Friday, January 29, 2010

2010 Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 car

McLaren Mercedes Formula 1THE new Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 car has been launched in Newbury.
The MP4-25, which will be used by current world champion Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton in the forthcoming season, has been launched at the Vodafone headquarters this morning (Friday).
The two drivers unveiled the car moments ago and three members of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes management team are currently taking questions from the world’s media.
Jenson and Lewis will then take questions from the media and to see what they said, log back on to newburytoday later today.

McLaren launches radical new MP4-25

McLaren MP4-25

The McLaren Mercedes team launched its new car for the 2010 season on Friday morning, with the target of clinching both titles after a mixed campaign in 2009.

The Mercedes-powered MP4-25 was unveiled at Vodafone UK's headquarters in Newbury.

McLaren's new car retains the silver colour of recent years, despite engine partner Mercedes-Benz's switch of focus to its own 'Silver Arrows' outfit.

The car features a high shark-fin engine cover running up to the rear wing, not used by the team in 2009.

The MP4-25 will be driven by Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button this year, the reigning world champion having joined the British squad from Brawn GP, with which he won the title last year.

"It was Alexander Graham Bell who said preparation is key to success and we have prepared for this season more comprehensively than ever before," said team boss Martin Whitmarsh.

"As team principal I am honoured to represent this great team, but I am one small part of a group of dedicated and fantastic people.

McLaren Ready to Reveal 2010 Chassis and Livery

Friday marks the third F1 team launch of the year, and like Ferrari and Mercedes before them, McLaren are planning to stream this one online. Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton will be on hand to unveil the new car at the Vodafone Headquarters in Newbury, UK.

MP4-25

A side view of McLaren's 2010 challenger, the MP4-25.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Mercedes announces team launch

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Mercedes will officially launch its new team and livery on January 25 at its museum in Stuttgart. Its car, however, will not be unveiled until the first day of testing on February 1.

At the team launch it will present its two new drivers Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg alongside a Mercedes liveried 2009 Brawn. When the new car does roll out it will be named the RB1, 'RB' being the initials of team principal and former owner Ross Brawn.

The success of Schumacher's Formula One comeback will rest on it, as the seven-time champion returns to the sport after three years in retirement. He has been testing a GP2 machine this week to prepare for his first F1 run and is confident he is in good shape. Team-mate Rosberg is also hoping to score some good results after spending four seasons at Williams without winning a race.

Mercedes is just one of a number of teams to announce its launch recently with Ferrari, McLaren, Renault, Lotus and Sauber all confirming their dates in the past two weeks.

Mercedes-Benz's new $200,000 supercar, the SLS AMG

SLS AMG

SLS AMG

I'm soaring up a steep hill in Mercedes-Benz's new $200,000 supercar, the SLS AMG. Nearing the top, I squeeze on the carbon-ceramic brakes, sweep right to left on the pebbly asphalt, then tuck the supersized beak down a coiling hill—the infamous blind corkscrew at California's Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

I spiral down, stomach dropping, grin spreading. Birds on the wing indeed.

Like fashion designers, car companies love to dip into their pasts for inspiration (or outright appropriation). Few models make such an obvious target as the startlingly beautiful 1950s 300 SL Gullwings. Lithe autos with rounded corners and signature doors hinged at the roof, good examples will go at auction for around $500,000.

No one was surprised to see a modern interpretation from Benz, though I wish they'd simply called it a Gullwing and been done with it.

Mercedes E-Class Coupe

Mercedes E-Class Coupe
Mercedes E-Class Coupe
Mercedes-Benz recently set out to simplify its range of models to help consumers understand their offering. It seems that many people have had a hard time distinguishing between all their classes of models. With this in mind, the manufacturer introduced the E Coupe, a two-door variant of their E-Class sedan, part of their recently released new generation. In a sense, this vehicle replaces the CLK, which has disappeared from the catalogue. It’s a step back, because it actually used to be called the E-Class Coupe.
Mercedes E-Class Coupe: Two doors down and full-on style!
Why a coupe?
The AMG version aside, the E-Class sedan simply is not as sporty as the C-Class, though it offers much more space and supreme comfort – and that’s exactly what E-Class buyers are looking for. That said, I must point out that the coupe is radically different from the sedan in terms of style and overall vibe. This is particularly true when the body is all decked out in an extroverted colour, like the "fire opal red" of our test model. This car definitely turns heads, and losing the two back doors has done it a world of good! Sure, in doing so you give up some space and practicality, but it certainly adds appeal for people who value style, passion and emotion.

The Mercedes-Benz E Coupe shares many of its mechanical components with the sedan, but it’s shorter, narrower and its wheelbase is smaller. It’s also lighter, an advantage for sporty performance. Some terrific engines can be found under the hood. The E350 offers a 268-hp 3.5-litre six-cylinder engine coupled with an automatic seven-speed gearbox. (Incidentally, that’s the only transmission available for this line of products.) People who value great performances will be well served by the 5.5-litre V8, which produces 382 horsepower and 391 lbs.-ft. of torque. Given its weight advantage, the E-Class Coupe equipped with the V8 is something of a beast, and according the manufacturer it can do 0-100 km/hr in about 5.6 seconds. Finally, since no AMG version is presently offered, the 518-hp 6.2-litre V8 is reserved for sedan. At least, that’s how it is for now, though I’m willing to bet that Mercedes will rectify this situation soon enough!

2011 AMG pays homage to ‘Gullwing’


2011 AMG

Coming this spring is the first car developed completely by AMG, the 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG.

The SLS takes the place of the Mercedes-McLaren SLR as Mercedes’ modern, high-tech super sports car, but it also reaches back into the past. With “gull wing” doors that open upward instead of outward and a throwback design, the SLS is an homage to the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL, the legendary Gullwing. Cues from the 300 SL include the long hood, short rear deck and elements of the face and grille.

An all-out two-seat sports car conceived as a Ferrari fighter, the SLS is designed around an aluminum space frame with a central tunnel that helps provide rigidity. To optimize balance, it uses a front-mid-engine layout and a rear transaxle. The engine sits completely behind the front axle, while the transmission rests in front of the rear axle. The result is a near-perfect 47/53 front/ rear weight balance. Thanks to a dry sump oiling system, the engine sits low and helps lower the center of gravity.

The engine is AMG’s hand-built 6.3-liter V-8. It produces 571 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque. That’s 46 horses more than in other AMG products thanks to a reworked valvetrain, different camshafts, flow-optimized tubular headers, a better-breathing intake system and a lessrestrictive exhaust system.

Driven: 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG

2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG
2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG

Friday, January 15, 2010

Mercedes-Benz Creates SL Night Edition, SLK Grand Edition

Mercedes-Benz Creates SL Night Edition, SLK Grand Editionnew SL Night Edition and SLK Grand Edition are "masterpieces to dream of."

Regardless of whether you opt for the Night or the Grand, both packages largely serve as dress-up kits for the Benz roadsters. Appropriately, the SL Night Edition sports matte-finish black paint, along with smoked headlamp and taillight assemblies. The dark paint is contrasted by 19-inch AMG alloy wheels, along with silver-painted brake calipers.

Inside, the SL Night Edition receives black premium nappa leather wrapped around almost every surface. The steering wheel, shift knob, seats, and even the roof lining are trimmed in the material. The seats themselves are a new design, and feature contrasting silver stitching, which compliments the chrome trim.

The SLK Grand Edition wears an exclusive graphite paint color, and also receives tinted lights like those found on the SL night Edition. Unlike the SL, however, the Grand Edition receives bespoke 18-inch wheels, which sport a "triple-five" spoke pattern. A two-tone pearl-on-grey theme dominates the cabin, and can be found on the seats, seatbelts, and door panels.

Mercedes-Benz launches SL Night Edition and SLK Grand Edition

SL Night Edition and SLK Grand Edition

Mercedes-Benz occupies a special place in the luxury convertible market, but the German automaker is showing no signs of letting that slip by to competitors. To that end, Mercedes has launched a pair of special-edition roadsters with unique designer touches.

The SL Night Edition, commanding a 3700-5200 euro premium over stock (depending on specification), comes in a special black paint job with black nappa leather interior. The monochromatic color combination is offset by such unique touches as arrow-shaped, silver-tone stitching with special steering wheel, shift lever and roof lining to match, along with two-tone 19" AMG five-spoke alloy wheels.

The SLK Grand Edition comes in graphite grey with basalt grey pearl nappa leather interior, complimented by special trim and 18" alloys, commanding a 2300-3500 euro premium in the European market.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG models for Gran Turismo 5 cover

Gran Turismo 5

Sony announced at the 2009 Tokyo Game Show that Gran Turismo 5 would be released in Japan in March 2010, while North American and European release dates would be announced in the near future. While we eagerly await the arrival for our gaming pleasures, Gran Turismo 5 has revealed the official cover for the game with the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG gracing the front.

2010 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Gets Cover Of Gran Turismo 5

2010 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG
2010 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG
2010 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG
2010 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG
Sony's much-anticipated and even-more-delayed Gran Turismo 5 is (for now) due out sometime this summer, but today we get to see the cover art for the game and a new video about Sony's collaboration with Mercedes-Benz to include the 2010 SLS AMG.

When it comes to vaporware, there's vaporware and then there's vaporware. In the realm of cars, the Tesla Model S is shaping up to be just such, Jason Calacanis's giveaway notwithstanding. But it's nothing on the scale of the computer world's capacity for vaporware, i.e. Duke Nukem Forever, a game that was in development for over 12 years before finally being canceled. Somewhere in between those two lies Gran Turismo 5.

Though it gives every indication that it will, eventually, come to fruition, the GT5's persistent and repeated delays have become something of a sore spot for fans of the series. Today's release of the cover art featuring the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG serves to whet that ravenous appetite, no doubt only making the hunger that much sharper.

According to Sony, the car's high-speed prowess and unique look were the deciding factors in selecting the SLS AMG out of the 950 cars included in the game.