Video Tour of the Unmade BMW M Cars Including the M3 Tourer and Compact, Ur-Roadster and M5 Cabriolet

It is by far, the most sacred place for a BMW M fan. We’re talking about the BMW M Division’s underground facility where the company stores copies of all the production cars and prototypes it has ever built, including a variety of never before seen in public vehicles. In a surprising but much welcomed move, the German automaker recently opened the doors of the special M garage to the members of the press and select enthusiasts revealing an array of models that most had only heard about.

We already brought you a video of the wild M8 Coupe with the 580-horsepower V12 engine that was eventually used on the McLaren F1, but now we have several videos showcasing the entire lineup of M cars.

These include the E46 M3 Touring (BMW for station wagon), the E36 M3 Compact powered by the same 321HP straight-six from the M3 Coupe of the time, the E34 M5 Cabriolet with open-top seating for four, an M3 powered E30 ute and possibly the strangest creation yet, the so called Ur-Roadster. The latter is said to have been developed after the Z1 with power being delivered by the E30 M3’s 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine.

Read more »

BMW M Model Sales Up 50% in 2008

The global slowdown in the auto sector in 2008 had no affect on BMW's M car division that reported a 50 percent sales increase over 2007. Overall, BMW sold 24,186 'M' vehicles, making 2008 the second best year in the sport division's 30-year-old history after 2002 when it shipped 26,776 units. The driving force behind the M division's success was of course the new BMW M3, which in its first full year of production managed to sell 18,000 units worldwide.

The most successful model in the range was the M3 Coupe with 10,571 units followed by the M3 Sedan (3 ,253 units), M3 Convertible (4,169 units), M5 Sedan and Touring (2,465 units), M6 Convertible (1,158 units), M6 Coupe (1,102 units), Z4 M Coupe (739 units) and Z4 M Roadster (699 units).

Once again, the United States was the M division's most prominent market with 10,663 vehicles sold in 2008. In Germany, BMW recorded sales of 2,777 "M" vehicles which represents a 37 percent increase over 2007. By far the strongest growth was reported in Canada, where sales increased by almost 130 percent to 1,114 vehicles.

World Fastest BMW Coupe- G-Power M6

G-Power, a well known BMW tuner from Germany claim to have built the fastest BMW Coupe ever created. The company says the G-Power M6 Hurricane CS has a top speed of over 370 km/h. Unfortunately, the outfit did not reveal where or when they measured this achievement. Nor did they mention the M6 Hurricane's exact top speed. We can only hope this information will come out soon.

What we do know, is that this car certainly has the power credentials to achieve what G-Power says it can achieve. It uses the same twin-supercharged V10 SK III RS found on their M5 Hurricane CS. That car used the 750 hp engine to claim World's Fastest Sedan last year, marking a top speed of 367.6 km/h. The M6 should be able to top that, as it features a more aerodynamic body than the sedan.

Air is cooled down by a water-to-air cast-aluminum intercooler, and pushed into two ASA T1-316 belt-driven superchargers. The company claims no typical supercharger lag with these units, saying that throttle response is immediate, as is the increase in torque. Peak torque output is 800 Nm at about 5,000 rpm. Weight was cut down everywhere, with upgrades made to the exhaust, the seats, and suspension. A new carbon fibre wide-bodykit, with new front apron, vented bonnet, rockers, wheel arches, diffuser, rear apron, and rear wing, keeps the car on the ground. Connecting the car to the road are Micheline Pilot Sport PS2 tires, wrapped around 19-inch custom light-alloys. Carbon-ceramic brakes, and six-piston calipers, provides extreme deceleration.

The tire and wheel change was necessary for the speed tests. G-Power says the 21-inch Silverstone Diamond wheels, and the normal tires used, would not survive beyond 340 km/h.

G-Power for BMW M6

The well known tuner, G-Power had created a package for the BMW M6 owners. The German tuner can upgrade the V10 engine a stunning 635 bhp. By adding two turbo’s, the car is now able to go from 0 to 62mph (100km/h) by only 4.6 seconds, while 125mph (200km/h) at only 7.3 seconds and the cape of 188 mph (300 km/h) is passed in 34.5 seconds. The M6 limited top speed which is 156mph (250km/h) has been extended to 200 mph (320 kmh).

A completely new front end has designed for the M6 by G-Power, which can be made of carbon fiber upon request, with large air inlets for the radiator and front brakes. The front lip spoiler and rear diffuser minimize lift on the axles at high speeds and the side rocker panels maximize ariflow between the wheel houses, filled with G-POWER Silverstone 21-inch light-alloy wheels.