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"  It&amp;#039;s common knowledge that manufacturers hold back on tuning every last ounce of performance from their engines. It&amp;#039;s also fact that factory authorized tuners like Volvo&amp;#039;s Polestar offer four-figure software tweaks that not only boost horsepower and torque, but have also been known to increase fuel economy, to boot. Keen to broaden the accessibility of their &amp;quot;M&amp;quot; branded performance division, BMW now offers an M Performance Power Kit software upgrade for 2012 335i sedan and 335i xDrive sedans which the manufacturer says was &amp;quot;developed through consultation by the engineers at BMW M GmbH,&amp;quot; and elevates horsepower from 300 to 320, which improves the 0-60 mph time by .2 seconds. Torque rises 17 lb-ft to 317 lb-ft on manual-equipped cars, and 32 lb-ft on autos. Not mentioned on the 3-series spec sheet is what BMW calls a &amp;quot;highly-emotional &amp;#039;exhaust burble&amp;#039; sound during engine overrun conditions.&amp;quot; The $1,100 price tag doesn&amp;#039;t include installation from BMW dealers, which the manufacturer says retains the 4 year/50,000 mile warranty that comes with the car when new. While Mercedes-Benz has been known to charge up to $9,000 on &amp;quot;Performance Packages&amp;quot; for AMG models which essentially increase turbocharger boost, up the top speed, and add a limited slip differential, BMW&amp;#039;s tactic introduces their &amp;quot;M&amp;quot; mentality onto non-M cars in a manner that echoes their optional &amp;quot;M Sport&amp;quot; treatment which adds zippier wheels, suspension, and bodywork for $3,200. BMW&amp;#039;s software upgrades will surely attract buyers seeking a quick, relatively cheap hit of power, but it also might signal a bigger D.I.Y. trend of consumers wondering how they can extract more power from their bottled up engines themselves, without having to pay the proverbial piper. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/a8772/bmw-sells-m-performance-software-hack-for-1-100/>