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Filed under: Coupe, Europe, BMW, Racing
Choosing a safety car to pace a racing series is tricky business that almost invariably results in either a constant flux of vehicles called into duty or playing favorites between the manufacturers taking part in the series.
NASCAR changes its pace cars about as quickly as it changes tires.
Formula One sticks with Mercedes-Benz machinery, and nobody seems to complain very much. But
DTM bridges the gap with a slightly different approach.
In the German touring car series, each of the participating automakers provides safety cars to the series organizers, which alternate between them from one race to another. That was simple enough when it was just
Audi and
Mercedes-Benz, but now that
BMW has thrown its proverbial hat into the ring, DTM is putting a third car into the rotation. And this is our first look at it.
Revealed with a handful of crude snapshots on the BMW Motorsport fan page on Facebook, the BMW
M3 DTM Safety Car looks closer to the standard, roadgoing M3 than the DTM racer, but with some extra modifications. Those include special wheels, an emergency light bar and a stripped-out cockpit with full roll cage and Recaro buckets. But there could be something special going on under the hood as well, where a bright orange engine cover lurks under a unique louvered hood. That could mean a more powerful version of the outgoing M3's high-revving V8 engine to help it stay out in front of all that racing machinery.
We'll have to wait for BMW to release additional information to find out, but for now you can check out the low-res images in the gallery above.
BMW hooks DTM up with new M3 safety car originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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January 23rd, 2012
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The BMW M3 CSL doesn't do drift days; it lets its tail hang out whenever and wherever it pleases. Last August, a CSL opted to go slightly sideways of the racing line at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium.
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January 17th, 2012
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Filed under: Sedan, Performance, Videos, BMW, UK, Luxury
The
2012 BMW M5 is something of an anomaly. Despite its size and weight, the big luxury sedan is actually
quicker than its less corpulent sibling, the
BMW M3, around a road course. With a 552-horsepower twin-turbo V8 engine capable of sucking down small communities, there's no arguing the M5's power. But fast cars aren't necessarily fun. Take the
Jaguar XKR, for example. It's blisteringly quick, but comes saddled with a traction control system that requires an advanced degree in computer science and a thorough comprehension of black magic to completely disengage. Roasting the tires in the big cat hardly seems worth it.
The M5 is no such beast. The goons at
Autocar recently took the portly bruiser out for a little parking lot fun to see just how the machine performs once things get sideways. It would seem that the muscle-bound German is a willing dance partner.
Hit the jump to watch the video for yourself.
Continue reading Autocar gets sideways in the 2012 BMW M5
Autocar gets sideways in the 2012 BMW M5 originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 01 Jan 2012 20:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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January 1st, 2012
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Filed under: Convertible, Coupe, Sedan, Performance, Europe, BMW, Luxury
Autobild recently set out to settle the question of which
M vehicle is the fastest in the
BMW stable at the moment. Not surprisingly, the German enthusiast publication found the
BMW M3 CRT to be the quickest around the Sachsenring, setting the magazine's fastest time around the track with a 1:38.37 minute lap time. That's impressive, but not nearly as astounding as the time drummed up by the new
BMW M5. The portly sedan did the same deed in 1:38.90, or just three hundredths of a second slower than the special-edition
M3.
And what of the sibling rivalry between the
BMW 1 Series M Coupe and the standard M3? As it turns out, the magazine's shoes have given the nod to the smaller of the two coupes. The 1 Series M Coupe barely eked out a win over the M3, though the M3 Convertible took nearly two extra seconds to make it around the course than its hardtop twin.
BMW M5 quicker than 1 M Coupe quicker than M3 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Dec 2011 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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December 29th, 2011
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Know what's awesome? BMW's art cars, which combine huge artist's names with bright colors and plenty of Ms. Know what else is awesome? E30 M3s that still get raced. That means this car, built by a
Jalopnik reader and destined for the Rolex 24 at Daytona, will blow your mind.
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November 21st, 2011
Filed under: Spy Photos, Sedan, Performance, Videos, BMW
That Roundel-obsessed crew over at F30post.com has laid its paws on a quick clip of the next-generation
BMW M3 turning a few hot laps at the
Nürburgring. The video gives us
the best look and listen yet to the performance
3 Series under duress, and it certainly sounds as if the vehicle has finally shed its high-winding V8 for six-cylinder power. That feeling? It's just the universe re-aligning itself. Don't worry about it.
BMW hasn't said exactly what sort of power the next-generation M3 will produce when it arrives, but we'd guess that the number will land north of the 414-horsepower available from the current model.
The only question is whether or not BMW has abandoned its tried-and-true inline six for a more blasphemous V6 configuration. The automaker has publicly said that it wouldn't embrace the V, but there's a growing tied of rumor that would suggest otherwise. Either way, we'll find out when the M bows in mid-2012.
Hit the jump to check out the full video for yourself.
Continue reading Six-cylinder BMW M3 caught on and around Nürburgring
Six-cylinder BMW M3 caught on and around Nürburgring originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 11 Nov 2011 19:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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November 11th, 2011
