-
6 days ago | 
carbuzz.com | Gerhard Horn
Sporty diesel cars are in short supply, and there's a good reason for that. A turbocharged diesel engine is perfect if you want something frugal or something to tow with, but in every other scenario, it's just not good enough. Still, we can't deny that BMW (and Alpina) made some epic oil-burners back in the day. The BMW 335d packs a mighty punch for not much money, and who can forget the only mainstream quad-turbocharged engine ever produced?
-
1 week ago | 
carbuzz.com | Brett Evans |Ian Wright |Gerhard Horn |Roger Biermann
Synthetic Fuel: The Internal-Combustion Silver Bullet Or Just Another Flash In The Pan?
-
1 week ago | 
carbuzz.com | Gerhard Horn
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is one of only a handful of technologies that have actually filtered down from Formula 1 racing. Ferrari would have us believe that the F1-style gearbox in the 355 filtered down from Michael Schumacher's racing machine, but in reality it was an automated manual with an electronic override. F1 gearboxes are specialized sequential gearboxes that cost more than the most expensive Ferrari you can buy today, but I digress.
-
1 week ago | 
carbuzz.com | Gerhard Horn
There's a 100% chance you've heard about solid-state batteries in electric vehicles, claimed to be the next big step forward in automotive technology. Almost every automaker out there is spending billions chasing the solid-state dream, with Nissan currently in the lead.
-
2 weeks ago | 
carbuzz.com | Gerhard Horn
Toyota Gazoo Racing isn't even 20 years old, and yet it has had a massive impact on the global automotive landscape. Created to bring all of Toyota's various racing efforts under one banner, the team behind it also had a helping hand in performance cars like the Lexus LFA and the first-generation 86. These early cars didn't have special badging, but Toyota soon realized that it could put Gazoo Racing badges on humble cars to make them more interesting.
-
2 weeks ago | 
carbuzz.com | Gerhard Horn
BMW has unveiled the Concept Speedtop, which is basically a wagon with two-doors. While part of its name is "Concept," BMW also announced that it will be available for purchase in a small series (70 units), equipped with the most powerful V8 the German brand currently makes. So that means the plug-in hybrid powertrain used by the BMW XM Label, which produces 738 horsepower. Or it might be the most powerful non-hybrid V8, used by the previous-generation M5 CS, in which case you're looking at 627 hp.
-
2 weeks ago | 
carbuzz.com | Gerhard Horn
Another brand known for fun sporty cars has announced that it has decided to split ways with the manual gearbox. Mini, maker of fun small performance cars and slightly less fun but still entertaining compact crossovers, revealed that there are no more manuals in its future. According to Mini, the main reason is demand. It's roughly 3% of all models sold, so it was a smart move, all things considered.
-
2 weeks ago | 
carbuzz.com | Gerhard Horn
You probably came in here expecting to read all about the E46 BMW M3, which is widely regarded as the best ever made, but I'm not so sure. If we look at the history of the M3, it started off as a homologation special. BMW realized there was a massive untapped market, but some changes needed to be made. The E30 was a specialized piece of kit with a dogleg gearbox, which is why BMW made it more user-and family-friendly for the E36 generation.
-
3 weeks ago | 
carbuzz.com | Gerhard Horn
I'll never forget the first time I saw a screen in a car. It was an E38 BMW 7 Series that belonged to my dad's boss. It sat there right next to the tape deck, blowing my mind into a thousand pieces. How did BMW manage to get a functional screen into a car, and how does it possibly know where the car is and where it wants to go? Keep in mind I was nine years old at the time.
-
3 weeks ago | 
carbuzz.com | Gerhard Horn
Mazda doesn't put its famous "MX" prefix in front of just any car. To date, it has only slapped the letters MX on four production cars. Two of them were quite good. One is an institution that started a revolution in the roadster segment, and the most recent was a giant flop. We're talking about the MX-3, MX-6, and the go-to car for anyone looking for the most amount of fun for the least amount of money: the MX-5 Miata.
