UK Insurer Parts the Most Unreliable and Costly Car to Fix

In an article on a BMW-faced Honda Accord we found for sale on Craigslist back in 2008, we wrote that in a perfect world, our ultimate car would be �designed by Italians, engineered by Germans, built by Japanese and marketed by Americans�.
So, what�s the worst car one could imagine? Well, if we played around with the above statements, we�d say one designed by Japanese, engineered by Americans, built by Italians and marketed by Germans.
But UK insurance firm Warranty Direct had something a little bit different in mind. Instead of playing the origin card, the company decided to check out its database of 50,000 live policies on cars aged five years on average to part the UK�s most unreliable vehicle that would break down every other month and cost an average of �2,050 (equal to US$3,270 - �2,330) to fix each year.

2011 24-hour N�rburgring Race: And the Winner is�.

Porsche triumphed in the 2011 24 hours of N�rburgring, with the 911 GT3 RSR of Marc Lieb, Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Lucas Luhr crossing the line after 156 laps and 3,958.968 km (2,462.044 miles), a new record for the legendary endurance race in the demanding Nordschleife.
The Porsche 911 GT3 RSR first led the race at Saturday evening, at 23:25, and then its drivers held on to it for the following 16 hours and 35 minutes, or 108 laps.

2012 BMW M3 CRT Special Edition

2012 BMW M3 CRT Special Edition Specification

The BMW has come with a lighter weight car i.e., 2012 BMW M3 CRT (Carbon Racing Technology) Special Edition. This M3 CRT was unveiled during a pre-race BMW M event ahead of this weekends at Nurburgring 24-hour race.This 2012 BMW M3 CRT Special Edition is limited to 67 units only.

2012 BMW M3 CRT Special Edition is boosted with a 4.4-liter V-8 engine with an output power of 450HP horsepower at 8,300 rpm and a 440 Nm (324.5 lb-ft) of maximum torque of 3,750 rpm.
Transmission System : 7-Speed M Double-clutch transmission system with Drivelogic.
Accleration :
0 -- 62 mph [100 km/h] : In just 4.4 seconds.
And it can reach the top speed of 180mph [290 km/h] electronically limited.

Alloy-Wheels : 19" Inch alloy wheels wrapped with low profile tires size 245/35 R19 upfrontand 265/35 R19 at the rear.

Doors : 4-Door
Seating Capacity : 4-Passengers.

Construction / Cosmetics features

M3 "CRT" = Carbon Racing Technologies
Limited production - 67 units
Priced in Germany at EUR 130,000 - incl. VAT
Debuts new production process for CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced plastic) components
Hood and bucket seats made from cellular carbon honeycomb
Hood has strength of conventional steel hood, but at 1/4 of its weight. 50% weight saving over M3 aluminum hood.
Frozen Polar Silver metallic exterior paint
Melbourne Red metallic applications and special treatment for the BMW kidney grille
Exclusive door sill strips, door panels and trim strips in aluminium grain structure
Special Sakhir Orange and Black dual colored covers for the front and individual rear seats
Alcantara-covered M steering wheel

Source: BMW M3Post

Powertrain / Performance Features

450hp @ 8,300 RPM
324lb-ft torque @ 3,750 RPM
180mph / 290kmh top speed
4,360 cc displacement
0-100km/h (0-62mph) - 4.4 seconds
Sports exhaust system with extremely lightweight titanium muffler
Bedplate crankcase construction in special aluminum-silicon alloy
Individual throttle butterflies
Knock control system with ion current technology
Dynamically-optimized wet sump oil supply

Body-Style

3,483 pounds / 1,580 kilograms = [100lb (45kg)] lighter than standard sedan / [154lb (70kg)] lighter when equipment on board taken into account
Proportion of car's weight over rear axle raised to 48.4%
7.74 lb-per-hp weight-to-power ratio
3.5 kg-per-hp weight-to-power ratio
Tech-features

Sound-proofing configured specially for low-weight construction
Two individual rear seats
M DCT w/ Drivelogic
Navigation System Professional
BMW Individual High End audio system
Alarm system with PDC sensors
Wheels/Suspension Features

19-inch M light-alloy wheels in Y-spoke design
245/35 R 19 front tires and 265/35 R 19 rear tires
Front and rear axle enhanced by rigid rear axle subframe
Coilover suspension with individually adjustable dampers
6-piston fixed calipers with low-weight compound construction
378x32 mm front brake rotors / 380x28 mm rear rear rotors
Stahflex brake lines

2012 BMW M3 CRT Special Edition

2012 BMW M3 CRT Special Edition Engine

2012 BMW M3 CRT Special Edition Interior 01

2012 BMW M3 CRT Special Edition Interior 02

2012 BMW M3 CRT Special Edition Interior 03

2012 BMW M3 CRT Special Edition Interior 04

2012 BMW M3 CRT Special Edition Interior 05

2012 BMW M3 CRT Special Edition Interior Rear-Seating's

BMW Faces Problems at 24h N�rburgring Qualifier, M3 GT No7 Crashes

The first qualifying session for the 24 hours of N�rburgring did not go exactly as planned for Team BMW Motorsport, as the number 7 M3 GT driven by Dirk Muller crashed in the Karussell two hours into the session. Prior to that, the car was 8th overall, with Dirk Werner lapping the Nordschleife at 8:32.302.

BMW Launches Lighter and More Powerful New M3 CRT Special, Limited to 67 Units

This is BMW�s new hardcore M3 sedan, the CRT, which stands for Carbon Racing Technology. To be produced in a limited run, the M3 CRT was unveiled during a pre-race BMW M event ahead of this weekend�s N�rburgring 24-hour race.
The special edition model combines the body style of the M3 sedan with technology from the M3 GTS coupe, topped off with the use of carbon-fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) to further reduce the car�s weight.
BMW said the M3 CRT represents the worldwide debut of a new production process for carbon-fibre reinforced plastic components in the automotive industry, adding that we will see the same materials on the upcoming i3 EV hatchback and i8 hybrid sports coupe, due to enter volume production in 2013.

BMW 1-Series M Coupe

The BMW 1-Series M Coupe is pretty fast on paper. Reaching the 60 mph (96 km/h) mark in just 4.7 seconds is no small feat, but nowadays, it seems that performance cars need to have a respectable �Ring� time under there belt to command respect. Now, a forum member of the 1Addicts fan site who calls himself "SteveD" claims that the Ring time for the 335-horsepower strong M model is 8 minutes and 12 seconds.

If true (and according to the N�rburgring lap times list posted on Wikipedia), this means the entry-level M model is 10 seconds faster than the E46 M3, on par with the E86 Z4 M Coupe, but 7 seconds slower than the E92 M3.