Fastest Saloon on the 'Ring?

2012 BMW M5 F10

It's possible, very possible! The M5 E60 put in a time of 8:13, putting it in with the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG and the Ferrari 355 GTB. Now, rumor has it that the new F10 put in a lap time of 7:55, which is a second faster than the Chevy Corvette C6 Z06 and the Porsche 996 Turbo and 4 seconds faster than the Cadillac CTS-V sedan. This also puts the car up there with the Ferrari F430 F1 and the Caterham R500 Superlight. Remember, this is only a rumor! But, if it were true, this would make the BMW M5 F10 the fastest saloon to go round the Nürburgring. Sounds fantastic!

Sabine, Your New Taxi is Here!

2012 BMW M5 F10 'Ring Taxi

So, if you were watching the Nürburgring 24 Hour race last weekend, you were probably thinking to yourself, "Man! That is one intense track!" You're right! It is! Mastering the track takes days, weeks, or even months to accomplish. There are more than 150 corners you must conquer in order to completely dominate this track. That can take an awfully long time, but, thankfully, Sabine Schmitz will be willing to help you out. Known as the "Queen of the Ring", Sabine has been the official Nürburgring taxi driver for many years in a BMW M5, and she will be once again with the all new M5 F10. BMW personally took the car here to test the car's ride, handling, and power. It's been notified by many drivers as one of the best performance sedans ever. And now, it's gotten much better with a more powerful 4.4-liter Twin-Turbo 552 horsepower V8 engine which shoots the car from 0 to 60 in 4.4 seconds on its way to a top speed of 190 MPH (limiter off). As usual, the car will wear the special M Power livery as did the old M5 E60. Only this time, Sabine will shed some seconds off her previous lap times in the old M5.

Breaking News: Your German Rocket is Ready!

2012 BMW M5 F10

Here it is, ladies and gentlemen. At last, presenting the all-new 2012 BMW M5. BMW have put a lot of beef and granite into this car to make it the best high performance saloon out there, even if it's not the most powerful. The remarkable 4.4-liter Twin-Turbocharged V8 engine pumps out 552 horsepower, 4 horses short of the supercharged Cadillac CTS-V Sedan. 0 to 60 is done in 4.4 seconds, 1.3 seconds faster than the E60, but 0.5 seconds slower than the Cadillac CTS-V. It's top speed is limited to 155 MPH, but if you buy the M-Drivers Package, it gets lifted to 190 MPH, which is 7 slower than the Cadillac CTS-V. Anyway, who am I to judge this car by its American competitor. We've waited a hefty long time for this car to come back, and now it has. Sabine Schmitz, this is your new 'Ring taxi. Check out the Facebook page for more photos.

Such a Mistake

2011 BMW 550i GT

It's taken them a while now, but I think it's gotten through their heads. BMW has officially deemed their least-selling car, 5-Series GT, a mistake. I don't blame them. Look at it, it's ugly! They might've taken inspiration from the Panamera. It doesn't matter now because that car has claimed the title as the fastest saloon car in the world. As for the 5 GT, all it has claimed is a rotten trophy for being a piece of crap. Get this. BMW set a goal to sell 4,000 to 8,000 5 GTs in the U.S. annually. Last year, they only sold 2,180 of them, and have currently sold 2,160 of them this year. It's gotten so bad that dealerships have stopped ordering 5 GTs because people just don't want them. It seems that the manufacturer has learned its lesson and will apply it in the new 3-Series GT that they will bring next year. As for the regular 5-door station wagon, it seems like it's too late to bring that over here, although they do consider bringing it, when the development for the next-gen 5 begins. So, here's a Transporter top tip: if you want a fast, luxurious Grand Tourer from BMW, you have two choices: 1. the 2012 BMW 550i X-drive M-Sport sedan, or 2. the 2012 BMW 650i Convertible/Coupe. And, if someone offers you a BMW 5 GT, take your right hand and slap across the face, because he's stupid for even buying one in the first place.

M5 Track Day

2012 BMW Concept M5 (F10)

It looks like BMW's getting ready to debut their premier sports saloon, the M5. Rumor has it that with the limiter off, it will reach 200 MPH on its new 4.4-liter Twin-Turbocharged 552 horsepower V8 engine. That is quite fast for a heavy saloon, even though when it will be released, the limiters will be jammed on. Anyway, other equipment include a new M-Sport 7-speed DCT (Dual-Clutch Transmission), an optional 6-speed manual, and, if possible, X-Drive All-Wheel Drive. Now, I know some of you might be looking at this and getting all angry at BMW for putting All-Wheel Drive and a sports saloon, but this is actually a very good idea. Yes, it might relieve the joy of doing donuts or drifting around corners for pleasure, but what about when it rains or snows? You'll need traction to keep the tires down. The only carmaker I know that can do this with rear-wheel drive is Jaguar. In fact, they've done it on all three cars. But, as for everyone else, all-wheel drive is the way to go, and I think this will come in handy. Well, hopefully they'll make the models separate. Anyway, back to the matter at hand, the production M5 F10 was seen a track in Miramas, France doing some proper rear-wheel drifting for all you tail-happy fans out there. Check out the action below and be sure to tune in this fall at the Frankfurt Motor Show when the car is unveiled.

2012 BMW Concept M5 (Photos)

[Source: BMW & AutoBlog]

German Rocket

2012 BMW Concept M5 F10

The original German rocket has returned with more power and a new face. Say hello to the all new BMW M5. The old 5.0-liter 500 horsepower V10 has been ditched for an all new 4.4-liter 580 horsepower Twin-Turbocharged V8 engine. BMW says it will do 0 to 60 in just about 4.2 seconds on its way to a limited top speed of 155 MPH. With the limiter off, BMW project it will hit over 190 MPH. It will be quite exciting to see just how high the engine revs in the new F10. The old E60 revs all the way to 8,000 RPMs. Anyway, the car also features BMW's new 7-speed M DCT (Dual-Clutch Transmission) with Drivelogic to modify shift behavior and speed. Combine that with Auto-Start-Stop functionality and you've got a car that produces 25% less emissions than the old V10 E60. BMW didn't say much about the interior. In fact you can't even see through the blacked-out windows, even at the showroom in Germany. Looks like we're gonna have to wait til September when the production model gets revealed. As for now, the Concept M5 will hit the Shanghai Motor Show this month. What BMW did tell me is that they've gone back to the drawing board with this car, really churning out the beef and granite to produce a true monster. It looks good. I hope performs as well as it looks. Check out the car's big reveal below.

Breaking News: BMW Takes the Covers Off!

2012 BMW Concept M5 F10 (Courtesy of Jalopnik)

You've waited a lifetime for it, and now it's here. BMW have finally pulled the covers off the BMW M5. All those close to real renderings can be compared to the real thing. This is Germany's top sports saloon. Ok, enough monologuing. Time to get down to business. This thing packs close to 600 horsepower from a 4.4-liter Twin-Turbocharged V8 engine. It's gone through some insane testing in the Alps, on German roads, and, of course, on the Nürburgring. It packs all those performance braun, and yet can still seat 3 kids, a wife or girlfriend, and yourself. Note that this is just a concept car, but don't deny the look. Some of BMW's concept cars, like the Concept 6 back in the beginning of the year and concept M3 a few years back, tend to look exactly the same when production time comes. BMW has already slated this car to make its production debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. Get Ready for that. Check back here for official photos or check Jalopnik for their take on the car.

[Source: Jalopnik]

April Fools from BMW

2012 BMW M3 Pickup

So, if you thought that I was fooling about the M3 Pickup truck, here's some REAL pictures of the car in REAL life. It's still BMW's April Fools joke, but the car is REAL. BMW claims that it's the fastest pickup in the world, even faster than the Dodge Ram SRT-10. The Ram will go up to 155 MPH. This topped out on the Nürburgring at 186 MPH. The 414 horsepower 4.4-liter V8 engine really does wonders for this truck. And, since it's 110 lb. than the regular M3 convertible, it will make much quicker turns. What's also interesting is that BMW actually put this truck in a wind tunnel and found out that it has the same drag coefficient of the M3 Coupe. And it gets better. You can drive this as a targa; the roof can be taken off, shedding another 44 lb. off the truck. So, it works, it looks cool, and it might the best M3 BMW has ever made. It's a shame that it will never be on public roads. But, BMW has told me that it will serve as the workshop transport vehicle for the M-Division. At least they found some use for it. Oh, and one other thing. You see that car under the wraps right behind the M3 Pickup? That's the 2012 BMW M5 F10 Concept. You've all been waiting for that, and BMW specifically said that they would not break their promise of showing that car to you today. Stay Tuned!

M5 Shakedown

2012 BMW M5 F10 Rendering (Courtesy of BMWBlog and Gerald Alvarez)

Nope, sorry this isn't the M5 Concept due this Friday. This is just another rendering by Gerald Alvarez, which is actually somewhat spot on. Friday's coming any faster than this, but BMW will continue to wet our appetite of their new sports saloon by showing us what it's been doing. They've recently released a video where the M5 Prototype was busy doing a snow workout in the Alps. The car seems to handle snow just fine. If you listen carefully to the engine sound, you may notice that it doesn't "V8-ty". This is BMW's new 4.4-liter Twin-Turbo V8 engine which revs to 7000 RPMs.  The X5 M and X6 M use this same engine and if you watch any car videos with these SUVs, you can tell that they sound exactly the same. This is because of the new Turbo system BMW has introduced into its M-Division called Twin-Power Turbo. Now that the Turbos deliver more boost power to the engine, they also change the engine note. So, if you buy the M5 and listen the engine sound thinking it sounds like a Ferrari, that's normal. You may even be grateful. Anyway, back to the M5, 30 minutes of testing was filmed with the M5 Prototype. You can see the snowy action below.

This Isn't a Joke

2012 BMW M5 F10 Rendering (Courtesy of Jon Sibal)

BMW have officially planned to take all of the stickers and masking tape off of the M5 this Friday. Get Ready for that! The new sports saloon is supposed to have about 600 horsepower from an improved 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 engine. Top speeds will vary from 155 all the way to 190 MPH. Take all of the limiters off, this thing will be doing 200 with ease. It's taken BMW a couple of years to develop this car, so it ought to be very good.