1999 Mercedes-benz C-class C43 Amg on 2040-cars

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Brabus 800 Roadster is a power-mad aristocrat

If we're being completely honest, we haven't exactly been in love with the aesthetics of the sixth-generation Mercedes-Benz SL-Class. It's mostly a front-end issue, with its glowering eagle-eye headlamps and upright, dinner-plate-sized Three-Pointed Star coming across to us as overwrought. That's particularly troublesome for a roadster whose history has of the most elegant designs of all time in its back catalog. Somehow, the new R231 generation's brash visuals seem more at home on this Brabus 800 Roadster to us.
That's probably because the high-dollar German tuner has turned up the wick on the SL's visuals even further, with carbon fiber bodywork, a more aggressive aero kit, matte hood scoop and complex two-finish wheels. It's all-the-way committed to its brashness, in other words - and justifiably so. Anything with 800 horsepower and 1,047 pound-feet of torque has earned the right to look however it wants, right?
Brabus started with the SL65 and its not-exactly-underpowered 6.0-liter twin-turbo V12, and went to town, fitting their own turbocharger and intercooler system, along with a less-restrictive exhaust system with driver-selectable sound levels and new engine electronics. The result is a 3.7-second 0-62 mph time, an electronically limited top whack of 217 mph... and one seriously compromised toupée.

Mercedes-AMG GT and C63 to serve as F1 safety, medical cars

Mercedes has spent nearly 20 years providing the safety and medical cars for Formula 1, so it was hardly a shock when the company announced that the new Mercedes-AMG GT and C63 AMG S Estate would serve as ushers in the F1 circus. The two turbocharged monsters replace the old SLS AMG safety car and C63 AMG wagon medical car, which have served in one trim or another since 2010 and 2008, respectively. The biggest change for either car is, of course, the lightbar. It's been mounted atop a carbon-fiber hoop on the AMG GT that Mercedes says optimizes airflow to that big rear wing. Meanwhile, the location of the lights was confirmed via wind tunnel testing. In the cockpit, two iPads allow the AMG GT's passenger, fuel analyst Peter Tibbetts, to monitor the race's world feed while also keeping an eye on race data. The tablets stay connected via an in-car, wireless internet connection. Changes for the C63 S wagon are less extensive. It gets a lightbar and the usual signaling systems in the headlights and taillights, while the cargo compartment includes both a respirator and a defibrillator, to manage more serious medical emergencies. As with the AMG GT, the C63 is finished in F1's traditional silver safety/medical car livery. Beyond these changes, both vehicles are just as potent as those that can be purchased at dealers. Both cars feature a 4.0-liter, 510-horsepower, twin-turbocharged V8, while a seven-speed AMG Speedshift transmission dispatches the grunt with lightning-quick shifts. So equipped, the AMG GT will hit 60 in 3.8 seconds and the C63 can get there in 4.1 seconds. Check out the full gallery of both cars, decked out in their F1 liveries, available up top. Related Video: Mercedes-AMG GT S and C 63 S in action for the 2015 Formula 1® season: Maximum safety, maximum performance Affalterbach, Mar 06, 2015 Baptism of fire on the race track: The GT S and the C 63 S – the new high-performance cars from Mercedes-AMG - provide for maximum safety in the 2015 FIA Formula One World Championship™. At the first Grand Prix in Melbourne, Australia (12 to 15 March 2015) the GT S will debut on the race track as the Official Safety Car of the FIA Formula One World Championship™. As the Official Medical Car of the FIA Formula One World Championship™, the C 63 S Estate will be on hand to provide fast emergency medical care. Mercedes-AMG has been active continuously at the pinnacle of motorsport since 1996.

Here's how wildly expensive it is to participate in F1

The cost of competing in Formula One racing is extremely high. Not in the physical and lifestyle sense, although that too takes a major toll on each team and driver, but in a literal hand-over-the-cash sense. Each F1 team pays hundreds of thousands of dollars to enter, plus a fee for every single point the team earned in the previous season. Motorsport.com recently detailed just how absurdly pricey entering the F1 field is. According to the piece, the price of entry goes up each year due to the U.S. Consumer Price Index. For 2019, the entry fee is $546,133, and it doesn't stop there. There are additional dues required of each team based on where the team finished in the previous season. Interestingly, the winners pay more. For example, Mercedes-Benz, the constructor champion for the past five years, must pay $6,553 per point it scored in 2018. With 655 points scored, that's $4,292,215. All other teams must pay $5,459 per point. For a full rundown of what the teams will be paying for 2019, check out the full article here.Related Video: