German Car Scene

Month: January 2013

  • Opel ADAM production begins

    Opel Adam
    Opel has begun production of its ADAM city car at the company’s Eisenach plant in Germany, with High jumper Ariane Friedrich given the honour of driving it off the assembly line.

    “This is a special moment for Eisenach and for the entire company. The ADAM is bold, innovative and versatile, and thus embodies the pioneering spirit that is moving Opel into a new era,” blubbed Steve Girsky, Opel’s teary-eyed Supervisory Board Chairman. We imagine.

    Engines available at launch include a 51 kW (70 hp) 1.2-litre and a 1.4-litre producing either 64 kW (87 hp) or 74 kW (100 hp) all mated to a five-speed manual gearbox. The ecoFLEX pack including Start/Stop function can be added to any variant. There are three levels of trim to choose from: Jam is the colourful base model, followed by Glam, which features more elegant equipment. Finally, Slam is designed to suite drivers of a racier nature and features larger diameter 17 or 18-inch alloys along with a more responsive sports chassis and steering feeling. There are over 62,000 variants for the exterior and almost 82,000 for the interior, meaning it’s highly unlikely that you’ll come across one like yours in a car park.

    Personalisation touches include the LED headlamps and the taillights, LED lit ‘starlight’ roof trim, smartphone integration with the seven-inch, high-resolution full-colour touch screen.

    Pricing starts at €11,500.
    (more…)

  • eGarage looks at AccuAir Suspension’s Audi AIR4 Avant

    AccuAir Audi Air4 Avant
    eGarage has released this video in acknowledgement of its new sponsor, AccuAir Suspension, which looks at the company’s striking Audi AIR4 Avant demonstrator.

    The wide body project, which was built by Coastline Autosport Group for SEMA 2012, features all-steel, cartoon-like custom wheel arches which add 12-inches to the car’s width, while the front receives a complete 2013 Audi RS 5 face graft and the rear gets a 2012 S4 molded-in diffuser and quadruple tailpipes. Obviously, the Avant kisses the ground thanks to an AccuAir Suspension system, while the skinny factory wheels have made way for a set of Nessen Forged rims measuring 11 and 12.5 x 20-inches.
    (more…)

  • Lumma Design CLR 558 GT-S Cayenne

    Lumma Design CLR 558 GT-S
    Winterlingen stylinghouse Lumma Design has released details of its latest offering to suit Porsche’s Cayenne, the CLR 558 GT-S.

    Available to fit all models in the range, the aero package comprises of a front bumper with behemothic air inlets, splitter lip, Turbo turn signals, fog lamps and daytime running lights. Priced from €3,510, Lumma can also supply LED lighting units. The side skirts cost €1,725 and are direct replacements for the factory items, while the rear bumper features an integrated diffuser and will set you back €2,670. A quadruple 90 mm tailpipe kits rounds off the kit for €950.

    Other components on offer include a wide-arch package, three choices of hood, a rear spoiler and various carbon fibre exterior elements. Finally, Lumma offers a wide range of alloy wheel and tyre packages from €5,400, including its CLR 22 rims, which measure 10 and 12 x 22-inches and come wrapped in 295/30 and 335/25 rubber.
    (more…)

  • 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLS 63 AMG Coupe and Shooting Brake

    2014 Mercedes-Benz CLS 63 AMG
    As well as débuting its 2014 E63 AMG at the Detroit Motor Show, Mercedes-Benz is also revealing its refreshed CLS 63 AMG Coupe and Shooting Brake models.

    Featuring the same uprated 5.5-litre bi-turbo V8 engine as its E-Class counterpart, the four-door Coupe has 410 kW (557 hp) and 720 Nm of torque at its disposal. Mated to the AMG SPEEDSHIFT MCT 7-speed sports transmission which features “C” (Controlled Efficiency), “S” (Sport), “S+” (Sport plus) and “M” (Manual) modes as well as a Race Start function with automatic double-declutching, the Coupe rockets to 100 km/h in 4.2 seconds (Shooting Brake 4.3s) before reaching a limited 250 km/h top speed, while returning an average fuel consumption figure of 9.9 (10.1) l/100 km and CO2 emissions of 231 (235) g/km. When combined with AMG’s 33 to 67 percent front/rear biased 4MATIC all-wheel-drive system, the 0-100 km/h time drops to 3.7s (3.8s), but it is marginally thirstier at 10.4 (10.6) l/100 km and less green at 243 (248) g/km.

    If that’s not enough, the more powerful CLS 63 AMG 4MATIC S-Model might be your cup of tea. Developing 430 kW (585 hp) and 800 Nm, it hits 100 km/h in 3.6 s (3.7s), features a differential lock on the rear axle and possesses those all-important red brake calipers. It also wears 10-spoke 19-inch alloy wheels with a high-sheen rim flange rather than the regular car’s triple-spoke items. Inside, the driver gets a Nappa leather-trimmed AMG Performance steering wheel, ‘S AMG’ logo on the 320 km/h speedometer and illuminated sill plates.

    Once again Mercedes offers a wealth of optional extras, including an AMG ceramic composite 402 mm brake upgrade for the S-Model, a 1200 W Bang & Olufsen BeoSound surround sound system and the designo American cherry wood luggage compartment floor with brushed aluminium rails.
    (more…)

  • Porsche Museum Treasures looks at the 911 RSR

    Porsche Carrera 911 RSR
    This new edition of Porsche Museum Treasures looks at the awesome Carrera 911 RSR model.

    Based on the 900 kg lightweight 2.8-litre Carrera RS, the RSR racing version initially developed 300 bhp which climbed to 310 bhp from a 3.0-litre unit. It began its career at the 24 hours race in Daytona/Florida, and started very convincingly in the hands of the American private team Gregg/Haywood, who won unchallenged ahead of the prototypes from Ferrari, Matra and Mirage-Ford, and later went on to dominated its own category, the Grand Tourisme class.
    (more…)

  • Mercedes-Benz reveals E 63 AMG, including S-Model

    Mercedes-Benz E 63 AMG
    Mercedes-Benz has revealed details of its E 63 AMG version of the facelifted E-Class along with the addition of 4MATIC and an S-Model.

    Propulsion comes courtesy of the company’s 5.5-litre bi-turbo V8 unit, which now produces 410 kW (557 hp) and 720 Nm of torque – up from the predecessor’s 386 kW (525 hp) and 700 Nm. Mated to the AMG SPEEDSHIFT MCT 7-speed transmission which features four modes: “C” (Controlled Efficiency), “S” (Sport), “S+” (Sport plus) and “M” (Manual) as well as a Race Start function with automatic double-declutching, the E 63 cracks 100 km/h in 4.2 seconds, while returning an average fuel consumption figure of 9.8 l/100 km and CO2 emissions of 230 g/km. Top speed is sadly limited to 250 km/h. When combined with AMG’s 33 to 67 percent front/rear biased 4MATIC all-wheel-drive system, the 0-100 km/h time drops to 3.7s (Estate 3.8s), but it is slightly thirstier at 10.3 (10.5) l/100 km and less green at 242 (246) g/km. But, hey.

    If that’s not enough, until the Black Series arrives, the more powerful E 63 AMG 4MATIC S-Model can be specified. Producing 430 kW (585 hp) and 800 Nm, it hits 100 km/h in 3.6 s (3.7s), features a differential lock on the rear axle and has those all-important red brake calipers.

    Visually, the wider-track E 63 AMG features a twin-blade radiator grille, AMG front fascia with massive air intakes and lift-reducing splitter, a subtle hood lid spoiler and revised diffuser section with quadruple trapezoidal tailpipes. The S-Model gains a chrome splitter, rear bumper trim and twin AMG tailpipes and 19-inch ten-spoke matt titanium grey alloy wheels rather than the regular car’s 18-inch items.

    Standard equipment comprises of LED headlamps, AMG sill plates and pedals, Collision Prevention Assist, LED interior lighting and metallic paintwork finishes. Goodies on the options list include AMG Carbon Fibre packages for the front apron, side skirt inserts, rear apron trim, mirror casings and rear spoiler. There’s also a set of high-sheen titanium grey 5-spoke forged wheels, designo interior upholstery and the heavy-duty AMG ceramic composite 402 mm brake upgrade for the S-Model, an increase over the regular ventilated 360 mm steel discs.

    Due to début in Detroit, deliveries of the RWD versions begin in April, with the AWD and S-Models arriving in June.
    (more…)