpina wheels. No idea if this will come to the United States but we would bet against it since the US has not traditionally been a strong market for wagons. ...Published on 02-24-2011 05:50 PM
Glad to see BMW finally make a decision that favors the enthusiast, about time. Autocar reports that BMW will not go with a diesel plug-in hybrid setup for the i8. Chief of R&D Klaus Draeger stated the following, "as we want to sell it all over the world. Diesel is only really relevant to Europe." It gets better, the intent for the i8 is to be a halo car not just a sporty prius. Further he states, "i8 will be a pinnacle car for the BMW brand as a whole, not just the i brand." N63 V8 twin turbo in the i8 anybody? Certainly a possibility now, finally some good news. ...Published on 02-24-2011 05:31 AM
This video shows the difference between a bone stock E92 DCT M3 and an E90 M3 with the full Active Autowerke exhaust including sport cats. So, the E90 is not catless, and the exhaust is stated as its only mod, yet it puts buslengths on the E92. Color us skeptical as the difference is so large. It could be the exhaust is the only difference but the E90 pulls like a car with an exhaust and tune would, likely running higher octane fuel. The video description states speeds above the limiter were hit leading us to believe a tune is on the car and this was left out to exaggerate the difference. Either way, enjoy the video. ...Published on 02-24-2011 04:32 AM
These RS A5 rumors don't want to settle down which is fine with us. Last week we showed you a rendering of the front of the RS Q5. This time we get the back of it done by Acerbus. Is it going to come? We don't know, but the rumors of a 408 hp supercharged RS Q5 based on the 3.0 TFSI supercharged V6 continue. ...Published on 02-23-2011 09:00 PM
This is one of the Autocar quick 90 second review which definitely keep up with our attention spans. Some quick notes, they state the steering is a bit vague. Additionally, they seem to believe one should go with the traditional steel spring suspension setup over the air suspension option and would agree with this especially for enthusiasts who might want to add an aftermarket coil-over later. We do disagree that one should opt for the diesel, the 3.0 TFSI is our choice especially with its ability to be tuned. ...Published on 02-23-2011 12:10 PM
Here is the official Brabus 2012 CLS. First you will likely notice the Brabus front bumper with integrated LED's. You will also likely notice the Brabus front fenders which stand out. Frankly, that is an option we could do without as the contrast just doesn't flow well. The side skirts give it an aggressive look along with the rear spoiler. 20 inch Brabus Monoblock wheels are used with 255 rubber up front and 305 in back. Lowering options consisting of sport rings as well as a module for the air suspension are available. An exhaust is available for all engine variants. ...Published on 02-23-2011 11:52 AM
The new 7 series is a beautiful car. We never thought a 6 cylinder would really do it justice but times have changed with the BMW turbo motors. The N54 twin-turbo 6 cylinder offers great performance in the 4300 pound 7 series. 0-60 in the mid 5 second range with 100 mph trap speeds? Not bad at all. Check out the edmunds review and the data panel below. ...Published on 02-23-2011 09:31 AM
This is the type of thing we like to see. APR has posted their own graphs but they tend to do them in crank horsepower which is, well, pretty annoying. A customer took his car for before and after dyno pulls on a Mustang and went from 297 awhp to 361 awhp with tune only. Impressive? Yes. The car in question is a 2011 Audi S4 with a custom Milltek exhaust and the APR 93 octane tune. ...Published on 02-23-2011 04:23 AM
The next generation GL has been spotted testing in camo. Spyphotos are usually pretty boring not revealing much. However, the interesting news here is that it seems Mercedes is readying an AMG version of the next generation GL. This isn't officially confirmed but the source of the photos (gmotors) is reporting they have sourced telling them the new twin turbo 5.5 liter V8 will be powering the AMG version. Seems Mercedes will have a new segment of very large performance SUV's. ...Published on 02-23-2011 12:19 AM
I have been reluctant to post about this earlier as I wanted to give Gintani ample time to look at the engine to try and determine what happened before I posted. We have an idea what caused it but currently the motor has not been broken down to do a full inspection. Given the current drama / speculation on the forums, I felt, along with Gintani, that we should post now and let everyone know that a failure did occur on my car, and then follow up later when we have more solid detailed information. As of now I know of no other Gintani car that has had a failure, but mine. ...Published on 02-22-2011 11:29 AM
Here are two flash tunes that were recently completed by PAW Motorsport for a couple customers. The first car is a completely stock 2011 335 other than the flash tune. The car is a 6 speed manual and is running 93 octane pump fuel. The second car is a 2011 automatic 335 also dyno'd on pump gas. As you can see, large gains throughout the entire curve on both cars. Remember, this is just the mild pump tune. Contact PAW Motorsport if interested. ...Published on 02-22-2011 06:34 AM
Top Gear is entertainment above all but sometimes they do some good comparisons. Here we have a video where they take the competition package M3 vs. the new Audi RS5. Audi has had plenty of time to work on the RS5 but it still is not able to top the M3. What really opens eyes is the fact the Top Gear test track is wet and the M3 still outlaps the RS5. That is very surprising but no surprise the hefty RS5 routing its power to all 4 wheels does not make as efficient use of its power as the M3 which out handles and out accelerates it. Sorry Audi, the M3 is still the king. ...Published on 02-22-2011 03:27 AM
Here is the new BMW " i " sub-brand. BMW continues to bring the brand downscale with their new all electric front wheel drive cars. The first car is the i3 which is also known as the "megacity" vehicle. This car is a lightweight all electric. The second vehicle in the lineup will be a plug in hybrid which BMW touts as a sporty hybrid. What does this mean for the enthusiasts? It means BMW is shifting focus which may be at our expense. ...
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