Mercedes-benz: C-class C63 on 2040-cars

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Brabus tunes Mercedes-AMG GT up to 600 horsepower

"You can never have enough power," says Brabus in the statement below, "especially in a sports car." Hence the beast you see here. It's based, as you can plainly see, on the Mercedes-AMG GT. But instead of 469 horsepower in the base model or 503 in S spec, Brabus has boosted it up to 600 metric horsepower. That works out to 591 hp by our standards, a figure backed up by an equally impressive 553 pound-feet of torque – up from 443 or 479. With all that power and twist, the Benz tuner of record says its take on the GT will top out at an autobahn-crunching 201 miles per hour, reaching 62 along the way in 3.6 seconds. Of course, Brabus didn't just tinker with the engine and leave the rest alone. It'll build customer vehicles to individual requirements, but has outfitted this demo vehicle with a full aero kit (in clear carbon fiber), monoblock alloys (20 inches up front, 21 at the back), a retuned suspension dropped by 0.6 inches, and a fully refitted interior. We'll be keeping an eye out for the Brabus GT at the Frankfurt Motor Show this week, but judging from the photos above, it would be hard to miss. Related Video: World premiere at the IAA 2015 BRABUS refines the Mercedes-AMG GT S 441 kW / 600 HP, 750 Nm of torque, a top speed of 325 km/h, carbon components and 21-inch high-tech forged wheels Lending an exclusive car an even more thrilling appearance has been the domain of BRABUS (Brabus-Allee, D-46240 Bottrop, phone + 49 (0) 2041 / 777-0, fax + 49 / (0) 2041 / 777 111, Internet www.brabus.com) for almost four decades. At the IAA 2015 in Frankfurt am Main, the exclusive sports program for the Mercedes-AMG GT and GT S models celebrates its world premiere. With an output increase to 441 kW / 600 HP (591 bhp) and a peak torque of 750 Nm (553 lb-ft), the two-seat car reaches a top speed of 325 km/h (201 mph). From the outside, the sports car with BRABUS design impresses with aerodynamic-enhancement components made from clear-coated carbon, ultra-light BRABUS Monoblock F forged wheels, a sports suspension with a multitude of selectable settings for damping and ride height, and a sports exhaust system made from especially lightweight titanium with electronically controlled sound management. BRABUS fine leather interiors and inlays made from real carbon and precious wood upgrade the cockpit of the two-door car. You can never have enough power, especially in a sports car.

Firing of M-B boss upheld

Ernst Lieb, the disgraced former CEO of American operations for Mercedes-Benz, will not be getting any more money from the Silver Arrow'd teat. His wrongful dismissal suit against MB's parent company, Daimler, was tossed out of a German appeals panel. This, followed the initial rejection by a lower court last year.
According to court documents acquired by Automotive News, Lieb was found to have "accepted payments of substantial value to which he - as he was aware - had no claim."
Lieb took over American operations from former CEO Paul Halata in September of 2006. Reports surfaced in October of 2011 that Lieb was dismissed from his posting at MB, with a variety of rumors swirling. Eventually, news broke that financial wrong doing was responsible for the German's firing.

Mercedes investing $500 million for new Sprinter plant in SC

The commercial van segment is exploding in popularity in the US right now with a vast array of recent products from multiple marques, and there's even more on the way from automakers like Hyundai. Mercedes-Benz is trying to grab a bigger share of the expanding market, too, and is launching its smaller Metris here in the fall. Now comes word that Mercedes will construct a $500-million factory in Charleston, SC, that will build the next-gen Sprinter domestically. According to Mercedes, construction of the new plant will begin in 2016, and when complete, the site will cover around 200 acres, including a body shop, paint shop and assembly line. It will also employ 1,300 people who will be building Sprinters badged as both Mercedes and Freightliner models. Rumors about this new construction go back to late last year. Mercedes currently has to ship some partially disassembled Sprinters into the US from Germany, paying import duties on them, and then the company puts the vans back together at a site in Ladson, SC. The process obviously adds costs to the models, and the domestic factory should mean a more price-competitive vehicle. Plus, a local factory means quicker deliveries to dealers. Despite the laborious import process, the Sprinter is a hit in the US. Mercedes sold 25,745 of them in 2014, which made the country the van's second-largest market behind Germany. They were first launched here in 2001 and since then have gained a nine-percent market share in the segment, according to the company. Mercedes is on a construction boom at the moment. The company is building a new corporate headquarters for the US in Atlanta, GA, due to be complete in 2018. The German brand is also investing $2.4 billion to expand its Tuscaloosa, AL, factory to build models like the forthcoming GLE-Class. MERCEDES-BENZ VANS TO INVEST AROUND $500 MILLION IN NEW VAN PLANT IN SOUTH CAROLINA, U.S. 09/03/15 from Mercedes-Benz New plant to be built in Charleston, South Carolina, beginning in 2016 Next generation Sprinter also to be manufactured in the U.S. Expansion of the global production network as part of the "Mercedes-Benz Vans goes global" growth strategy Creation of more than 1,300 new jobs planned Volker Mornhinweg: "We are investing around half a billion dollars to create a top-notch Mercedes-Benz van plant here in South Carolina.