mercedes amg

Mercedes-Benz C63 and SLS AMG Specials Unveiled in Australia

Getting your hands on any product of Mercedes' elite AMG performance division is an event unto itself. But what we have here is a pair of extra-special one-of-their-kind specials prepared specially for the Australian International Auto Show.

In one corner stands Concept 358, a special version of the C63 AMG performance sedan. It features the AMG Performance Plus package to boost the 6.3-liter V&'s output up to 480 horsepower, 19-inch alloys, a special Designo leather interior and a unique shade of Pearl Orange paint to set it apart from the crowd.

The special SLS AMG supercar, meanwhile, has been decked out in matte black with red accents, giving it a decidedly racier look. The two were unveiled specially for Australia, which stands as Mercedes' fifth largest market worldwide. And while they may be one-off creations, AMG will likely prepare yours the same way... for a price.

Gallery: Mercedes-Benz AMG Specials - Australia 2010

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Mercedes plays Musical Chairs with Senior Executive Appointments

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

With something so tightly regimented as the management structure of a major German company, when you move one piece, you'll have to move several more just to keep the voids filled.

Iconic luxury automaker Mercedes-Benz has announced that one of its senior executives, Dr. Wolfgang Bernhard, is being promoted to the company's management board. The position he vacates is as head of the company's van division, which in turn is being handed over to Volker Mornhinweg (pictured above left).

To take the new job, Morhinweg is departing his role as head of the AMG performance division that gives us all those wonderful Autobahn-slayers. Of course that means someone would need to take his place, and Ola Kaellenius (pictured above right) has been tapped for the job at Mercedes-Benz AMG GmbH. Kaellenius has until now been running the company's crossover plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and surely someone will need to be appointed to fill that void as well, but in the meantime Mercedes is deferring the announcement.

Tags: AMG, Bernhard, daimler, daimler ag, Kaellenius, mercedes, Mercedes AMG, mercedes-benz, Mercedes-Benz AMG GmbH, Mornhinweg, Ola Kaellenius, Volker Mornhinweg, Wolfgang Bernhard

Mercedes-Benz GL 63 Biturbo by Brabus

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

It seems like the AMG catalog grows exponentially with every passing year. The Mercedes performance division offers versions of just about every Benz in the range, save one: the GL-Class crossover. Oh, they offer performance versions of the ML, the G, even the ML, but not the GL. For that, you'll need to look to the aftermarket. And Brabus is glad to help.

The venerable Mercedes tuner shares a close relationship with the manufacturer, and has transplanted the AMG-sourced 6.3-liter V8 engine into the GL, with a couple of turbochargers thrown into the mix. With 650 horsepower and 620 lb-ft of torque, the Brabus GL 63 Biturbo hits 100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.7 seconds and tops out at an Autobahn-crunching 300 km/h (1867 mph). Nice work.

There's also a fully customized interior with special leather, carbon fiber trim and LCD screens, and a Widestar body kit to give the truck a suitably aggressive upgrade. The cost? An eye-watering €368,000 ($518k). See for yourself in the gallery below in advance of the truck's official launch at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show in March.

Gallery: Brabus GL 63 Biturbo

Tags: brabus, brabus gl 63, brabus gl 63 biturbo, BrabusGl63, BrabusGl63Biturbo, mercedes, mercedes amg, mercedes-benz, mercedes-benz gl-class, Mercedes-benzGl-class, MercedesAmg

Mercedes Reportedly Preparing Even More Exclusive SLS AMG Black Series

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

With 617 horsepower and a 208mph top speed, topping the Mercedes SLR McLaren was no mean feat. Mercedes nearly managed to pull it off with the new SLS AMG. The gull-winged supercar was unveiled at the recent international auto show in Frankfurt to rave reviews. But it still falls a shade short of its predecessor's bragging rights, so the German automaker is reportedly working on an even more exclusive, more powerful and more capable SLS AMG Black Series.

Following in the Black Series that has given us the SLK55, CLK63 and SL65, the SLS Black is expected to gain some extra power and lose some weight to optimize that vital power to weight ratio. Sources expect the 563hp and 479lb-ft of torque from the existing 6.2-liter V8 to get a boost past the 600hp/500lb-ft mark, coupled with a 50kg weight-shaving scheme to drop the "stock" SLS' 0-62 mph time down from 3.8 seconds – already faster than 99% of the cars out on the road – to below 3.5 seconds, and the top speed up from 195 mph to 208.

Of course the added exclusivity won't come cheap: insiders expect the price to jump by half to over $250,000 when the SLS AMG Black Series hits the market in 2013.

Gallery: Frankfurt 2009: Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG

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Tags: amg, amg black series, AmgBlackSeries, black, black series, BlackSeries, mercedes, mercedes amg, mercedes sls, mercedes sls amg, mercedes-benz, mercedes-benz sls amg, mercedes-benz sls amg black series, Mercedes-benzSlsAmg, Mercedes-benzSlsAmgBlackSeries, MercedesAmg, MercedesSls, MercedesSlsAmg

Five of a Kind: Pagani Releases Exclusive New Zonda Cinque Roadster

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Even in this slowing economy, Zondas have been trading well over list, some even doubling their value as wealthy customers scramble to get their hands on one. So you can hardly blame Pagani, the Italian exotic automaker responsible for these imminently desirable supercars, for wanting to get in on the action. In fact we're thankful for it, as Pagani has released another very exclusive edition of the Zonda.

Following on the heels of the fixed-roof Zonda Cinque, which went so fast that one customer commissioned his own when he couldn't get one, the Zonda Cinque Roadster offers the same extreme performance and super-exclusive stature with the added bonus of wind in your hair. Because the Zonda's carbon fiber body is already so rigid, Pagani didn't have to add much extra reinforcement, leaving the Zonda Cinque Roadster capable of reaching a follicle-tingling 217 miles per hour, passing 60 on the way in just 3.4 seconds. Nice work if you can get it, but with only five examples on offer and a £1.1 million ($1.8M) asking price, you'll have to act fast to get one. Like, Zonda fast.

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Tags: AMG, cinque, mercedes, mercedes amg, MercedesAmg, pagani, pagani zonda cinque, pagani zonda cinque roadster, PaganiZondaCinque, PaganiZondaCinqueRoadster, zonda, zonda cinque, zonda cinque roadster, zonda r, ZondaCinque, ZondaCinqueRoadster, ZondaR

Mercedes-Benz Debuts Updated Flagship S63 and S65 AMG in Shanghai show

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

It's a sign of the times if we've ever seen one that Mercedes has chosen to debut its new flagship sedans at the Shanghai motor show this year. The German automaker has given the top-of-the-line S-Class a mild update for the 2010 model year, and has just released details and photos of the pair of AMG-tuned sport models at the peak of the range.

Like the rest of the line-up, the S63 AMG and S65 AMG get a new grille, LED lighting, revised front bumper and rear bumper with an integrated diffuser to help it stay glued to the road on those de-restricted Autobahns. The interior has likewise been updated, incorporating the full array of electronic systems to make driving these muscular luxury sedans a breeze. But it's under the hood where these two behemoths really shine: the S63 packs a 525-horsepower V8, while the S65's party piece is a twin-turbocharged V12 with over 600 horsepower. Both are aided by Mercedes' latest torque vectoring system to help get the giants around the corner. Although this is probably the last concern of someone buying a machine like either of these, but emissions and fuel consumption have been improved on both models by a meager 3%. Pricing has not yet been announced, but the previous models which these replace sold for approximately $130,000 and $200,000 respectively, so expect similar pricing on the 2010 versions, which you can view in the pair of image galleries below.

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