BMW

In times as tumultuous as these, we’d be shocked, to say the very least, if the majority of statisticians didn’t report a noticable uptick in bank heist attempts over the past couple years. And while we obviously don’t endorse criminal activity of any variety, we can’t help wondering if there is such a thing as the perfect getaway car for such a task. Thankfully, it turns out we aren’t the only ones suffering from this perverse curiousity. In fact, the German hoons at GRIP were very, very interested in answering this question.

How do we know this? Well, for starters it appears they commendeered a disused military base complete with town-like sections of buildings and streets to test a vehicle’s agility, plus some long, wide runways for high speed running. Secondly, they’ve assembled a superstar collection of getaway vehicles (tuned models from Audi, Dodge and Porsche), plus one very special police car with which to play the game of cops & robbers about which young gearheads can only dream. So grab some poppin’ corn and make the jump for the video and an explanation of what’s going on, since all the dialogue is auf Deutsch. (Our friends who took Spanish instead in high school are totally jealous right now...maybe.)

In the past the idea of having a track comparison between a BMW M3 and a Ford Mustang GT was about as logical and fair as asking "The Rock" to compete against Jet Li on the Ninja Warrior course. The Rock may be strong, but his agility is lacking. Since its birth the BMW M3 has been known for its handling. It came standard with neautral balance and execellent turn in, with oversteer optional. The Mustang built its name on acceleration. If the muscle car Hall of Fame existed, Ford's pony car would get early admission. But with its live axle, big V8 motor and American upbringing teaching it success lies at the end of a drag strip, it was never seen as a competitor to the Bavarian acrobat. Recently the 2012 Mustang Boss 302 was suggested as a worthy competitor for the M3, but that's a special model that's meant for the track. Surely the plain Jane Mustang GT wouldn't stand a chance.

The good people at Motor Trend beg to differ. They think the 2011 Ford Mustang GT is a very good car. So good, it may have the skills and tools necessary to venture into the ring with a competitor that no one would expect: the 2011 BMW M3. This is a fight that has never happened. Some called MT crazy for even suggesting the Mustang even good enough to park next to an M3. Is the new Mustang that good, or was Motor Trend just trying to sell some paper? Make the jump to watch the video, and see who is left standing.

Many, many inches of headline are dedicated to the battle for the title of fastest street-legal production car. For the better part of a decade, the McLaren F1 had a chokehold on the record. Then the Bugatti Veyron came along and bumped the number higher, only to be usurped by the red, white and blew-by-you SSC Ultimate Aero. Now the top spot is held by Bugatti once more, thanks to the Veyron Super Sport, though Shelby Supercars and Koenigsegg both claim they’ll have new challengers ready shortly.

Unfortunately, the near-constant one-upsmanship in the quest for the overall fastest street car mark has pushed other similar races to the sidelines, namely the battle for the fastest sedan in the world. After all, who doesn’t love the thought of blasting down the Autobahn with three or four of your closest friends with Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries” filling the cabin? Probably people who aren’t cool enough to be reading this site and would probably find NPR.org more their speed. Anyway, the latest four-door that is staking a claim to the mantle of fastest of the breed is German tuner G-Power’s current reimagining of the outgoing E60 generation BMW M5, the Hurricane RR.

If you had to pick one American car introduced in the last 36 months that is truly impressive and within spitting distance of the world’s best, you could do much worse than the second generation Cadillac CTS-V. It’s definitely raised the sport sedan bar, and GM is hoping the new coupe version will do the same in the premium high-performance two-door segment. But how will we know how this flashy fastback stacks up against two of its biggest rivals from Germany, the BMW M3 and Audi RS5?

That’s where well-established enthusiast publications Motor Trend and Car and Driver come into play. Contrary to popular belief, they are quite aware of the existence of the Internet and the additional capabilities it offers over ultrathin wafers of pureed trees. How do we know this? By the two nicely-put-together HD videos after the jump, of course.

We bring you this story with a heavy heart and sad fingers on the keyboard. Toyota's chief test-driver, Hiromu Naruse, died on June 23rd on the 410 Highway near the famous Nurburgring in Germany. He was driving the recently spied Lexus LFA Nurburgring Edition, of which only 50 will be made, costing 1.5 million Euros. Naruse was driving on the two-lane highway and (for reasons still unknown) crossed the dotted line into on-coming traffic, where he collided with a BMW, also driven by factory test drivers (from BMW, of course). Both the BMW drivers survived, although one is still in critical condition.

We praise Naruse for his obvious passion and creativity. Without him we may never have seen those few yet brilliant cars Toyota has produced in the last 5 decades. He died doing what he loved and what he was seemingly born to do, and for that we pay him our highest respects.

If you haven't heard of Stoptech you probably place mods in the following order: power, wheels, suspension, tint, brakes. Therein lies the problem with many of today's car enthusiasts, because if you ask any racer, brakes should always be upgraded before horsepower. And unless you're one of the lucky people who bought a car that's already fitted with killer brakes, you should know the name, Stoptech. It was founded in 1999 by a team of engineers who have been racing cars since 1980. Their goal was to be a leader in providing brake upgrades for a weekend warrior or a racing team. Fast forward 30 years and they've achieved that and more, producing packages for 277 platforms and helping numerous Touring Car Champions slow for corners.

You have to be smart to patent a design for braking systems; we're not talking about shift knobs here. So it's only plausible that the brains at Stoptech are perfectly capable of enhancing other parts of a car, right? Right. So that's what they did, teaming up with APP to build this intimidating-looking, race-inspired 2010 BMW Stoptech M3. Make the jump to read the details.

In 2003, American artist Jeff Koons approached BMW about creating an Art Car. At that time, his initial collaborative efforts did not bear any fruit. However, today, Koons proudly unveiled a 2010 BMW M3 GT2 wearing his unique design aesthetic and carrying the distinction of the 17th BMW Art Car. The creation was unveiled in the Centre Pompidou in Paris in front of 300 VIPs.  

Koons worked closely with a team of BMW engineers and designers to make sure the Art Car's wrapping didn't adversely effect aerodynamics or weight. The group managed to move from design to completion in just under two months. First, a layer of digital print on car wrapping vinyl was applied. Then a double clear-coating was laid down to bring out the color.

Bimmerfest is the one event that every BMW enthusiast waits for each and every year. It finally came this year, on Saturday May 22nd, at the world famous Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA. Now Bimmerfest isn't your average car show, it's BMW specific. It's the place where all the new gadgets and goodies are unveiled, by the biggest names in aftermarket BMW parts; it's like SEMA for BMWs. Bimmerfest is also the largest BMW gathering in the US.

Hardcore BMW enthusiasts work long and hard each year, to make their cars that much better then what they showed up with the previous year. The months, weeks, days, and even hours before the event are spent buying parts, swapping motors, acquiring wheels, and detailing, so that each person can be proud of what they brought to the showgrounds. People travel from across the country each year just to witness this amazing event.