Bmw M6 Lots Of Options ... Look At This One Still Smells New on 2040-cars

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2014 BMW 5 Series starts at $50,425* and gets a new diesel, 5 Series GT starts at $60,925* [w/video]

BMW itself says it is making "Precise modifications to the design" of the facelifted, sixth-generation 5 Series, and this is the result. The 2014 5 Series will come in four flavors - sedan, Touring, Gran Turismo and ActiveHybrid 5 - the biggest news probably the addition of a diesel engine for the US market.
When they go on sale in August, the 528i sedan will start at $50,425, a $1,700 increase over the 2013 model, and if you want xDrive that adds $2,300 to the price across the model range. The 535d employs a 3.0-liter twin-turbo inline six-cylinder diesel with 255 horsepower and 413 pound-feet of torque and starts at $56,025. BMW portends "substantial fuel efficiency gains over its gasoline-fueled counterpart," but the exact numbers won't come until closer to the on-sale date. The $64,825, top-dog 550i holds pat with 4.4-liter, twin turbo V8, with output upped to 445 hp and 480 lb-ft - an increase of 45 hp and 30 lb-ft of torque. The outputs haven't changed on the twin-turbo four-cylinder in the 528 nor the 3.0-liter six-cylinder gasoline engine in the 535, and *all prices include the $925 destination charge. The engines are also fitted with a coasting mode that uncouples the powertrain when rolling downhill.
Outside there are new "contour lines" for the grille and air intakes, slimmer taillights and elements that accentuate the car's width - as if that were necessary. Xenon adaptive headlights will be standard along with side indicator lights on the rearview mirrors, the options list adds LED headlights, the Luxury Line and Modern Line packages. The former package adds chrome trim to certain exterior elements, the latter adds matte chrome trim.

BMW sets Guinness record for longest drift with new M5 [w/video]

In September of 2011, Chinese drifter Wang Qi broke the Guinness record for the world's longest sustained drift, doing 13 laps inside the Olympic Center Stadium in Tianlin, China for 5,802.3 meters. That was broken in February of this year by Abdo Feghali in Abu Dhabi drifting a new Chevrolet Camaro around a skidpad for 11,180 meters - almost seven miles. In March, BMW decided it wanted the record "back in the US," and set up a course at its BMW Performance Driving School near Greenville, South Carolina to get the job done. On May, 11 it was Mission Accomplished when Performance Center driver Johan Schwartz drifted an M5 around a skidpad continuously for 51.3 miles.
Despite that accomplishment, we're pretty sure that professional drifter Vaughn Gittin, Jr. isn't impressed. The way Guinness defines "drifting" can also describe a donut, which is effectively the kind of drifting that's been done for these last three records. BMW went even further by watering down the surface of the track, reducing the skill required and the need to change tires during the effort. On the other hand, you can't drift a car for long in a straight line, but perhaps there should be some clarification or classifications added to the milestones.
There's a short video below taken during the record-breaking run, and a press release from the company that did it.

Why won't automakers slap on a turbo badge anymore?

Where have all the turbos gone? Not the actual pieces that go in the engine, mind you, those are everywhere these days as automakers downsize cylinder counts and boost efficiency and CO2 claims. But the turbo badges and fanfare are missing. Back when turbos were something to get excited about there was "turbo-driven," "turbonium," and "The Turbo Zone," among other silly lines. But now that basically every car is getting some sort of boost even on the lowliest trims, automakers are almost sliding in the turbos under the radar. Or if you look at some of the nomenclature, pretending they don't exist at all. The 911 Turbo badge shows where the car goes from being sane to lunatic. It's an important border. The latest automaker to hide that it has boosted the turbo presence is Porsche with the 2017 911 lineup. Even the standard Carrera models now get turbocharged flat-six engines, meaning the 911 Turbo models aren't quite as special as they once were. Porsche is in a sticky situation with this. The 911 Turbo, after all, signifies where the 911 family takes off from being a sports car and becomes the Ferrari fighter. The 911 Turbo badge shows where the car goes from being sane to lunatic. It's an important border, but now Porsche has crossed it and is trying to downplay the fact. There are a lot of exaggerations with displacement badges today, with claims the 2.0-liter turbo four in a Mercedes C Class equates to a naturally aspirated 3.0-liter six to make a C300. Volvo is pretty far up there, too, saying an XC90 T8 means V8 power, even though it's a 2.0-liter turbocharged and supercharged four with electric assist. I don't know why BMW can't just call the car a 330i Turbo, rather than inflating the numbers up to 340i. Saab tried all of this back in the '90s when it decided to turbocharge its entire lineup, from light pressure units all the way up to models actually called "Saab 9-3 HOT" (for high-output turbo). But then the brand deleted any external reference to the turbo under the hood and people wondered why they were buying a $42,000 four-cylinder convertible. And that didn't turn out well. Even though these turbo replacements often make more power than their naturally aspirated predecessors, they're very different engines. People knew something changed when they exchanged their leased 328i with a 3.0-liter six for a 328i with a 2.0-liter turbo four.