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German Car Blog, Performance, Tuning, Motorsport, and Modification News
Published on 10-05-2011 09:18 PM
Round 15, the Japanese Grand Prix, one of the greatest circuits in the world that pushes both car and driver to the limit, having some of the most challenging corners in the world. It's the only track in F1 to have a figure eight configuration and is a favorite for most drivers. In the last ten years, 75% of races at Suzuka have been won from pole - a higher percentage than in Monaco (70%). This race has seen quite a few battles for the championship.
...Published on 10-05-2011 06:34 AM
Mercedes has acquired the naming rights to the Louisiana Superdome and for the next 10 years it will be referred to as the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. In addition, Mercedes is now the exclusive vehicle of the New Orleans Saints. Some might question the deal but the 2012 Men's Final Four, 2012 BCS Championship, and 2013 Super Bowl will be hosted in the Superdome. That makes for some very nice exposure on a very, very large stage so job well done for the first naming rights deal in the USA by Mercedes.
...Published on 10-05-2011 05:01 AM
Porsche recently released their official video from the Frankfurt Auto Show which highlights the interior and design choices of the new 991. As many have noticed, the interior is a huge improvement over the 997 which certainly was not bad looking itself. The new interior shared the Panamera scheme which the Cayenne also adopted. Porsche discusses the new audio options (Bose and Burmester) as well as the various options such as Porsche exclusive for the interior.
...Published on 10-05-2011 04:54 AM
Here is yet another severely underrated BMW turbo motor. BMW rates the Z4 Sdrive28i at 240 horsepower at the crank. Insideline tested the car on a dynojet and hit 233 horsepower to the wheels. To put things in perspective, BMW rates the motor the N20 replace, the N52 6 cylinder, higher than the N20 at 272 horsepower in its highest output form yet it dyno's less to wheels hitting the 199 rear wheel horsepower range. So not only is the N20 rated lower, it dyno's higher. BMW is hideously underrating their turbo motors.
...Published on 10-05-2011 02:52 AM
The Panamera Turbo and Cayenne Turbo share the same motor so no surprise that this is available for both and offering the same gains for both. The power kit includes new larger turbochargers, new filters, and new manifolds along with a tune. Performance claims are 100-200 km/h in 12.3 seconds, no slip or dyno as usual. No word on pricing either but you can bet a US tuner will get you more for far less money AND provide some real performance numbers.
...Published on 10-05-2011 02:22 AM
Front wheel drive for a top of the line luxury sedan? Odd, right? Well, Audi is doing exactly that in Europe but not in the US where the market would view it as cheap as rightfully so. Europeans don't have this same aversion to front wheel drive so many opt to save the $6500 that dropping Quattro nets you. Equipped with a 204 horsepower turbo diesel V6 the front wheel drive A8 makes it to 60 mph in around 8 seconds. Not exactly the performance one associates with the top sedan model offering but it does provide 39 MPG on the European cycle.
...Published on 10-04-2011 09:03 PM
Congratulations to V12speed and SpeedDriven. As previously reported, SpeedDriven successfully completed an M275 twin turbo V12 swap into a W211 E-class chassis. We have a dyno sheet posted now and the vehicle hit a very impressive 744 wheel horsepower on 93 octane. This was at only 22 psi and they are shooting for 28-29 psi eventually. The turbos used are PT 6262's. Very impressive power and there is definitely much more in it, well done.
...Published on 10-04-2011 07:53 AM
M3 vs. M5 battles are a ton of fun. Usually because M5 owners have their heads so far up... in the clouds. They tend to think an M3 is no match for an M5 and this is fun to mess with especially with a modified M3. An M5 can be modified as well of course and this video shows how much stronger the top end on a naturally aspirated tuned S85 is (exhaust, scoops, filters, tune) vs. a naturally aspirated tuned S65. Top end racing is where that V10 shines. Time for those blowers on the M3's fellas.
...Published on 10-03-2011 02:44 AM
People are going to debate if this car is still a BMW but from what we understand this is still an E30 chassis with a manual transmission and a heavily modified S38 I6. The 3.7 liter motor features Pauter rods, Arias pistons, 264 degree cams, full methanol, 6 1200 cc injector, 6 1000 cc injectors, and a custom T66 turbo. Power is estimated in the 1300 horsepower range. The body has been modified with fiberglass front fenders and a hood. It has run a best of 7.69@184 miles per hour. We do not know what to say other than congratulations to Budler Motorsports.
...Published on 10-03-2011 12:45 AM
Unfortunately for Mercedes driver Bruno Spengler, Audi driver Martin Tomczyk was able to wrap up the driver's championship before the final race of the season. Mercedes was very gracious in their post race comments showing incredible class. Audi has been dominating the last few races (Including the past race at Valencia with a 1-2-3-4-5-6 finish) but the Mercedes Benz Bank AMG team still has a shot to win overall in the final race at Hockenheim on the 23rd since they are only trailing Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline by 5 points.
...Published on 10-03-2011 12:21 AM
Well, the 2011 DTM season still has 1 race left but Martin Tomczyk has already wrapped up the driver's championship. It has been a hard fought year with things going back and forth between Tomczyk and Mercedes driver Burno Spengler but Audi has put together a string of dominating victories elevating their top drivers in the standings. The final race of the season is on the 23rd of this month at the Hockenheim in Germany where Tomczyk will be presented with his trophy.
...Published on 10-02-2011 12:53 AM
Aston Martin was supposed to help the struggling Maybach brand with the next range of models. Well, apparently someone was asking for a bit too much in the deal and the talks have now ceased. In return for helping the Maybach brand with new styling and model expansion, Aston was supposed to get some nice technological updates from Daimler including M and S class chassis on which to build models on as well as the M278 twin turbo V8. This partnership never made much sense to us but then again neither did the Maybach revival to begin with. It appears the luxury brand may go back to being dead.
...Published on 10-02-2011 12:41 AM
Ok, this car is starting to become pretty popular as the speculation as hype continues to grow. As reported a couple days ago, the car will be getting a 1.9 liter turbo 4 cylinder boxer motor. Pretty cool, but what will it look like? The rendering below has been making its way around the web and it is a great interpretation although this is just a rear shot. What about the front of the car? Kind of an important part to overlook but we will take what the artists give us for now.
...Published on 10-02-2011 12:31 AM
Well, this isn't much of a surprise as BMW pretty much had everything wrapped up at the previous race. BMW managed to finish 3rd and 9th at the 1000 mile Petit Le Mans which was good enough to get their second straight overall ALMS GT title. It was a dominating season for BMW which had 7 consecutive poles at one point as well having started the season with a string of victories. How do you like the BMW V8 in the M3 now Porsche?
...Published on 10-01-2011 02:42 AM
Never heard of the Mercedes Citaro? Don't sweat it, as we did not either until we saw this ad. It is a bus introduced in 1997 manufactured in Germany and designed with a low floor for easy access. It is not available in the USA but that should not stop you from watching this commercial. The BMW is depicted as being overdone and riced out with an owner who just looks kind of greasy. He pulls up on the VW with girls sitting in the back and revs to which the VW driver responds with a rev of his own. This goes on until the Citaro... well, we won't spoil it for you.
...Published on 09-30-2011 02:57 PM
The new F32 4 series is coming (what we all remember as the old 3 series coupe) and German outlet AutoZeitung has provided their rendering. Nothing shocking, simply looks like a downsized 5 series which is what all the spyphotos have been leading us to believe anyway. The F30 3 series is set to be revealed in mid-October and it is possible the 4 will be revealed with it. Regardless, expect official photos soon but this renderings should not be far off from the real thing.
...Published on 09-29-2011 10:32 PM
So you should already know Porsche is set to release a car which will slot underneath the Boxster offering a roadster at a lower price point. This car will be the spiritual successor to the classic 550 Spyder and may share the same name. The motor is said to be a boxer 4 cylinder according to a report by CAR. With 210 horsepower the Audi version of this same car is shaping up to be far more intriguing as it is said to use the TT-RS 2.5 liter turbo 5 cylinder. CAR states Audi can get away with it as they don't have a Boxster to protect. Seems they forgot about something called the TT?
...Published on 09-29-2011 09:53 PM
Mercedes has launched a new line of fragrances for men and women. We are not sure how popular these will be with the ladies but chances are Mercedes dorks can not wait to get their hands on this. We doubt it makes you smell like a new Mercedes (which with how women react to them is not a bad idea) as Mercedes says the sent features a cool top note of Calabrian bergamot, lemon essence and Italian mandarin while the base note provides a spicy finish to the perfume and includes American cedar wood, vetyver grass, and patchouli. Available 1st quarter of 2012.
...Published on 09-29-2011 09:52 PM
Mercedes has launched a new line of fragrances for men and women. We are not sure how popular these will be with the ladies but chances are Mercedes dorks can not wait to get their hands on this. We doubt it makes you smell like a new Mercedes (which with how women react to them is not a bad idea) as Mercedes says the sent features a cool top note of Calabrian bergamot, lemon essence and Italian mandarin while the base note provides a spicy finish to the perfume and includes American cedar wood, vetyver grass, and patchouli. Available 1st quarter of 2012.
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Published on 09-29-2011 09:23 PM
It is nice to see BMW at least gave the 1M a little more in the tune over a standard N54. They obviously could have put out much more if they wanted to. 346 wheel horsepower in STD correction is pretty darn good for with an intake. That is basically M3 power right there. The car is rated at 335 crank so when a vehicle is putting out more to the wheels than it is rated at the motor that is definitely what we call underrated. This leads us to believe the reason the 1M did not get the DCT transmission is it would have stepped all over the M3's toes.
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