BMW’s involvement in MotoGP is well-chronicled, having been bestowed the title of "Official Car of MotoGP" for the past 15 years.
Seeing an opportunity to commemorate the occasion, BMW and MotoGP have partnered up yet again to present a special one-off BMW M6 to the best MotoGP qualifier at the end of the season. This particular collaboration has actually been going on since 2003, but this year, they’re upping the ante with a pretty incredible prize.
The special-edition M6, which was recently unveiled at the Spanish Grand Prix, is dressed in a fancy Frozen Black Metallic exterior to go with an equally fancy set of 20-inch matte-black, light-alloy wheels. Meanwhile, the interior of the M6 Frozen Black carries a unique combination of carbon fiber trim with leather upholstery in Merino and Sakhir Orange. Oh, and don’t forget the M multi-function seats, the heads-up display and the GPS navigation capabilities.
No performance mods were given to this unique M6, so you can expect it to be powered by a twin-turbo 4.4-liter V-8 engine that produces 560 horsepower and 502 pound-feet of torque. With those numbers, the M6 is capable of hitting 0-60 mph in just 4.2 seconds with a top speed of 155 mph.
Click past the jump to check out the safety cars that have participated in MotoGP over the years.
Everyone expects that once the new BMW 2 Series hits the market, a more powerful M version will be in tow. Our spy photographers have already caught some prototypes testing at Nürburgring and BMW previewed the model with the 1M Coupe and the M135i.
Unfortunately, the M135i never made it to the U.S. and the 1M Coupe was an extremely limited model whose order books closed nearly as quickly as they opened.
The M1 Coupe was a mighty micro-Bimmer, with its twin-boosted 3.0-liter straight-six engine that tortured the concrete with 335 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque. We anticipate that the M235i will use the same powertrain. In fact, with the revisions that BMW is currently undergoing, we may even see a few more horsepower from the six-pot. .
UPDATE 05/07/2013: We have created a rendering of the new M235i coupe to help you get an idea of what to expect.
Click past the jump to read more about the BMW M235i Coupe.
There aren’t very much tuners out there that have put their talents to use on the McLaren MP4-12C, but the gang over at Autodynamica decided to load up the McLaren with all sorts of exterior, interior and, most importantly, performance upgrades.
The tuner started by updating the exterior look of the MP4-12C. For this the coated the lower lip in a sharp gray. Autodynamica then turned its attention to installing a carbon-fiber lower grille bars and side-view mirrors, giving the MP4-12C a more race-inspired look. Under the hood, the customers will get a surprise in the form of a signature from F1 McLaren driver Sergio "Checo" Perez.
Our favorite part of this project, as you can likely guess, is what’s under the hood. Under here, the tuner reprogrammed the ECU and spent an exhausting – no pun intended – 10 hours installing a new Fabspeed X-pipe and high-flow catalytic converters.
After these changes, the super car now turns in an astounding 724 horsepower and 552 pound-feet of torque.
After a tune of this magnitude, you need to add some extra sticky stuff under the car. Autodynamica was happy to oblige with a set of 20- and 21-inch HRE wheels on the front and rear, respectively, wrapped in high-performance rubber.
Click past the jump to read more about the standard McLaren MP4-12C.
For those of you who prefer country music, Tim McGraw likely rings a bell. His latest album, named "Two Lanes of Freedom," inspired this rather cool Challenger SRT8 that can be yours, thanks to Pennzoil sweepstakes.
This one-off Challenger is painted in a nice combination of orange and aqua blue, but it also gets numerous insertions of bronze, brown and red. It features a hood that pays tribute to the "TA" style used in the 1970s and a Mopar lowering kit. For the interior, McGraw opted for a bronze metallic trim on the center console and steering wheel, plus orange insertions on the leather seats. His signature is also embroidered on the seatbacks.
In order to win this car all you need to do is be a resident of the U.S. or Canada, click the source link and complete the form with your personal details.
Before going to its winner, this one-off Challenger SRT8 by Tim McGraw will join the singer in a special tour.
Click past the jump to read more about the standard Dodge Challenger SRT8.
Just in time for the 2013 Wörthersee event, Seat is coming back with a new version of its Ibiza SC Trophy racecar. It looks familiar, doesn’t it?
Well, that’s because Seat already showed something similar to it last year.
This time, though, the Spanish automaker is giving us a refreshed take of the sports hatch, complete with some new aesthetic modifications and a nice and subtle performance upgrade.
This year, Seat’s work on the Ibiza SC Trophy includes stripping out the interior to fit in some racing equipment, including a full roll cage. The car also gets a modified oil sump, an improved braking system, and a set of 18-inch racing wheels that really add some sportiness and overall awesomeness for the Ibiza SC Trophy.
In addition to the noticeable aesthetic and racing modifications, Seat also gave the Ibiza SC Trophy a 1.4-liter turbocharged TSI engine that now produces 200 horsepower, 10 percent more than what last year’s Wörthersee offering, and mated it to a seven-speed DSG transmission.
It’s quite a treat seeing Seat have some race-spec cars like this, and the best part is, it only costs €31,500 ($41,195).
Click past the jump to read more about the Seat Ibiza
The 2012 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb was quite a successful one for Toyota, as the company set a new EV record of 10:15.380 up the hill in the Electric class. For this year’s hill climb, the company prepared an improved version of its electric car in an attempt to break its previous run.
The improved version of the P002 is powered by an electric motor that takes its power from a 42 kWh lithium-ion battery. This electric drivetrain delivers a total of 536 horsepower (up from the previous 469 horsepower) and a peak torque of 885 pound-feet. The new P002 can hit a top speed of 142 mph.
The model is being developed on a Radical chassis and features an aerodynamic package to help keep the car glued to the ground at high speeds.
The new TMG EV P002 will be driven by Rod Millen at Pikes Peak on June 30th and one week later it will arrive at Le Mans 24 Hours.
Click past the jump to read more about the TMG EV P002 technical specifications.
A few months ago, Elon Musk announced Tesla’s intention to develop an optional package that would put Tesla Model S on same level as the McLaren MP4-12C. Quite an interesting decision, but it finally came to life – sort of – with the announcement of a new "Plus" package priced at an extra $6,500.
The new package can only be ordered with the 85-kWh Performance version of the Model S and, according to Tesla, it improves "performance, comfort and efficiency."
The package will add revised suspension dampers and bushings, updated stabilizer bars and tires. The rear tires are 20 mm (0.78 inches) wider and staggered for improved acceleration on low-grip surfaces. Range improves 6 to 12 miles with 21-inch wheels.
Alongside to the new Plus package, Tesla also plans to offer a Plus Retrofit package for current Model S owners. It will be available this summer and will cost $13,500. According to the first details, this new package will "provide the enthusiast driver with a more responsive car and added cornering grip while maintaining excellent ride quality."
Click past the jump to read more about the standard Tesla Model S.
In the past few years, Jon Olsson shown quite a passion for customizing special Ultima GTR supercars for the Gumball 3000 international road rally. For those of you who do not know, Gumball is an annual 120-car deep, 3,000-mile road rally that takes place on public roads with a different route each year. Last year’s Gumball took place in the U.S., so this year it is Europe’s turn.
Jon Olsson is one of the guys always present for the rally. For example, in 2011 he developed a special Ultima GTR in collaboration with ADV.1 wheels. For the 2013 rally, his sponsor is Rebellion Racing Team, which is where the name of the car comes from, obviously.
According to the first details, the new Rebellion is a prototype-like conversion, featuring Audi-inspired headlights and Veneno / LMP1 + rear fins and tons of sponsor stickers.
UPDATE 05/15/13: More photos of Jon Olsson’s Rebellion R2K race car have been released. Do yourself a favor and check out the gallery. It’s all worth it.
Click past the jump to read more about Olsson’s previous Gumball car.
