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Rolls-Royce Cullinan and BMW 8 Series spied south of Death Valley

Recently, we've stumbled upon a number of manufacturer prototypes running around. Usually, spy photographers sit and wait for hours with cameras primed in order to get a few shots of a car. We just got lucky. First, we caught the new Chevy Corvette ZR1 convertible during a Facebook Live video. A week or so later McGraw snapped a video of a ZR1 coupe cruising in his neck of the woods. Today, our ace photographer Drew Phillips caught a BMW test fleet filling up the new Rolls-Royce Cullinan and 8 Series coupe in Baker, Calif. Baker sits along Interstate 15, about halfway between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. It's just south of Death Valley, and, being late August, suggests that BMW was doing some hot weather testing. Drew was filling up his car when the fleet rolled in. There were at least two of the new king Rolls and a single 8 Series. Both cars were wearing a full swirl camouflage wrap. It's not an uncommon place to see prototypes. Still, seeing a whole fleet roll in is quite a sight. We've seen official photos of the Cullinan before, but these pictures give us our best view of the profile and rear we've had so far. From a distance, it looks like a high-riding version of the new Phantom with a hatch in place of the trunk. The taillights are obviously just filler units. Expect the final version to look very much like the squared off LED units on the Phantom. Likewise the interior and engine should be straight from the Phantom. That means a twin-turbocharged V12, though power is likely to be sent to all four wheels. We've seen the full BMW 8 Series concept a few times now. The proportions on the production car look the same, with a long hood and even longer wheelbase. The nose isn't quite as aggressive as the concept, but we expected the styling to be toned down to meet crash and safety standards. As for engines, look for six, eight and (hopefully) 12-cylinder power under the hood. A plug-in variant is also expected. Both cars have been in development for a long while, so look for full debuts sometime this auto show season. Maybe we'll happen upon some more test mules between now and then. Related Video:

VW Golf R pitted against BMW M235i in enthusiast's choice battle

Most people don't have two, open spots in their garage to fit a practical daily driver and a fire-breathing performance car for the weekends. That's what makes vehicles like the latest Volkswagen Golf R and BMW M235i just about perfect for the average person. Both of these Germans can lope around as a commuter 90 percent of the time and be perfectly comfortable. However, when you want to walk in the door with a big smile on your face, you can take the back roads home and get a real thrill from them.
In his latest short video, Chris Harris from Drive tests these surprisingly comparable German performance cars. Both of them offer buyers in the neighborhood of 300 horsepower, with the BMW winning out with 320 hp. However, the Golf R gets standard all-wheel drive, which is now an option on the M235i. Harris has quite positive things to say about these Europeans, but you're going to have to watch the video to hear just what he thinks.

BMW reveals full details on M235i Racing

We were suitably excited when BMW first announced the imminent arrival of the M235i Racing. After all, what's not to like about a factory-prepared racecar with 333 horsepower you can pick up for just eighty grand? Now BMW has released the full details on the latest addition to its racing portfolio, where it joins the M3 DTM, M3 GT4, Z4 GTE/GT3 and 320 TC in a growing family of competition machinery prepared by BMW Motorsport.
Based on the new 2 Series coupe, the M235i Racing is the first M Performance model for the track, and boasts the line's most powerful engine: the 3.0-liter twin-turbo straight six has been optimized to 333 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque. A mechanical limited-slip differential helps transfer the power to the track surface, along with race-tuned ABS, DSC and traction control.
Four-pot calipers up front and two-pot calipers in the rear shave off speed for the corner and are packed inside the 18-inch alloys, with KW dampers and H&R suspension components. Inside there's a six-point racing harness and Recaro bucket surrounded by an FIA-certified roll cage, and customers can even have an extra seat installed to take passengers for ride-alongs. All of which can be yours for €59,500.00 - equivalent to $82k at today's rates, before taxes.