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Next BMW M5 could go all-wheel drive

Franciscus van Meel had been a part of Audi AG management since 1996, in positions including chassis development and vehicle project director. In 2012 he was named managing director of Quattro GmbH - headquarters for personal favorites like the RS6 Avant and R8 - but he lasted just two years before being sent to lead an R&D division in Beijing. He returned from exile just ten months later but wearing a blue and white roundel, after being named to the top spot at BMW M. So it shouldn't be a surprise that when Auto Express asked van Meel about all-wheel drive on the next M5, he replied, "If we continue the power increases in the future... then probably the next generation M5 and M6 will have so much torque and power that we need to think about those solutions." It would make sense from a competitive standpoint, too - once the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG went 4Matic, that put the two of the three cars in the segment in the AWD column. And there's no "if" about a power increase: a recent report put next generation's output at 600 hp - that's 40 hp more than today - to power a lighter car. That report said there'd be the option of four-wheel drive, but AE takes van Meel's words as a definite sign that we'll see a more complex drive arrangement under the next M5. If so, then truth be told, van Meel is reiterating the thoughts of his predecessor from two years ago. The new M boss doesn't like the phrase "four-wheel drive," however; in clarifying those "solutions" he mentioned, he said that the car would be rear-biased to remain emotional, with the front tires kicking in to aid traction. Related Video: News Source: Auto ExpressImage Credit: BMW BMW Luxury Performance Sedan bmw m

AC Schnitzer packs 400-hp, tri-turbo diesel into 1 Series

At first blush, this might look like your run-of-the-mill BMW 1 Series, maybe with a few modifications. What you're actually looking at is a monster hot hatch with 400 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque. From a diesel. For this year's Essen Motor Show – Germany's equivalent to SEMA – the Bimmer specialists at AC Schnitzer prepared the ACS1 5.0d concept you see here. Its selling point (if only it were for sale) is the combination of BMW's most powerful diesel engine and its smallest model. It utilizes the 3.0-liter triple-turbocharged inline-six diesel engine from the M50d versions of the 5 Series, X5, and X6 sold in Europe. That engine is normally rated at 376 hp and 545 lb-ft, which is already a ton of muscle. But Schnitzer has bumped up the output on both counts, and slotted it into a 1 Series hatchback. The result is a 0-62 time of just 4.5 seconds, leaving the M135i and M235i in a cloud of diesel soot. Of course, Schnitzer has plenty more to showcase at Essen this year, including modifications for the 3 Series, X6 M, and Mini JCW. And you can bet all the other major European tuners will be on hand at the expo to show their wares, too. But as far as outlandish creations go, this monster diesel hot hatch is what's caught our attention. Compact and incredibly powerful The 1-series by AC Schnitzer with impressive motorsport quality At first sight, you do not expect brute force from the BMW 1-series. So the performance of the compact Bavarian after the AC Schnitzer tuning experts have equipped it with the M50d power plant and impressive performance upgrade, is even more incredible. Originally designed for the 5-series, the "Diesel M-Technik" pack propels the 1-series a long way forward. The smallest BMW series now has an impressive drive concept from AC Schnitzer. After the performance upgrade, the concept engine of the ACS1 5.0d delivers 294 kW/400 hp and 800 Nm torque for generous thrust. Equipped in this way, it takes just 4.5 seconds to sprint from 0-100 km/h. The acceleration from 80-180 km/h is even more impressive: the ACS1 5.0d takes just 7.9 second for this. The smallest of the compacts, the 114i, is already impressive thanks to a power increase by 52 hp to 154 hp. The four-cylinder petrol engine of the 116i, thanks to motorsport technology, now delivers 204 hp instead of 136 hp. The same figure is also achieved by the 118i, which previously had 170 horses under the bonnet.

Audi and Mercedes both outsell BMW in January

There won't be any celebrations in Munich this month, as BMW was outsold by arch-nemeses Audi and Mercedes-Benz. The Bavarian company finished behind Audi in January, which took the top spot for the first time since June of last year, Bloomberg reports. Ingolstadt rode high on a 10-percent bump in sales, while Mercedes saw a larger 14 percent increase. BMW, meanwhile, only saw a modest 6.3-percent sales increase last month, thanks in large part to its struggles in China. The company's sales there increased at about half the rate of its chief competitors, with a 7.9-percent jump to Mercedes and Audi's roughly 15-percent increases. Perhaps more worrying for BMW, though, is that this could become something of a trend for the company. According to Bloomberg, issues with Chinese dealers who cancelled orders over sales targets and bonuses combined with what the publication calls aging models, could spell bad news for the German marque. "This looks like a pretty significant decline in growth compared to Mercedes and Audi," Bankhaus Metzler analyst Juergen Pieper told Bloomberg. "I think this will continue during the next few months." News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Matthias Schrader / AP Earnings/Financials Audi BMW Mercedes-Benz