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Being a test driver for any automaker isn’t an easy task. In fact, there are times it can be downright dangerous, as this video clip proves. You see, it is one thing filming a prototype vehicle from a distance and on foot and another when a fool does it holding a cell phone camera on one hand and the steering wheel with the other while passing you on the autobahn at around 300km/h (187mph)… That’s just beyond stupid.

The cars in question here are a BMW M5 E60 and what is claimed to be a lightly camouflaged prototype of the next generation M5 F10, which we saw in concept form at this week’s 2011 Shanghai Auto Show. Watch the short video after the break.

At this week’s 2011 Shanghai Auto Show in China, BMW rolled out two concept versions of the current F10 5-Series, the M5 sport sedan and the LWB Plug-in Hybrid, both of which will enter production.

In preparation of the big reveal of the M5 Concept at the Auto Shanghai 2011 in China later this month, BMW has churned out a new video of its high-performance sports saloon. What we get to see here is the thinly disguised M5 study on the move, though in an unwanted politically correct manner. Read more »

It is by far, the most sacred place for a BMW M fan. We’re talking about the BMW M Division’s underground facility where the company stores copies of all the production cars and prototypes it has ever built, including a variety of never before seen in public vehicles. In a surprising but much welcomed move, the German automaker recently opened the doors of the special M garage to the members of the press and select enthusiasts revealing an array of models that most had only heard about.

We already brought you a video of the wild M8 Coupe with the 580-horsepower V12 engine that was eventually used on the McLaren F1, but now we have several videos showcasing the entire lineup of M cars.

These include the E46 M3 Touring (BMW for station wagon), the E36 M3 Compact powered by the same 321HP straight-six from the M3 Coupe of the time, the E34 M5 Cabriolet with open-top seating for four, an M3 powered E30 ute and possibly the strangest creation yet, the so called Ur-Roadster. The latter is said to have been developed after the Z1 with power being delivered by the E30 M3’s 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine.

We received our first taste of the new M5 Concept during the weekend thanks to a series of photos that leaked from a press event in Germany, but today, BMW came out with an official release detailing its sports saloon ahead of its world premiere at the Auto Shanghai 2011 in China later this month.

The Concept M5 is essentially 99 percent production ready, so don’t expect any surprises in terms of styling at the presentation of the production model at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September this year.

The highlight of the fifth generation of the M5 will be the new twin-turbocharged V8 engine lurking under the bonnet. BMW officials have already confirmed that the engine is a development of the 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 with 555HP and 680Nm or 501 lb-ft of peak torque, tweaked to deliver more power. However, the German company is still keeping mum on output numbers.

In a move that certainly won’t leave BMW officials happy, pictures of the 2012 M5 Concept from a preview event held in Germany prior to the car’s world premiere at the Shanghai Auto Show in China later this month, leaked onto the internet.

As with most BMW concepts of the sort, the new M5 study is 99 per cent production ready, so don’t expect to see anything different when the sports saloon make its premiere in production guise later this year, possibly at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

China’s auto shows are growing bigger and bigger by the year as the local market continues to expand in sales. The most significant car show is the Auto China, which is held alternatively in Beijing and Shanghai every other year. This year’s edition will take place in Shanghai.

More often than not, leading American, European, Japanese and Korean automakers present their newest offerings at well-established car shows like Geneva, Frankfurt, Paris and Detroit, but in the past few years, we’re seeing increased numbers of new models being unveiled in China.

This year show will be no exception, as many new cars are planned to be revealed in Shanghai (April 23-28), despite the fact that it overlaps the 2011 NY Auto Show (April 22 - May 1).

Leading up to the world premiere of the 2012 M5 that’s believed to take place at the Frankfurt Motor Show this fall, BMW is releasing a series of videos slowly uncovering its high-performance sports saloon.

This time, we get a three-and-a-half-long video clip of the M5 flung around on the snow. There’s also a lot of talk going on, but unfortunately, it’s all in German, so if any of you out there can translate the basic bits, we’d appreciate it. We’ll remind you that the new M5 will be motivated by a twin-turbocharged V8 engine with direct-injection pumping out close to 600 horsepower. Take (another) look at the M5 in the video after the jump.

For the past few months, we’ve been hearing various rumors about BMW’s future plans, but today, the German automaker came out with official details at a press conference in Munich starting with the debut of a plug-in hybrid version of the China market 5-Series at next month’s Shanghai Auto Show.

“A highlight at the Shanghai Motor Show in mid-April will be the presentation of our New Energy Vehicle, said BMW Chief Executive Dr. Norbert Reithofer. “This model will be our e-car from China for China – a long version of the BMW 5 Series as a plug-in hybrid. This car will benefit from the strength and the excellent reputation of the BMW brand.”

Reithofer confirmed the presentation of the production version of the MINI Coupe, first seen as a concept model at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, and the second generation of the BMW 1 Series, both of which will be launched this year alongside the new M5 sports saloon and the 6-Series models.

After the first couple of somewhat cryptic teaser films, BMW allowed Evo Magazine’s Chris Harris to sit behind the wheel of its upcoming 2012 M5 sports saloon and share the video with the rest of the world.

The Bavarian company is still keeping mum on the performance details, but officials confirmed that the twin-turbocharged V8 lump that replaces the outgoing M5’s 507HP V10 will have more oomph than on the X5 M / X6 M. “Do you really think we would give it less than an X6M?”, BMW officials told Harris. In the X6 M, the twin-turbo V8 kicks out 555HP and 680Nm or 501-lbs/ft of peak torque.

After the first couple of somewhat cryptic teaser films, BMW allowed Evo Magazine’s Chris Harris to sit behind the wheel of its upcoming 2012 M5 sports saloon and share the video with the rest of the world.

The Bavarian company is still keeping mum on the performance details, but officials confirmed that the twin-turbocharged V8 lump that replaces the outgoing M5’s 507HP V10 will have more oomph than on the X5 M / X6 M. “Do you really think we would give it less than an X6M?”, BMW officials told Harris. In the X6 M, the twin-turbo V8 kicks out 555HP and 680Nm or 501-lbs/ft of peak torque.

Turns out BMW's statement "We're all looking forward to Friday" was referring to yet another teaser video of the upcoming M5 sports saloon. This time, the Bavarian automaker showed the car testing in Northern Europe, albeit partially wrapped in the firm's traditional swirly camouflage. The official clip also hosts Dr. Kay Segler, president of BMW M GmbH, who describes the new M5 as "a bold business car, but with the push of a button, you have a sports car".

As you probably already know by now, the next M5 will come with a twin-turbocharged V8 engine, most likely based on the same unit found on the X5M and X6M crossovers. The official presentation of the M5 F10 is expected to take place at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show in September. Video follows after the break.

Apparently BMW is getting ready to introduce its hotly anticipated F10 M5 sports saloon as the Bavarian automaker released a teaser video on its official Youtube page this week. While the video itself doesn't really show anything, BMW's statement "We're all looking forward to Friday" hints at a reveal for tomorrow. That or another lame teaser. We shall see.

The new M5 is expected to drop the V10 in favour of a smaller but even more powerful V8 lump with twin-turbocharging and direct-injection technologies, which could flirt with 600-horsepower mark.

Sales of BMW's M car series continue to sprout as the Bavarian company's performance division concluded the 2010 business year with a 14.2 percent increase to 16,967 units, despite the phase out of the V10-powered M5 and M6 models.

The M brand's most popular model remained the M3 with 5,729 units of the coupe, 2,544 units of the Convertible and 1,843 Saloons. Worldwide sales of the newly introduced all-wheel drive X5 M and X6 M totaled 2,778 and 3,082 respectively.

After the standard BMW M5 and M6 Hurricane editions, BMW tuning specialists G-Power has now released a more eco-friendly iteration of the same package, in the form of the LPG-powered Hurricane M5 GS.

The BMW 1-Series M Coupe is pretty fast on paper. Reaching the 60 mph (96 km/h) mark in just 4.7 seconds is no small feat, but nowadays, it seems that performance cars need to have a respectable “Ring” time under there belt to command respect. Now, a forum member of the 1Addicts fan site who calls himself "SteveD" claims that the Ring time for the 335-horsepower strong M model is 8 minutes and 12 seconds.

If true (and according to the Nürburgring lap times list posted on Wikipedia), this means the entry-level M model is 10 seconds faster than the E46 M3, on par with the E86 Z4 M Coupe, but 7 seconds slower than the E92 M3 .

We drooled all over the E28 535i, but now we're in pain. Behold this pristine example of a 1988 E28 BMW M5, up for sale by Autohaus for US $18,987 - that would be €13.338 at today's exchange rates.

In Europe, the E28 BMW M5 was launched in 1985 and was equipped with a 3.5-liter 24-valve 6-cylinder engine with six separate throttle butterflies,delivering 286 hp and 251 lb-ft (340Nm) of torque. However, this here example is a U.S.-spec model, meaning it comes with the less powerful S38B35 straight-six due to stricter emission regulations. It was rated at 256HP and 243 lb-ft (330 Nm).

At the 26th Annual Brazilian Motor Show in Sao Paulo, the local motoring press were abuzz over Rossin-Bertin's Vorax. Carscoop reported on the carbon fibre bodied, BMW M5 engined supercar in an article last week.

We have videos aplenty, including a first taste of the Vorax's sonorous V10 soundtrack and a look behind the design process that features an interview with designer Fharys Rossin himself (albeit in Portuguese).

Remember Murray Fowler and his BMW 2800 CS? Then you probably wondered who the next impromptu actor in BMW's "Unscripted" series would be. Well, your wait is over: it's none other than female racer and television personality Sabine Schmitz, also known as the "Queen of the Nürburgring" or the "fastest taxi driver in the world".

She earned these nicknames for lapping the German race track more than 20,000 times (according to her own estimates), mostly behind the wheel of the famous BMW M5 Ring Taxi. Other highlights of her carrier include two wins (in 1996 and 1997) and a third place finish (2008) at the 24 Hours Nürburgring.

Behold Brazil's newest supercar, the Rossin-Bertin Vorax that will make its debut at the Sao Paulo Auto Show later this month. Looking a tad like the result of an unfortunate accident between a Nissan Juke and a Mazda RX-8, the Vorax features a carbon fibre body and aluminium chassis. According to its makers, it will weigh in at just 1,300 kg (2,866 lbs) and be powered by the same (albeit tuned) 5.0-liter V10 from the BMW M5.