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BMW names new head of M division

BMW's performance division has been run by Dr. Friedrich Nitschke since 2011, developing, among other products, the new M3 and M4. But soon the good doctor will be retiring, and BMW has just named his successor.
Taking Nitschke's place as chairman of BMW M GmbH will be Franciscus van Meel (pictured at right), who until recently served as managing director of Audi Quattro GmbH - the rival outfit that makes Ingolstadt's performance models, including the R8 supercar and RS line of performance models.
Van Meel will join BMW on October 1, presumably to learn the ropes from Nitschke before the 59-year-old executive steps down at the end of the year. Back in January, Audi named Heinz Peter Hollwerweger as head of Quattro GmbH and reassigned van Meel to its Beijing R&D center, a role which evidently didn't suit him as well as creating Autobahn-storming German muscle cars.

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.

Watch the next BMW M5 slide its way around the Nurburgring

By now, you've probably seen the spy photos of the next BMW M5 – we posted three sets of camouflaged cars last year. Now comes recently captured video showing three camouflaged examples – including the car shown in our June 2015 photos – lapping Germany's famed Nurburgring. The (obvious) advantage of video when looking at prototypes like this is that we can actually see the vehicle in motion. That allows us to make a couple of educated guesses, particularly when it comes to the rumors about the next M5 moving to an all-wheel-drive setup. In the video, we can clearly see the next super-sedan throw its tail out around a bend. Judging by the way the driver takes the turn and the change in engine note, it looks and sounds like the driver was actively trying to throw the tail out. That could point to a rear-drive layout, or at the very least an AWD setup with a heavy rear-wheel bias. Beyond seeing the M5 sliding about, we also get to hear its thumping, twin-turbo heart at work. It's widely expected BMW's popular 4.4-liter, twin-turbo V8 will carry on under the hood, and this video gives us absolutely zero reason to think otherwise. It sounds a lot like the current car, down to the abrupt upshifts of the seven-speed, dual-clutch transmission. According to the video's caption, that upgraded V8 should get around a 60-horsepower bump, which would put it around 620 hp. That's 20 ponies more than the 30th Anniversary car and would contradict a June 2015 report claiming that M was capping its cars at 600 hp. Related Video: