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If you want a car that’s small, light, and fun to drive, a Mini Cooper is a great choice. But if you want power, Mini doesn’t have a lot to offer. Even the $32,750 John Cooper Works Hardtop only makes 228 hp. But when the newest high-performance Mini finally goes on sale next year, it will make some very Honda Civic Type R-like power.

Yes, BMW announced that the next John Cooper Works GP will make more than 300 hp. That’s nearly twice as much power as the last Mini JCW GP made back in 2012. Mini’s keeping most of the specs to itself for now, but we do know it will use a turbocharged four-cylinder and will be both the fastest and most powerful Mini ever built. If you’re interested, you better start talking with your dealer now because only 3,000 will be built, with an unknown number of those making it to the U.S.

Mini also promises that its most track-focused model will use race-derived tech to demolish its predecessor’s 8-minute, 23-second Nurburgring lap time. With an extra 100 hp, we can’t imagine that will be much of a challenge. But whether the new JCW GP will break the Honda Civic Type R’s 7-minute, 43.80-second record remains to be seen.

“The fastest Mini in our brand history—which now goes back 60 years—is an expression of pure racing passion,” said Thomas Giuliani, Mini’s VP of product and launch management, said in a release. “We are well aware of the enormous fascination exercised by the Mini John Cooper Works GP, not just from the euphoric reactions to the concept vehicle but also from past experience: after all, every one of its predecessors was completely sold out even before the official market launch.”

Source: Mini

The post The New Mini Cooper John Cooper Works GP Will Make More Than 300 HP appeared first on Motortrend.

Could Rivian Automotive become the next Tesla? General Motors and Amazon may think so. According to Reuters, those two corporate giants are reported to be in talks to invest in Rivian, the 10-year-old electric-vehicle company that unveiled its first vehicles, the R1T full-size pickup truck and R1S SUV, at the Los Angeles auto show last November.

GM, through a spokesperson, responded to our request for comment with just this: “We admire Rivian’s contribution to a future of zero emissions and an all-electric future.” A Rivian spokesperson told us, “We don’t comment on speculation.”

Last November, GM announced a controversial restructuring that sees several gas-powered sedan models cut from its lineup and leaves five North American assembly plants with no product to build as the automaker shifts toward an EV future. GM plans 20 new electric vehicles by 2023.

Like GM plans to do, Rivian uses a flexible skateboard-style platform for its  electric vehicles. Such a chassis could be adapted to underpin GM vehicles if some kind of technology sharing deal is worked out. Rivan has previously said it plans to partner with other companies on autonomous tech rather than try to develop its own. Having access to a platform that already supports a full-size electric pickup could potentially make the electric Chevy Silverado and GMC EV truck that GM executives have talked about much closer to reality than previously thought. Then again, GM is already developing a skateboard of its own: a platform called BEV3 that will debut in a new Cadillac model in 2021.

GM and Amazon investments would give them minority stakes in Rivian Automotive and value the Plymouth, Michigan–based EV startup at $1 billion to $2 billion, Reuters says, citing unnamed sources. That could put the automaker and the online retail giant on the ground floor of an electric-vehicle manufacturer with enormous potential. Fellow EV automaker Tesla has a current market cap of nearly $53 billion, just a couple billion short of GM’s own number. In an additional, Google-like move to move beyond its core business, Amazon has been reported to have made an investment in autonomous-vehicle technology development startup Aurora (one of whose co-founders, Chris Urmson, previously helped lead driverless-car development at Google).

Rivian already boasts a $500 million stake from Abdul Latif Jameel, whose investments include the U.S. branch of Japan’s Sumitomo Bank, and the Toyota distributorship in Saudi Arabia. In addition to its Michigan HQ, Rivian’s human and physical assets include an office in Silicon Valley (of course), a team of ex-McLaren engineers, former Chrysler design chief Tom Gale as a corporate director, and the Diamond-Star auto-assembly plant, formerly owned by Mitsubishi, in Normal, Illinois, which it purchased recently for just $16 million.

Led by Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumnus R.J. Scaringe, Rivian plans to sell the first examples of the R1T and R1S in 2020. Rivian says the R1T pickup will start at $61,000, and have a range of 250 to 400 miles depending on the battery pack; the highest-range trucks will be priced somewhere north of $100,000. Rivian also claims a 10,000-pound maximum payload and a zero-to-60-mph time of less than 3 seconds.

Source: Reuters

The post GM and Amazon Reportedly to Invest in Rivian appeared first on Motortrend.

The deal gives GM a 35-percent stake in the company.

It’s not every day a man gets arrested for allegedly using his C5 Corvette as a deadly weapon, but that’s what happened in a Fort Myers, Florida neighborhood this week.

Apparently a dispute Sunday between two neighbors escalated to the point of violence – and it’s all captured on the victim’s surveillance camera.

Continue reading [VIDEO] Man Using Leaf Blower Hit By Neighbor Driving a C5 Corvette After Dispute at Corvette: Sales, News & Lifestyle.

Le Mans is coming up fast!

At the Geneva Motor Show, Honda will debut a prototype version of an electric vehicle that will go on sale later this year. And here’s a sneak peek at the interior.

This teaser image shows off a large screen that expands across the dashboard. It appears Honda is taking a cue from Mercedes, which offers a large display that merges the instrument cluster and infotainment system together. However, this screen appears to have not two, but three displays, with controls for navigation, a personal voice assistant, smartphone connection, and more. On the EV Menu, drivers can access the car’s charging schedule.

Underneath the screen and atop the dashboard, there is a volume knob, home button, and other controls. Below these, you’ll find horizontally stacked air vents and Honda’s typical climate control setup.

Honda says the prototype takes after the Urban EV concept that debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2017. The similarities are clear in this teaser image Honda released last month showing the prototype’s front end.

Details are slim at this point, as we don’t know the car’s powertrain or even its official name. We should learn more when the prototype electric vehicle is revealed on March 5 in Geneva.

Source: Honda

The post Honda Teases EV Prototype Interior for Geneva appeared first on Motortrend.

The embodiment of beastly elegance, refinement and sophistication.

Subprime borrowers and those under the age of 30 have the highest percentage of delinquencies.

2019 models see a $1,500 discount.

An announcement of a deal could come as soon as this month.

A power-steering cooler can help prolong the life of your steering components, and improve steering feel. Cooler oil equals a better-functioning system.

Driving a car is a sensual experience. That’s the main reason we enthusiasts love it. Driving a car quickly geometrically magnifies that sensation. Riding a motorcycle further increases the environmental intimacy between man and machine. And riding a bike quickly leans the sensual needle all the way into the red zone.

And here I am, sitting on a Yamaha R1M, one of the very insanely fastest, world-beating sportbikes that Toyota Corolla money can buy. I’m decked out in Alpinestars gear that makes me look and feel like a MotoGP knee-and-elbow-and-shoulder-dragger, about to make a lifelong bucket list dream come true—thanks to Zack and Ari and the gang at Throttle Out.

Life is not just good right now. It’s fabulous. As I look through the visor of my full-face helmet, down the main straight at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park, my whole body tingles inside the leathers. My conscious mind is pulling back hard on the reins of my subconscious urge to be on pace with the hardcore bike duo.

Easy, Randy, I know you want it bad, but this isn’t your natural track domain. There are only two wheels under you, buddy. Two tippy, slippy wheels.

Although I live and love automobiles, the very first motorized vehicle I owned was a Tecumseh lawnmower-powered steel frame-and-forked minibike (thanks, Dad). But even as a wide-eyed teen, I never desired or pursued racing a motorcycle. Therein lies the clue to the real difference between bikes and cars: Risk. Pain. Mortal peril.

I looked at the motorcycle situation and realized I was gonna injure my body at some point. There’s a reason the racing saying is “when you crash,” not “if you crash.” And the consequences on a motorcycle are obviously more severe when compared to being inside the confines of a safety cage of a car. It’s pretty much the same reason I only played football for real for just one eighth-grade year: It hurt. Driving a car fast actually alleviates pain. The focus it draws from me makes the whole rest of the world go away. On the bike, on track, I found the specter of pain to be clear and present.

With cars or bikes, track drivers have a less developed survival gene than the normal populace. With bikes, it’s practically nonexistent. So why do we want it, so badly, that we will put our well-being on the line? Because with the risk comes reward. Studies have shown that we humans need risk to survive—some more than others, I’ll grant you. My sensible sister-in-law thinks I’m nuts. In my world, it’s normal.

But the Yamaha isn’t my world. Layered in abrasion-resistant and armored materials, I ease the R1M onto the track. “Don’t crash this thing” is heavy on my mind, yet only self-inflicted. Zack and Ari wave me on with a cheery, “Have a great time!” They are even more cool in person than on video. The Yam has almost 200 hp at 444 pounds. That’s like 1,6,58 hp in your 3,680-pound AMG GT R. Thankfully, loads of electronic controls are a comfort in my mind, like the wheelie control that carries the front wheel just inches off the ground when I grab a fistful of throttle.

The R1M rips so hard that my hands feel weak from just hanging on. I know this is wrong, to strangle the bars tightly while riding, but I have a genuine fear of the thing shooting right out of my grip. Scenery blurs instantly. The pre-warmed tires feel sooo sticky, but the geometry and narrow clip-on-style bars feel awkward in slow hairpins.

The opposite of the AMG, the bike is easy and confidence-inspiring in the high-speed corners and clumsy in the tight ones. Or is it me? Probably. But I much prefer the fast ones, where the bike takes a strong set. At low speeds, it feels kind of tippy, like it wants the ground. The guys warned me to brake early, but the Yam seems to stop well—the greatest challenge being to not overuse the rear brake, which is barely tickling the ground anyway as the front forks dive toward the tarmac.

But the whole, thrilling time, I’m intensely aware of the close proximity of the pavement, and the speed at which it is rushing by. This sensation is nonexistent while coddled safely in the womb of the AMG. The risk changes everything.

In the end, I feel like I have taken the circuit at break-my-neck speed. I tell myself I must have come close to the 57.6-second laps I set in the AMG GT R or within shouting distance of Zack’s time on the Yamaha. But the stopwatch tells no lies. My best time: just a whisper over 1:09.

Find out what happens when a motorcycle ace gets behind the wheel of a Mazda Miata, Chevrolet Corvette Z06, and Mercedes-AMG GT R right here. 2019 Yamaha YZF-R1M 2019 Mazda MX-5 (Club) 2019 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (Z07) 2018 Mercedes-AMG GT R BASE PRICE $22,999 $30,485 $89,985 $157,995 PRICE AS TESTED $22,999 $35,975 $107,200 $195,945 VEHICLE LAYOUT Mid-engine, RWD, 2-pass motorcycle Front-engine, RWD, 2-pass, 2-door convertible Front-engine, RWD, 2-pass, 2-door hatchback Front-engine, RWD, 2-pass, 2-door hatchback ENGINE 1.0L/200-hp/83-lb-ft DOHC 16-valve I-4 2.0L/181-hp/151-lb-ft DOHC 16-valve I-4 6.2L/650-hp/650-lb-ft supercharged OHV 16-valve V-8 4.0L/577-hp/516-lb-ft twin-turbo DOHC 32-valve V-8 TRANSMISSION 6-speed sequential manual 6-speed manual 7-speed manual 7-speed twin-clutch auto CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST) 444 lb (NA%) 2,318 lb (52/48%) 3,527 lb (50/50%) 3,680 lb (48/52%) WHEELBASE 55.3 in 90.9 in 106.7 in 103.5 in LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT 80.9 x 27.2 x 45.3 in 154.1 x 68.3 x 48.8 in 176.9 x 77.4 x 48.6 in 179.2 x 79.0 x 50.6 in 0-60 MPH 2.6 sec* 5.7 sec 3.3 sec 3.4 sec QUARTER MILE 9.8 sec @ 149.9 mph* 14.4 sec @ 95.5 mph 11.4 sec @ 124.4 mph 11.3 sec @ 129.0 mph BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 126 ft* 112 ft 91 ft 95 ft 1.25-MI ROAD COURSE LAP 58.2 sec 70.3 sec 59.7 sec 58.5 sec *Cycle World

The post 2.6 Seconds to 60: Reviewing Yamaha’s Rocket, the YZF-R1M appeared first on Motortrend.

If there’s one major difference between motorcycles and cars—aside from the weather protection—it might be the mystique that swirls around actually piloting a bike. With a bit of dexterity training, a decent internal gyroscope, and a trip to the DMV, anyone can obtain a license to ride a motorbike. But few of us do. And fewer still learn the skills to ride one well, and at speed.

Still, every handful of years a car magazine asks the question that has been barstool fodder for more than a century: Car or bike—which one is faster?

Now, before you start penning a furious letter to MotorTrend, know that I’m a lifelong motorcyclist, here to tell you that … cars are faster.

There, I said it. Cars have more horsepower, more tire grip, and more technology. It’s time we two-wheelers admitted it.

If anything, cars might be too good—so immensely safe and capable that improving a lap time might simply be a function of dollars spent rather than hours trained. Certainly from the perspective of someone who has spent a lifetime wheelying, sliding, crashing, and otherwise “training” himself to extract the most performance out of a motorcycle, it seems awfully simple to drive a car quickly.

Even a car enthusiast like yourself might have wondered, can anyone do it? More to the point: Is it easy enough that good motorcycle racers who have never driven a fast car around a racetrack could get in and match their own motorcycle lap time? And if so, how expensive and fast would the car need to be? These are questions that only a juvenile mind can ask and mature adults can answer. That is to say, I had help.

The representative we chose for motorcycling was Yamaha’s YZF-R1M, a 998cc (1.0 liter in car speak) inline-four that cranks out about 200 horsepower. The up-spec “M” package rings in at $22,999, adding self-adjusting Öhlins suspension, carbon bodywork, and a GPS data tracker. Sure, there are bikes that make more power, weigh less, cost more, and have been updated more recently. We chose the R1M because it is the quintessential state-of-the-art superbike that’s well balanced and supremely easy to ride.

After zipping and buckling the customary motorcycle safety gear, it was time to wrap my brain around the East Track at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park. Just outside Phoenix, this track probably won’t be on the Formula 1 calendar anytime soon, to be honest. But it’s a fairly smooth 1.25-mile circuit with just enough variance in 10 turns to keep you working hard. The R1 was as potent and obedient as I remembered, and in a matter of a few sessions we had a benchmark lap time: 58.2 seconds.

For the sake of easing me into automotive waters and keeping Mr. Editor Loh’s stress headaches to a minimum, my four-wheeled track baptism began in Mazda’s venerable Miata. If you MX-5 owners felt your spidey-sense tingling when reading the R1M specs, that’s because the horsepower and price numbers are surprisingly close. Sure, it feels slow compared to a superbike, but pitching it around Wild Horse left me with the impression that there are two types of people in the world: those who want a Miata and those who have never driven one.

The classic six-speed worked well but was clunky compared to the R1’s sequential tranny and clutchless up-and-down shifting. A helpful colleague explained how to heel-toe, but it didn’t matter; I couldn’t do it, and I didn’t feel as connected to the machine or to the road as I had on the bike. That was especially true in the handful of sections where the track transitions from right to left and vice versa. Keeping the car’s chassis stable wasn’t as intuitive; it’s not like moving your butt to a different place in the seat will help the machine corner the way it does on a motorcycle. Luckily, when I screwed up, it just meant a spinout, and the car was ready for more.

The Miata was tire-squealing fun like I’ve never had. I could have lapped until the tank was empty, but I was parched from laughing, and my times had leveled off at 1:10.3. A cool 12 seconds is a lot of ground to make up, but then if any car was going to close the gap in power-to-weight ratio, Chevy’s Corvette Z06 was a good choice. Blazed across the dash, a not so subtle reminder of the horsepower and torque figures: 650 of each.

Folks who caught wind of this experiment warned me that the ’Vette would be unruly or otherwise difficult. And yes, if you leave a gas station with cold tires only to jump on the boost train willy-nilly, it’ll snap sideways and slosh dark roast out of the cupholder. But once the tires come up to temperature, the Z06 is seriously athletic. There’s nothing like carbon-ceramic brakes and contact patches the size of Utah. The feeling of pushing your foot down and spurring 650 horses is special, and the Z06 will forever be the machine that showed me the light.

Happily, my heel-toe incompetence was solved by the Corvette’s nifty “rev-match” tech, blipping automatically on downshifts. It may be a high-calorie acoustic snack on the street, and purists may hate it, but rev-match was genuinely useful to me on the track. As viciously fast as the Z06 proved to be, it didn’t get me to the promised land of the Yamaha’s 58-second lap times. A 59.7 was the best I could muster. That left only the Mercedes AMG GT R and the question of whether adding around $100,000 to the MSRP could gain me a second and a half.

The Mercedes being painted a matte-metallic shade of money is about as on point as any color scheme. There’s simply no backing away from the opulence. Similar to the Z06, the AMG GT R’s interior feels sunken and weaponized with buttons—like being in the imagined cockpit of the futuristic hovering fighter-tank I built with Lego when I was 7. But where the ’Vette feels like a charming, blue-collar version of performance, the Mercedes is stoic and businesslike. Lots of smooth, dark surfaces with shiny bezels that catch your attention.

For a motorcyclist, my transmission prayers were answered with the AMG’s paddle shifters. Not needing to take my hand off the wheel to shift gears boosted my confidence, and the dual-clutch action deep in the hull of the AMG meant less time spent off the throttle. The Benz’s smaller mill doesn’t have the sheetrock-hauling torque of the Chevy, but everything happens faster—it revs quicker, and it went from understeer to oversteer in the blink of an eye.

The problem with the car being so damned good at everything was my brain having to keep up. During a superbike lap, my synapses fire extra-fast during acceleration because that’s when things happen the most rapidly. Midcorner, however, is a serene place where I operate almost entirely on instinct. It’s graceful and relatively slow. The turn is dictated by the relationship of speed, lean angle, and the whisper of two tires’ miniscule contact patches. There’s no room for heavy inputs or quick changes. A good car, I now know, creates savage forces during braking and corner entry. Reading how much traction was available when I was already braking and turning so much harder than I could on a motorcycle created more than a few short circuits in my head.

Despite being a sharper and less forgiving tool, the AMG GT R carried me around the track faster than the Z06, to the tune of 1.2 seconds. Leave it to the Germans to make a car heavier and less powerful than a rival yet quicker around a track. It was a thrilling 58.5 seconds, just a few painful tenths from my best motorcycle lap.

The truth is, driving a car fast is difficult in ways an average driver hasn’t yet felt and therefore can’t calculate. Deciphering the nuanced messages a car is transmitting at such violent speeds is a dark art. Even my motorcycle racing experience couldn’t prepare me for it. Failing to match my two-wheeled time in a $200,000 car wasn’t a surprise, but coming so close is a clear illustration of how unbelievably sophisticated and capable modern automobiles have become.

So what happens when pro driver Randy Pobst gets on a superbike like the Yamaha R1M? Find out here. 2019 Yamaha YZF-R1M 2019 Mazda MX-5 Miata (Club) 2019 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (Z07) 2018 Mercedes-AMG GT R BASE PRICE $22,999 $30,485 $89,985 $157,995 PRICE AS TESTED $22,999 $35,975 $107,200 $195,945 VEHICLE LAYOUT Mid-engine, RWD, 2-pass motorcycle Front-engine, RWD, 2-pass, 2-door convertible Front-engine, RWD, 2-pass, 2-door hatchback Front-engine, RWD, 2-pass, 2-door hatchback ENGINE 1.0L/200-hp/83-lb-ft DOHC 16-valve I-4 2.0L/181-hp/151-lb-ft DOHC 16-valve I-4 6.2L/650-hp/650-lb-ft supercharged OHV 16-valve V-8 4.0L/577-hp/516-lb-ft twin-turbo DOHC 32-valve V-8 TRANSMISSION 6-speed sequential manual 6-speed manual 7-speed manual 7-speed twin-clutch auto CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST) 444 lb (NA%) 2,318 lb (52/48%) 3,527 lb (50/50%) 3,680 lb (48/52%) WHEELBASE 55.3 in 90.9 in 106.7 in 103.5 in LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT 80.9 x 27.2 x 45.3 in 154.1 x 68.3 x 48.8 in 176.9 x 77.4 x 48.6 in 179.2 x 79.0 x 50.6 in 0-60 MPH 2.6 sec* 5.7 sec 3.3 sec 3.4 sec QUARTER MILE 9.8 sec @ 149.9 mph* 14.4 sec @ 95.5 mph 11.4 sec @ 124.4 mph 11.3 sec @ 129.0 mph BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 126 ft* 112 ft 91 ft 95 ft 1.25-MI ROAD COURSE LAP 58.2 sec 70.3 sec 59.7 sec 58.5 sec *Cycle World

The post Superbike vs. Supercar: Yamaha R1M vs. AMG GT R vs. Corvette Z06 vs. Miata appeared first on Motortrend.

Feast your eyeballs on the awesome Toyota 86 British Green Limited model that lucky Japanese buyers can order now through May 31 for just under $30K at today’s exchange rates. The right-hand-drive variant of the car is slathered in special British Racing Green paint and sits on fantastic-looking bronze-colored wheels.

While we hope that each piece of 86 news will bring word that Toyota has seen fit to offer a little power bump—or maybe even a turbocharger—that remains unfulfilled. The engine is mated to a six-speed manual (where it makes 205 hp and 156 lb-ft) or six-speed automatic transmission (200 hp, 151 lb-ft). It also sports bright-red Brembo brake calipers, Sachs dampers as seen on our TRD special-edition model, a tasteful black spoiler, and those 17-inch wheels. Underneath, the car gets panels to smooth airflow so as to increase overall stability.

Inside, the two-seater gets a tasty black and tan combo with leather and Alcantara upholstery throughout. The driver and passenger seats feature black stitching, perforated inserts, and heating elements. Darkened trim is applied inside, too, including to the shifter surround. Tan contrast stitching is applied to the steering wheel and parking brake handle.

There are no plans for U.S. sales, but now we have another thing to keep our fingers crossed regarding the 86.

Source: Toyota

The post JDM Toyota 86 Goes British Racing Green appeared first on Motortrend.

New from Summit - they now carry the Pro Gas chassis kit from Alston Race Cars. This kit is available in two versions to fit most popular race car bodies. Check it out here!

But that's only for 2018 model year vehicles.

We also confirmed the recommended fuel for the new motor.

Well, they’re finally here. After months of spy shots and rumors, BMW has officially revealed the 2020 X3 M, as well as an X4 M with identical specs. And for the first time on any of BMW’s crossovers, you’ll be able to order a Competition version with even more power.

Under the hood, BMW used a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged inline-six that makes 473 hp and 442 lb-ft of torque. That’s enough power to run from 0-60 mph in 4.1 seconds on your way to a top speed of 174 hp. Upgrade to the Competition, and you get 503 hp, a top speed of 177 mph, and a 0-60 time of 4.0 seconds. You’ll have to add the optional M Driver’s Package if you want to hit those top speeds, though. Otherwise, BMW limits you to 155 mph. Around back, you’ll find a quad-exhaust with an electronically controlled multi-mode exhaust that BMW promises will reduce backpressure and deliver a “stirring soundtrack.”

For comparison, our long-term X3 M40i makes 355 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque, and in our testing hit 60 mph in 4.8 seconds. The last Porsche Macan Turbo with the Performance Package only makes 440 hp and 442 lb-ft of torque but hit 60 mph in 3.8 seconds. The Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 S, on the other hand, makes 503 hp and 516 lb-ft and posted a 0-60 time of only 3.2 seconds. Meanwhile, the 505-hp Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio ran from 0-60 mph in 3.3 seconds.

An eight-speed automatic sends its power to all four wheels and offers three progressively sharper shift modes. To improve driving dynamics, the all-wheel-drive system only sends power to the front wheels when the rear wheels begin to lose traction. Otherwise, it operates like it’s rear-wheel drive. Even better, if you ever decide to hit the track, BMW promises you can turn stability control completely off.

To handle the extra power and improve the driving experience, engineers worked to stiffen the chassis. But if you place your order after August of this year, you’ll have the option of trading your regular front strut brace for a carbon fiber-reinforced plastic one. Competition models also come with larger anti-roll bars to better control body roll. And, of course, the entire active suspension has been reworked for sportier handling. Depending on driving conditions, drivers can choose from Comfort, Sport, and Sport+ suspension settings.

Braking is handled by 15.6-inch discs up front, while the rears are 1 inch smaller. And in the interest of saving weight, the cast-iron discs have aluminum hubs. A set of 20-inch wheels comes standard, with Competition models getting 21-inchers.

Finishing out the M transformation is a more muscular body kit that improves aerodynamics, as well as engine breathing and brake cooling. Inside, you’ll find sports seats, premium leather upholstery, an M steering wheel, an M shift knob, and plenty of M badges. Spring for the Competition, and you’ll get even more aggressively bolstered M-sport seats that are optional on lower models. At the moment, BMW hasn’t revealed pricing, but expect that to be announced closer to the beginning of production in April.

It’s great to finally get to see the M version of BMW’s compact SUVs, as well as what is likely a sneak peek at the drivetrain we’ll see in the upcoming G20-based BMW M3 and M4.

Source: BMW

The post 2020 BMW X3 M and X4 M Make up to 503 HP appeared first on Motortrend.

Ballard is said to have ties with the Trump White House.

The current bid is $106,000.