BMW Videos: The Hire

November 29, 2015Gargling Gas Leave a comment

BMW ‘The Hire’

If you follow Gargling Gas you’ll know the guy behind the words lives in a bit of a fantasy world. Along with muscle cars, sleepers and bad BMWs, there’s a back drop of horror, a world in which driving recklessly hails you a hero.

Arnie Cunningham and Christine

A perfect world would see the movies Christine, Smokey and The Bandit, The Car, Drive and The Cannonball Run all merged into one surreal universe of police chase and murder, a dimension in which I’d emerge the anti-hero.

Years back, BMW tapped into this kind of fantasy by releasing a series of 10-min videos. Played by Clive Owen, ‘The Driver’, a hired hand with expert driving skills, finds himself behind the wheel of a BMW. Each episode showcased the latest BMW in a short and snappy storyline.

Unsurprisingly, BMW’s The Hire increased sales, and because they featured Fight Club director David Fincher and the likes of Ridley Scott, Tony Scott, John Woo, Ang Lee, Guy Ritchie, Madonna, James Brown and Gary Oldman, they won a few awards.

Check out the episode ‘Star’ below, written by Guy Richie and starring wife at the time, Madonna.

Our real star of the show is the M5, of course.

Turbo V8 BMW vs Police Car

July 29, 2015Gargling Gas Leave a comment

Norbertas Daunoravičius

Norbertas Daunoravičius is at it again, producing some pretty damn cool drifting videos. I’ve blogged about his Norbe Films venture before, not just because he drifts BMWs but more because his films are beautifully produced and he manages to convey a sense of anarchy whilst doing so.

Norbe Films

Norbertas Daunoravičius has some serious skills when it comes to making a car go sideways. Whilst there are many many drifting videos posted on YouTube, Norbe Films are shot for pure entertainment as well as showing off the skills involved in drifting.

Take one BMW E36, one V8 engine, one turbo charger and one iPad. Once warmed up add copious amounts of oversteer and a police car and… ACTION!

No Sensationalistic Title Needed: 628-BHP Franken E30 M3

June 2, 2015Gargling Gas 1 Comment

BMW Franken M3

The Franken M3

Gargling Gas loves old school BMWs, particularly Pre 2000 M cars. The E30 M3 above is a very special classic indeed. Despite a V10 engine transplant, this ‘Franken M3’ only weighs in 150-lbs heavier than when it left the factory stock, around 3K-lbs.

BMW Franken M3 V10

Franken M3’s Heart

This monster’s modest 4-pot heart was ripped out and a 5.7-L V10 forced in its place. It wasn’t just any heart, either; the stroker unit came from BMW’s performance specialists, Dinan. Along with the massive power comes a tarmac creasing 480 lb-ft of torque, the same as Dinan’s heavier M6 S3.

Of course, the power mongers had to do some serious fettling to allow for a 6-speed transmission, V10 headers and E90 subframes and suspension, but considering all of this only added an extra 150-lbs to its stock weight, I still consider Franken M3 a seriously lightweight E30.

Cost?

Only $224,500.

I usually refer to cars as “her” or “she”, but I’ll end this post by signing off with: Check out the video below and watch this THING in action.

Two Legends, But Who’s God? E30 M3 vs 190E Cosworth

May 18, 2015Gargling Gas Leave a comment

Mercedes 190E Cosworth vs BMW E30 M3

Before you roll your eyes and yawn at yet another BMW E30 M3 vs 190E Cosworth article, consider the prospect of the latter catching up (and dare I say it, surpassing) the BMW in “want” factor. Thanks to the perpetually changing ‘what’s hot”, “what’s not” nature of the automotive world, factoring in the whole Drift/Hipster/Retro movements, could the old Merc capture a little more cool factor and equal that of the Ultimate Driving Machine?

Again, before you write this obvious contender off, a car well known for its performance and constantly compared to the E30, the Mercedes 190E Cosworth boasts both a great back story and amazing racing heritage – the Merc also features the uber cool dog-leg gearing.

Although both cars are luxury German sedans, both powered by a naturally-aspirated in-line 4 engines, both RWD, both punching out around 190-bhp with 170+ft.lbs of torque, their prices differ rather dramatically.

BMW E30 M3 King of Europe ProSeries Drift Competition

A decent BMW E30 M3 will start at around £25K, where a mint 190E Cosworth will set you back only £12-15K. I’ve seen mint E30 M3s go for as much as £40K, with track-spec examples hitting £100K.

Another factor to consider in is how good a car looks drifting. Obviously the E30s look incredible, both agile and sinister, and because of its perfect balancing, fantastic impersonating a crab. I think the E30 looks more like a racecar than the Mercedes, the latter thought more as a businessman’s chariot.

Mercedes 190E Cosworth Drift Car

What some may forget are the glory days when Mercedes and BMW duked it out in European Touring Cars – the 190E Cosworth was a winning car, a force that drove BMW to create the M3 in the first place. In fact, the Merc was so good, Ayrton Senna bought one after winning a 1984 Nurburgring race – check out the 190E in action in the video below.

So with its boxy retro looks, its track abilities, its ability to drift and perform on track, could the 190E see its desirability and value increase?

If you’re still not convinced or sure, Motor Trend did an in depth video on the Germans, so take a look and let me know what car you’d rather see in your garage.

No Substitute For Automotive Passion: BMW E30 M3

May 12, 2015Gargling Gas Leave a comment

BMW E30 M3 – Petrolicious

It doesn’t matter what type of cars you’re into, there are certain models that cast a spell, a collection of nuts, bolts and wires that evoke the child-like emotion: “I WANT, I WANT!”

I had this emotion the first time I took a ride in an MGB GT. I climbed out of that car and wandered around like the Toad in Wind In The Willows, “Poop, poop!”

MGB GT

Thanks to my father, and much to my mother’s dismay, my first car was a rebored orange 1978 MGB GT.

There are a few cars that have this hold over me, chief among them the Buick GNX, but rather than list the others, check out the video below and listen to this guy’s story on the BMW E30 M3 (also on my list). If you’re into cars you’ll know the E30 M3 is a classic with perfect balance and handling, a great looking car with more than enough hooning power. A decent one with average miles will set you back around £30K, which may sound a lot to some; to those in know like this guy in the video, it’s a small price to pay for a car you’re smitten with.

I’ve used a video from Petrolicious to highlight the special bond us petrolheads have with our cars before. The YouTube channel is worth subscribing to for it’s fantastic filming and great selection of cars, all of them boasting some kind of cool story – and as far as Gargling Gas is concerned, car stories are the best.

Enjoy!

Alpina: More Than Just A Tuning Company

May 7, 2015Gargling Gas Leave a comment

Alpina e12 B7 Turbo

Having owned several Mercedes, a BMW e46 M3 and currently an E36 325i coupe, I’m a massive fan of German cars. Whilst Mercedes have their AMG tuning division and BMW their infamous M division, there’s another name synonymous with BMW that offers more than a badge and extra grunt.

Alpina e12 B7 Interior

Since 1965 German manufacturer, Alpina have worked alongside BMW, their platform the canvas onto which they lavish their unique styling and performance enhancements. Whilst the car above could be mistaken for an early e28 M5, if you look a little closer you’ll notice the “Alpina” and “B7 Turbo badges”. Both cars are performance sedans in their own right, however, the Alpina’s styling is more luxurious, complete with signature spoked wheels, and perhaps ahead of its time considering the use of turbos in the current M cars, Alpina turbocharged the engines.

Classic Alpina Wheels

Alpina’s 1979 launch of their B7 Turbo was a significant move forwards regarding the general public having access to big power family cars. In the same year, Road & Track magazine tested the B7 Turbo and proclaimed it as ”The World’s Fastest Sedan.” This is an amazing feat, especially as five years later it still held the title, boasting a 163.9-mph top speed.

Alpina e12 B7 Turbo

We tend to think of the early M cars as the first stupidly fast sedans, but Alpina’s 1979 B7 Turbo produced 296-bhp – that’s more power than BMW’s M1 supercar and 11-bhp more than the first M5 in 1985.

The videos below show off some very rare cars, including a couple of later e28 models, one in action against a BMW e36 M3 – although it doesn’t quite match the e36 in performance, it still highlights the amazing power on offer in 1979, over a decade before the e36 was produced.

I was thinking about getting my hands on another M3, either an e36 or an e46, but after seeing their stylish turbocharged cousins, I’m leaning towards an Alpina.

Skogen Racing: Connoisseurs Of Sleeping

April 2, 2015Gargling Gas Leave a comment

Skogen Racing Cortina – Mondeo ST220 Engine

This outfit from Sweden are exactly what messing about with cars are all about. Take a 30-year-old car on the verge of being either parted out or scrapped, wrench on it, give it a major heart transplant, and then drift it or race it through forests.

My favourite of the bunch, despite being a massive BMW fan, is the Ford Cortina pictured above and below. Once Skogen Racing have finished with it, you are left with a 950-KG car boasting 306-whp, a transplant from a Ford Mondeo ST220. Of course, there’s a lot more to it than shoe-horning a bigger power plant into the car, the list of modifications more than enough to both harness the extra grunt and stabilise the little car.

306-whp Ford Cortina With A Mondeo ST220 Engine

I say ‘messing about with cars’, but Skogen Racing are a little more than that, regularly competing in auto events. When they aren’t injecting serious power into retro cars, they’re either sliding, racing or dragging them, the team often arranging events and meets.

770-bhp BMW Powered Ford Seirra

Some of their cars do hint as to being modded, but when you consider their Ford Seirra pictured above and its turbo-charged BMW M50B25 transplant, no one would expect it to boast 770-bhp. After swapping the Ford 2.8i V6 for a BMW 2.5-L inline-6, followed by adding a Garrett GT40 turbo, intercooler, injectors and forged pistons to handle the power, I consider this a serious sleeper.

So if I were facing the crusher, this is the way I’d like to go out: smoking and screaming, sliding through the Pearly Gates so violently an immediate one-way ticket to Hell would be issued.

Check out more of Skogen Racings insane livery and the way they add massive power without making it too obvious.

The one gem they did build that can be called a pure sleeper is the MK1 Ford Fiesta featured in their video below. I remember this car as a four-year-old, two of them in my street, both owned by elderly people. Take a look what Skogen Racing did to it…

Modern Cars Are Gaining An Extra Spare Tyre

February 5, 2015Gargling Gas 1 Comment

The subject of modern cars gaining weight through the evolution of safety and performance has been touched upon here before, the main angle focused upon power-to-weight ratios and whether older cars are more fun to drive than their more powerful yet heavier counterparts.

However, this time around the angle is focused upon actual weight and the sheer glutinous nature of modern design and technology. Did you ever think the quintessentially British Mini Cooper would outweigh a BMW sedan?

I read an article on the 2015 Mini Cooper S in bed this morning and noticed a familiar bhp figure: (189). That’s a horse shy of my BMW E36 325i, I thought.

Descending further through the Cooper S spec sheet I made a note of the curb weight (1495-Kg).

Wow, I said out-loud, the 3 Series of yesteryear is 35-Kg lighter – and that’s with a larger 2.5-L in-line 6 lump.

BMW took over and manufactured Minis in 2000, but even back then the relatively large new concept compared to its Rover predecessor was nearly 300-Kg lighter than the 2015 model. As for its Austin grandaddy, the German sibling is over double the Kgs…

Despite being a horse under power and 35-Kgs heavier, the Cooper S performs well.

Or does it?

Two decades or so separate the E36 and Cooper S, and despite the modern technology, the Mini only manages to knock half a second off the E36 0-60 time.

I do wonder how the Minis of 2030 will fare. Will they weigh in heavier than the BMW F30s of today? Will they need twin turbos just to make it out of the garage. Will a rocket and parachute be required to make a run to the shops?

What do you think? Can manufacturers continue to increase power whilst the added weight of safety and handling software and devices continue to hamper genuine performance gains?

Give me a 236-hp per ton featherweight any day.

Gargling Gas

Because cars have feelings too…

Menu

Widgets

Search

BMW