For those buyers who simply can't wait for the next generation BMW M3 (or whatever the new naming convention may be), it appears BMW Canada has your solution. For a very limited time, BMW will be offering the BMW 335i and the 335i xDrive M Performance Edition to Canadians, but you'll have to act fast. The über-limited Edition will be available to order here only until May 17! As we saw at the Vancouver Auto Show, there is lots to discuss about the M Performance Edition considering it's wealth of tuning parts fitted to the already impressive 335i but for a modest MSRP.

Upon first glance, it's clear the aero upgrades are crafted with purpose. The dramatic front bumper is fitted with a body-colour front splitter to reduce lift. The M Performance sideskirts are colour-matched with a black insert and 'M-Performance' badging. Around the rear of the 335i is a rear diffuser and subtle lip spoiler to manage the airflow passing the F30 silhouette. Black kidney grilles supplant the chrome units to enhance the appearance already augmented by 20-inch M Performance alloy wheels.

Under the lid is the M Power Kit, which includes free-flow air intake, tuned ECU and improved cooling parts. The M Performance exhaust is also fitted to the car and the resulting output rises from 300 hp/ 300 lb-ft to 326 hp with 332 lb-ft (317 lb-ft on 6MT cars). While we haven't had a chance to test the M Performance Edition, we have tested other models with the M Power kit and exhaust, which combine for a notable improvement in performance and aggresive sound. BMW claims an impressive 4.9-second 0-100 km/h (62 mph) time shaved down from 5.4s of the standard 335i.

When it comes to colour selection, BMW kept it limited but very high impact. The 335i M Performance Edition can be ordered in one of four colours: Black Sapphire, Glacier Silver, Valencia Orange and one of our all time faves Laguna Seca Blue. Inside the cabin, buyer's are treated with Individual piano black inserts.

Click here for a complete list of all of the tweaks and Canadian MSRP as you read on below.

Once again, the Gumball 3000 machine fires up and will blast through exotic locales to thrill millions of fans worldwide. Now, celebrating its 15th anniversary (wow, that just hit us), the 2013 Gumball 3000 rally will be whisking through 13 countries on a 3,000 mile (5,000 km) trek from Copenhagen, Denmark to the spectacular shores of Monaco. For those of you with race schedules etched into your cortex, that coincides nicely with the Monaco Grand Prix F1 race.

While the masses can only fantasize about this kind of fuel-filled man-cation, rest assured well have all of the action here. Starting in Copenhagen on May 18, the armada of 100 luxury and exotic cars will be stopping in the following cities: Helsinki, St. Petersburg, Tallinn, Riga, Warsaw, Vienna, Monte Carlo. Of course hitting up 13 countries in only six days will be an intense ride but Gumballers are a different breed who drive hard and party all night. Just the kind of exclusive event that attracts celebrities who will include: David Hasselhoff, Eve, DJ Muggs, Xzibit, Tony Hawk, The Dudesons and the list goes on.

But naturally, we're all about the hardware. Gumball has confirmed the presence of some exotic staples for 2013 from such makes as: Bugatti, Ferrari, Koenigsegg, Aston Martin, Bentley, Rollers and many oddball creations like the Batman Tumbler. Sadly, our schedule dictates that Autoblog Canada can't make it this year but we did run with them in the 2012 rally. In 2014, the Gumball will be back in North America and we can only hope it runs through Canada again as it did in both 2010 and 2012!

Be sure to check out our coverage of the 2012 Gumball, from the Time Square grid, to Toronto, to Detroit, to Los Angeles!

Porsche's well-rounded SUV keeps your left foot in the game



While the race for more gears inside a transmission continues, there are still buyers who want to get back to basics. It seems 8-speed boxes are in everything now and Volkswagen has just promised a 10-speed dual clutch unit to wring out ridiculously low fuel consumption. While it seems like only yesterday manual transmissions were the way for performance cars to go, many outstanding paddle shifters have been developed to embarrass the best of gear bangers.

At the same time, there are certain models that deserve a manual transmission. Not only are they more engaging, but they evoke that charm and soul that the automated boxes lack. Just as gearheads lament the demise of the manual transmission in the current GT3 and now the next generation 911 Turbo will only have the PDK too, we find this in the Porsche Canada press fleet.

To our surprise, the 2013 Porsche Cayenne V6 can be bought with a proper 6-speed manual transmission complete with a third pedal in the driver's foot well. Yes, of course there is the 8-speed Tiptronic available for those who want to play gas-brake in traffic. But for the purpose of this test, it was time to engage this SUV very differently, in a way that we haven't engaged a car since last year! After some quick calculations, the last time I drove stick before this Cayenne 6MT was early November and if memory is correct, it was one of my own personal cars.

While street racing is nothing new, you'd think with all of the negative media attention and strict laws put in place, drivers would get the message. However, the need to line up against another vehicle is too strong for some young drivers and even if you win, you can still lose a lot. Along with the rise in temperatures, the amount of dangerous driving escalates and two men have been busted in the Gatineau area just outside Ottawa for doing over 200 km/h in a highway roll.

The Ottawa Citizen reports that two men, aged 19 and 20 (their names have not been released) are facing fines for street racing and speeding. Officers if the MRC des Collines-de-l'Outaouais spotted the two Honda Civics rolling at the speed limit side-by-side on highway 50 but after three honks, they went wide open throttle reaching speeds of over 200 km/h. The police cruiser in pursuit was used as a speed measuring device in a method called "pacing" which can serve as an alternative to radar.

"They saw them going faster and faster so they were able to monitor the speed, with the speed of the cruiser," Const. Martin Fournel told the Ottawa Citizen. "They had a hard time keeping up."

The pair have both received fines of $1,100 and 18 demerit points for speeding, $1,000 and 12 demerit points for racing, have had their licences suspended and their 1994 and 2012 Honda Civics impounded for seven days.

Click here to watch video of two taxis seized for street racing in Toronto.

If you are into cars and happen to be traveling through Germany, Munich is one place you should hit the brakes and take it all in. Since this is the hometown of BMW, there are some fascinating landmarks to see there, including the BMW World Headquarters and the BMW Welt. We recently had a tour of both of these architectural gems and the impressive designs have caught the eye of an international architectural jury as they have been voted amongst the world's top corporate buildings by Emporis.

Although there are an array of stunning corporate buildings around the world, it isn't always the tallest or the most ornate that claim the bragging rights. The jury Emporis put together studied corporate buildings from across the globe but BMW claimed two of the top five slots. In the second spot is the legendary BMW World Headquarters, one of Munich's most famous landmarks. The stylish 4-cylinder design was built in 1972 and stands a modest 101m tall opposite the Olympics park in this southern German metropolis. Number three on the list is the outrageous BMW Welt (BMW World) which is essentially a large dealership where cars can be researched, tested and euro delivery can be taken for consumers on our side of the pond. The 19m structure is a dramatic swooping maze of steel, glass and concrete, one that appears even more brilliant when basking in coloured lighting at night.

Also making the Emporis list was another automotive building, the GM Rennaissance Centre in Detroit, MI. While everyone will tell you the best views of Detroit are from Canada, the RenCen stands as a lasting reminder to the former power-base of all things automotive in the "Big D."

For the full list, click here to read on.

Not too long ago, we showed off a frightening video of two very young boys driving a Ferrari F430 Scuderia on the street. To our shock, it was an adult filming the underage kids driving along a suburban street in the Kerala area of India while several others looked on. The risky stunt appeared authentic and quickly went viral but little was known until the incident until now.

According to the Toronto Star, a wealthy businessman let his son drive the rare Ferrari as a present for his ninth birthday. While us car guys are hating on this kid since we never did anything remotely as cool at this age, we realize this could have turned deadly real quick. Look at how close these kids are to the airbags and we don't see any seat belts in use either. And to to add to the reckless endangerment we see here, it is the mother of the boys who is filming the incident.

The boys' father, Muhammad Nizam, has been arrested and is facing several charges and possible impounded of the Scud. The successful real estate and tobacco mogul is said to own 18 exotic cars totally $4 million. The video still remains on YouTube despite the legal mess, which in our experience is rare considering the evidence is most certainly stacked against them.

If you missed the stupidity, we have the video posted after the jump.

Having followed the Falken Tire story for a while now, they certainly have some dedicated fans. Whether it's at a Formula D drifting event, off road truck event or ALMS race, there are plenty of fans wearing their colours, waving their flag and running their product. Their efforts in ALMS was recently captured in an outstanding 12 Hours of Sebring documentary and one talented fan has taken his love of their #17 Porsche 911 GT3-RSR race car and created his own livery on Forza 4 for XBOX.

While we were excited about the amazing livery creation tool in Forza 4, we soon figured out we don't have that kind of time to learn the technique and get crazy with custom designs. However, some Falken fans do have the time, like artist DJ Lime who spent 97 hours on this custom livery. He documents all 3,406 layers in a stunning timelapse video from start to finish to the track of: noises that make use want to hit mute. Musical tastes aside, what an incredible job, one that got him noticed by Falken as a leading entry in their design contest that will end up on an actual race-ready Porsche.

We're sure DJ Lime has a legitimate shot here at winning the contest and most certainly has a career in design lined up. Check out his design video with the dramatic Falken ZEIX ZE-912 tread pattern across it (although we would have went for the more hardcore RT-615K).

Ahh, the internet. The greatest of inventions at times, but often the lowest common denominator presented for the world to see. And even when you think your actions will fade away (or get deleted) they surface in caches, screen caps and video downloaders everywhere. Post it, and it's up for all to mock, delete it and it will get even uglier. Such is the case with an R3Vlimted.com forum troll who decided to post his version of a single car accident entitled "crashed my E30 like a tool" for fellow forum members.

R3V forum troll, 'GMOTE' from the Atlanta, GA area posted some pics of his destroyed BMW 325i. The early diving board equipped E30 might have been in decent condition for a car that is over 25 years old, but this E30 is definitely now a parts car (bonus for us E30 owners). GMOTE's version of the story has since been deleted and all of his attempts to redeem himself are ghost too. But apparently it went something like this, he was driving down the street, hit a speed bump that he didn't see, which "poped" both his front tires. He then veered right, took out a mailbox, bounced off a boulder, then crashed into a house destroying a bay window.

Since he played it all wrong, the internet decided to play him and R3V members proceeded to torch the kid. They mocked his story claiming he was doing well over 50 mph (80 km/h) with elaborate reenactments, went on a hunt for police reports and even raided his online dating profile, which has also been deleted. We can't say, the kid didn't deserve it, forum boards will get hot if you're acting ridiculous and try to defend dangerous and/or illegal actions.

There is no shortage of reckless driving out there and if you want to see how this BMW driver got mega-flamed, all 60 pages worth are located here. But let's not forget some other high profile house crashing, like "drifting" an E30 into a pole, the Skyline GT-R from Holland or the Audi TT in the UK! And the Cadillac CTS that just likes to jump on roofs!

Every once in a while drivers need sobering reminders that dangerous driving can lead to injury, death and change lives forever. Beyond that, the financial impact of insurance claims, criminal charges or losing your licence can linger for years, so it's best to keep your eyes on the road and be prepared for anything. One driver in Marion County, TN has learned one such lesson after making a critical mistake at one very inappropriate time while a funeral procession was passing... for a car accident victim!

The near fatal crash occurred when motorists were observing an unwritten Southern US rule to stop while a motorcade of funeral procession cars passes. Out of respect, motorists in Tennessee do this voluntarily but are required to proceed as normal under the law.

Motorcyclist Cody Vice caught it all on his helmet cam that happened to still be rolling while he pulled over to observe the passing hearse and funeral cars.

"All of a sudden these tires, you know, screeching, and then a big collision. It scared me. That had to be one of the scariest moments that I've ever had riding," Vice said to local station WRCB 3 Chattanooga.

Watch a Dodge Dakota slam a Nissan Altima missing Vince and several other riders all caught on video after the jump.

Sure lots of us have silly stories that are prompted by being both young and stupid. During the teen years, the hormones are raging and tend to make most of decisions for us. While most of us make it out unscathed, there are some teenagers out there with questionable judgement. A teen in BC is one such troubled kid who took the family car out on a mission, at 175 km/h.

Abbotsford area RCMP intercepted a Cadillac speeding along Highway 1 near Bradner Road, clocked doing 75 km/h over the posted limit. When the performed the traffic stop, they found out the driver was only 15 years-old and obviously had no licence, no insurance and no good reason for his dangerous driving actions. He claimed he was coming back from meeting a girl and wanted to get his Dad's 2008 Cadillac CTS back in the driveway before they woke up. At 2:00 in the morning, officers weren't buying the story and no leniency was given.

The unlicensed driver was slapped with a $759 fine and as for the Cadillac, his parents will be getting it back... in a week. The vehicle was subject to roadside seizure and he'll have some explaining to do to Mom 'n' Dad. And yes this is the very same highway, another driver recently had his vehicle seized for speeding, two days after his licence suspension was lifted!

Sinkholes are no joke and if you listen to some geologists and engineers there are lots of potential disasters lurking underneath the surface of our major cities. Many large urban centres in Canada and the US have been built on unstable ground or have crumbling infrastructure lurking underneath. A suburb of Chicago was affected by a massive sinkhole swallowing three cars and one driver was sent to hospital with injuries.

At approximately 5:00 am in the South Deering area of Chicago's southeast side, motorist Merko Krivokuca was driving his Toyota Tacoma pickup truck when the earth opened up in front of him. Unable to brake in time, his truck went down into the hole. The sinkhole in went from six to 12 metres wide in a matter of seconds, swallowing two other cars. A fourth vehicle, a Dodge Avenger was perched at the edge of the sheer drop.

An area resident was also about to start her drive to work when she noticed her car was one of the ones in the hole. Officials claim that a watermain broke and eroded the earth underneath South Houston Avenue causing the problem. Some of the cities watermains date back to 1915 and recent heavy rain might also have been a factor.

To see the devastation take place, click for video past the jump.


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One Less Turbo, Two Less Cylinders, a Lot More Sense



Back when hybrids were confined to dorky design iterations of normal cars, we often wondered when this next level technology would be wrapped in desirable packages. We pondered if the Honda Insight and Toyota Prius might spawn more attractive mainstream designs and filter into other sectors like sport, luxury or both. The idea of driving some left-of-centre appearing hybrid was a turn off for us, but the technology is now becoming commonplace under the sheet metal and now includes all of the accoutrements that discerning buyers expect – enter the 2013 BMW ActiveHybrid 7.

While a car like the Lexus LS600hL might have been ground breaking years ago, the fuel-miser luxury car niche is becoming a crowded one. All of the big German luxury sedans are looking to keep themselves relevant by going with the trend to trim fuel costs and reduce carbon footprint. The 7-series is no exception since it comes in diesel form over in Europe and the spectacular V12 will likely be cut only to add the turbo six to the bottom of the line. This, BMW hopes is going to add to their bottom line and the ActiveHybrid 7 aims to nail all of the touch points with today's affluent, yet environmentally conscious buyer, an individual that never existed before in decades past.

One of the hang-ups we have with hybrids are their campy attempts at attracting attention to the fact they are world-saving hybrids. Do we really need all of the badging, unusual wheels, fancy bodywork, electric blue everything and in the case of GM Hybrid SUVs; nice pieces of hybrid flare on the exterior? We don't find it all that important to broadcast, and BMW has given the ActiveHybrids a relatively subtle approach. Yes, there are unique wheels (although we ran the winter tire package) but at least no ridiculous colours or windshield banners. Finished in Mineral White Metallic, the ActiveHybrid 7 blended in well since saving the planet doesn't always have to mean driving a rolling billboard.

Full disclosure we've never really liked the Ferrari F50. As the successor to the F40, it just didn't have the raw race appeal of the previous car. We fantasized about mashing the go-pedal on the twin turbo V8, not so much the NA V12 of the F50. Then of course, there was the styling of this limited production Ferrari, totaling only 349. It just always had this awkward 90's approach to aesthetics and that is why seeing them hooned, abused and a tug-o-war on video just doesn't hurt as deep.

Tax the Rich is back. We've shown you them punishing a Phantom and getting their rally-on with the wrong car, a Ferrari Enzo. But here we see two of 349 Ferrari F50s tearing up the damp UK countryside and ending up at a large estate for a 24-cylinder showdown. What happens there may cause some Tifosi to look away in horror, or at least be very confused as to why anyone would do this to such rare machinery.

Tax the Rich videos are excess at its finest. We applaud them for at least using the cars, when most collectors just want to keep them in hermetically sealed chambers and brag to other rich guys that they have acquired them.

To watch the F50 hazing video, click here.

We've seen more drifting accidents than we care to count as the motorsport has gained traction here over the last 11 years. Everything from high-dollar Formula D and D1 cars to budget backyard bashers have been balled up at tracks and parking lots across North America. But it seems, some wannabe drifters still don't get the technique.

Sure you got your slammed Nissan S13 hatch and all the requisite drift parts but over a decade later, are the street drifters really any better? Judging by this video we uncovered here, not really. Drifters clearly still need lots of work because this Nissan 240SX is set up all wrong, and even if the understeer is due to something unforeseen, at least have the reflexes to clutch-kick that mule before hitting the curb.

What happens after the impact, caused us to spring into the air with laughter. Yes, you have to start somewhere, but we're thinking this mad tyte drift0r probably should have had more practice in an open lot without all those menacing curbs.

Click here to see another 240 bite it and try to look hardcore after coughing up parts.