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2016 Mercedes-AMG G65 coming to US this fall, priced from $217,900*

The top end of the luxury SUV market keeps edging northwards. Where the prospect of spending six figures on an off-roader once seemed unthinkable, a new class at the top end of the segment has emerged with prices exceeding $200k. And now American buyers will have another choice on their hands with the arrival of the Mercedes-AMG G65. The flagship model of the Gelandewagen range, the G65 is based on Benz's immortal SUV that's been produced in Graz, Austria, since 1979 and (officially) arrived in the US in 2002. But while the G-Class has been offered in a number of specifications even here in America – up to and including the eight-cylinder G63 AMG – the top-of-the-line G65 was kept away from these shores. But now the German automaker has announced it's bringing its ultimate sport-ute to American showrooms. Distinguishing the G65 from 'lesser' G-Wagens is its 6.0-liter twin-turbo V12 – the same essential unit that already powers the S65 coupe and sedan, SL65 roadster and the Pagani Huayra – producing in this application 621 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque. That's said to be enough to shuffle the big ute up to 60 in just 5.3 seconds. Of course all that power and prestige comes with a price, and as you might have guessed, it's astronomical: $217,900 plus $925 delivery, to be specific. In that ballpark, it'll be tangling with the new Range Rover SVAutobiography and the upcoming Bentley Bentayga. Not even the top-of-the-line, $157k Porsche Cayenne Turbo S wears that high a price tag. Look for the Mercedes-AMG G65 to reach showrooms in November, and check out the ever-so-slightly facelifted G-Wagen in our gallery above, live from New York. Related Video: Mercedes-Benz Announces Pricing on 2016MY Mercedes-AMG G65 An SUV in a Class of its Own to Start at $217,900* MONTVALE, NJ (April 1, 2015) – Mercedes-Benz USA announced pricing today for the ultra-exclusive 2016 Mercedes-AMG G65. Starting at an MSRP of USD $217,900, this model joins the G550 and G63 AMG in the U.S. lineup in November 2015. It is also the fourth exclusive AMG model priced above $200,000: SL65 ($215,250), S65 sedan ($222,000), and S65 Coupe ($230,900). Powered by a V12 bi-turbo engine, the G65 AMG delivers 621 hp and 738 lb-ft. of torque, with an estimated 0-60 mph acceleration in 5.3 seconds. The G-Class is the only off-road vehicle in its class to combine the electronic traction system 4ETS with a transfer case and three 100% differential locks.

Weekly Recap: Mercedes continues the pseudo-coupe craze with AMG-tuned CUV

But as BMW's X6 has demonstrated, sport sells in in the crossover segment, and Mercedes is giving the people what they want. BMW proved there is a market for crossover utility vehicles designed to look like coupes – as much as a vehicle with four doors and noticeable ground clearance can look like a coupe, anyway. Now comes the reply from Mercedes-Benz: the GLE Coupe. The rakish crossover is a harbinger of things to come from Mercedes, as it begins the company's transition to a new nomenclature and marks the debut of the AMG Sport line. It also continues the recent coupe craze. Designers from many automakers, like Nissan and Volkswagen, have increasingly turned to swoopy, dramatic styling to make utility vehicles and sedans seem more desirable. By revealing the GLE 450 AMG Sport model first, Mercedes is clearly hoping to cast the GLE Coupe as a sportier, lifestyle-oriented alternative in its lineup of beefy crossovers and SUVs. Mercedes used the word "sport," or a variation of it, 53 times in its press release, so uh yeah, it's sporty. It's not an empty promise: Benz means business with the AMG Sport line. This GLE Coupe gets a 3.0-liter biturbo V6 rated at 362 horsepower and 384 pound-feet of torque paired with Mercedes' new nine-speed automatic transmission, and it runs with 4Matic all-wheel drive. Specs on the other GLE Coupe models were not disclosed. But as BMW's X6 has demonstrated, sport sells in in the crossover segment, and Mercedes is giving the people what they want. After all, more than 260,000 people have bought X6s since 2008, and Mercedes wants a piece of that. From certain angles, the GLE Coupe even looks vaguely like an X6. "This is really a vehicle that is all about status," said Dave Sullivan, product analysis manager for research firm AutoPacific. "You can buy a SUV that doesn't have the inherent qualities of a SUV, such as cargo hauling. People will likely be drawn to the looks. Coupes are all the rage." BMW, however, isn't running from the fight, and the updated 2015 X6 is arriving in showrooms this month. It also added a smaller sibling, the X4, to its coupe-crossover stable in July. The GLE Coupe arrives next year, though Mercedes hasn't specified exactly when it will hit showrooms from the factory in Alabama, or specified details on the rest of the non-AMG Sport models. In 2008, it was surprising the X6 was a hit. In 2015, it will be even more surprising if the GLE Coupe isn't.

Detroit Auto Show prankster 'damages' hundreds of thousands of dollars of cars

Obtaining credentials for an auto show is generally a pretty selective process, especially at one of the world's premier shows, like Geneva, Los Angeles or Detroit. That didn't stop online prankster Dennis Roady from getting credentialed for the 2015 North American International Auto Show on behalf of a Russian YouTube channel to cover the show. While he wasn't brought on strictly to cause mischief, Roady couldn't help but have some fun at the expense of the product specialists during the serious business of covering the show. He took to an app called "Dude, Your Car," which allows Apple iPhone users to take snaps of vehicles and then edit them to add some serious, but fake, dents and scratches. Naturally, the pranking session was caught on video, where you can enjoy the sight of poor product specialists freaking out over damage to vehicles ranging from the Mercedes-Maybach S600 to the Audi R8 and a lovely Dodge Challenger. Take a look. News Source: howtoPRANKitup via YouTube, The Detroit News Humor Detroit Auto Show Audi Dodge Mercedes-Benz Coupe Luxury Performance Videos Sedan 2015 Detroit Auto Show prank