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

No, we are not making this up. I guess it should not be all that surprising considering this comes from the same people who did a stretch Ferrari 360 limousine. The R8 limo will retain the 5.2 liter V10 from the sports car and will be able to seat 8 people. It is expected to officially launch in the summer of this year and limobroker expects this to become their most popular model. Maybe the Mayans were right? ...

We think BMW is taking these model variants a little too far but BMW is going to do what BMW is going to do. The new BMW 4 Series is going to have 3 different variants. The F32 4 Series coupe, F33 4 Series cabriolet/convertible, and the F35 4 Series Gran Coupe. It probably is not that bad of an idea considering that Mercedes is prepping a baby CLS, the CLC. Check out the rendering of the F35 below. ...

Volkswagen isn't pulling any punches in its fight to become the world's top automaker. General Motors figures show that it has the greatest volume meaning it is once again the largest automaker in the world. Volkswagen intends to add commercial truck numbers to its total to combat GM's figures which apparently are inflated using sales number from Chinese subsidiaries which GM does not have a controlling interest in. We will let you know where the dust settles. ...

What we have here is a wrecked W221 S65 AMG from Russia (surprise, surprise). The owner apparently took some passengers out to show them what the car could do even though road conditions were wet and icy. The driver lost control when going through an intersection at about 130 miles per hour flying into a metal fence belonging to a Lada dealership. Amazingly, the driver and passengers were able to all walk away under their own power. ...

Wald International, a Japanese body kit maker, has turned their attention toward the Porsche Panamera. This is their Black Bison kit which is a widebody. It includes a new front bumper, fenders, sideskirts, and a new rear bumper as well. Wheels designed for the kit are available as well. We think the kit is a little bit too busy and takes away from the sophistication and elegance the Panamera should have. ...

There are a lot of N54 guys that like to track their car who will likely be interested in this oil cooler upgrade from Turner Motorsport. Turner states this upgrade is just for 335i's with the N54 as it is listed as fitting the 2006-2010 E90, E92, and E93 335i including the Xi. Pricing is $899.00 for cars that have the factory oil cooler and a retrofit kit can be added for an additional $530 for cars without the factory oil cooler. Full details listed below. ...

The recent reveal of the 981 Boxster naturally leads to questions about the upcoming 2013 981 Cayman that will be based on it. The motor and transmission offering will obviously mirror the Boxster so what everyone really wants to know is what the car will look like. Our graphic designer Wild-Speed did a rendering of the back and front and we must say the vehicle looks superb. The new Boxster has been received very well and the new Cayman will likely be no different if it looks like the images below. ...

It seems like we just got used to the MKVI Golf and the MKVII is already on the way. The car will officially be unveiled at the Paris Auto Show in September but we expect an earlier leak of the official product as seems to happen often these days. The MKVII Gold will be riding on a modular platform known internally as MQB. Expect the familiar 2.0 turbo to return in the GTI and the entry level Golf to have a new 1.8 liter turbo to replace the inline-5. ...

The A25 AMG is clearly on the way as seen here. The model testing comes very quickly on the heels of its production being announced and that the A-Class would be coming to the USA. As stated in the previous report, the car will get a 340 horsepower 2.0 liter direct injected turbo 4 cylinder. It will compete with the Volkswagen Golf R and Audi S3. With no 1 Series in the USA it would seem Mercedes will have an advantage over BMW in this segment. ...

S63 twin turbo V8 owners now have another downpipe options courtesy of Akrapovic. The piece itself is made out of stainless steel and is catless. No additional details were supplied. We would like to at the very least know the cost and claimed power gains. A dyno would definitely be warranted as well. Akrapovic makes quality exhaust pieces but without further details it makes for a very weak product unveiling. Akrapovic pieces tend to be expensive so do not expect this to be a value in S63 tuning. ...

The Porsche 918 Spyder is still on track. As most of you know, this is going to be a hybrid supercar. The gasoline motor recently received an upgraded from the originally proposed 3.4 liter in the concept to a 4.6 liter V8 with 543 horsepower based on the motor in the RS Spyder LMP2 race car. This motor combined with two electric motors will make for a total output of 720 horsepower which will move the projected 3700 pound car nicely. Definitely a hybrid no car enthusiast is going to laugh at. ...

There have been a surprising number of S65 V8 failures. Some of these have been with supercharged motors and often times fanboys and tuners alike would engage in a mud slinging campaign pointing to a competing tuner as the reason for the failure. The fact of the matter is, the S65 V8 seems to have an inherent weakness. It's wet sump oiling system does not seem to evenly lubricate the bearings which eventually leads to a failure. ...

Audi has dominated the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The only real challenge to Audi's dominance has been from Peugeot who managed to beat them in 2009. They put up a great fight in 2011 as well and we were hoping for an epic battle between the two in 2012 but Peugeot has quit with an indefinite return date. The decision is for economic reasons and with how expensive racing is it is understandable. Are we just supposed to give Audi the title in 2012? ...

This is good news. Mercedes is embracing diesel motors in the USA and intends to expand their lineup due to strong diesel demand and sales in 2011. The GLK will likely get the 2.2 Mercedes 4 cylinder diesel motor that puts out 167 horsepower and and 295 pound-feet of torque. This would make for the sixth diesel in the Mercedes lineup (the ML, GL, R, S, and E all have diesel options) and competitors like BMW with the X3 do not have an answer for it at the moment. We just wish they would give it the 6 cylinder diesel but we are just happy Mercedes is expanding the diesel offering. ...

Audi replaced their V10 turbo diesel race engine that won Le Mans with a 3.7 liter V6 unit in their R18 race car. This new motor was awarded Race Engine of the Year by the publication Race Engine Technology. It is difficult to argue against the 540 horsepower motor which powered the Audi R18 to an overall Le Mans victory in 2011. Additionally, the motor is 25% lighter than the V10 it replaced while using less fuel offering greater efficiency which especially comes in handy in endurance racing. ...

The Renntech Stage 2 tune made an impressive debut on the drag strip propelling the first CLS63 AMG into the 10's as well as the first M157 5.5 liter twin turbo V8. That was done with a run of 10.98@129.4. Renntech has managed to improve on this by almost one full tenth with a run of 10.90@128.96. The 60 foot in this latest run is 1.703 versus the previous 1.797 which explains the better ET as well as the slight drop in trap speed. Congratulations on the new overall M157 record! ...

AutoExpress spotted the new Porsche 991 GT3 testing. The car should be available in 2013. AutoExpress states the vehicle will have no PDK, be lighter by almost 100 pounds, and offer 450 horsepower from a 3.8 liter. It would seem Porsche may be leaving room for another 4.0 RS model with more horsepower. There are conflicting reports on the PDK as AutoExpress states the car will be manual only like the 997 but EVO reported that the GT3 will get a PDK and 470 horsepower. Time will tell who is right, we hope for a PDK. ...

Active Autowerke has been in the BMW tuning game a long time. They are a well known and established name. This blown motor is a story we reported in September of 2010. We asked for further details on how this was resolved and what happened but never received them and Active Autowerke did not seem interested in addressing it. They sure have had plenty of time to do so. Read the experience of the kit owner below and come to your own conclusion but perhaps how this was handled and other internal issues explain why certain key people have left Active Autowerke as of late. ...

Dinan has released their Stage 2 Performance Software for BMW's equipped with the N55 direct injected turbo six cylinder. It is currently available for 2011-2012 BMW 335's (including X-drive), E82 135i, and the E70/E71 X5 and X6 35i. Applications for the F10 535i and F25 X3 xDrive35i are coming soon. $1999 is a bit on the high side but one can be very confident in choosing Dinan and the Dinan supplied warranty in lieu of the BMW factory warranty is always an attractive option for owners concerned about any potential issues. No dyno graph provided as usual and we wish Dinan would get out of this habit. ...