The Nurburgring is bankrupt. And it may not open its doors again next season if it does not come up with the 13 million euros to stay afloat this year.

Without it they will have to close their doors and sell off the track to its creditors. The state of Rheinland-Pfalz turned down Nürburgring GmbH for that loan. A last minute plea to the EU in Brussels for a EU handout failed too.

Facing debts of €413m the ‘Ring only has assets valued at €126m, according to accounting firm Ernst & Young. Now it looks like its only a matter of time until the Ring closes.

Some are saying that they will stat open till the end of this season. One thing is for sure… next year’s … CONTINUED

The first reviews of the 2013 X1 (LCI facelift) are in and they’re a generally positive bunch. First up are the reviews from Car and Driver, Automobile and Motor Trend.

Check out what each American magazine has to say about the refreshed X1 which has already sold more than 300,000 units worldwide.

Automotive News has also published a report supporting the claim that BMW has plans to launch a 1 Series [2 Series] sedan. They claim that BMW will bring the RWD small sedan in 2015 to rival the future Audi A3 and Mercedes CLA sedans, both expected as early as next year.

According to them, company sources say the growing dimensions of the 3-series sedan led to the decision to build this sedan.

The 2013 M6 Coupe (F13) is a beautiful car, especially in its eye catching launch color - Valencia Orange. But, it’s refreshing to finally see it in another color (besides the Brilliant White M6 Coupe shown at the Beijing auto show). Here it is in San Marino Blue, which is the launch color for the M6 Convertible (F12). This M6 features the now-standard trunk spoiler for the coupe.

Both San Marino Blue and Sakhir Orange are available for the U.S. M6 coupe and the convertible as standard metallic colors in addition to Singapore Grey, Imperial Blue, Mojave (Havana), Black Sapphire, Space Grey, Silverstone and Alpine White. Current factory Individual colors ($1800 option) for the U.S. include Moonstone, Tanzanite Blue, Citrin Black, and Ruby Black.

We’ve posted below … CONTINUED

BMW M brand’s biggest present day fan, Bill Caswell [of the controversial "Death of BMW's M Brand" Jalopnik article] takes the 420 electric horsepower all-electric E36 M3 Pikes Peak racer for a test drive.

See if this modern day conversion of an older M car impresses.

Autobild pits the 2013 M6 Convertible (F12) against the Jaguar XKR-S Convertible and Mercedes SL63 AMG Performance Package. The M6 cabrio takes first place with a 4.2 stars out of 5 over the other two cars, which tie for second place.

See the performance results inside.

That a BMW M6 Gran Coupe is coming is no surprise. Afterall, we’ve posted several rounds of spy photos and videos of the soon-to-be flagship M model.

However, BMW has now finally officially acknowledged the model to be coming next year. It will likely arrive as a 2014 model year and see its auto show debut at the 2013 NAIAS in Detroit or the 2013 Geneva show. Expect the first details of the car to be announced online by the end of this year.

As the M6 Gran Coupe will utilize the same S63Tu engine as the F10 M5 (although the M6 Gran Coupe may be introduced with a slightly uprated power figure from the M5’s 560hp), it’s previously been spotted testing with and benchmarked against M5s (see … CONTINUED

We hear that a 7 Series by BMW M is coming. No, it won’t be a full fledged M7, but will be a vehicle for BMW’s new M Performance Automobile line. It will take the form of a M770i xDrive. Read more inside.

Here is our review on the BMW Active Hybrid 3.

Sometimes, we are victims of stereotypes. I, for instance, have always hated the idea of hybrid cars. Surely, a true car fan can’t possibly find anything good about a car which is obviously made for one reason only: Economy. Things are a bit different about the Active Hybrid 3, however. Here’s the story about my first experience with BMW’s latest hybrid.

At first sight, the Active Hybrid 3 [full official info thread] doesn’t look too different from any other F30 3 Series. BMW likes to introduce their hybrid models in a light blue color, but our test car’s Liquid Blue color is also available for other F30 models. Both the exhaust tips and the window trim … CONTINUED