40 Years of BMW M Production Cars

In May of 1972, Bayerische Motoren Werke, more commonly known as BMW, gave birth to a very special division that would not only shape the company's future products, both on the road and on the track, but also inspire its main rivals to follow its example. That subdivision was BMW Motorsport GmbH.
During the presentation of the M brand in 1972, BMW AG Board Member Robert A. Lutz (yes, the same man the younger generation came to know from his work at GM) said:
"A company is like a human being. As long as it goes in for sports, it is fit, well-trained, full of enthusiasm and performance. With sports always being a driving force at BMW, also while the Company was developing dynamically in the business world, it was only obvious at this point that we should concentrate and consolidate our activities in motor sport.”
Over the past forty years, the M division, which is now officially called BMW M GmbH, has left its mark on motorsports and created a raft of production sports cars of all shapes and sizes.
As a first of many tributes to the brand's 40th anniversary, BMW has dropped a selection of photos, which you can check out in detail in our gallery right past the break. And while you are at it, feel free to tell us which is your most and least favorite M car of all times.

PHOTO GALLERY

2020 Minotauro Lamborghini Sports Car Concept

Concept cars never cease to fascinate car enthusiasts. If you claim to be a Lambo fan than this latest sports car concept creation is definitely for you. Andrei Avarvarii, a student at Milan's Scuola Politecnica di Design, with assistance from Lamborghini’s design head Filippo Perini, designed this amazing electric 2020 Lamborghini Minotauro concept.

2020 Lamborghini Minotauro concept

The duo worked to achieve three different goals:

1. Aesthetic goal – Explore soft shapes for a new Lamborghini design language,

2. Technical goal – Redefine the Lamborghini supercar as an electric vehicle and

3. Functional goal: Integrate the new vehicle in the reality of the year 2020.

Designed tasty electric sports car concept Lamborghini, uses four electric motors and power sharing 30% / 70% front to rear. 2020 Lamborghini Concept Minotauro designed by a student getting a master’s degree in Milan Scuola Politecnica in Design, Andrei Avarvarii with the help of Filippo Perini head of Lamborghini Design. Li-Tec A flat-cell batteries in the rear and front of the KERS system will provide power.

A breathtaking beauty on wheels imagined for the year 2020, it mesmerizes you with both its looks and features. The concept creation would utilize four electric motors and split the power 30%/70% front to rear while a Li-Tec flat-cell battery out back and a KERS system in the front provide the power.

The Minotauro has two asynchronous 75-horsepower (56-kW, 76-PS) electric motors at the front that provide 30% of the car’s power, and two 175-horsepower (131-kW, 177-PS) electric motors at the rear. The system runs on a Cerio Li-Tec Flatcell battery, with a Kinetic Energy Recovery System also in place.

The press release goes on to explain the bonus of no big V12 out back: The absence of a big V12 engine in the rear creates enough room for a third passenger in a central position, like the legendary Mclaren F1.  While the driver’s door would be normal, the passenger side’s would be bigger to provide access to the back seat.

What is more, the absence of the powerful V-12 engine in this concept creation makes room for a third passenger. Keeping this in mind, the passenger’s door would be bigger in order to provide access to the back seat. 

But what are sure to appeal to every Lambo fan are the concept’s triangular intakes/exhausts that are not just visually pleasing but serve for battery cooling and act like the tubes of a subwoofer, channeling the sound of the electric motors, placed behind them.

A hi-tech creation, the owners would also be able to upload their own track ghosts to an online community. And if a real racetrack has been / is being covered, the GPS would record car placement / track time, allowing people worldwide to challenge an owner's record.

Guess when it comes to concepts, sky is the limit for the designers.

2011 Audi Sports Car RS5

The 2011 Audi RS5 made its world debut last month at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show and come complete with an uprated version of the 4.2-liter FSI V-8 from the RS4. The latest iteration of the sweet engine delivers 450 horsepower at 8,250 rpm and, between 4,000 and 6,000 rpm, transmits a maximum of 317.15 pound-feet of torque.

2011 Audi RS5

The mighty engine is matched to a seven-speed S tronic dual clutch gearbox and a new center differential in the standard quattro all-wheel drive system. Together, the powertrain propels the coupe’s 3,803 pound kerb weight from 0-62 mph in 4.6 seconds and sees it reach a top speed of 174 mph.

Despite the performance, the new RS5 has relatively good--for a performance car--fuel economy of 21.8 mpg for the European combined cycle.

Developed by quattro GmbH, the RS models comprise the dynamic spearhead of Audi's model range. The Audi RS5 is the latest torchbearer in a tradition dating back over 15 years to the RS2 Avant: superior handling in the mid-size class. A close relative of the V10 which powers the high-performance Audi R8 sports car, the high-revving V8 engine delivers its output from a displacement of 4,163 cm3. Like nearly every Audi gasoline engine, this one also operates via direct fuel injection known by the abbreviation FSI. This same technology has propelled the Audi R8 racing car to four triumphs at the classic endurance race in Le Mans. The common-rail system generates up to 120 bars of pressure.

Intensive fine-tuning of the dual-branch intake and exhaust system allows the undersquare engine to breathe freely; four adjustable camshafts and tumble flaps in the intake manifold facilitate mixture formation. The 4.2 FSI provides imposing torque and is right at home even at high revs - almost like a race engine. The engine delivers 331 kW (450 hp) at 8,250 rpm and - between 4,000 and 6,000 rpm - transmits a maximum of 430 Nm (317.15 lb-ft) of torque.

The vigorous strength, the spontaneous responsiveness, the joyful high-revving, and the throaty, sonorous music: this V8 produced by hand at Audi stunningly combines the essence of power and emotion. The 4.2 FSI propels the coupé's 1,725 kilograms (3,802.97 pounds) in 4.6 seconds from 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62.14 mph) to an electronically governed top speed of 250 km/h (155.34 mph). Audi can increase that to 280 km/h (173.98 mph) upon request.

The RS 5 will ride on a lowered and stiffened suspension, and it most certainly will have a torque-vectoring rear differential similar to that which we recently sampled in the 2010 S5 cabriolet. Also look for an RS-specific calibration of the Audi Drive Select system that allows the driver to tailor steering effect, damping qualities, and transmission/throttle response to his or her tastes. We expect the RS 5 to make abundant use of lightweight materials such as aluminum, magnesium, and probably a conspicuous sprinkling of carbon fiber, á la BMW M3 coupe, as part of its ambitious plan to begin reducing vehicle mass across its model lineup and particularly among its performance cars.

A carbon design package is available for the engine compartment and, for the vehicle body, there are styling packages in black or matt aluminum look, including for the exhaust system, which can be fitted with black tailpipes. The new RS5 is scheduled to go on sale in Europe this July and previous spy shots of prototypes testing in the U.S. suggest the car will also be in local showrooms.

Sales of the Audi RS5 will begin in the spring of 2010. Its basic price will be approximately 77,700 euros.