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BMW X6 M said to lap the 'Ring in 8:20

Bimmer Today reports that the German rag Auto Zeitung ran an Audi RS3 and a BMW X6 M around the Nurburgring together, and the hotted-up sports activity vehicle came in just five seconds behind the white-hot hatch. Driven by 'Ring regular Horst von Saurma, the RS3 ran its lap in 8 minutes, 15 seconds, and the X6 M ran an 8:20. If those times are accurate, that makes the X6 M the second fastest production SUV on the lap-time list according to Wikipedia: ahead of it is the 550-hp Range Rover Sport SVR, which ran a time of 8:14. That time puts BMW's 575-horsepower, 5,200-pound SUV four seconds ahead of the time registered by the last-gen, 555-hp X6 M, and well ahead of the Porsche Cayenne Turbo S that Sport Auto clocked an 8:34 with. It would not, however, match the predictions that X6 M project manager Herbert Bayerl made for it in an interview with Sport Auto earlier this year. Bayerl said "The new BMW X6 M moves at the level of M3," speaking of the E92 BMW M3 that Sport Auto ran around the 'Ring in 8:05. It is, though, two seconds faster than the E46 M3, which lapped in 8:22. Bayerl called out the Range Rover Sport SVR directly, saying, "We have been traveling much faster in testing and have undercut the time of Range Rover several times," and "We don't need any special attachments to go faster." Auto Zeitung's report on the lap is only for subscribers so we'll have to wait for more official news. For the apples-to-apples comparison we'll be looking forward to Sport Auto's hot lap, then we'll know if the Range Rover has anything to fear. Related Video:

Aston Martin DB10 spied in action on James Bond Spectre set

Spectre, the next film in the James Bond franchise, is due for release on November 6 of this year. That means there's filming happening right now all over Europe as scenes are stitched together, and one of them involves the Aston Martin DB10 shuffling through maneuvers at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, England. Our guess is that Bond has become an unwelcome guest at a fancy event – there's a Porsche 959 and a Bugatti EB110 in the courtyard – which is why he is forced to make one of his quick-reversing escapes under fire. While that was being captured last week, the Spectre production crew put together another behind-the-scenes clip from filming in Austria, which gives us a look at the Range Rover Sport SVR and Land Rover Defender "Bigfoot" crushing it up some snowy mountain passes. That clip is below. Yes, we're excited. News Source: L Verse Studios via YouTube, Motor Trend TV/Movies Aston Martin Land Rover Coupe SUV Luxury Off-Road Vehicles Performance Videos spectre aston martin db10

Jaguar Land Rover is going to call itself 'JLR' and spin off brands

Embracing the current popular philosophy that less is more, the executives at Jaguar Land Rover plan to officially rename their company “JLR” and to create a new “house of brands” that will emphasize name equity and refocus its vehicle offerings. In simple terms, the British-based, India-owned company will split into four separate brands: Range Rover, Discovery, Defender and Jaguar. While this shift may appear to be essentially a function of marketing and dealership bookkeeping, the over-arching reason is to give some of the brands more visibility. Details of the plan, which would reconfigure showrooms in Britain into discrete brand footprints, were discussed this week at a presentation by JLR CEO Adrian Mardell. “The reality is Range Rover is a brand and so is Defender,’” said creative officer Gerry McGovern. “Customers say they own a Range Rover. In luxury, you need absolute clarity. Land Rover Range Rover SV Autobiography doesnÂ’t give it. We love Land Rover, but there isn't as much equity as Range Rover, and Defender is increasing massively.”  Underlying the effort is plans to reinvent Jaguar as an electric-only luxury brand, Mardell said that this was “unfinished business” for him since he joined Jaguar 32 years ago. “The Jaguar of 32 years ago is where weÂ’re going back to and the right place for us to be." He further acknowledged that JLR had been “quiet” recently in the face of semiconductor chip shortages, but allowed that that situation was easing at his company.