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Mercedes-Benz Concept GLC Coupe comes to China ready to fight BMW's X4

There's little denying that small crossovers are hot right now. Not only are automakers scrambling to exploit the popularity of the market, they're doing so by offering unique twists on the traditional two-box body style – enter the coupe-like four-door CUV. BMW, for example, has the X4, and now, Mercedes-Benz is bringing a challenger of its own. While it wears the concept name, the new GLC Coupe clearly foreshadows a production model that'll duke it out with the aforementioned BMW. If the vehicle shown above is any indication, when that fight happens, Mercedes will enter it with design on its side. The sheetmetal is muscular, with strong lines on the profile and the hood, while major themes in the front, back and sides are reminiscent of higher-end Silver Arrows. While we doubt the production GLC Coupe will be much of a trail bomber, fore and aft scuff plating is there to give the impression it can handle itself off road. Also, we feel obligated to give Mercedes bonus design points for the diagonally stacked quad exhausts at the back. It's worth noting that the Concept GLC Coupe's styling previews not one but two production vehicles, as it's logical to assume the design language featured here will have a strong influence on the next GLC (the crossover formerly known as the GLK). Not only will the GLC Coupe have aesthetics on its side, at 15.5-feet long and riding on a 111.4-inch wheelbase, it's larger than its rival from Munich, too, although only just. The X4 is two inches shorter overall and has an extra 0.8 inches between the axles. The Benz is wider, too, at 78.7 inches, compared to 74.1. Lending credence to the Concept GLC Coupe's production status, Mercedes released a pretty substantial array of technical details on its new four-door, coupe-crossover. With a twin-turbocharged, 3.0-liter V6 punching out 367 horsepower and 387 pound-feet of torque, we're betting this would be the AMG Sport variant, rather than your everyday GLC. 4Matic all-wheel drive is a must-have in this segment, and it's present here, while a nine-speed automatic transmission is responsible for distributing power. The Concept GLC Coupe will be shown this week at the 2015 Shanghai Motor Show. Check back then for more. Mercedes-Benz Concept GLC Coupe The next coup Stuttgart / Shanghai. In a flowing transition, Mercedes-Benz lands the next coup: the Concept GLC Coupe is a near-production-standard study that carries the successful GLE Coupe formula over into a more compact segment.

Next Mercedes-Benz C-Class spotted in the snow

The entry-level Mercedes-Benz C-Class has long felt like nothing more than, well, just that. Aside from the potent and delicious C63 AMG models, there hasn't been much to set the C-Class apart in the entry-level luxury/sport segment, leading to the model being regarded by many as "The Cheap Mercedes." No, it's certainly not a bad car, but for our money, it hasn't stood up particularly well to competitors like the BMW 3 Series or Audi A4.
So with the handsome new CLA-Class coming to round off the entry-level end for Mercedes-Benz, big plans are in store for the C-Class. We can see some evidence of that in this latest set of spy shots from our friends at CarPix. According to earlier reports, the new C-Class will be "far more dramatic" in the visuals department, and while the sedan's sculpting is still covered by camo, the much sleeker headlamp design we see here is, at the very least, a good start. The car's overall size is expected to grow a bit to further distance itself from the CLA, though thanks to lightweight materials, curb weight isn't expected to increase.
Just like the current model, the new C-Class is expected to use four- and six-cylinder engines, both gas- and diesel-fed, and overall power output for the global engine range should span from 120-ish on the low end to as much as 330. These new engines are expected to be mounted lower and farther rearward than before, offering better balance for both rear- and 4Matic all-wheel drive configurations. And as for that AMG? Rumors suggest a turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 will fall underhood.

Highlights from the Goodwood Festival of Speed, including the McLaren P1 and a Ford Transit running the hill

The sole purpose of this post is as a time-waster, and since you shouldn't have to work to waste time, we've done it for you. In the numerous videos below you'll find cars that have lately been in the news tramping all over the grounds of Lord March's estate in Goodwood, England.
There's the McLaren P1 heading up the hill, the Jaguar Project 7, then a casually-driven Porsche 917 followed by an even-more-casually-driven Porsche 956, topped off by a Porsche 936 that is anything but casually driven. The next round is the flame-spitting Peugeot 405 T16 Pikes Peak from Climb Dance, a camera mounted on the Peugeot RCZ R after it showing you what the whole, uninterrupted run up the hill looks like. For a real head-turner, we couldn't embed it but there's Andy Reid blasting up the hill in a Ford Transit Supervan with a Cosworth 3000 V6 engine.
The modern racing contingent has Allan McNish doing the hill in the Audi R18 e-tron quattro he used to win Le Mans and Lewis Hamilton making lots of tire smoke in the Mercedes-AMG Petronas MGP-W02. For comparison, that's followed by Nick Heidfeld's record-setting run up the hill in 1999 in the McLaren MP4/14 . The classic racing contingent is headlined by 71-year-old Giacomo Agostini on an MV Agusta.