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

The stock AMG throttle body is a point of restriction on M113K motors especially in the W211 E55 AMG where the car is deliberately given a smaller throttle body than its counterparts such as the SL55, CL55, and S55. The E55 received a 74mm throttle body from the factory throughout its lifespan while other 55 AMG models with the same motor had an 80mm throttle body. The Weistec throttle body is at 82 millimeters. ...

Autocar UK reports that the new W205 C63 AMG will not receive the M157 twin turbo V8 found in all the new 63 AMG models. Instead, the new C63 is supposed to get a downsized 4.0 liter V8 with twin turbos. Spyphotos of the W205 C63 AMG testing were accompanied by reports of twin turbo V8 power under the hood but that was thought to be the M157. A V8 with turbos is under the hood, just seemingly not the one we were all thinking. ...

Ford really upped the game with the 2013 Mustange GT500. Displacement of the V8 was increased to 5.8 liters and with some new tuning and more boost the car now puts out 662 horsepower in stock form. That is simply a hell of a lot of power from a factory car. The C63 AMG is severely outgunned in this matchup on paper rated at only 451 horsepower. That is 211 less horsepower for the German muscle car. ...

Here is a nice Christmas gift from Mercedes who seemingly leaked these official photos out. The pictures show the new Mercedes-Benz CLA and it quite simply looks fantastic. The styling is very aggressive and modern partially thanks to the AMG style body kit the car is wearing. The interior is very nice as well showing beautiful stitching along with a very clean and elegant layout. Quite simply, the CLA is beautiful inside and out. ...

This is a very nice run showing a tuned car, in this case the C63 AMG, versus the brand new F10 M5 with its beastly underrated S63tu twin turbo V8 putting out 527 rear wheel horsepower stock. The C63 AMG is running a tune from OE Tuning and it is impressive the way the Mercedes M156 naturally aspirated V8 with less power than the F10 M5 even with a tune runs door to door with it. Additionally, the C63 AMG does not have the quick shifting dual clutch transmission. ...

There are several body kit options on the market for the R230 Mercedes-Benz SL. Very few from Japan though and likely for a good reason as the Japanese tend to overdo their body kits. This kit by Abflug tends to go down that way overdone route. These pictures are just renderings but the real thing will be revealed next month at the Tokyo Auto Salon. This "Platinum" kit consists of a new front bumper, fenders, side skirts, hood, and rear diffuser. ...

Mercedes-Benz recently revealed the facelifted W212 E-Class for the 2014 model year and naturally the C207 coupe will be receiving similar treatment. The renderings below give an idea of what the coupe will look like which is obviously very similar to the facelifted sedan. The coupe seemingly looking better with the facelift however. Changes to the E-Class coupe will likely mostly be cosmetic although it may also get the diesel hybrid powertrain. ...

The sad reality of the tuning game is that others will lie, cheat, and steal your hard work if it benefits them. Any tuner on this network will tell you IP (intellectual property) theft is the single biggest problem facing tuners. A tuner can work for months, even years, on a software solution only for others to download, decompile, and copy it. Proving someone has done this is incredibly difficult and current laws do not protect tuners from software theft. Recently Kleemann sent out a holiday e-mail announcing their M156 supercharger which raised some eyebrows and prompted further research. It certainly appears that Kleemann has decided to (blatantly) betray their agreement with Weistec. ...

With Mercedes giving their entry level four cylinder models a turbo powerplant tuning is naturally going to occur. The 1.8 liter turbo M271 under the hood of the 2011 C250 is not exactly a powerhouse in stock form rated at 201 horsepower but stock rear wheel output of 187 wheel horsepower on 91 octane shows the vehicle is slightly underrated. BMS is able to boost peak horsepower to 194 at the rear wheels but the area under the curve gets large gains up to 23 wheel horsepower and 43 wheel torque, impressive. ...

The new R172 SLK55 AMG is a pretty quick little car. Unfortunately, Mercedes-Benz would not give it the M157 Twin Turbo V8 (if they did this car would annihilate) everything else in the lineup) but the naturally aspirated M152 5.5 liter V8 is proving to be quite potent in the fairly lightweight Benz. Independent numbers from an SLK55 at the Dallas Raceway drag strip show a result of 12.5@112.14 in the 1/4 mile with density altitude of just about 0. ...

Currently Aston Martin engines are manufactured by Ford. This is a relic that remains from when the Ford Motor Company owned Aston Martin. Apparently, Aston is seeking new technology and their supplier apparently will be Mercedes-Benz. Aston and Mercedes attempted to partner last year namely for design purposes that would benefit future Mercedes-Benz models but that deal fell through. However, It appears the partnership will be resurrected with Aston being supplied Mercedes AMG V12 motors. ...

Prior Design continues to launch aggressive body kits for various German Automotive models. This time, they decided to give the W204 C-Coupe some love with a Black Edition widebody which clearly mimics the W204 C63 AMG Black Series Coupe. There certainly is a degree of posing for whomever gets this as their car is not a real Black Series. However, there is no denying the quality of the reproduction and just how much better it makes the car look. ...

Here are more pictures and details of the facelifted 2014 W212 E-Class Mercedes-Benz. Engine choices remain pretty much the same but there are a couple notable changes. The E250 Bluetec Diesel model is now available with 4Matic all wheel drive. The lineup also gains an E400 Hybrid model which features a 3.5 liter V6 with 302 horsepower and an electric motor good for another 27 horsepower for a total of 329. ...

Wow, quite simply, wow. The new ML550 is incredibly quick hustling its 5197 pounds to the tune of a 13.4@106 1/4 mile. This is basically the same acceleration once seen from the BMW E46 M3 as well as the C32 AMG. The idea of a heavy SUV accelerating like an AMG sport sedan was unheard of just several years ago, how times have changed. As a reminder, this is the 550 version and not even the 63 AMG which will be even more of a beast. ...

Here is a rendering of the upcoming W205 generation Mercedes-Benz C-Class. The car is expected to take on some styling cues from the newer models including the R231 SL as can bee seen in the headlights. It remains to be seen how accurate this rendering is but if the final product is similar Mercedes will have a hit on their hands. The main interesting development especially for AMG performance enthusiasts is the idea of all wheel drive on the C63 AMG. ...

No surprise the new W212 E-Class facelift was leaked early onto the internet before its official Detroit debut. The leak comes from an unknown European source showing the European model. The images are fairly low resolution but still reveal the majority of the design details. Obviously the largest change is to the headlights which ditch the classic separated look for a single headlight that attempts to mimic the angles of the old separated look somewhat. ...

Here are spyphotos of the upcoming X156 platform GLA45 AMG. This car will mirror the drivetrain of the upcoming CLA45 AMG, B45 AMG, and A45 AMG. This means all wheel drive, a dual clutch transmission with 7-speeds, and a turbocharged M133 2.0 liter direct injected four-cylinder with an output of 354 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque. This car seems to be an answer to a question nobody asked. ...

The G-Class is somewhat of an antique yet it continues to be a model that evolves over time. The new direct injected V8's finding their way under the hood is a good example. With the new efficiency and grunt the G-Class immediately improves. So what does the $113,905 base price in the G550 get you? A 388 horsepower and 391 lb-ft of torque M278 Twin Turbo and direct injected V8 which propels the 5689 brick through the 1/4 mile at 14.6@94 miles per hour. ...

German designed MEC Design released their widebody kit for the R230 SL. If you happen to own an R230, you have a bevy of body kit options to choose from. This one in particular is a good effort despite the tacky wheels and obviously the LED's which light up under the body. That kind of tacky stuff does not belong on an SL. Overall the fender work is pretty good and gives the car a much more aggressive appearance. ...