| | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Video: Chris Harris drives and drifts the BMW M5 and the Nissan GT-RThe BMW M5 and the Nissan GT-R are two cars that really don’t belong next to one another, but Chris Harris went ahead and compared both of them as he drove and drifted through the streets, and in the rain no less. His reasoning behind it was actually quite simple: "it’s perfect for YouTube search results, and that’s why we’re doing it." Hey, at least he’s honest. Whatever the reason, these two cars were put to the test and this 13 minutes long video is the product of that. This will probably be the only time we will all see a sports sedan next to a sports coupe in an all out brawl, so sit back and enjoy the ride! Then you can listen as Chris Harris shares his thoughts on the two sports vehicles. 2012 BMW M550d xDriveBMW is doing a running jump into the diesel market by releasing a few new variations in one day. The highlight of this trio of diesels is the long-rumored M550d xDrive scheduled to appear at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2012. In Germany, the M550d xDrive will go on sale at a starting price of 80,800 euro ($104,500 at the current exchange rates) for the sedan and 83,750 euro ($108,400 at the current rates) for the station wagon version. The BMW M550d xDrive is the first model to come from BMW’s latest M Performance Automobiles division and is joined by the X5 M50d and X6 M50d. All three models will share a new tri-turbo straight-six diesel engine that delivers a total of 381 HP and a peak torque of 546 lb-ft. In the M550d xDrive, this power is just enough to sprint the car from 0 to 60 mph in just 4.7 seconds, while top speed is limited to 155 mph. Fuel economy comes in at 44.8 mpg. UPDATE 01/26/2012: This review has been updated with the official images and specs for the BMW M550d xDrive. UPDATE 02/29/2012: BMW has unveiled a series of almost 100 new high res images presenting the new M550d xDrive in action in different locations. Check our picture gallery to see them all! Full story TopSpeed’s Best of 2011: Sportscar of the Year 
Before we even get into the top list of sportscar for 2011, we think it would be best to clear something up: the new Porsche 911 would have definitely made the list if it wasn’t for the fact that it won’t be hitting Stateside until 2013. That being said, we have a few top hitters for 2011 that we would be foolish not to take notice of. It was a battle trying to choose between the plethora of options provided in the sports car segment, but what we ended up with was a range of 450 HP to 560 HP, 0-60 mph sprint times between 4.6 seconds and 3.7 seconds, and speeds topping out between 186 mph and 198 mph. Among the sportscar heavyweights is the intoxicating Jaguar XKR-S, the luscious BMW M5, the curvaceous Chevolet Camaro Z06, and the maddening Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale. Hit the jump to check out each of these scintillating sports cars in detail. Full story BMW M3 CRT gets the title for the fastest M car on the circuit Right before Christmas, German magazine Autobild gave themselves a little present: they took all of the current BMW M models and tested them on the circuit to see which one was the fastest. All of the tests were done on the Sachsenring circuit in Germany and, surprising or not, the fastest model turned out to be the M3 CRT (E90). In fact, according to Autobild, not only was it the fastest from all the models tested, it was also the fastest M Car they have ever tested on the Sachsenring. The M3 CRT lapped the circuit in 1:38.87 , closely followed by the M5 with a lap time of 1:38.90 and the 1-Series M Coupe with a time of 1:40.18. The list continues with the M3 in coupe, sedan, and convertible forms and ends with the X6M and X5M. Both SUVs were faster than the old E60 M5. And just for fun, Autobild also brought a Porsche Panamera Turbo S and a Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG to the test. Hit the jump to see the official lap times. Full story Video: BMW wishes us a "Merry Christmas" with the fastest Christmas card in the worldGerman automaker BMW has come up with a cute way to share their holiday spirit with all of their fans. All they did was bring a 2012 BMW M5 to the L’Anneau du Rhin Circuit and have their own driver, Urs Inauen, take illustrator Gavin Patterson out for a ride on-board the new M5 around the track. The catch? Patterson had to draw a "cliché Christmas motif" while riding shotgun with Inauen as the latter raced the M5 around the circuit. That’s when the hilarity ensued. For all of his talents as an illustrator, it was clear that Patterson wasn’t in his best ’creative element’ to come up with a Christmas card for all of us BMW fans. But given the resources and the circumstances behind his predicament, Patterson was able to make the most out of his work, cleverly piecing together an illustration of Santa Claus lugging around some presents for all the well-behaved kids of the world. In the end, Patterson’s illustration clearly demonstrated what can happen when you try to make a holiday card sitting on the passenger seat of a car that’s going bonkers on a race track. Guess that’s what BMW meant when they said that this is the "fastest Christmas card in the world."
Video: BMW M5 vs Porsche Panamera S vs Mercedes E63 AMG vs Jaguar XFRBritish magazine, EVO, has gone out and pitted a few more competitors against each other to determine which is the better ride. Starting with the very cool BMW M5, EVO gathered up its competitors - the Porsche Panamera S, Mercedes E63 AMG, and Jaguar XFR - for a little one on three action. Let’s break it down with some numbers. The M5’s 560 HP went up against the 550 HP from the Panamera, the 525 HP from the E63 AMG, and the 510 HP from the XF-R. Basically, the test served up 2,145 HP of phenomenal power, but which sports car landed on top of the heap? Before watching the video, try to take a stab at who crossed the finish-line first. You may be surprised. We’ll give you a one hint: the Panamera turned out to be the laziest from them all. Video: Clarkson’s Powered up DVD chooses BMW 1M and 535d as Best Cars of 2011Following up on the teaser trailers for Jeremy Clarkson’s Powered up DVD, Top Gear’s main man has released another video with a bit more action than the first two. In this video, Clarkson goes through some of his favorite cars of the year and his top pick is surprisingly not a Ferrari or a Lamborghini, even though a Gallardo LP 570-4 Spyder Performante did take third place on his preference list. Instead, the British star has chosen one of the most amazing cars launched this year by BMW: the 1-Series M Coupe. Usually not a fan of BMW’s, Clarkson has appointed the 1M as the “Most Fun Car Of The Year.” The 1M pulled ahead of many of the classic favorites in the auto world, including the Ferrari FF and 458 Italia, the aforementioned Lamborghini Gallardo Performante, the Nissan Skyline, and the McLaren MP4-12C. The new BMW 535d Touring M Sport also got a spot on his "favorites" list, grabbing the top spot as "2011 Car of the Year."
Lexus wants to bring the pain to BMW with a GS-F rival for the M5 Apart from being one of the most awesome supercars on the planet, the Lexus LF-A taught us something important about Lexus. Toyota’s luxury division is trying to shed away its conservative persona in favor of being seen as a harbinger of high-performance cars. Now it appears they’re targeting more than just the Ferraris and Lamborghinis of the world. They’ve also got an eye towards performance vehicles like the BMW M5, which only adds to Lexus’ growing reputation as a giant slayer. According to Autocar, the Japanese automaker is planning on building a high-performance version of the GS-F, one that will carry a tuned version of the LF-A’s 4.8-liter V10 engine and will have at least 450 horsepower on tap. Those figures still fall short of the M5’s 550-horsepower output, but it’s still what people will consider as high-performance. Besides, you can expect Lexus to make up for the relative lack of output by packing all sorts of technology in the car. Lexus’ intention of catering more to the world of high-performance cars was busted open with the release of the LF-A supercar. After seeing what they’re truly capable of, we’re not going to put anything past these guys. If they want to go after cars like the BMW M5, then by all means, more power to them. 2013 Lexus GS 350 F-Sport pictured above BMW M5 shows new 0-60 mph sprint time: 3.7 seconds BMW spent a great deal of time bragging about their new M5, only to disappoint with an announced 0-60 mph sprint time of 4.4 seconds. Not too shabby in comparison to other high performance sports cars out there, but hell, the new Audi S8 has a reported time of 4.2 seconds and is considerably larger than the M5. Lucky for BMW, Car And Driver has expert drivers that were able to drive the new sports sedan the way it was meant to be driven. With the help of these drivers, the BMW M5 has been able to clock a 0-60 mph sprint in 3.7 seconds. Eat that, BMW! Maybe BMW didn’t realize what their car could really do? If that’s the case, then they need to buy these guys a beer or something. Now they can truly say that their sports sedan is better than the Mercedes E63 AMG which sprints from 0 to 60 mph in 4.3 seconds. During that same test, the BMW M5 also covered the quarter mile in 12.0 seconds.
Video: BMW M5 F10 pushed to its limitsWe have seen lots of review video for the BMW M5, but for sure this one is one of the most impressive ones. The video was shot by Nino Karotta for Totalcar.hu and even if the video is in Hungarian you will most likely enjoy every second of it! The new generation M5 features a high-revving 4.4-liter V8 engine with an M TwinPower Turbo package that delivers an impressive 560 hp at 6,000 – 7,000 rpm and a peak torque of 502 lb-ft from 1,500 rpm. The model will sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds and, when the speed limiter is removed, is capable of hitting an impressive top speed of 190 mph. So, if you want to see how this car sprints from 0 to 155 mph in just a few seconds watch this video! | Find us on Facebook | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|