Mercedes-benz: C-class on 2040-cars

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Mercedes mulling Renault-based entry-level X-Class?

Somewhere in between the Smart brand and the all-new A-Class (pictured above), Daimler is said to be readying a smaller entry-level product for the Mercedes-Benz brand to compete with models like the Audi A1. According to AutoBild, Mercedes-Benz will get a new hatchback based on a platform from its recent partnership with Renault-Nissan, and it could be called the X-Class.
Expected to debut by 2018, the Mercedes-Benz X-Class could be offered in sedan, hatchback and crossover variants, and it would likely have a starting price below the $20,000-euro mark. Power would come from either a 1.0-liter inline three-cylinder engine or a 1.5-liter inline-four, and the car would likely be built in a low-cost nation in order to make the financials work. Wearing the Mercedes-Benz name, the X-Class would have to exhibit more distinguishable luxury and styling to set itself apart from the models that helped provide its underpinnings.

Carlsson turns Mercedes-Benz SLK into 610-HP hill-climb clawer

Carlsson's race-tuned versions of the Mercedes-Benz SLK have been taking checkered flags for years, and we won't be surprised if its SLK 340 hill climber fares any different. Developed by multiple German and Swiss hill climb champion Reto Meisel, the carbon-bodied SLK 340 with lightweight brakes and a closed underbody weighs 1,716 pounds. Propelling that tiny bit of weight is a 3.4-liter V8 from Judd with 610 horsepower, and it rolls on 18-inch wheels shod in Avon tires.
It will debut at the Geneva Motor Show before beginning its racing campaigns in the summer. This one won't just tear up roads in Europe, though - Meisel says he plans on bringing it to the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. The press release below has more details.

Ferrari seeks review of Canadian Grand Prix penalty decision

Ferrari has asked for a review of the stewards' decision that cost Sebastian Vettel victory in the Canadian Grand Prix, a team spokesperson said on Monday. Vettel finished first in the race in Montreal on June 9 but lost the win after a five-second time penalty for going off track and returning in what stewards deemed to be an unsafe fashion. Mercedes' Formula One championship leader Lewis Hamilton was declared the winner instead. Significant and relevant new evidence that was not available at the time is required for a team to submit a 'right of review' under article 14 of the governing FIA's International Sporting Code. The spokesperson said Ferrari, who last week dropped a planned protest against the penalty, had formally requested the review but gave no further details "due to the sensitivity of the matter." Stewards will now have sole discretion to determine whether such a significant and relevant new element existed, with their decision final. If the review is deemed admissible, a secondary hearing will be held. Mercedes has won all seven races so far this season, and the last nine in total, with Britain's five-time world champion Hamilton now 29 points clear of Finnish teammate Valtteri Bottas in the standings. Vettel, who was furious with a decision that caused an immediate controversy, is 62 points adrift of Hamilton. Formula One holds its eighth race of the 21 round season in the south of France this weekend at Le Castellet circuit, where the penalty is likely to remain a major talking point. The Williams team requested a right of review last season against a three-place grid penalty handed to Russian driver Sergey Sirotkin, arguing that significant and relevant new elements had emerged. Stewards unanimously rejected the move. Motorsports Ferrari Mercedes-Benz Racing Vehicles F1 Lewis Hamilton Sebastian Vettel