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Petrolicious relives history with Stirling Moss and his Mercedes SLR

We take it as a given that lap records will keep getting beaten. That's just the way things work: the development of racing cars proceeds at breakneck speeds, dwindling lap times down over the ages. Not at the Mille Miglia, though. The legendary Sir Stirling Moss won the famous Italian race together with journalist Denis Jenkinson in 1955, recording an almost unfathomable average speed of nearly 98 miles per hour in the Mercedes 300 SLR bearing the number 722 – the inspiration behind the extreme SLR McLaren Stirling Moss edition speedster that debuted seven years ago. Nobody (not even Moss himself) managed to beat that time in the subsequent two years before the race was shut down for good. It was only revived decades later as an historic rally that's more about consistency and, by its nature, doesn't put that record in contention. This year's event is coming up soon, so the cinematographical artisans at Petrolicious caught up with Moss and that legendary SLR – perfectly preserved as it has been by Mercedes – for a drive down memory lane.

2015 Mercedes-Benz GLA250 4Matic Quick Spin [w/video]

Certain expectations come with the name "Mercedes-Benz." We picture cars with luxuriously appointed interiors, fashionable exteriors, Autobahn-worthy performance, and a ride that delivers an optimal balance between agility and outright comfort. Expectations, though, are no friend to the GLA250. This is a car that is deeply confused as to its purpose in life – can it be a proper Mercedes-Benz while still being a reasonably priced, subcompact crossover? After a week behind the wheel, we believe the two are mutually exclusive. Driving Notes The exterior styling is similar to the not-for-America A-Class hatchback, with the only major differences found on the rear end. That means that even with its flashy 19-inch AMG wheels and sport body styling – more aggressive front and rear fascias – the GLA is a stylish piece. We might even call it cute. Considering our 4Matic model's reasonable $34,225 starting price, the interior treatment is both attractive and uses mostly quality finishes. The matte Satin Light Brown Poplar wood ($325) covers a large portion of the dash, while the real metal found on the air conditioning vents is elegant and handsome. There is a lot of plastic in the cabin: It's soft on the dash, and switches to a piano-black finish in spots, but the center console and door finishers don't feel like they came from the Mercedes parts bin. In general, the GLA's cabin feels roughly equal to that of the Audi Q3 and BMW X1 – nice, but a step lower than what we've come to expect from Mercedes. The two-piece, leather-lined seats look great, but even with standard 14-way adjustability, they lack support. The bottom cushion is very flat, and doesn't support the legs. For this author, that's a recipe for near-constant back pain. That said, the chairs do look good, especially in the brown of this test car. The GLA250, like a few other models in the Mercedes range, uses a 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder, delivering a weak 208 horsepower. It makes up for that shortcoming with 258 pound-feet of torque from 1,250 rpm to 4,000 rpm. On paper, this sounds good, but in the real world, the 2.0T's power is tough to access. That's due more to the shortcomings of the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic than the engine itself. With three modes – Eco, Sport, and Manual – we thought we'd find at least one that could serve up precise downshifts.

Brabus spools up new 850 6.0 Biturbo Coupe

With a 5.5-liter twin-turbo V8 cranking out 577 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque, the Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG Coupe is not the first vehicle we'd figure was in need of an upgrade. But the folks over at Brabus have evidently felt otherwise, bringing the 850 6.0 Biturbo Coupe to the Geneva Motor Show this year. Now the name might be slightly misleading, but not by much: the revving heart of this beast has been bored out to 5.9 liters and its output raised to 838 horsepower (by our standards). The modified engine also includes new turbochargers, breathing apparati and a remapped ECU to produce an even more prodigious 1,069 pound-feet of torque – although to keep the whole thing from going up in flames, Brabus has limited that last figure to 848 lb-ft. The top speed has been limited to "only" 217 miles per hour to keep the tires from melting, but it'll reach 62 mph from a standstill in just 3.5 seconds. That makes this bahn-stormer blisteringly fast, though the seven-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive system have been left largely unchanged. Naturally that's not the end of the story, as the Brabus 850 6.0 Biturbo Coupe also features a full new carbon-fiber aero kit, wheel options ranging from 18 inches to 22, a completely refitted interior and oh, so much more. Chances are you'll never see one sitting still, so you'll want to scope it out in the slideshow of live images from the floor of the Geneva Palexpo for a closer look. Related Video: