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Buyers don’t want BMW XM

October 4, 2024 Francis Mitterrand

At the end of 2022, BMW presented its new crossover SUV, the BMW XM. Although it achieved poor sales results from the very beginning, customers are now increasingly moving away from this SUV. In the last couple of months, demand for the XM model has dropped by 30%.

The BMW XM is a large and expensive SUV, and in Q3 2024 only 307 units were sold, which is 136 units less compared to the same period in 2023. This makes the XM less popular than the Z4 model (543 units), a segment that is certainly not achieving good sales results. Sales of the Z4 did increase by almost 64%, but that was only an increase of 212 units.

In the first six months of 2024, BMW sold 1,096,486 cars worldwide, which is a growth of 2.3 percent compared to the same period in 2023. Although the biggest growth was recorded in the sale of electric cars, and 180,000 of them got new owners ( +34%), customers still mostly opt for cars powered by internal combustion engines and hybrids.

However, in the last three months, the Bavarian manufacturer has recorded a significant drop in demand for almost all models. In Q3, BMW sold 5% fewer passenger cars, 8.5% less SUV models, 13.7% fewer Serie 3 units, while the once-popular Mini brand recorded a surprisingly large drop of 33% compared to 2023.

Source: BMW

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The Mercedes-AMG One is still the king of the Nürburgring Nordschleife

October 3, 2024 Francis Mitterrand

In 2022, Mercedes-AMG unveiled one of the fastest road cars in the world, the Mercedes-AMG One, and everyone was waiting to see its capabilities on the famous Nürburgring Nordschleife race track. At the end of that year, the car appeared on the track and set the fastest lap time in the road-legal racing car category. Two years later, the Mercedes-AMG One beat itself and showed that it will rule this track for a long time.

The Mercedes-AMG One is powered by a 1.6-liter Formula 1 V6 turbo engine with 566 hp (422 kW) at 11,000 rpm, which in combination with four electric motors delivers a total of 1,049 hp (771 kW). That’s enough power for this supercar to reach 62 mph in 2.9 seconds, 124 mph (200 km / h) in less than six seconds with a top speed of 217 mph (350 km / h). The engine is paired with a 7-speed gearbox.

As in 2022, Mercedes driver Maro Engel was behind the wheel and the new fastest lap time on the 20,832 km (12,944 miles) long track is 6 minutes and 29.09 seconds. That is 6:09 seconds faster than the previous one (6 minutes and 35.18 seconds), but also the first time that a production car crossed the track in less than 6 minutes and 30 seconds.

There are few super-powerful cars that could set lap times close to or better than the Mercedes-AMG One in the future, and some of them are the Porsche Mission X, Aston Martin Valkyrie or the Rimac Nevera R.

Source: Mercedes-AMG

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The Mercedes-AMG One is still the king of the Nürburgring Nordschleife

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McLaren P1, RB7, Subaru and Pro4 Truck in a drag race

October 3, 2024 Francis Mitterrand

Drag races are popular events where car enthusiasts present their tuned cars by racing against each other. One such event was organized by Red Bull, where an F1 Car, a Rallycross Car, a Drift Hypercar and a Pro4 Truck demonstrated their impressive capabilities on a modified race track.

Red Bull built the ultimate race track where each driver set a lap to make sure that the track is fair. Each vehicle had its own line specifically built for its strengths in order to even the odds and see which one comes out on top.

The Pro4 was driven by off-road racing champion Andrew Carlson, and his car develops more than 960 hp and weighs 2,041 kilograms. Behind the steering wheel of the McLaren P1, which has more than 1,000 hp and weighs 1,400 kilograms, was Mad Mike Whiddett. The powerful Subaru was driven by World Rallycross Championship champion Scott Speed, and the car has more than 600 hp and weighs 1,300 kilograms. The RB7 F1 car, which has 750 hp and weighs 640 kilograms, was driven by Patrick Friesacher.

The first to go out on the track was Friesacher, who also has the longest line, but thanks to the best aerodynamics, he achieved a lap time of 1:20.36. At one point, the RB7 car reached a speed of 288 km/h. After him, Mad Mike Whiddett came out on the track and his show started with a powerful engine sound and burning tires. He had to drift in every corner in order to maintain speed and record the best possible time. In the end, he achieved a lap time of 1:21.40 (+0.84).

World Rallycross Championship champion Scott Speed had the advantage of his Subaru’s fantastic acceleration and the ability to drive off-road terrain outside the track, which ultimately earned him the third fastest lap time, 1:20.56 (+0.20).

Andrew Carlson drove the shortest line compared to all the participants. Its advantage was the best suspension, which allowed the Pro4 Truck to jump over the track and also race off-road terrain with ease. He ended up with a best lap time of 1:20.23.

Finally, it was time to see who would win in a head to head race. Subaru had the best start as the RB7 car soon took the lead. However, the longest line was too much for the RB7 car, which eventually arrived last. The fastest was Mad Mike Whiddett in a McLaren P1, second was Andrew Carlson in a Pro4 Truck while third was Scott Speed in a Subaru.