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.

Question: What's hotter than a Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG? Well, that would be the new C63 AMG with Performance Package Plus, of course. The new super sedan from Daimler gets a 30-horsepower injection over the standard AMG model, pushing the pony count all the way to 487 – just a baker's dozen shy of the race-spec C-Class DTM model. Watch out, Caddy.

Modifications to the 6.3-liter V8 engine include new forged alloy pistons borrowed from the SLS AMG supercar and a new set of crank rods coupled with a lightweight crankshaft. A titanium-colored intake manifold and recalibrated computer module complete the package. Performance? How about zero to 62 in just 4.4 seconds and naught to 125 in under 14? Yeah, that'll do nicely.

An upgraded brake package with composite rotors is included to help the driver reign in all that speed, and Mercedes says the new PPP will be available on both the sedan and – get this – wagon bodystyles. Exterior modifications are limited to a carbon fiber spoiler for the sedan, and the interior is upgraded with an AMG steering wheel in nappa leather and seats swathed in Alcantara. No word yet on whether this beast is headed Stateside, but sales are scheduled to start in Europe before the end of the year. Hit the jump for the official press release and check out the two high-res images in our gallery below.



[Source: Mercedes-Benz]

Mercedes-Benz and McLaren have a long-standing relationship. The two outfits have won Formula One championships together, and collaborated on the Mercedes SLR McLaren. But while the two continue their collaboration in F1, their road-car programs have gone separate ways. McLaren recently unveiled the new MP4-12C supercar online, and what you see above is Mercedes' answer.

Like arch-rival BMW's now-defunct Z8, the SLS AMG takes its retro cues from the company's history – in this case the iconic Gullwing 300 SL. The SLS has been developed entirely in-house by the German automaker's AMG performance division, and packs the company's ubiquitous 6.3-liter 563hp V8 engine mated to a dual-clutch transmission. Unveiled at the Frankfurt auto show for the first time, the SLS AMG sits atop the Mercedes range with a quarter-million-dollar price tag.

Who said driving a hybrid had to mean ugly Japanese hatchbacks built with the same quality as a lunch box? Certainly not Mercedes-Benz. The German automaker already offers a hybrid version of its top-of-the-line S-Class luxury sedan. But it's not about to stop there. Building upon the existing S400 Hybrid, Mercedes unveiled the S500 Vision Plug-In Hybrid concept at its home-ground Frankfurt Auto Show last week.

While the conventional S500 sedan uses a V8 engine, the S500 Vision hybrid concept uses the same 3.5-liter V6 as the existing S400 Hybrid, only paired to a larger battery that enables the big limousine to accelerate to 60 in only 5.5 seconds while offering nearly 20 miles of electric motoring before the gasoline engine needs to even kick in. At the moment it's just a concept car, but it's fully functional and hints at the next development from Mercedes. See for yourself in the high-resolution photo galleries below.

It's been a long time in the making, but the first details and images of the new Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG have finally emerged in advance of its scheduled debut next week at the Frankfurt auto show.

Slotting in above the SL63 AMG Black Series and effectively replacing the SLR supercar which Daimler made in conjunction with its Formula One racing partner McLaren, the new SLS AMG sits at the pinnacle of the Silver Star's performance range. The gull-winged supercar packs the company's signature 6.3-liter V8 engine offering up 563 horsepower and 480 lb-ft of torque driving the rear wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, giving the 3500-lb supercar an anticipated 3.7-second sprint to 60 with a top speed just under 200 miles per hour. Available carbon-ceramic discs keep all that speed in check, packed into a retro design evocative of the iconic Mercedes-Benz 300SL.

It's available in any color you want, as long as it's silver: the catalog includes two shades of grey, silver and red for the truly extroverted, with a price tag in the neighborhood of $250,000. Tune in next week to see what it looks like from the floor of the Frankfurt show.

The Mercedes G550 is an unlikely niche vehicle. As with perhaps every other military-derived civilian 4x4, it's a box on wheels, all straight lines and fender flares. Yet unlike most other military-derived civilian off-roaders, it comes standard with solid axles front and rear, three electronically locking differentials front, center, and rear, and, get this, heated rear seats. Celebs, trendsters, and the generally rich keep it in the public consciousness. When Mercedes decided to kill it, a general uproar caused them to belay the order. It costs $100,250, and has no options. Before we drove it, we didn't know why people dug it. After driving it, now we do: it is colossally fun.

There's been a horsepower war being waged between German automakers for years, and Mercedes has been one of the biggest armies on the front line. An endless succession of big V8 and twin-turbo V12 engines have seen to Benz's dominance, housed in everything from station wagons to sportscars. Following the likes of the SLR McLaren and SL65 Black Series, the latest of the latter is almost here. But while the SLS "gullwing" will shout the battle cry of the horsepower wars with typical zeal, confirmed reports now indicate that it will also offer a more peaceful solution in the form of an all-electric version.

While the conventional SLS will be powered by a 6.3-liter V8 producing 563 horsepower and 479 lb-ft of torque, the electric version will produce the equivalent of 526hp and 649 lb-ft, offering potential buyers no excuse for sticking to the fossil-fuel-burning version once the electric model makes its debut. The electric Mercedes supercar promises to accelerate to sixty in four seconds flat, that motivation being delivered courtesy of four individual electric motors and a 48 kWh lithium ion battery pack. Given Mercedes parent company Daimler's recent investment of $50 million in Tesla, it's safe to say that the California startup will be helping out in the development, but while a launch date for the electric SLS hasn't been revealed, sources expect to see it on the road by 2015.

When I first planned my trip to Stuttgart, I certainly didn't expect to see anything like the scene above. I'm pretty famous for envisioning places all wrong before I travel (which is probably why I find myself boarding planes so often) but what I imagined was something like Bayonne, New Jersey.

So when Anselm Vogt-Moykopf, the architectural tour guide I'd engaged for the afternoon, took me up to the Württemberg Mausoleum up on a hill, and we drove past all these vineyards within city limits, I was pretty astonished by the scene. But it turns out that Württemberg is the largest red wine region in Germany (a country mostly known for its whites) and in fact, there's a vineyard right behind the city's main train station.

Beyond wine, Stuttgart is best known for these little car companies you might have heard of: Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche, which all together make for a who-knew luxury itinerary.

1. Mercedes Benz Museum: This giant museum is The-Guggenheim-meets-Mercedes-Commercial, but if you're a fan of the brand (or something of a history geek), you'll love it there. You take pod-like elevators directly to the top of the museum, which is of Dutch design and is impressive on its own. Then, work your way down. The exhibit traces the history of Mercedes from the time when Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft delivered its first car on December 22, 1900, to around about 2006, when the museum first opened. (And it doesn't gloss over the difficult stuff, the museum is straightforward about its use of Jewish slave labor during World War II.) On each landing, there are shiny examples of Mercedes vehicles, from trucks to race cars, about 160 vehicles in total.
   
2. Württemberg Mausoleum: From there drive up through the vineyards (hire a car if you plan to stop along the way at the wineries, usually law-abiding Germans are not much for speed limits.) There's not much to see inside -- it's the burial place for Katharina, wife of King Wilhelm, who had it built for the purpose in 1819, and whose earthly remains are also in there. Across the front it says "Love Never Ends", but rumor has it that this may be a bit of guilt trip. Katharina died of pneumonia, apparently contracted after riding on horseback in bad weather to catch Wilhelm with his mistress. Naughty royals.
   
3. Viniculture Museum: Next, hit a small museum dedicated to the area's wine. It's helpful to have someone who speaks German with you, but it's fun to see the old barrels, with their small doors that children would once crawl into to clean. Even more fun: sidle up for a wine tasting at the museum's bar. These wines aren't often available for export, so you may find a hidden treasure.
   
4. Porsche Museum: This brand new museum opened in January of this year, and if you really needed an explanation of the difference between Porsche and Mercedes you can feel it by visiting their museums back-to-back. Mercedes museum visitors are having an intellectual experience, while at Porsche, it's an emotional experience. (Dare I say, even sexual?) There's some history here, but what you've really got are hot, hot cars. There are about 80 of them, including the Porsche 356, 550, 911, and 917.
   

Last month we reported that UK soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo had put his black-on-black Porsche 911 convertible on sale for at £69,995 or about $115,000. Now the super-rich star athlete, who was spotted canoodling with Paris Hilton, has listed his 2008 Bentley Continental GT Speed (above) and 2004 Mercedes C220CDI as well, the UK AutoTrader reports. The Bentley is being offered at £114,950 and the Mercedes for only £10,795. As we reported back in January, the champion athlete who is moving to Spain to play for Real Madrid after his club Manchester United accepted a record £80 million bid, totaled his Ferrari but walked away unscathed. He drove the Bentley when the Ferrari was scrapped. The London Telegraph reports that Ronaldo will probably also sell his sell his £4 million mansion in Alderley Edge, Cheshire.

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.

Despite tough economic times and growing concern for the environment, Mercedes continues to produce the powerful performance vehicles which enthusiasts crave. In fact, we just reported on a pair of the latest just the other day. Unfortunately few have the cash to spend on them, but don't lose heart: Mercedes has other ways of getting you behind the wheel of one of its legendary AMG performance automobiles. Already in operation in Europe for a couple of years now, the AMG Driving Academy is preparing for an American tour. Less than two grand will buy you a full-day Stage I experience in a variety of Mercedes AMG vehicles, including the C63, SLK55, SL63, CLK 63 Black Series and the new E63 AMG. There's also a more advanced two-day Stage II program, but if you want the full-on experience, Mercedes is offering participants the chance to drive the upcoming new SLS supercar ahead of its market debut at the legendary Laguna Seca race track in Monterey, California. Programs are also available in Palm Beach, Florida, and Lime Rock, Connecticut, so unless you live in Wyoming, there should be an AMG experience coming to a race track near you.

With over 700 lb-ft of torque on tap, the Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG could very well be capable of bending time, which could explain why the German automaker has waited a couple of months to reveal the full details on its pair of flagship performance luxury sedans. Unveiled in April at the Shanghai motor show, the pair of AMG-tuned luxury vehicles offer either a 525hp V8 in the S63 or a 612hp twin-turbo V12 in the top-of-the-top-of-the-line S65. Mercedes has also packed the pair with all manner of electronic systems to keep all that power in check, plus the latest luxury and performance touches to distinguish this pair from the rest of the line. Although American pricing has yet to be announced, sales begin in the U.S. this coming September, while European prices indicate that these aren't for the everyman: €115,700 will get you behind the wheel of a short-wheelbase S63, another €6k will score you the long-wheelbase version while the S65 fetches a suitably monstrous €185,900.

A pair of ultra-luxurious Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman limousines from 1969 and 1971 that belonged to Playboy founder Hugh Hefner are being offered for sale by a collector in New Zealand. Hef ordered the 21-ft. long limos with the rare 6-door configuration, of which only 140 were built, new from the Mercedes factory in Stuttgart. The 600 Pullman, last of the hand-built Mercedes models, was the transport of choice for VIPs including the Pope, Coco Chanel, John Lennon, Jack Nicholson, Aristotle Onassis, and Elvis Presley, among others.

Both cars are painted black and feature forward facing seats at the center doors, a hydraulically operated reclining seat at the rear, curtains in the rear compartment, tinted glass, a soundproof glass center division with an intercom system for communicating with the chauffeur, and tons of chrome and wood paneling. The 1969 model is finished in black leather and features a refrigerated bar cabinet, while the 1971 has red leather and a built-in television. Both mint condition cars are priced at about $165,000.

[via JamesList]

The Mercedes-Benz S-Class has always been as much about safety as it is about style and luxury, which could help explain why so many of the features we now find common in automobiles first appeared in the top-of-the-line Benz. Mercedes isn't about to lose that edge, and so they've worked up this special ESF 2009 concept, based on the S400 Hybrid, to showcase the new safety equipment they're working on.

Among the features included in the ESF concept are new airbags hidden in the seatbelts, in between the seats, underneath the car (to help decelerate in case of an imminent crash) and inflatable metal beams to add extra crash protection while saving weight and space. Mercedes has also equipped the show car, set to debut sometime next week, with seats that move the occupants away from the doors in case of a side collision and reflective tire sidewalls to help prevent them in the first place.

If the environmental activists are right, the planet should be getting warmer every year, so if the world's really going to hell in a proverbial handbasket, you might as well enjoy the weather behind the wheel of a convertible. But while there are plenty of delectable cabrios and roadsters on the market already, some want something a little different. Fortunately there are skilled chop-shops that can lop the roof off just about any car and replace it with a folding canvas top. One of the most experienced is California's Newport Convertible Engineering, whose portfolio includes such recent and varied conversions as a Hummer H2 sport-utility, Toyota Prius hybrid, Cadillac CTS sedan and the Mercedes CL coupe you see here. Benz has been talking about bringing back the CL cabriolet for some time, but evidently one customer was tired of waiting. The conversion job costs about $10,000, but considering that this donor vehicle cost six figures already, that seems like just a drop in the bucket.