App turns your phone into track tool

If you have a fast car you're probably going to want to drive it quickly. You might also want to know just how well you're doing on your local track with regards to speeds and lap times.

You could spend a whole lot of dough on a multitude of data logging devices, or you could find an app that has some information that you might find useful. BMW owners now have a new tool that straddles both worlds, and does so rather brilliantly.

BMW has produced a new app for the iPhone (sorry Android...) called the M Power App, previewed here in this video made by the guys at Bimmerpost. What this does is tie into the system of the vehicle via the BMW Apps option and allows drivers to record a whole bunch of data while they're out on the track.

When they come in for a break, they can grab their phone and pull up the app where they're presented with a scorecard. This shows the top speed, the ambient track temperature, the lap times, and the differences between each lap.

After you review the scorecard, go ahead and click "Review" because there's a whole lot more information waiting for you. A satellite map of the track pops up and shows you your throttle and braking applications.

From this screen you can actually replay your laps as well, and watch an car icon move along the track. This display shows your speed and steering angle throughout the replay. If you want to see how you compare on a given track, you can get your friends data and it will show your lap data simultaneously.

It's a pretty amazing app, and it will be made available to BMW owners with the BMW Apps option later this summer. We're eager to get a bit more time with this app to really explore it (and any BMW machine that might come along with it).

www.motorauthority.com