Mercedes-Benz

BMW is extending its range of security vehicles with the new BMW X5 Security Plus, a car that will keep you safe as long as your assailants have nothing more than AK 47 weaponry, and it could just be one of those luxury extras to come into vogue in troubled times. At least occupants will be shielded from unintentional bullets if they stumble across a gun battle and if someone pops up beside your driver's side window with a handgun intent on carjacking you, you can now safely pull faces and show them the bird, providing of course, you've locked the door. Personally, if you're in grave danger and must travel regardless, may we recommend the late Saddam Hussein's favorite wheels, the Rhino Runner. For more on the BMW X5 Security Plus ...  Read More

AMG, the high performance brand within Mercedes Benz, has just launched the new E63 AMG sports saloon. The 6208 cc fast-revving, naturally aspirated power plant delivers a sizzling output of 525hp and torque of 630Nm, reaching 0-62 mph in 4.5 seconds with an electronically limited top speed of 155 mph. The E63 AMG further distinguishes itself from the regular E-class with the AMG SPEEDSHIFT 7-speed sports transmission featured recently on the SL 63 AMG high-performance Roadster. Also featured is the newly developed AMG RIDE CONTROL sports suspension with electronically controlled damping, a new front axle and a reduction in fuel consumption of 12 percent.  Read More

The feats of Brawn GP at Albert Park in the team's inaugural race at the first round of World Formula One Championship on March 29, 2009 will surely go down in the pantheon of spectacularly successful first-up sporting efforts. A month ago they were all unemployed, but in just 28 days they put two cars on the track, tested them over a normally-inadequate 2000 km and qualified them 1-2 for the first race, at the same time announcing a heavyweight backer in the form of Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group and involvement with a new Virgin Fuel, reportedly a clean-burning petroleum replacement. Next day, success fueled more success with a 1-2 finish for the team, and engine supplier Mercedes. Mastermind Ross Brawn was in tears after the race, as no doubt were Honda.  Read More

The 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship starts this weekend with round one in Australia where we are about to witness the biggest number of rule changes in the history the sport. The front and rear wings have been significantly changed in size and height to reduce the aerodynamic effect on cars following each other. Many of the aerodynamic 'extras' added by teams last season around the side pods will be banned and after 11 years of grooved tires slicks will make a return. The aerodynamic changes include a first in F1, driver adjustable front wing flaps, but the rule changes we're most interested in are those concerning the introduction of the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) that will eventually make every future Formula One race car a hybrid.  Read More

Mercedes Benz has released pictures of an intriguing (if not practical) design study where century old tradition meets transport technologies of the future. The historical roots of the F-CELL Roadster are immediately recognizable in its large spoked wheels that hark back to the the first car developed by Karl Benz in 1886. Pair this with a modern-day hybrid drive system with a 1.2 kW (1.6 hp) electric motor powered by small fuel cell and you have one very modern roadster in a classic quadricycle package.  Read More

Mercedes Benz has just released its new truck navigation system available on the Atego, Axor and Actros models. The system has maps available for 26 European countries, with a choice of 15 European languages for voice instructions. It takes into account the specific requirements of commercial vehicles (e.g. by providing information on weight restrictions, limited overhead and width clearances, special routes into town centers, etc.) and provides guidance to drivers in unfamiliar surroundings via arrow navigation on the instrument cluster and via arrow and/or map navigation on the 6.5" monitor. The dynamic route guidance courtesy of TMC (the Traffic Message Channel) enables traffic jams and problems to be bypassed, thereby potentially saving time.  Read More

March 23, 2009 The first cars were unloaded onto the pit apron at Albert Park yesterday in preparation for next weekend's first Formula One Grand Prix of the 2009 season. It already shapes up as the most intriguing F1 season ever. Technologically, despite a raft of changes this year, the wild card not yet fathomable is the implementation of the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS), a fancy name for regenerative braking, and a technology that will ultimately force all F1 cars to use hybrid power sources, most likely during 2009, but not necessarily. Only a few teams will arrive in Melbourne ready to race with electronic KERS systems that offer approximately 80 bhp extra for six seconds a lap, but we're not even sure which teams they will yet be. The biggest intrigue of the weekend though, will be the performance of the newborn Brawn F1 team. Everyone always knew Ross Brawn was a special talent, but no-one saw this one coming. Brawn is poised to deliver one of the greatest motorsport fairy tales ever.  Read More

For the first time in its 40 year history, the Mercedes-Benz performance brand AMG has developed a vehicle completely in-house: the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG. This "super sports car" takes an AMG 6.3-litre V8 front-mid engine developing 420 kW/571 hp peak output, seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and sports suspension with aluminum double wishbones, wraps it in an aluminum spaceframe and throws in a set of always-in-style gullwing doors. The combination of the company's first ever use of an aluminum chassis and body frame coupled with lightweight, high-strength components such as a carbon-fiber driveshaft delivers a kerb weight of just 1620 kilograms and a power-to-weight ratio of 2.84 kg/hp. Provisional performance figures put acceleration at 0 to 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds with a top speed of 315 kmh.  Read More

Maybach is bringing out a reincarnated Maybach Zeppelin to spearhead its luxury saloon model range. The new model, which is receiving its premiere at the Geneva Motor Show, will represent the brand in the high-end luxury saloon segment. It will be a successor to the legendary Maybach Zeppelin, which was revered worldwide as one of the ultimate in high-class automotive engineering in the 1930s. The 21st Century model is the most powerful Maybach ever (471 kW/640 hp and a peak torque of 1000 Newton metres) and two models are on offer, the Maybach 57 Zeppelin which costs €406,000 ($521,000 USD) and the Maybach 62 Zeppelin with a price tag of €473,200 ($607,000 USD). You even get a world first perfume atomizer!  Read More