Mercedes and AMG Blog, Performance, Tuning, Motorsport, and Modification News

Here is the official Mecedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series ordering guide obtained thanks to a BenzBoost member who wishes to remain anonymous. The order guide does not specify the exact MSRP for the SLS Black Series other than stating the price will be in the $2XX,XXX range. Basically, expect to pay above a quarter million for the car. Compared to the SL65 AMG Black Series pricing which was in the $320,000 range the SLS Black Series appears to be priced better and also happens to be a better sports car. ...

Well the downsizing of motors continues and even Mercedes-Benz is not immune as it appears 550 models with the M278 twin turbo and direct injected 4.6 liter V8 will be replaced with a twin turbo 3.0 liter V6 starting in 2014. The motor will only produce 330 horsepower and 350 pound-feet of torque which is far less than the current E550 puts out which is 402 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque. That's a rather large difference between the two. ...

Don't get too attached to the car you see here if you live in the USA, you will not be able to buy it. Meet the A45 AMG with 4Matic all wheel drive, a 7-speed dual clutch transmission, and a 360 horsepower M133 2.0 liter turbocharged motor. The 360 horsepower even slightly exceeds the initial 354 horsepower reports for the 2.0 liter turbo motor which is very impressive considering the displacement. 26 pounds of boost from the turbo definitely helps. ...

Well this is not groundbreaking news as the CLA45 AMG was expected for the USA but it is nice to have official confirmation. The 2014 CLA45 AMG will make its debut at the 2013 New York City Auto Show on March 27th. There is an AMG sneak preview night to get a look at the car before the general public. It will be interesting to see what the USA MSRP is considering the CLA250 starts at $29,999 which means the AMG version will likely be in the $40's. ...

Ok, so the new C117 CLA is here and it is a great looking entry level Mercedes-Benz. The vehicle is styled as a "four door coupe" which is styling Mercedes pioneered with the CLS class and the rest of the industry scrambled to catch up to them. The question was brought up however as what the new CLA would look like as a real coupe AKA having two doors instead of four. Well, the answer to this question is in the renderings below. ...

Congratulations to Weistec Engineering and BenzBoost member ecampbell for setting a new M156 1/4 mile world record with a 10.01@139 pass. Yep, incredibly close to a 9 second run and breaking into the 9's is clearly the next step. The 60 foot is not yet known (1/4 mile slip needs to be posted) but the car is hooking well as it improved on its previous 10.212@144.61 with the trap speed dropping likely due to a better launch as well as it being a different track (Famoso). ...

So the SLC AMG sports car that was put on hold due to being deemed too expensive is back on the table and apparently received the green light. Internal chassis code already given to the car is C190. The SLS aluminum spaceframe will be shortened as it is modular and applied to the SLC so this is how costs will be shaved. No gullwing doors or anything fancy like that for this car as the goal is to keep cost down to go head to head with the Porsche 911. ...

Wow, simply wow. If you were not convinced the M157 is a beast you should be now. How about just a hair short of 10's in 700+ density altitude in Florida at Palm Beach International Raceway with a Renntech tune only car on street tires? Yes, on street tires. That is absolutely mind blowing and what is even more incredibly is this was done in positive density altitude. With drag radials and negative density altitude running 10's tune only in an E63 AMG is a real possibility. ...

So, retirement from professional racing for Michael Schumacher is not all that bad. As you know Schumacher announced his retirement from Formula 1 last year after Mercedes-Benz signed Lewis Hamilton. There were questions as to whether Schumacher would move to another series or take on some other capacity. Schumacher will officially take up a role which has not been specified with Mercedes-Benz road cars although one can assume he will be doing test driving and giving feedback much in a similar manner to Walter Rohrl for Porsche. ...

Just a few days ago a misleading video was posted of a Tesla Model S beating a new bi-turbo E63 AMG in a "drag" race. The drag race was not one on the drag strip and it hardly went long enough favoring the lower trap speed / lower top end of the Tesla Model S over the E63 AMG. The fact is, when a Tesla Model S lines up on a drag strip versus an E63 AMG as it did here it is going to get flat out smacked right across its electric behind. ...

Mercedes-Benz struggled in Formula 1 last year. They expect big things with their new car and new drivers this year. As you likely remember, Michael Schumacher is out replaced by Lewis Hamilton who will pair with Nico Rosberg for the Mercedes-Petronas team. Mercedes-Benz spent $100 million for their new driver and also purchased the remaining 40% stake in the team in order for Daimler to have sole control and ownership of the team. ...

Nice promotional video here for the new facelifted E63 AMG models. The video shows the sedan and wagon in standard E63 AMG trim as well as the optional "S" package which offers 4Matic all wheel drive an 585 horsepower. The S AMG package is denoted with new badging which simply places the letter on a black background next to the AMG logo so people know you spent more money and have more horsepower than just the "regular' E63 AMG. ...

Mercedes-Benz just keeps upping the ante on their AMG models including the C63 AMG in particular with updates and special edition models. They have not left the car stagnant like their competition (*cough* BMW *cough*) and the limited special edition models like the Black Series as well as this one actually are pretty special. The main difference for this car is getting the stronger and lighter internal engine components from the SLS AMG M159 V8 (known as the P31 package) standard allowing a boost to 507 horsepower from 451. ...

This Tesla performance hype really needs to be put to an end and additionally needs to stop being misleading. Yes, the Tesla Model S performs fairly well for its weight due to the instant torque provided by the electric motor. But a bunch of videos are going up showing the Tesla Model S beating Vipers and now twin turbo V8 AMG sedans. It simply is not realistic to think the Tesla Model S electric sedan is going to perform like a modern twin turbo V8 based sedan. ...

Photos of the interior were posted by Benzboost previously in July of last year but this new of spyphotos gives us a bit of a better glimpse of the upcoming W222 S-Class interior. Not all the much has changed as the general design remains with the round vents and huge LCD screen. The door panels as well as buttons appear to be typical classic Mercedes not deviating all that much from previous designs for the seat and window controls. ...

Hot on the heels of Weistec displaying their M157 turbo upgrade Renntech is releasing their figures. The car in the dynographs below is a 2012 CLS63 AMG with the full Renntech ball-bearing turbo upgrade featuring billet wheels, Renntech filters, Renntech cooling system, and Renntech hi-flow cats / downpipes. The rest of the exhaust is stock and the pulls were done on a dynojet using 93 octane pump gas with no correction factor. ...

Now this is more like Mercedes-Benz! Rather than using sex to sell the car we get a real advertisement with some attitude and style. The video highlights the design elements such as the new diamond radiator grill style as well as the impressive aerodynamics offering an incredibly low coefficient of drag. The interior is highlighted as well with the impressive leather, seats, as well as available deviated stitching. ...

A major congratulations is in order to Wesitec Engineering for yet another world's first and yet another record on an AMG platform. Weistec was able to hit an eye opening 727 wheel horsepower courtesy of their M157 turbo upgrade, Weistec downpipes, Weistec exhaust, Weistec tuning, air filters, as well as their own M157 cooling package. A nice combination of modifications which resulted in 727 wheel horsepower and 730 wheel pound-feet of torque. ...

Here we officially have the Kleemann supercharger for the M159 SLS AMG the development of which and release for the M156/M159 platform stirred up quite the brouhaha. Regardless of one might think on the matter the fact is the supercharger is here. Kleemann claims 762 horsepower which the dyno they used in Europe shows a corrected 762 PS. For reference, the Weistec SLS 750 Stage I SLS AMG M159 supercharger system puts out 638 horsepower to the wheels on a dynojet with 91 octane from a 2.3 liter twin screw. ...