German Car Scene

Month: July 2013

  • Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series vs SRT Viper

    Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series
    In this new episode of Head 2 Head Motor Trend’s Jonny Lieberman pits the heavy-hitting SRT Viper against the awesome Mercedes SLS AMG Black Series.

    Propelled by a revised version of the regular car’s 6.2-litre V8, the Black Series has 464 kW (622 hp) and 635 Nm of torque at its disposal, while the Viper features a floor-melting 8.4-litre V10 powerplant developing 477 kW (640 hp) and 813 Nm.

    Few would dispute that the SLS is the better car, but is it really worth more than two and a half times as much as the Viper?
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  • DRIVE takes a look around X-raid

    MINI ALL4 Racing
    This new episode of DRIVE sees JF Musial pay X-raid’s Trebur premises a visit just outside of Frankfurt, Germany.

    The video offers a look at the Dakar-winning cross country rally team, including a workshop tour and interviews that provide a fascinating insight into how the team builds and tests their fleet of MINI ALL4 Countrymans.

    It’s worth watching for the in-car footage alone.
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  • TopCar Porsche 991 Carrera Stinger

    TopCar Porsche 991 Carrera Stinger
    Russian styling specialist TopCar has revealed its wide-track body program for Porsche’s 991 Carrera 4/4S models ahead of its debut at Auto Exotica 2013 in Moscow (July 5 – 7).

    Constructed from a mixture of vacuum-formed carbon fibre and Kevlar, the Stinger package consists of a replacement hood, aggressive front bumper with spoiler lip, side skirts, wing add-ons, rear bumper with diffuser insert and a quartet of relatively subtle wheel arch extensions.

    The conversion includes a set of ultra-light ADV.1 forged alloys, while TopCar can also provide performance upgrades and bespoke interiors to suit the owner’s tastes.

    Pricing for the conversion starts at €14,280, with TopCar releasing a kit for narrow-bodied 991s later this year.
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  • Porsche 918 Spyder roadshow

    Porsche 918 Spyder
    Clearly pinpointing its demographic, Porsche recently toured the Middle East with a pair of 918 Spyder prototypes, visiting 6 countries in 52 days.

    Powering the plug-in hybrid hypercar is a 453 kW (608 hp) 4.6-litre V8 engine along with a 115 kW (154 hp) hybrid module at the rear and a 95 kW (127 hp) electric motor driving the front wheels. With all systems go and the full 661 kW (887 hp) a its disposal, the Spyder can hit 100 km/h in 2.8 seconds and 200 km/h in 7.9s, while top speed is 340 km/h (211 mph).
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  • Novitec Torado Lamborghini Aventador

    Novitec Torado Lamborghini Aventador
    Bayern-based tuning specialist Novitec has released details of its Torado program for the Lamborghini Aventador.

    Visually the wind tunnel-developed aero package comprises of left and right front spoilers connected by a central blade, new air intakes, aggressive rocker panels and carbon fibre mirror casings and side intakes. Moving to the rear there’s a replacement trunk lid with integrated vents, a double diffuser section. and a choice of two wing styles The entire package can also be ordered in clear-coated carbon fibre.

    The car can either be lowered by way of a sport spring kit or fully adjustable coilover set-up, while the new wheels are three-piece NL1 items, which measure 9 x 20 and 13 x 21-inches and wear Pirelli P-Zero tyres in 255/30 and 355/25 dimensions.

    Moving inside, the cabin receives carbon-fibre trim on the door panels and instrument cluster with the seats trimmed in any combination of leather and Alcantara to suit the owner’s tastes. Finally, Revox supplies one of its prestige audio systems.

    Novitec can provide remapped ECU software and a performance exhaust system with an adjustable valve, which releases 35 kW (48 hp) from the 6.5-litre V12. The exhaust can be also specified in Inconel, which undercuts its factory counterpart by 26 kilograms.

    If you want to go the whole hog, the Bi-Kompressor package includes a pair of superchargers, new injectors, revised software, a modified induction tract and upgraded fuel pumps. This option yields a very healthy 713 kW (969 hp) and 912 Nm, allowing 100 km/h to appear in just 2.8 seconds and 200 km/h in 7.4s.
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  • Weistec Mercedes E 63 AMG tested

    Weistec Engineering Mercedes-Benz E 63 AMG
    This new episode of DRIVE sees The Smoking Tire‘s Matt Farah heading over to Santa Ana’s Weistec Engineering to sample a tuned Mercedes-Benz E 63 AMG on an empty toll road.

    Changes to the E-Class include an intercooler, trunk-mounted ice tank, complete exhaust system, custom billet turbochargers and optimized ECU software, all adding up to 1085 Nm and 533 kW (715 hp) – at the wheels.
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