Essen Motor Show

Mini’s extensive configuration catalog runs like a grocery list, that is, if you haven’t gone to the grocery in a year or two. Simply put, the options on Mini’s catalog runs long and deep. Apparently, though, the German automaker doesn’t think in those same sentiments because it’s added an extensive list of new options and accessories from its John Cooper Works customization line. There are a lot of new digs here, from new aero kits to interior designs, and suspension modifications. The highlight though is an engine tune for the Cooper S, one that nets the hatchback an increased output of 208 horsepower.

It’s admittedly not much considering that the standard hatchback already packs 189 horsepower by itself, but it is worth something, especially for owners who aren’t stoked by the thought of going the aftermarket tuning route. The good news is that Mini has them covered on this end because the new line of accessories are as comprehensive as they get.

The new JCW options and accessories are available for the entire Mini range with extra emphasis on the coupe and convertible versions of the Cooper S. Whatever the model is though, the new line of JCW upgrades has them covered.

So, if you want to dress up your Mini with cosmetic and performance modifications, there are more options to choose from now that Mini has loaded up on the extra accessories.

Continue after the jump to read more about Mini’s new line of original accessories by John Cooper Works.

As the calendar year draws to an end, the Essen Motor Show comes to conclude the year of European motor shows with numerous tuning, motorsport, and track-race production models. The organizers expect more than 300,000 visitors to come to the exhibition halls at Essen’s Grugapark, which will have a wide array of cars and aftermarket products on display, including many from BMW.

The German automaker will bring its latest M Performance parts to Essen, as well as eight vehicles, including the M240i Convertible and the M2 Safety Car. The public will also be able to demonstrate their racing talent at the “DTM M4 Driving Simulator” by following in the tracks of Marco Wittmann, the newly crowned DTM champion.

As for the actual performance parts, BMW will introduce a handful of upgrades for the M3 and M4. First up, there’s carbon rear wing made entirely of carbon-fiber with the struts sporting M motorsport stripes in blue, red, and violet, and "Performance" lettering on the sides of the blade. The coupe and sedan will also get an M Performance suspension that will enable drivers to adjust ride height between five and 20 mm (0.2 and 0.8 inches) via a spring plate on the front and rear spring struts. The coil springs are painted red for a motorsport-inspired look. Both the carbon wing and the suspension system will be offered starting summer 2017.

The M3 and M4 will also get something new under the hood. Unfortunately, I’m not talking about power upgrades, but the new carbon engine cover should make a few enthusiasts happy. Made from hand-crafted, high-quality carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic, it will give the M3 and M4 a race-inspired look under the lid.

The BMW booth will also showcase the brand’s new M Performance Accessories, including an Alcantara steering wheel with carbon trim and race display, gear selector lever and carbon handbrake grip with Alcantara bellows, 19-inch, double-spoke 405 M Bicolour alloy wheels, black matt rear diffuser, and carbon tailpipe trims. All these parts will be exhibited on an upgraded M240i Convertible model.

Continue reading for the full story.

The all-new Audi TTS represents a new styling direction for the firm’s beloved entry-level sports car. With a new look featuring the latest in Audi’s design philosophy, the TTS is certainly ripe for some aftermarket loving. The model was only launched in May 2015 and it didn’t take long for ABT Sportsline to jump in front of the line with one of the first tuning programs for the sports car.

The German tuner is famous for cooking up impressive programs for the Four Rings. Just recently, ABT Sportsline introduced a new kit for the Audi SQ5. It’s also done work on the Audi S8, S1, RS5, and naturally, the previous generation of the TTS.

Now that there’s a new TTS in town, ABT Sportsline went back to work, designing a new aerodynamic kit that’s well suited for the proportions of the sports car. The tuner also put in some time dressing up the interior and beefing up the sports car’s suspension. But, anybody who knows of ABT Sportsline’s work, knows that the real highlight of its programs is the engine modification. On that end, ABT didn’t disappoint with what it was able to bring out of the TTS’s 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine.

If anybody ever expected anything less out of ABT Sportsline, this program for the new Audi TTS would put all those doubts away.

Continue reading to learn more about the 2015 Audi TTS By ABT Sportsline.

Since its rebirth under BMW in 2002, no other car company has been able to touch Mini when it comes to its range of customization. There are literally millions of permutations available—virtually assuring that no two Minis sold will be alike. A countless range of exterior graphics packages, floor mats, trim options, key fobs, fog lamps, colors, wheels, body-kits, valve stem caps, spoilers, performance parts and storage options allow buyers to customize Minis anyway they wish before their cars even leave dealer lots. These peripherals have been a huge revenue source for the company and, when added liberally, can cause MSRPs to double over the base cost.

Now Mini is introducing a whole new range of options to complement both the third-generation 2 Door and 4 Door models, including the new John Cooper Works Pro design line, at the 2014 Essen Motor Show. In addition, a gigantic range of new accessories is being introduced that will allow customers to take color coordination to new levels for both models. Want plaid floor mats? How about graffiti-styled rear-view mirror cover that say “VROOOOM?” Mini can oblige no matter how questionable your tastes may be.

Click past the jump to read more about the MINI Cooper S With John Cooper Works Pro.

Aftermarket company, BBM Motorsport, has pulled the covers off of its new program for the BMW M6 Cabriolet and by all accounts, this is one of the more impressive takes we’ve seen of the German saloon.

The first order of business was to change the color of the M6, and BBM Motorsport called in SFT Carwrap for the job. With the latter responsible for the dress-up, the M6 Cabrio was treated to a fancy matte steel-blue body wrap and accented with gunpowder shades that came from SOTT / Arlon. A set of alloy wheels - 21-inch Breyton Spirit R types - was also installed, as was a KW suspension kit that keeps the car handling supremely even with all the power upgrades it received.

Speaking of such, BBM Motorsport wasted little time giving the M6 Cabrio a huge engine modification, something it achieved by remapping the ECU and installing a complete Akrapovic exhaust with carbon end pipes. With these upgrades, the aftermarket company was able to increase the output of the M6 to an insane 705 horsepower and 636 pound-feet of torque, a significant rise from the standard 560-horsepower and 502 pound-feet of torque output of the standard model.

No performance numbers were given, but we assume the BBM Motorsport-tuned M6 is now capable of hitting 60 mph in 3.5 seconds to go with a top speed of 190 mph.

Click past the jump to read more about the BBM Motorsport’s program for the BMW M6 Cabriolet

The 2013 Essen Motor Show has just concluded, giving us a sense of what’s going on in the European tuner car scene. Manhart Racing had very special car on display, much like other tuners who had gathered at the annual exposition. But, before we come to that, let us give you a brief background of the donor car.

The BMW M135i has captured the imagination of every auto enthusiast on this planet. A small, affordable hatchback with a pokey little in-line six-cylinder engine developing loads of power and bucket full of adrenaline.

Manhart has taken the M135i and turned it into a rear-wheel drive drift maniac. How have they done it and why are we so excited about it? Well, we think 400 horsepower would answer all your questions.

Yes, this tiny BMW M135i now produces 403 PS (397 horsepower) and 561 newton meters (413 pound-feet) of torque from its six-cylinder engine. That’s 63 PS more than the standard car. So, you have 403 horses driving the 19 inch OZ Ultraleggera wheels. What could go wrong, apart from lots of tire smoke.

Click past the jump to read more about the Manhart Racing’s BMW M135i

The Range Rover Sport is one of those SUVs that doesn’t really need to a whole lot to grab attention. But if an aftermarket company is willing to give it some added shine, we doubt the SUV will have any complaints about it.

One of the best tuners for Range Rovers happens to be really good at things like this and at the 2013 Essen Motor Show, Startech presented a program that took a pretty long time to build. Then again, with programs of this quality, you can’t short change the time it takes to get it up in full swing.

Designed to further enhance the Range Rover Sport’s already appealing visage, the Startech program comes with a load of new features, the most prominent of which are new body components, including a new front bumper with larger air intakes and hooked up with LED daytime running lights. At the rear, a new diffuser was also installed, as well as a stainless-steel sports exhaust system, adding that throatier response that will be of good use with the performance kit added under the SUV’s hood.

Rounding out the exterior mods is a set of 22-inch alloy wheels and a suspension lowering module that can drop the SUV’s ride height by about 25 mm (0.98 inches).

Meanwhile, the interior’s been spruced up with some fine upholstery material, something the Range Rover Sport deserves. Be it premium leather or Alcantara, the material is nothing but top-of-the-line and complemented nicely by carbon-fiber and exotic-wood trim.

Finally, this program wouldn’t be complete without any performance mods and that’s exactly what Startech did. The tuner equipped the SUV with an SD30 S tuning kit, driving up the output of the Range Rover Sport to 323 horsepower and 501 pound-feet of torque, which is a nice jump from the stock 258 horsepower and 600 Nm (443 pound-feet) of torque from the stock 3.0-liter turbo-diesel engine. This power allows the vehicle to hit 62 mph in 6.9 seconds to go with a top speed of 138 mph.

Click past the jump to read more about Startech’s program for the Range Rover Sport

Most of you are starting to think about what to buy to your loved ones, while folks in Germany are getting a good look at cool things to buy their cars at the Essen Motor Show. At this show, the major tuners of Germany, and not only, will display their best kits developed over the years, plus a series of new ones specially created for the show.

Like Lorinser did with this upgrade did based on the new Mercedes S-Class. The kit unveiled at the Essen Motor Show was based on the S550 version, but we’re pretty sure all the other variants will get similar treatments.

A base S550 is powered by a 4.6-liter, V-8 engine that delivers a total of 455 horsepower, but Lorinser managed to squeeze another 75 horses from the powerful engine. With a total of 530 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque, the Lorinser S550 will sprint from 0 to 60 mph in just 4.8 seconds and up to 155 mph.

Click past the jump to read more about the Mercedes S-Class by Lorinser.

A highlight of the 2013 Essen Motor Show is the TUNE IT! SAFE! car and this year, the Association of German Vehicle Tuners (VDAT) has introduced the BMW 4 Series-based ACS4 2.8i Coupe.

The Bimmer coupe was worked on by AC Schnitzer, hence the familiar nomenclature, and comes with a steady diet of aftermarket upgrades that would make the the Police and the Federal Ministry for Transport, Construction and Road Development really proud.

It’s an extensive project, just like previous TUNE IT! SAFE! models and appropriate for an event like Essen. The ACS4 2.8i Coupe comes with a number of new aero components from AC Schnitzer, including a front and rear spoiler, a rear roof spoiler, and a rear diffuser. Adding to those new items to the exterior are a new set of 21-inch alloy wheels wrapped in Hankook 245/30ZR21 Ventus S1 evo tires and an adjustable race-spec suspension that not only lowers the height of the coupe by 25 mm (0.98 inches) but also gives it improved stability in the event the police car is used for law-enforcing purposes.

For the interior, AC Schnitzer continued with its functional modifications on the 4 Series Coupe. None of the upgrades will blow your socks off, but for what they’re worth, the new floor mats, key holder, and aluminum gear knob, foot rest, handbrake handle, and pedal set all represent upgrades in their own right.

Under the hood of this specially-prepared 4 Series Coupe, AC Schnitzer did a sizable performance bump, increasing the output of the sports car’s 2.0-liter, four-cylinder turbo engine from 245 horsepower and 255 pound-feet of torque, all the way up to 294 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque. With these new numbers, the sports coupe can now hit 62 mph in 5.7 seconds, 50 to 112 mph in 12.7 seconds. Top speed is still limited to 155 mph, though, so that’s a little disappointing.

Click past the jump to read more about the 2014 BMW 4 Series Coupe ACS4 TUNE IT! SAFE! by AC Schnitzer

Who knew a special-edition Volkswagen would be a popular car for aftermarket programs. Somehow, though, the Polo R WRC has managed to attract not just one tuner, but two.

A few days ago, we showed you a program that came from B&B. Today, it’s ABT Sportsline’s turn, and while not exactly as comprehensive as what B&B did, ABT Sportsline’s take on the Polo R WRC is no less impressive, especially in the way it was able to take advantage of the sports hatch’s already impressive setup and fine-tune it without completely going overboard.

A new set of 18-inch, DR alloy wheels are prominently added to the sports hatch while the interior gets a few noticeable upgrades as well.

ABT Sportsline badging was also added to the grille and rear, enhancing the appeal of the Polo R WRC by ensuring people know that a real tuner worked on this bad boy.

The tuner hasn’t announced any performance upgrades to the vehicle, but safe to say, the 290-horsepower output coming out of its 1.6-liter, TSI engine is enough to enjoy the aesthetic and performance spoils of the Polo R WRC.

Click past the jump to read about the 2013 Volkswagen Polo R WRC Street

Brabus’ attendance at the 2013 Essen Motor Show will be highlighted by a new program for the Mercedes E63 AMG Wagon. So what if the car doesn’t look as sexy as sexy as other Mercs; when you have the kind of performance upgrade Brabus did to it, you won’t be sweating about the car’s lack of "aesthetic appeal".

Before we get to the performance boost, it’s important to point out that the program also comes with its share of new carbon-fiber body parts, including the front spoiler lip and a diffuser insert. A new sports exhaust system was also installed, this time coming with quad tailpipes. Similarly, new wheels are also part of the program, with customers being given the liberty to choose in sizes up to 20 inches.

Moving inside, the cabin of the E63 AMG Wagon comes with a number of customization options that customers can choose from, including picking their leather trim, Alcantara, aluminum shift paddles, among other things.

Finally, there’s the performance modification. Not content with just a 5.5-liter, V-8 twin-turbo engine, Brabus increased the displacement to a monstrous six liters. From there, the tuning firm installed custom turbos with bigger compressors and bespoke exhaust manifolds to feed the beast a healthy amount of oxygen.

With all these upgrades, the German tuner was able to increase the output of the wagon from 585 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque, all the way up to 850 horsepower and 1,069 pound-feet of torque. The latter, though, will be electronically-limited to just 849 pound-feet of torque, to prevent the engine from twisting itself and the transmission right out of the wagon.

With these new performance figures, the E63 AMG Wagon is cable of hitting 62 mph in just 3.1 seconds to go with a top speed of 186 mph with regular tires and 217 mph with high-performance rubber.

Click past the jump to read more about Brabus’ program for the 2014 Mercedes E63 AMG Wagon

The 2013 Essen Motor Show is just around the corner and it looks like ABT Sportsline is ready to impress the world with all its upgrades specially developed for the German tuning show. One of the packages it developed for Essen is based on the seventh generation Golf GTI and tries to discover the dark side of the car.

In order to do so, the 2.0 liter engine was updated with an ABT Power kit that increases the final output to a total of 300 horsepower - up from the standard 220 horsepower. As a result the GTI now goes from 0 to 60 mph in just 5.8 seconds and up to a top speed of 160 mph.

The car rides on new 20-inch alloy wheels combined with new sport stabilizers and an ABT height adjustable suspension kit.

Click past the jump to read more about the Volkswagen Golf VII GTI Dark Edition by ABT Sportsline.

In December, one of the best tuning shows kicks off in Essen, Germany, and AC Schnitzer has already started unwrapping kits it will display on the show floor. The first of them will be based on the BMW 5 Series Touring and as expected, it includes upgrades to the exterior, interior and the drivetrain.

AC Schnitzer is offering power upgrades to pretty much all the models in the 5er Touring lineup, starting with the 520d and up to the 550i with output ranging from 34 to 93 horsepower. As you probably expected, the biggest upgrade is for the 550i, which AC tuned to deliver a total of 525 horsepower — a healthy boost from the standard 449 horsepower.

To help milk this extra power from the various 5 Series models, AC remapped the ECU and added a new exhaust system with sports rear silencer and tailpipes.

Also included is a sharp body kit that gives the 5 Series a new look, while maintaining its overall classy appearance. On the inside, the 5er gets an aluminum gear shifter knob and pedals, as well as high-end velour floor mats.

Click past the jump to read more about the BMW 5 Series Touring by AC Schnitzer.

Gemballa’s troubles seem like distant memories now. It’s not really worth rehashing all the details of the company’s recent history; instead, we can celebrate how it has rebounded from it to produce some pretty impressive tuning programs.

It’s most recent project will be on display at this year’s Essen Motor Show and by all accounts, it’s going to be a pretty incredible project. The program, called the GTP 700, is for the upgraded Porsche Panamera Turbo and like the name indicates, it gives the German sedan quite a hefty performance boost, increasing the output from the already-impressive 520 horsepower to an incredible 700 horsepower.

With the Panamera carrying a 4.8-liter, V-8 twin-turbo engine, that spike in output is made more impressive by the fact that Gemballa was able to massage the modification to ensure that no stones were left unturned in giving the Panamera Turbo that jump in numbers.

No word yet on how the increased output translates to performance numbers, but considering that the standard Panamera Turbo already hits 60 mph in 3.9 seconds to go with a top speed of 189 mph, we won’t be surprised if the final numbers approach 3.5 seconds with a top speed of around 205 mph.

Click past the jump to read more about the 2014 Porsche Panamera Turbo