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

The CLA-Class has officially been released and now we are going to see all the speculation on additional variants. And AMG variant is a given but that will retain the general proportions of the sedan. Additional variants are rumored and with how popular wagons are a "shooting brake" or wagon version for Europe is within the realm of possibility. The result of what such a model would look like is rendered in the pictures below. ...

Sexy cars and sexy women go together like... well, sexy cars and sexy women. Mercedes-Benz has decided to promote the "sexiness" of its new CLA and its styling by using the very seductive Kate Upton in a slow motion ad depicting the CLA being washed. Kate Upton did a great job in this similar role promoting burgers for Carl's Junior. The thing is, this isn't a cheeseburger, it's a Mercedes-Benz and this seems somewhat beneath the brand. ...

Here are fantastic photos of the facelifted driveline going into the 2014 E63 and CLS63 AMG vehicles. The first couple photos show the turbochargers and their location. It looks like most everything is the same although Benzboost is not sure if the turbos themselves have undergone any changes to coincide with the raised 585 horsepower output in the S variant. The S option of course also coming with 4Matic all wheel drive. Mercedes neatly highlights the hot/cold side as well as the cooling lines. ...

W204 C-Class owners will be happy to know another widebody option is coming this one from Misha designs. Unlike the Prior-Design W204 C-Class kit, the Misha design kit will be available for either the coupe or sedan. It also is going for its own style rather than attempting to mimic the C63 AMG Black Series. Pictures below of the kit drawn as well as pictures of it being completed on a W204 C-Class coupe. ...

Here we go, M156 versus M157 battle. The M156 naturally aspirated V8 in the W211 E63 AMG which has an unspecified ECU tune as well as the cats deleted in the exhaust for basically a straight pipe setup. The CLS63 is stock but with the performance package which is good for about ~33 wheel horsepower and ~66 pound-feet of torque over the standard M157 engine tune. The cars race several times from a stop as well as from a roll. ...

4Matic all wheel drive is becoming more and more common on Mercedes vehicles. AMG cars will be going down this route soon so no doubt people will want to see how all wheel drive stacks up to rear wheel drive. Although these are two ML350 sport utilities being compared it still gives a general idea as to the changes one can expect. The most glaring of which will be the added weight which in this example amount to an additional 340 pounds for the 4Matic all wheel drive ML. ...

Switzer has released a beautiful exhaust system for the new C218 CLS63 powered by the M156 twin turbo direct injected 5.5 liter V8. The exhaust is made out of 304 stainless steel and offers a black chrome finish with oval exhaust tips. Fortunately, it is not all about looks and sounds as the exhaust provides a very nice gain of 28 wheel horsepower and 25 pound-feet of torque at the wheels on a dynojet in SAE correction. ...

By now you should be aware the Mercedes-Benz CLA made its debut and will be coming to the United States. The question is how this model will compare to the C-Class. Benzboost has obtained the dimensions and figures for such a comparison with the W204 C-Class. The next generation W205 is around the corner and it is expected to be larger than the current W204 generation as well as more expensive making the CLA slot into the Mercedes lineup all the more smoothly as the entry level car. ...

This is a race... of sorts. It shows the difference between a fast car and a really fast car. The Gintani supercharged DCT M3 is a quick car by any stretch of the imagination capable of turning ~130 mile per hour 1/4 mile trap speeds and providing 600 horsepower to the wheels. Definitely fast. But the Mercedes it runs against here happens to hold the record for the World's Fastest Mercedes-Benz with a trap speed of 144 miles per hour. In other words, a mismatch. ...

Introducing the new entry level Mercedes-Benz in the USA, the CLA-Class. A very nice design inside and out and a worthy car to slot in under the C-Class which has gotten bigger and more expensive. The CLA has some impressive engineering in it sporting a .23 coefficient of drag. No, that is not a typo, this is a slippery design. And yes, it is front wheel drive, but with available 4Matic all wheel drive there should be few complaints. ...

Here is another set of renderings of the W205 C-Class and this is the best set so far. Much better done than what was posted by Autocar Magazine although these renderings maintain the same style language. These may not be accurate as the rear proportions seem somewhat off with too short of an overhang but the styling details should be close only if Autocar was not far off. If so, this car is going to blend in somewhat with the upcoming CLA. ...

The W212 E63 AMG facelift will be applied to the C218 CLS63 AMG as well. Unlike the E-Class however the CLS will not be getting cosmetic changes but instead changes to the driveline and M157 V8 Twin Turbo motor. The most important of which is the addition of 4Matic all wheel drive. The M157 Twin Turbo and direct injected 5.5 liter V8 is also boosted to 557 horsepower and up to 585 horsepower in the optional S-model trim. ...

Finally some test numbers for the Mercedes-Benz M271 turbo four cylinder motor. The motor is not exactly top of its class in the German direct injected four cylinder arena but the 1.8 liter 201 horsepower motor propels the relatively lightweight 3,325 pound SLK250 well. 0-60 comes in 6.8 seconds and the 1/4 mile in 14.9@92.3. These are not world beating numbers but for an entry level car definitely respectable. ...

This video comes to us from the Middle East thanks to BenzBoost member Alrasheed1991. He has a Stage I Weistec supercharged C63 AMG which utilizes MHP tuning. One would think the supercharged C63 should crush a Gallardo Superleggera but this is the updated LP-570-4 version with the higher horsepower direct injected 5.2 liter V10 pushing 562 horses. It is a much, much faster car than the original 523 horsepower 2006 Superleggera. ...

Here is a leak revealing the official design of the upcoming facelifted 2014 E63 AMG. As previously reported, the 2014 E63 AMG facelift will get an uprated M157 Twin Turbo 5.5 liter V8 with 575 horsepower mated to an all wheel drive driveline. No dual clutch transmission, but power is routed through an automatic. The facelift itself as leaked out here in official photos definitely looks far more aggressive than the standard W212 E-Class facelift which looked a bit too mild. ...

The GL63 AMG is simply an absurd vehicle. Absurdly awesome that is with its 5812 pound curb weight being propelled by the AMG M157 Twin Turbo and direct injected V8 which provides 550 horsepower and 560 pound-feet of torque. Car and Driver tested AMG's new SUV and the acceleration for something so massive is astonishing. How about 0-60 miled per hour in 4.8 seconds and a 1/4 mile time of 13.2@109? ...

Here it finally is, and hot on the heels of the E-Class sedan facelift, your updated C207 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe. Just as expected, the E-Class coupe mirrors the design changes of the sedan although the coupe looks a little sleeker thanks to its more aggressive front bumper and grill design. The LED headlights are of course the biggest change and designed to mimic the separated or quad headlight design element that was a staple of the E-Class. ...

Autocar decided to render what the new upcoming W205 generation C-Class would like and here is the result. Frankly, it just appears that they took the headlight design from the new R231 SL and then decided to give it the taillights from the C218 CLS-Class. The new Mercedes-Benz styling language definitely is moving towards LED integrated headlights but these renderings really just seem to be the result of slapping the SL and CLS together on a C-Class style sedan body. ...

Here is a video with some interesting races from a supercharged W204 C63 AMG and a Procharged Camaro along with a stock C6 Z06. The supercharger on the C63 is likely a unite from Weistec and power output is said to be in the 570 wheel range. The C63 does an admirable job against the Z06 pulling it as to be expected with the Corvette being stock. The Camaro is a 2011 model with a D1SC Procharger. No power figures are disclosed. ...