German Car Scene

Month: October 2013

  • Mercedes-Benz A 250 and CLA 250 Sport models announced

    Mercedes CLA 250 Sport
    Mercedes-Benz has announced details of its new A 250 Sport 4MATIC, CLA 250 Sport and CLA 250 Sport 4MATIC.

    All powered by a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo engine, producing 155 kW (211 hp) and 350 Nm of torque, the 7G-DCT dual clutch transmission comes as standard, with customers able to opt for front-wheel drive or the 4MATIC all-wheel drive system. There’s also sports suspension and speed-sensitive sports steering tuned by AMG, along with a throatier exhaust system.

    Visual upgrades include the AMG body package with red detailing on the front and rear aprons, black 18-inch five-spoke alloy wheels and red calipers, while the interior gets designo seat belts in red and floor mats with ‘Sport’ badging echoing the ones on the wings.

    Pricing for the A 250 Sport 4MATIC, the CLA 250 Sport and the CLA 250 Sport 4MATIC start at €39,954, €42,305 and €44,506 respectively.

    [Source: Mercedes-Benz]

  • Mercedes-Benz CLA 45 AMG reviewed

    Mercedes-Benz CLA 45 AMG
    This episode of Ignition sees Motor Trend’s Carlos Lago heading to the Hyundai Proving Grounds to stretch the legs of the Mercedes CLA 45 AMG.

    Propelled by an all-aluminium AMG 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine developing 265 kW (360 hp) and 450 Nm of torque, power is transferred to a revised version of the AMG 4MATIC all-wheel drive system via a SPEEDSHIFT DCT seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. Those figures translate to a sub-five second 0-100 km/h time and a limited top speed of 250 km/h.
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  • Volkswagen Beetle by MR Car Design

    Volkswagen Beetle by MR Car Design
    Erftstadt-based tuning specialist MR Car Design has been tweaking Volkswagen’s current Beetle model to demonstrate what it can go for your Bug.

    Visually MR can provide a body wrap service in a colour of your choice, along with a range of alloy wheel styles, including these five-double-spoke items, which measure 8 x 19-inches and come wrapped in with 225/35 tyres.

    When it comes to lowering the Beetle customers can opt for either a coilover set-up or the company’s more elaborate G-Ride air ride system. Once fitted, the driver can raise the car by as much as 90 mm or drop it to the ground at the flick of a switch, allowing practicality and a reduction in monthly sump replacement costs.

    MR also offers ECU software upgrades, an example being the 2.0 TDI, which can be massaged to produce up to 154 kW (207 hp) and 420 Nm of torque.
    (more…)

  • Rally France: double celebrations for Sebastien Ogier

    2013 Rally France
    Volkswagen Motorsport had cause for double celebrations in France today after newly-crowned World Champion Sebastien Ogier put the icing on the cake with a win on home soil.

    Ogier had wrapped up the title by the end of the first stage of the rally and appeared to lose focus the following day, dropping down to fifth place on Friday. Ford’s Thierry Neuville had been holding a commanding lead until he destroyed a tyre after running wide on Saturday afternoon, leaving Sordo, Latvala, Loeb and Ogier to fight it out on the final day with just five seconds separating the four cars.

    Sebastien Loeb crashed out of his last ever event on Sunday morning, while the muddy conditions saw Latvala slip down to third and his team-mate Ogier pick up the pace to overtake Dani Sordo before ending the day over twelve seconds ahead of the Citroen driver.

    “I did not find any rhythm on day one. We were almost 30 seconds off the pace by the evening, and I never thought that we could still win this rally. Then I thought: I can’t just give up without a fight. So I pressed my internal reset button and started driving fast,” said a jubilant Ogier.
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  • Mercedes G 63 AMG 6×6 crops up with €534,310 price tag

    Mercedes G 63 AMG 6x6
    Here’s the first example of Mercedes’ insane G 63 AMG 6×6 that we’ve seen for sale, but you’ll need to dig deep to meet the €534,310 asking price.

    Featuring a colossal 15.75 inches of ground clearance, the mammoth machine is propelled by a 5.5-litre AMG V8 biturbo engine, which sends 400 kW (544 hp) and 760 Nn of torque to a AMG SPEEDSHIFT PLUS 7G-TRONIC automatic transmission on the way to the innovative 6×6 drive with central through-drive axle. If that seems a little under-powered to you, there’s always Brabus’ 515 kW (700 hp) B63S-700 6×6.

    Production will be limited to just thirty example, so don’t hang around. And don’t be misled by the photo as the dealership, Berlin’s AB Luxury Cars, notes that it will actually be taking delivery of a metallic black model. Don’t say you weren’t warned.
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  • Hamburg’s electric cars to receive special plates

    Volkswagen e-up!
    The city of Hamburg is calling for electric-powered vehicles, such as Volkswagen’s e-Golf and e-up!, to be fitted with special number plates to mark them out from their internal combustion-engined counterparts.

    To encourage the growth of zero-emission vehicles in the city, which is a major transport hub in Northern Germany, electric cars will be exempt from paying for parking, while being allowed access to less-congested lanes usually reserved for buses and taxis.

    In order for them to be instantly identified by the city’s police and traffic wardens, their number plates will feature unique blue numbers accompanied by a letter E. So sticking a lightning bolt on the back of your Golf R isn’t going to work. Anymore.

    [Source: Auto Bild]