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BMW pondering hardcore M4 to celebrate 100 years?

2013 is the year for Lamborghini, Aston Martin and the Porsche 911, but 2016 will be the year for BMW. That's when the Munich-based maker of the Ultimate Driving Machine will celebrate its 100th birthday, with what will probably be a year-long celebration. Part of that 365-day party will, reportedly, be an even hotter version of the new BMW M4, which is set to debut in January at the Detroit Auto Show.
Yes, according to Australia's Car Sales, the über-M4 has been hinted at by higher-ups at BMW's M division, who claim the rear seats will be removed, much like the M3 GTS, while other weight-saving measures will be used to try and bring the M4's weight below 3,000 pounds. There's no mention of engine mods, but if the M4's biturbocharged six is as good as we think it'll be, that's not a deal-breaker for us.
The lightening process on the so-called M4 GTS would involve replacing the hood and front fenders with parts made of carbon fiber, while the doors would switch from steel to aluminum. Besides the deletion of the rear seats, Car Sales is predicting lightweight racing buckets, with a carbon-fiber shell and a minimal amount of padding. Expect lots and lots of Alcantara, in place of leather.

BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage R is ready for racing at Pebble Beach

Alongside the awesome Concept M4 GTS, BMW brought out a proper flight of fancy with an R version of the 3.0 CSL Hommage Concept shown earlier this year at Villa d'Este. This stunner pays tribute to the German brand's legendary 3.0 CSL racer from the 1970s and BMW's 40th anniversary here in the United States (and looks a lot better than the previous concept, to boot). Wearing the M brand's iconic livery, the original 3.0 CSL Hommage's styling has been given a hefty makeover with race-derived components. The fascia gets a much more aggressive front splitter, while prominent side pipes highlight the lower section of the car's profile. The side vents look great with the M color scheme and feed air towards that gigantic wing. Like the non-R Hommage, BMW has lined the spoiler in LEDs to tie the taillights together. The concept's race-derived cabin is futuristic, like the standard Hommage. This car, though, neatly integrates the traditional M color scheme into its sculpted, white leather seats. Above the DTM-like steering wheel, the R's dash features more information than the regular 3.0 CSL Hommage. The coolest interior feature, though, is actually part of the driver's kit. The race helmet's visor doubles as an augmented reality display, meaning the Hommage R's pilot is essentially wearing the head-up display. It displays basic vehicle information, and like something out of Forza Motorsport, will even show the ideal line through a turn. We've got a lot of images of the new Hommage R. Below, you can see stock images of the new concept, while our live images are available up top. You can also scroll down for the official press release from BMW. BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage R. The perfect fusion of driver and machine. Munich/Pebble Beach. In August every year car enthusiasts from all over the world gather for the Concours d'Elegance in Pebble Beach to immerse themselves in the fascination of both automotive treasures from years gone by and pioneering studies for times to come. The BMW Group has come up with something very special this year with the world premiere of the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage R – a car that celebrates both the 40th anniversary of BMW in North America and the heady racing success of the BMW 3.0 CSL in 1975. 1975 was the year the Bavarian manufacturer founded BMW of North America, its first official sales company outside Europe.

The troubled Alfa Romeo Giulia needs serious help [UPDATE]

UPDATE: An Alfa Romeo US spokesman responded to this article with the following statement: The safety concerns expressed in the story are false. The all-new 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia is designed and engineered to meet or exceed all federal safety regulations. The Alfa Romeo Giulia will begin production for the North American market in the late second-quarter of this year. Alfa Romeo will have a full product portfolio of premium vehicles that includes plans for (8) all-new Alfa Romeo vehicles by 2020. The product launches are prioritized by segment volumes starting this year with the Alfa Romeo Giulia production for North America starting in late Q2, followed by the Midsize-UV – the 2nd largest premium segment in North America. Even on the day you dragged them kicking and screaming and gesticulating wildly to a table full of concrete evidence, Alfa Romeo executives will never admit the Giulia program is going through a tough patch. But it is. Reports say the Giulia, on the eve of production, didn't just fail one internal crash test, but failed the front, side and rear impact tests. Alfa denies it. Automotive News published a report last week saying two suppliers had insisted the Giulia, on the eve of production, didn't just fail one internal crash test, but failed the front-, side-, and rear-impact tests. A third supplier source told us the same thing. Alfa is denying it. It was due on sale in Europe late last year and was supposed to be here in the next month or two. But it wasn't, and it won't. It was to be headlined by a twin-turbo V6 that reportedly howled its way around the Nurburgring 14 seconds faster than the BMW M3 could manage. That second part is only true if you believe it's fair to compare a full lap in a standard BMW M3 with a favorable accumulation of sector times to a development prototype Giulia with 220 pounds stripped out of it and rolling on hand-cut racing slicks. No, me neither. A Promising Start The Giulia's all-new architecture was developed in just two years by a skunkworks of young engineers headed by Fiat's engineering prince, Philippe Krief, and (bafflingly) sited inside Maserati's headquarters complex in Modena, about three hours from Alfa Romeo's own Turin HQ.