German Car Scene

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  • Magny-Cours shoot-out


    France’s Motorsport Magazine heads to Magny-Cours circuit armed with four super cars: Porsche’s 911 GT3 RS 4.0, the beautiful Ferrari 458, the Corvette ZR1 and Nissan’s GT-R, to see which comes out on top. The result might surprise you – but we’d still choose the RS 4.0… (more…)

  • BMW M3 DTM completes successful test at the Hungaroring


    BMW Motorsport has completed another successful M3 DTM test, this time at the Hungaroring. The three teams: BMW Team Schnitzer, BMW Team RBM and BMW Team RMG were all present, there to work on general set-ups and to assess the cars’ long-distance durability. Day one saw them cover a total of 361 laps of the 4.381 kilometre circuit, while day two resulted in 392 laps – around 3,300 kilometres in total – with no issues on either day.

    Confirmed BMW Motorsport pilots for 2012, Andy Priaulx and Augusto Farfus attended the test on both days, with American Le Mans Series champion Dirk Müller and Dirk Werner there on the first and second day, respectively.

    “It was a great feeling to be able to test the BMW M3 DTM for the first time. It is very different to the BMW M3 GT. The carbon brakes, in particular, require a big readjustment. The car felt very good from the first moment,” said Werner.

    Powered by a 480 hp V8 engine – fitted with two 28 mm air intake restrictors, the M3 DTM hits 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 3 seconds, while top speed is around 300 km/h (186 mph).

    [Source: BMW Motorsport]

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  • BMW offers a Taste of Hell


    Here’s a trailer for the movie “24hours – One team. One target,” that follows Team BMW Motorsport’s time at this year’s 24-hour race in the “Green Hell”. (more…)

  • Creating the Mercedes-Benz Concept A-Class


    Exterior designer Mark Fetherston and interior designer Jan Kaul describe what it took to take the Mercedes-Benz Concept A-Class from a simple sketch to full-blown vision of the future. (more…)

  • Mercedes-Benz ML 63 AMG Carbon Series by Kicherer


    Stockach tuning house, Kicherer, has just released details of its program for the Mercedes-Benz ML 63 AMG, the “Carbon Series”. Visually, the ML’s body has been de-chromed – right down the badges, and receives a covering of carbon fibre-look foil and tinted rear light clusters, giving the chunky SUV a slight air of menace. A set of colossal 23-inch alloy wheels complete the look.

    Performance-wise, the mighty AMG V8 powerplant gets an ECU tweak and stainless steel sports exhaust, resulting in 540 hp (397 kW) and 640 Nm of torque – up from 510 hp (375 kW) and 630 Nm. Kicherer also fits its adjustable PowerConverter, which eliminates the delay that can be found in electronic fly-by-wire accelerator pedals.

    [Source: Kicherer]

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  • Carlsson offers C-Tronic CB power upgrade unit


    Renowned Merzig-based tuning specialist, Carlsson has created a range of C-Tronic CB units for 4-cylinder turbocharged Mercedes-Benz engines, offering up to 28 percent more power.

    The Carlsson unit simply links up with the car’s on-board electronic control system, via a cable, to make things a little more interesting.

    Tailored for each specific engine size; for example, the CB18 unit takes the C 180 BlueEfficiency from 156 hp (115 kW) to 186 hp (137 kW), the CB20 gives the SLK 200 BlueEfficiency a jump from 184 hp (135 kW) to 211 hp (155 kW), while the E 250 BlueEfficiency can enjoy 231 hp (170 kW) instead of the previous 204 hp (150 kW), thanks to a CB25 module. All of these programs will set you back € 1190 each (before taxes).

    The next level of tune involves the C-Tronic CB S and the addition of a Carlsson intercooler – available for € 1690 (before taxes). This helps to release 201 hp from the C 180 BlueEfficiency, 224 hp from the SLK 200 BlueEfficiency, and 239 hp from the E 250 BlueEfficiency model.

    [Source: Carlsson]