BMW Australia has released details of its updated X5 and X6 range. Notably, that will include the first of the new M Performance Automobiles to arrive in Australia, namely the X5 M50d and X6 M50d.

Powered by a 3.0 litre straight six with three turbochargers, the diesel engine produces 280kW of peak power, complemented by a hefty 740Nm of torque that’s all yours from 2000rpm. With an 8-speed auto, both M50d models can reach 100km/h in under 5.5 seconds. If you behave yourself the fuel consumption ratings say you should be sipping diesel fuel at less than 8l/100km.

BMW explains their unique tri-turbo setup like this:

At low revs, only a small turbocharger with variable turbine geometry is active. Above around 1,500 rpm, this is supported by a larger turbocharger. In the top rev range from approximately 2,600 rpm to the 5,400 rpm redline, a third turbocharger with variable turbine geometry is added to boost pressure and power output.

The X5 M50d and X6 M50d will be in showrooms next month and have been priced from $147,000 and $157,000 respectively. For the record, that makes the X6 M50d around $34,000 less than the X6 M (now $190,900), which is powered by a twin-turbo 4.4 litre V8.

There’s more detail from BMW Australia after the break.

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In his latest Drive video Chris Harris takes to Brands Hatch in a Porsche 911 Turbo S and a Nissan GT-R Track Pack (available in the UK and Japan only). It’s not the first time the Turbo S has found itself in an online battle against the GT-R. Of course, it won’t be the last either.

To the question Harris’ mind: Does the £10K extra asked for the Track Pack over the standard GT-R make a noticeable and worthwhile difference? And, which of these two cars would he take home, assuming a desire for a daily driver capable of handling the odd track day?

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Youtube channel Drive takes us to Stuttgart and inside the Porsche Classic workshop with this recent video.

Porsche Classic has a turnover of around 300 cars a year, which are attended to by a team or experts old and new. Anything from a rusty 356 requiring a back to metal rebuild, to 1960s 911s and more technically advanced 959s can be seen inside the workshop.

Original parts and tooling are used, where possible, and parts from Porsche Classic can be ordered through the broader dealership network around the globe. Interestingly, where documentation doesn’t exist, Porsche will make contact with retired former employees to confirm precise details.

It’s about emotion, they say, and ensuring that the proud record of Porsches remaining in active service continues. It’s claimed something like 70% of all Porsches ever made are still on the road.

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Red Bull Racing owner Dietrich Mateschitz has joined Michael Schumacher in critisising Pirelli’s 2012 tyres. He says the sport has become more interesting for fans, but the teams are struggling to come to grips (haha) with the new tyres.

Speaking to Autosport, Mateschitz said: “F1 is more exciting and more unpredictable than ever before. Obviously, caused by the rule changes before the season, the top teams moved closer together. I always had confidence in the potential of our RB8 and I still have, no doubt.

“But everyone has to learn F1 again. It has become a kind of lottery to find out the window in which a tyre works.

“And I do not believe this just happens on purpose to create more overtaking and tension in the races. I suppose no-one really understands these tyres.”

[Source: Autosport | Pic: Mercedes AMG Petronas]

Volkswagen has been continuing its development of the Polo R WRC on the sunny Spanish tarmac. This video was filmed recently and shows Sebastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia having what seems to be a damn good time. Empty roads, no pressure of competition, just going as fast as you damn well can.

Our last update from Volkswagen was back in March. In the past when an unofficial video like this one has turned up official word and pictures have soon followed. We think the Polo R WRC looks great here in tarmac-spec and hope we get another update from Volkswagen very soon.

[Soource: World Rally Blog]

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Following the recent round of Porsche Macan spy shots, Dan Buzdugan from PS-Garage has had a crack at removing the camouflage and produced the rendering you see above.

In black it’s a little hard to make out the finer details, but as a first guess it’s very useful. You can see a clear resemblance to the bigger Cayenne, which is no surprise. However, the Macan will have styling details of its own.

Starting with the headlights, they’re slimmer than what we’re used to on the Cayenne. Also the front grille and secondary lighting treatments, on this rendering anyway, are more successful than the production Cayenne. The rear C-pillar on the Macan appears less upright than its big brother too.

Check the pics below for a comparison of the Cayenne and Macan.

[Source: PS-Garage]

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Colin McRae tearing up the “Mad Manx” on the Isle of Man in a beautifully prepared MkII Ford Escort. What’s not to love. Check out this great archival footage and marvel in the commitment shown by McRae in his lightweight, yet brutal, pocket rocket.

If you don’t get a kick out of this clip, there’ll be no pleasing you. Ever.

Assuming you do enjoy these highlights rather a lot, we expect you’ll also enjoy finding out more about that Ford Escort.

[Source: Road Magazine]

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Sometimes all you have to do is watch and laugh.

Remember kids, there’s always a time and place if you want to fool around. Public roads are definitely not the place.

[via Autoblog]

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It’s always good seeing a new winner in F1. So well done to Pastor Maldonado for his victory in Barcelona. Williams, too, is certainly not unfamiliar with seeing its drivers stand atop the F1 podium, but it has been a long eight years between victory celebrations (Juan Pablo Montoya, 2004 Brazilian GP).

After a terrible run of results in 2011 we can’t imagine anyone inside Williams would have dared to dream they’d win a race inside the first five races of 2012.

So we thought it would be worth bringing you the post-race press release from Williams, in which Mark Gillan, Chief Operations Engineer, answers a few light and airy questions.

It seems Maldonado has won a lot of brownie points with the Williams top brass. Gillan described the Venezuelan’s drive as, “A master class from start to finish. He was strong all weekend, winning the race from pole despite a strong challenge from Alonso. One can’t ask anymore from a driver.”

There’s more after the break. Including some discussion about the aftermath of the post-race fire in their garage.

[Pics: Williams/LAT Photographic]

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Porsche has given us the best look yet at their 918 Spyder, featuring 770hp of petrol-electric hybrid power. The development phase has taken a step forward with near production-ready prototypes now under evaluation.

The overall look has moved on a little from the 2010 concept car, but the beautifully proportioned supercar shape has not been lost.

Wolfgang Hatz, Member of the Executive Board Research and Development of Porsche AG explains, “What we are doing with the 918 Spyder is redefining driving fun, efficiency and performance.”

Redefining is quite apt, too. Porsche claims the 918 Spyder can achieve these key numbers: 0-100km/h in less than 3.0 seconds, reach a top speed of 325km/h, use as little as three litres of petrol per 100km travelled and cover 25km with zero-emission electric power.

The 918 Spyder has the makings of something very special indeed.

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Ferrari’s post-race blog published after the Spanish Grand Prix has urged Felipe Massa to never give up. But not before it placed his output from the 2012 season to date firmly in the spotlight.

Interestingly, it starts with Team Principal Stefano Domenicali drawing inspiration from Manchester City’s dramatic last gasp victory to claim the English Premier League title. “You always have to believe you can do it, even when the evidence has you believe the contrary,” he said.

While watching the drama unfold in the EPL over the weekend we paused to reflect on Ferrari and Felipe Massa, too. Although, we had him in the role of the red half of Manchester who, for a brief moment, believed they had won the title, only to see it snatched away before the thought of victory had a chance to settle. Sao Paulo in 2008 anyone?

The blog goes on to make the point that this has been a desperately close start to the championship: “With everyone so close the distribution of points is much wider and consequently the leaders have fewer points. Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso, the joint leaders of the Drivers’ championship, have 61 points from the first five races, the lowest figure since the new points system was introduced: Button had 70 in 2010, with Vettel even on 118 last year.”

Then it sinks a not-so-subtle boot into Massa’s points haul to date: “As for an analysis of the Scuderia’s performance and its two drivers, Fernando has always maintained a very high level (67 points and second place in 2010, 51 and fifth place last year) while Felipe’s drop off has made itself felt. The Brazilian had picked up 49 points two years ago and 24 the following year, while so far this season he has just 2.”

Finally, some delicate pressure is applied to Massa to increase his performance: “In Montmelo, Felipe was very unlucky, both in the race and in qualifying, but everyone, he more than anyone, is expecting a change of gear starting right away with the Monaco Grand Prix…”

Meanwhile, Adam Cooper reports former Force India driver Adrian Sutil was trackside in Barcelona and is known to have had discussions with Ferrari in recent weeks.

Now might be a good time to pull your finger out Felipe.

Stiges Terramar is a little known oval racing circuit near Barcelona in Spain. Its concrete construction, featuring 60° banking, was completed around 80 years ago. It’s one of the oldest tracks in Europe, apparently second only to Brooklands in England.

In 1923 Stiges Terramar hosted a sanctioned Grand Prix event. However, the gate receipts were taken by the builders who were trying to recover unpaid funds from cost overruns. No prizemoney was able to be passed to the drivers and the circuit was never used for a GP race again. Minor events were held sporadically over the next three decades, with the last recorded action being in the 1950s.

Until now. Red Bull grabbed a pair of Spanish driving stars—dual world rally champ Carlos Sainz and current DTM racer Miguel Molina—and put them in a top-spec Audi R8 LMS and said go your hardest lads. The result is a nicely produced video which returns the thunder of racing to Terramar.

The clip has plenty of history about the track, too. Only trouble is the voiceovers are all in Spanish. Good for you if you can understand it, but if you just want to watch the action fast forward to about five minutes in.

[via Autoblog]

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Here’s our smoke-free look back at the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix. Did anyone outside of Williams give Maldonado a chance. Indeed, did anyone inside Williams even think a win was theirs for the taking?

Perhaps a perfect example of how open the 2012 F1 season has been so far can be seen by looking back to the Bahrain race. After qualifying the highest placed Williams was in P15; before half race distance both cars had retired. Vettel and Red Bull won in a canter.

In Barcelona, Maldonado lapped the Red Bull of Webber and wasn’t too far from repeating the dose on Vettel. It doesn’t make a hell of a lot of sense. But it makes for fascinating viewing. Bring on Monte Carlo!

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On the weekend BMW released details of the M135i. It’s powered by a 225kW/450Nm inline six-cylinder engine driving the rear wheels. If you reckon rear-wheel drive won’t be enough, then you’re in luck, because from November an all-wheel drive xDrive version will be available.

So, is the M135i coming to Australia? Yes, it is.

Unlike overseas markets, the M135i will only be sold in Australia in a five-door configuration. Other markets will be able to choose between a three or five-door layout. Indeed, BMW Australia told AUSmotive this morning there are currently no plans to offer any 1 Series three-door models locally.

Okay, so when will the M135i be in Australian showrooms? We can’t tell you for certain because BMW Australia is yet to finalise plans with Germany. We do know that BMW Australia hopes to have the car here before the end of the year.

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This morning we asked BMW Australia if the MINI John Cooper Works GP would be sold locally. And if so, how many of the 2000 to be built should we expect.

We have since been advised that the model is very much in MINI Australia’s plans. The usual allocation for a market of Australia’s size would be 10 vehicles, but BMW Australia told AUSmotive they have requested 20.

At this stage, there’s no firm pricing or launch details. We’ll bring that news to you as it comes to hand.