Hartge, located in the town of Beckingen is situated only some minutes from the border to France. We arrived there at 9 in the morning because there were some work needed to be done. We should equip two M5 with '20 Hartge Nova 7 wheels, try out some Harge modified BMW and also we should meet the founder of the company, Herbert Hartge.

 

The entrance to Hartge headquarters, which has been situated in Beckingen since 1974, three years after the company was founded.

The development and design work is carried out on the premises. For the development of high-performance engines, Hartge has installed its own fully automatic engine test bench of the kind usually only operated by major automobile manufacturers. Hartge gives a one year warranty on all engines except the 3.5 litre engine, which is covered for a full two years.

At 9.30 Mr Hartge arrived and after the mechanics begun working on the cars we went to a conference room to discuss matters regarding M5. Mr Hartge was very interested of what we as M car drivers had for kind of suggestions for his products. He said that his M5 engine kit should be at least 450 HP, otherwise ther wouldn't be any kit. Also Mr Hartge explained why the Porsche brakes on the M5 never can be as effective as on a 911, and that is due to weight distribution. Porsche tail mounted engine give more weight on the rear axle and thus the rear brakes have say 40% braking power compared to a front engine mounted M5, where the front brakes have to work much harder.

Here we have Mr Hartge displaying his new wheels.

After a while the designer of Hartges Nova wheels showed up. He was also responsible for redesigning the Hartge logo (Compare the logo above the entrance of the building with the logo on top of the page). Also a redesign of the Hartge aerodynamics kit he's working on. He also had designed the widebody version of Porsche Techart 996. Very intersting to discuss with. He concluded that the E39 M5 is more designed with form in mind than in function. For example he mentioned the lower front air intake of the M5 which as a first glance looks like it is 100% utilized, but on a closer inspection the actual air intake is rectangular in shape.

The schedule included originally to drive the M5 powered new 3-series Coupe (E46). Sadly this rocket was lent out to a Belgian car magazine for test driving. So that will be done another time.

The front air intake of the M5.

The designer and the new beautifully designed Hartge wheels.

At lunchtime it was time for testdrive of the Hartge 540i Touring with a 5,0 liter engine supplied with M5 pistons. 350 HP and ten Nm more in maximum torque than the M5. This car was equipped with a 6 speed manual gearbox. To drive the car was a joy. Despite its power have risen with 22% it was no problem cruising through the city centre at 35 km/h im sixth gear. It was an experience to have almost M5 acceleration in a Touring 5 series.

Hartge front spoiler lip and nice air intake, particluary designed with the M5 in mind to let the engine breath.	Hartge sports suspension lowers the car 25 mm. Hartge stainless steel rear silencer. The emblems says Hartge 5,0.
	The air intakes on the engine hood are not fake. Hartge claims impressing performance for this super-540i: 0-100 km/h in 5,1 s (5,3 s. automatic) 0-200 km/h 18,5 s (18,8 s automatic) Top speed 280 km/h (270 km/h automatic

Heading for the Autobahn. Harge Nova 5 wheels.

If you definitely want to have a M5 Touring, this could be an alternative. Or an Alpina B10 V8 Touring. Notice the nice Hartge mirrors.

Hartge front spoiler lip and nice air intake, particluary designed with the M5 in mind to let the engine breath.	Hartge sports suspension lowers the car 25 mm. Hartge stainless steel rear silencer. The emblems says Hartge 5,0.
Above is a real nice designed hood and really suits the character of the M Coupe, especially when it's equipped with a V8!	Here is the Hartge M Coupe V8. This will accelerate the Z3 from 0 to 200 km/h in 16,3 seconds and it sure will feel even faster in this small car! The hood to the left is a real nice designed hood and really suits the character of the M Coupe, especially when it's equipped with a V8!

I wouldn't mind if the M roadster and coupe were equipped with this as standard. 0 to 100 km/h in less than 4,8 s!