Factory Certified 2010 Mercedes Gl 550 4matic Rear Ent on 2040-cars

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The most or nothing: Mercedes-Maybach S650 Cabriolet pushes the luxury limits

After the introduction of the Mercedes-AMG GT Roadster at the Paris Motor Show this fall, we informed you that Mercedes-Benz has a convertible conundrum, a surplus of drop-tops that seemingly threatens to self-cannibalize within the brand's ever-proliferating lineup. Benz's head of design, Gorden Wagener, who spends much of his time in Southern California, argues it's not a problem: Each convertible, in its ideal construction, would intrinsically vanquish any issues. "The bad is the enemy of the good," he said, not exactly quoting Nietzsche. Now, the three-pointed star brand has upped the top-down ante, with the unveiling this week at the Los Angeles auto show of the Mercedes-Maybach S650 Cabriolet, a vehicle so opulent, it sits in price and position atop the uber-luxury brand's current top-of-the-line offering, the $247,900 Mercedes-AMG S65 Cabriolet. View 24 Photos "Mercedes-AMG is our performance brand so it's all about performance stuff," says Wagener in a one-on-one interview on the roof of a Beverly Hills mansion just before the new car is unveiled. "Of course, Maybach has power, too, but it's the ultimate in luxury. So it's more on that side. And for me in the interior, it's the haute couture of the automobile, so we tried to up that a little more with details. And on the exterior, it's a more superb appearance up front, more chrome, more rich, and of course we tried to up that branding even more. The S-Class is the best car in the world, we consider, I always thought we could raise the Mercedes brand. And it's the same with the S convertible." Why does Mercedes-Benz need a flagship atop its flagship? Because, when climbing the mountain of automotive luxury there is always the customer who, when he or she reaches the pinnacle, wants more. A car brand, especially one with deep pockets and luxurious heritage like Mercedes, can always further gild the automotive lilies, creating a step up for those for whom the brand's motto, The Best or Nothing, is a literal life credo. "It's always our job to make it better," Wagener says. "Each little detail, the wood, the wood under cover of the cabriolet, the leathers. All the super luxury details that make a luxury car into a super luxury car. The key is to make a modern luxury design and not a traditional luxury design. There is definitely a market for traditional luxury, but we always wanted to have Mercedes, Maybach in particular, as a modern luxury car.

Brabus 850 6.0 Biturbo Coupe is an extroverted, 217-mph Mercedes S63 AMG

The Mercedes-Benz S-Class is a prime example of handsome, restrained design. It's classy but not shouty, stylish without trying too hard. Of course, Brabus can address that um, problem, for you, without much issue. Meet the Brabus 850 6.0 Biturbo Coupe, an extensively modified version of the S63 AMG Coupe. Larger intakes and lots of carbon fiber typify the front end, while the tail sports a new diffuser and rear spoiler, both of which are finished in carbon fiber. Meanwhile, Brabus is offering a variety of wheel designs, ranging in size from 18 to 22 inches, and with the customer's choice of Continental, Pirelli and Yokohama rubber. The most questionable changes, though, happen in the cabin, where black Mastik leather is finished with copper stitching and piping. Brabus then takes 219 different interior trim pieces and lines them in Shadow Gold paint, just like the Monoblock wheels featured on the vehicle above. Of course, Brabus does much, much more than just offer its own take on the normally conservative Mercedes aesthetics. There's a bit of tweaking to the powertrain. Despite the "6.0" in its name, the donor S63 AMG's 5.5-liter, biturbocharged V8 has been enlarged to just over 5.9 liters (5,912 cc, to be precise), thanks to a larger cylinder bore and a longer stroke, the latter of which comes from a Brabus-spec crankshaft. While Brabus may be exaggerating about the size of its new coupe's engine, the tuning firm is not overstating said powerplant's output. A stout 850 horsepower is teamed with an electronically limited 848 pound-feet of torque. There's more to this modded Mercedes than that, though, as Brabus claims the 5.9-liter is actually capable of turning out a silly 1,069 lb-ft, but that it needed to be limited "in the interest of the longevity of the entire powertrain." All this extra oomph comes from a pair of "special" Brabus turbochargers, as well as new exhaust manifolds and a stainless steel exhaust system. A new intake module also helps breathing, while the engine's ECU has been updated for extra performance. Aside from a new set of paddle shifters, the S63 AMG's seven-speed gearbox was left unaltered, as was the 4Matic all-wheel-drive system. Oh, and if you live in Europe and really want to scare yourself, Brabus will offer the same engine treatment to the rear-drive S63 AMG that we don't get Stateside.

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.