Have a peek at the first completely uncovered 2014 M6 Gran Coupe, captured by a daring photographer in a BMW factory. It may only be a side view, but there’s no doubt this is the M6 Gran Coupe.

Its blue M brakes (a new M signature going forward), sideskirts, and mirrors are all evidence this is the M6 Gran Coupe.

What is also seen for the first time on this car are the production wheels, a completely new BMW wheel design.

We’ve captured the next generation X5 M prototype on video for the first time and despite all its camouflage and cladding, still impresses with its furious sounds on the Nurbrugring test track. Have a look and listen inside.

Think there are a lot of 1 Series in Taiwan? If you didn’t, this should change your mind. This recent meet saw over sixty 1 Series in attendance, with twenty of them being 1M coupes, which would be impressive even in a big BMW market like the US or Germany.

Check out the event videos and photos.

Car owners whose air bags have been replaced in the past three years may have had dangerous counterfeit bags installed, the Obama administration warned Wednesday.

Only 0.1 percent of the U.S. vehicle fleet is believed to be affected, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a statement. But industry officials briefed by the government said tens of thousands of car owners may be driving vehicles with counterfeit air bags. NHTSA testing has shown most of the counterfeit bags don’t inflate or fail to inflate properly. In at least one case, a counterfeit bag fired shards of metal shrapnel on impact, the agency said.

NHTSA is asking car owners to check a government website, www.Safercar.gov, for information on how to contact a call center established by auto manufacturers … CONTINUED

The latest outing by the upcoming 2014 M6 Gran Coupe (M6GC) leaves little else to be revealed. Not that there were many surprises to be revealed in the first place, as the M6GC was expected to share bodywork and most everything else with the F13 Coupe and F12 Convertible variants, but this prototype shows the sculpted roof (carbon fiber underneath the camouflage, just like 6 Series Coupe) and a set of carbon ceramic brakes for the first time.

This is also the first M6GC prototype we have seen sporting the M6 coupe and convertible’s double-slat kidney grilles with M6 badge.

The M6 Gran Coupe will arrive as a 2014 model year and see its auto show debut at the 2013 Detroit NAIAS in January 2013 or the 2013 … CONTINUED

We haven’t spotted the F82 M4 Coupe at the Nurburgring since July, when the F82 was spied for the very first time in public testing. Well, it’s now back at the Ring during an onslaught of BMW prototype testing in the past week, including the F80 M3, F82 M4, F36 4 Series Gran Coupe, F15 X5 M, 3 Series GT, and the M6 Gran Coupe.

Below are the most recent photos and a video of the F82 M4 in testing at the Nurburgring, as well as a recap of what’s known and speculated about the next gen M3/M4 thus far.

SUMMARY

Lighter than current M3
targeting E46 M3 weight (source)
More powerful than … CONTINUED

Apple recently released its iPhone 5 and with it came a change to its connector from the previous 30-pin to the new 8-pin ‘Lightning’ connector.

This change unfortunately means that the new iPhone will no longer work with BMW’s current iPhone snap-in-adapters. So when can we expect the the new adapters for the iPhone 5 from BMW?

We’ve learned that BMW has already started work on the snap-in-adapters for the newest iPhone. The changes however, are said to be quite complex (due to the new connector) and development will therefore require some months to complete. The changes are not as easy as one may think. For example, the iPhone/iPod Out function requires the video D/A converter circuitry to be integrated into the actual snap-in adapter, which will naturally … CONTINUED

Here’s a fun matchup. Watch as the BMW F10 M5 drags against the Tesla Model S to 100MPH. Here are their specs on paper:

Tesla Model S - 443 lb-ft torque @ 0-5100rpm, RWD, 0-60mph 4.4s (factory quoted), 4,647 lbs
F10 M5 - 502 lb-ft torque @ 1500-6560rpm, RWD, 0-62mph 4.4s (factory quoted), 4,288 lbs

The race is a close one and many variables shift the advantage to the Tesla S in such a race. For one, the race is only to 100MPH. Although the Tesla is heavier, it gets full torque to the wheels instantly. You can see the M5 catching up and about to pass at the 100MPH mark, resulting in it winning 1 of the 3 races. If this … CONTINUED

It’s the start of a big testing week for BMW at the Nurburgring, where we’ve just spied the next generation BMW X5 M (F15) in testing. Check out the photos inside. Expect the X5M as a 2015 model year.

The 4 Series Gran Coupe (F36) has now taken its development to the Nurburgring for some high speed performance testing. It’s the first we’ve seen of the prototype on the Ring, as well as being fitted with M Sport Brakes.

As always, don’t worry about the headlights and tail lights of the prototypes at this stage of testing. They are merely fakes for testing purposes. Expect the 4GC to share the lights with the rest of the upcoming 4 Series lineup.

Codenamed as the F36, the 4 Series Gran Coupe will be positioned and priced in the 3/4 Series lineup just as the 6 Series Gran Coupe is positioned in the 5/6 Series lineup (in between the coupe and convertible models). [See our recent article previewing the future … CONTINUED