German Car Scene

Month: June 2013

  • Mercedes-Benz CLS 63 AMG Shooting Brake by Spencer Hart

    Mercedes-Benz CLS 63 AMG Shooting Brake by Spencer Hart
    Mercedes-Benz and leading menswear designer & tailor Spencer Hart have unveiled the CLS 63 AMG Shooting Brake by Spencer Hart at London Collections: Men.

    Styled by Nick Hart, the brand’s founder and Creative Director, the CLS 63 AMG Shooting Brake by Spencer Hart is finished in a specially created colour ‘Nick Hart Midnight Blue’ with the external chrome accents and wheels finished in contrasting black.

    Moving inside, the cabin is trimmed in distinctive Chocolate Brown Italian leather seats with Midnight Blue stitching, while the Spencer Hart logo has been embroidered into each headrest. Completing the interior highlights, Nick Hart’s signature adorns the centre console.

    Under the hood lies the factory 5.5-litre bi-turbo V8 engine developing 410 kW (557 hp) and 720 Nm of torque. Mated to the AMG SPEEDSHIFT MCT 7-speed sports transmission the Shooting Brake rockets to 100 km/h in 4.3 seconds before reaching a limited 250 km/h top speed.
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  • Three days on the Mille Miglia in a Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse

    Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse
    This new video diary from evo founder Harry Metcalfe sees him take part in last month’s Mille Miglia piloting Bugatti’s Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse.

    As current supercars are not eligible to enter, the Veyron was in attendance as a support vehicle to the classic Type 35 competing on the event. The 375 vehicles that are accepted for the race have been selected from models that took part in the historical Mille Miglia races from 1927 to 1957.

    Using the same 8.0-litre W16 from the 431 km/h Super Sport – complete with upgraded turbochargers, the Vitesse enjoys an elephantine 895 kW (1,200 hp) and 1,500 Nm of torque, rather than the usual 746 kW (1,001 hp) and 1,250 Nm seen in the regular open-topped model.

    The Vitesse has also has been recognised as the world’s fastest open-top production sports car after reaching 408.84 km/h (254.04 mph) at Ehra-Lessien.
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  • DTM: Paffett wins at the Lausitzring

    Gary Paffett
    Britain’s Gary Paffett took the win for Mercedes following today’s Lausitz DTM round – his first since last year’s race at Brands Hatch.

    Starting from second on the grid Paffett enjoyed a rocket of a start, passing team-mate Christian Vietoris on the first corner. Meanwhile, Mike Rockenfeller’s Audi RS 5 DTM came in on lap three to switch from standard to the softer ‘option’ tyres, which saw him jump from sixth to second position leapfrogging Vietoris. Paffett pitted for harder rubber and came back out with his lead intact, eventually finishing the race almost seven seconds ahead of Rockenfeller.

    Polesitter Vietoris took third, while Robert Wickens, who had initially been looking good for a podium place, couldn’t stay with the pack on standard tyres and had to settle for fourth. Jamie Green came home fifth – his best since signing for Audi.

    BMW saw a reversal of its recent form, with Bruno Spengler’s sixth the best it could muster. Spengler now shares the championship lead with Mike Rockenfeller on 59 points but is classed as second due to countback.

    “After a disappointing start to the season, the team has worked tirelessly in recent weeks and this victory is the best reward for all the hard work of our team,” said the race winner.
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  • Mercedes A 45 AMG goes flat out

    Mercedes-Benz A 45 AMG
    Here’s a pair of videos from Autocar and Auto Express featuring the feisty Mercedes A 45 AMG.

    The first is a review by Steve Sutcliffe which sees the A 45 stretching its legs on the track, while the second piece of film, with Mat Watson, focuses on a drag race with the company’s mighty CLS 63 AMG Wagon. Enjoying 410 kW (557 hp) 720 Nm of torque thanks its 5.5-litre bi-turbo V8, surely the CLS will destroy its cheeky sibling?

    Equipped with the most powerful 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine in the world, the A 45 AMG is propelled by an all-aluminium, turbocharged AMG lump producing 265 kW (360 hp) and 450 Nm of torque, which sends power to AMG’s 4MATIC all-wheel drive via a SPEEDSHIFT DCT seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox.

    On the road, 100 km/h appears in 4.6 seconds and top speed is limited to a meagre 250 km/h, with consumption working out at 6.9 litres per 100 kilometres in NEDC combined mode and CO2 emissions of 161g/km.

    So – given the choice – would you choose this, the 235 kW (320 hp) BMW M135i or Audi’s 250 kw (340 hp) RS 3 Sportback?
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  • Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Borrasca Roadster by Inden Design

    Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Borrasca Roadster
    Flammersbach-based tuner Inden Design has released details of its Borrasca program for the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster.

    Looking pretty much indistinguishable from the SLS AMG Black Series body package, Inden’s conversion includes a restyled hood, new front fascia with carbon fibre splitter, wider fenders with carbon inserts, vented side skirts and rear bumper with air outlets and diffuser section. The quadruple tailpipes are genuine AMG items, funnily enough. A set of sport springs drop the Roadster 15 mm over a set of the company’s 10.5 and 11.5 x 21-inch alloy wheels wrapped in 265/30 and 295/25 Continental tyres.

    Performance-wise, Inden adds a stainless steel exhaust system with electronic valve control, along with remapped ECU software, which sees output from the 6.2-litre V8 unit jump from 420 kW (571 hp) to 474 kW (635 hp).
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  • BMW 4 Series Coupe surfaces

    BMW 4 Series Coupe
    Here are the first images of BMW’s brand spanking new F32 4 Series Coupe.

    Measuring 4,638 mm in length, it’s slightly longer than the 4,620 mm 3 Series Coupe that it replaces, with a wheelbase of 2,810 mm – 50 mm over the E92’s. 43 mm wider at 1,825 mm, it possesses a 45 mm wider front track (1,545 mm) and 80 mm wider rear track (1,593 mm) while stands 16 mm lower at 1,362 mm.

    We’d like to have seen more of the Concept‘s styling details filter through to the production version, but this well proportioned Coupe still features a few nice touches, including a bold kidney grille and aggressive front fascia with larger central intake, C-shape outlets in the front fenders to aid cooling while improving airflow over the arches, a sloping roofline and more fluid wrap-around rear lights than the 3 Series Saloon.

    Three engines will be available at launch starting with the base 420d, which develops 135 kW (181 hp) and 380 Nm of torque from its turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel. Next is the 428i with a TwinPower Turbo 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine delivering 180 kW (245 hp) and 350 Nm, followed by the range-topping 435i utilizing the company’s delicious TwinPower Turbo 3.0-litre six-pot delivering 225 kW (306 hp) and 400 Nm. A 135 kW (184 hp) 420i will follow later in the year along with a 430d and 435d using different versions of the 3.0-litre six-cylinder diesel engine producing 253 hp (189 kW) and 230 kW (313 hp).
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