2014 Mercedes G63 Amg Matte Black Designo Package on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Brabus takes Mercedes-Maybach even further

Hard as it may be to imagine for most, even the flagship Mercedes-Maybach S600 won't be enough for some. And those individuals can now turn to Brabus to customize their limousines even further. The latest tuning package includes an array of enhancements, starting with the engine. That's where Brabus has installed all the upgrades from the Brabus Rocket 900, boring the 6.0-liter twin-turbo V12 out to 6.3 liters, and producing a massive 887 horsepower and 1,106 pound-feet of torque. That'll propel the limo up to an Autobahn-crunching top speed quoted at 217 miles per hour, reaching 62 in just 3.7 seconds. Buyers going for the less potent Maybach S500 offered in certain markets can also opt for the Brabus B50-540 performance kit, which offers 83 extra hp and a further 88 lb-ft of torque. Brabus has also fitted a choice of 21-inch wheels, retuned suspension dropped by an inch, a full aero kit, and new radiator grille. And as sumptuous as it is already, the tuner is also offering upgrades to the interior with special leather and Alcantara upholstery, wood and carbon-fiber trim, and its full iBusiness suite. All of which promises to make the flagship Mercedes even more expensive, of course, but if there was ever an example of "if you have to ask, you can't afford it," surely the Maybach is it. BRABUS refines the new Mercedes-Maybach 662 kW / 900 HP, 1,500 Nm, top speed 350 km/h plus, high-tech forged wheels, sporty-elegant design and even more luxurious BRABUS fine leather interiors The new Mercedes-Maybach represents the absolute pinnacle of state-of-the-art automotive engineering. Nonetheless, even this luxury sedan offers room for individual refinement, which BRABUS (Brabus-Allee, D-46240 Bottrop, phone + 49 / (0) 2041 / 777-0, fax + 49 / (0) 2041 / 777 111, internet www.brabus.com) realizes with a select team of the best engineers, designers, technicians and master craftsmen. The BRABUS ROCKET 900 6.3 V12 twin-turbo increased-displacement engine provides the Mercedes-Maybach S 600 with an enormous rated power output of 662 kW / 900 HP (887 bhp) and a peak torque of 1,500 Nm (1,106 lb-ft). Top speed is in excess of 350 km/h (217 mph). To match the extreme performance of the luxury liner, the appearance of the four-seat car receives some sporty-elegant emphasis with BRABUS aerodynamic-enhancement components and BRABUS Monoblock "PLATINUM EDITION" 21-inch forged wheels. Another BRABUS domain is exclusive interior design.

2016 Green Truck of the Year, Commercial Green Car of the Year finalists

Not only are commercial-grade haulers getting more green love lately, they're getting more different kinds of green love. The 2016 Green Truck of the Year, the second time the award has been handed out, is being decided by judges from Green Car Journal and the San Antonio Auto & Truck Show. This year the award is joined by the new 2016 Commercial Green Car of the Year, which crowns one of the little vans increasingly used by small business as cargo and delivery vehicles. The Green Truck of the Year finalists are the Chevrolet Colorado Duramax (pictured), Ford F-150, GMC Canyon Duramax, Nissan Titan XD, and Toyota Tacoma. The first three of those were on last year's list, but since they are completely new or upgraded for 2016 - Ford with its all-aluminum body, the General Motors twins with the new diesel Duramax engine - they qualify for entry again. The Ram 1500 EcoDiesel won last year. The Commercial Green Car finalists are the Chevrolet City Express, Ford Transit Connect, Mercedes-Benz Metris, Nissan NV200, and Ram ProMaster City. You can read more details in the presser below, and the awards will be announced in San Antonio sometime during the show from November 19-22. San Antonio Auto & Truck Show Announces 2016 Green Truck of the Year and Commercial Green Car of the Year Finalists SAN ANTONIO, Oct. 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Green Car Journal and the San Antonio Auto & Truck Show have announced finalists for the 2016 Green Truck of the Year™ and 2016 Commercial Green Car of the Year™ awards. The Green Truck of the Year™ nominees are the Chevrolet Colorado Duramax, Ford F-150, GMC Canyon Duramax, Nissan Titan XD, and Toyota Tacoma. Vying for the all-new 2016 Commercial Green Car of the Year™ award are the Chevrolet City Express, Ford Transit Connect, Mercedes-Benz Metris, Nissan NV200, and Ram ProMaster City. "Over the past few decades, new car models have benefitted from design and technology improvements that have brought higher fuel efficiency and greater levels of environmental compatibility," said Green Car Journal and CarsOfChange.com Editor and Publisher Ron Cogan. "With models like these ten deserving finalists, we're witnessing the pickup and light commercial vehicle field enjoying the same attention." The new Commercial Green Car of the Year™ award is part of an expanded awards program presented at this year's 2015 San Antonio Auto & Truck Show.

Pre-Race notes from the 2015 Nurburgring 24-Hours

Autoblog has come to the German countryside to watch the Nurburgring 24-Hour race, and just one day in, we have to say it's outstanding. Le Mans has been the highlight of our summer racing schedule for the past few years, the 'Ring 24-Hour event being the appetizer we always skipped. Earlier this year, however, while visiting Miami to check out the Cigarette Racing 50 Marauder GT S, we met Scott Preacher. He oversees digital marketing for both Cigarette and AMG during the week, then comes to Germany to compete in the VLN race series on the weekends, driving an Aston Martin Vantage GT4 for Team Mathol. If Le Mans is the Oscars of endurance racing, the Nurburgring 24-Hour race is the Screen Actors Guild award – the one voted on by the actors, for the actors. In this case it's the race by the teams and fans, for the teams and fans, even though the increasing manufacturer presence has altered the team equation. We were told that it wasn't so long ago that true privateers could win the overall, but that's not really the case anymore. Front-running teams have heavy factory involvement – Audi Sport Team Phoenix, for instance, which finished in first and third last year, has its own 'Ring race center and is running the 2016 R8; Aston Martin is represented by Aston Martin Racing and Aston Martin Test Center, and Bentley has a Bentley Motors team and uses HPT to run another team. The fan component hasn't changed, though, and you can't talk about the race for more than 60 seconds before someone brings up the battalions of spectators. Every driver we spoke to cited them as the most incredible part of this race after the track itself. It feels to us like a giant German Sebring, with thousands of people camped out in the ginormous, forested infield, many of whom have been here since Monday erecting their ornate camping compounds. There will be parties everywhere Saturday night, and so much bratwurst on the grill that the drivers can smell it when as they're blasting full speed through Wehrseifen. Even when we drove a Mercedes S63 AMG Coupe on a lap before the race, the fans waved like it was a competition. Scott Preacher's Australian co-driver Robert Thompson said, "You come around a corner and it's like you're driving full speed through the middle of a carnival." The race field itself could also be called a carnival, with an officially invited field of more than 170 cars. Even on a track that's 24.4-km long, that's like racing on the 405 at midday.