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2013 BMW R1200GS and HP4 duel at Circuito de Almeria

The 2013 BMW HP4 is the track-ready version of the manufacturer's already mighty S1000RR, which puts the bike at the very tip top of the two-wheeled BMW food chain. The R1200GS, meanwhile, is intended to be a somewhat more utilitarian machine. Capable of conveying both rider and gear over vast distances and uncertain terrain, the big-boy GS is the Swiss army knife to the HP4's rapier. Or at least that's what we've always been led to believe. BMW recently rolled out some footage during a press launch that showed the R1200GS is actually no slouch when it comes time to sling around a road course.
The company threw both bikes on Spain's Circuito de Almeria for a little sparring match, and miraculously, the HP4 didn't just up and walk away from the R1200GS. From from it. Instead, the two stay tightly matched through most of the course before something surprising happens. We won't spoil the ending for you. Is it possible the rider on the HP4 still had some in reserve? Sure, but from the sound and look of things, neither bike was giving an inch. Check out all the video action below for yourself.

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.

Toyota passes BMW as most valuable car brand

An annual market study of the strongest brands across various industries has seen Toyota leapfrog BMW as the world's most valuable automotive brand. Toyota's 2013 brand value rose to $24.5 billion, up 12 percent versus 2012 numbers according to market research company Millward Brown's BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands list. BMW's value fell slightly; down by 2 percent to a total of $24 billion.
Mercedes-Benz finished in third place in the automotive category, up 11 percent from 2012 for a valuation of $18 billion. Honda ($12.4 billion, down 2 percent) and Nissan ($10.2 billion, up 3 percent) rounded out the top five for the category. Volkswagen was the only other auto brand that finished in the top 100 overall, in 100th place. Audi made the greatest percentage gain over 2012, up 18 percent to $5.5 billion, but finished outside of the top 100.
Technology companies dominated the overall list, with Apple, Google and IBM ranking one through three. Couture brand Prada was 2013's biggest gainer, rising by 63 percent over 2012.