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Mercedes' Tesla fighter will have 311-mile range

Mercedes-Benz is preparing to take the fight to Tesla, and it'll do it using an EV with up to a 311-mile range, the company's research-and-design boss told German publication Auto Motor und Sport (Google Translate warning). Perhaps more impressive than just the range, though, will be the modular nature of the EV platform, which will allow Stuttgart to easily adapt it to multiple vehicles. "We are working on an intelligent concept for a highly attractive electric vehicle with a range of [228-311 miles]," Mercedes' Thomas Weber said in the interview with Auto Motor und Sport. Weber added that this vehicle is coming "soon," although that word can have multiple meanings in this industry. Mercedes is taking Tesla and the all-electric vehicle increasingly seriously, as Automotive News reports. But while it continues to invest heavily in EVs and hydrogen fuel cells – roughly half of Daimler's $6.4 billion research-and-design budget went into research on low-emissions tech last year – the company is most heavily committed to plug-in hybrids. As previously announced, Stuttgart will field ten new PHVs by 2017, including electrified variants of the C- and S-Class.

Mercedes sketches new DTM C-Class

Mercedes-AMG has two racecars on tap for 2016: the AMG GT3 for FIA GT3 sports car racing and the Mercedes-AMG DTM racer in the German Touring Car series. We have our first sketches of the latter, based on the 503-horsepower C63 Coupe, just lower, wider, and meaner. Naturally, a different motor goes in the DTM car, series regulations prohibiting turbocharging and dictating a 4.0-liter, naturally-aspirated V8 with 90-degree vee angle and a maximum of 500 hp. In 2017 the regulations will change to mandate 2.0-liter, four-cylinder turbocharged motors with about 600 hp in a Class One car. The switch will align DTM regs with Japan's Super GT and IMSA here in the US, so they can move between series' with minimal changes. That has the possibility of at least doubling the number of automakers on the grid – the German three and the Japanese three at once – and enabling a World Cup series held in the off-season between 2017 and 2018. Since 2000 Mercedes has won six Driver's Championships in DTM and nine Constructor's Championships, but it hasn't taken home a trophy since 2010. With six races to go in the season it has a team in second place, six points behind the leader. The press release below outlines the new aims. Mercedes-AMG DTM Team present first outlines of 2016 race car - Looking ahead to the 2016 season: How the new DTM car fielded by the Mercedes-AMG DTM Team will look - Ulrich Fritz: "Our aim with this vehicle is, of course, to continue the Mercedes-Benz success story in the DTM." Stuttgart, Aug 29, 2015 - The 2015 DTM season reaches its climax in September. But even before the final race weekends of the year, the Mercedes-AMG DTM Team are providing an insight into what lies ahead for the race series, revealing the first designs of the car that they will enter for the 2016 campaign. The 2016 DTM car to be deployed by the Mercedes-AMG DTM team follows on from successful predecessors that include the most successful car in DTM history – the AMG Mercedes C-Class with which Mercedes-AMG drivers secured 85 victories in 159 races. "The new Mercedes-AMG C 63 Coupe will again set new standards for driving dynamics and design. So, the vehicle provides the ideal basis for our DTM car," said Head of Mercedes-AMG DTM Ulrich Fritz. "I'm already looking forward to seeing the new Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM compete in 2016.

2016 Italian Grand Prix race recap

The Italian Grand Prix at Monza is called the Temple of Power. Furthermore, the winning driver in Italy started on pole in 13 of the last 16 years, and only one driver in that time has won the Italian GP from behind the front row of the grid: Rubens Barrichello in 2002 and 2009. By this point in the current Formula 1 season (era?) we know what it means when a track emphasizes both power and pole position: Mercedes-AMG Petronas. The Silver Arrows locked out the front row with Lewis Hamilton on pole. A poor start prevented the Briton from capitalizing on the advantage, so teammate Nico Rosberg and four other drivers swept by him before the end of the second turn. Mercedes would later say a clutch issue caused Hamilton's botched start, but that didn't help the man who'd just fallen to sixth place. Rosberg got about two laps of television coverage on his way to an unbothered victory ahead of Hamilton. Ferrari made Hamilton's second-place finish easier by sticking to a two-stop strategy; both Mercedes drivers pitted once. We aren't sure why Ferrari didn't at least attempt a one-stopper once Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen had been gifted second and third on track. A pit stop took about 23 seconds from entry to exit and Vettel finished third, six seconds behind Hamilton. Raikkonen finished fourth, another seven seconds behind Vettel. Perhaps the Scuderia's tire usage wouldn't allow longer stints, but we'll never know. Daniel Ricciardo wielded his Red Bull like a scalpel to make an impeccable pass on Valtteri Bottas in the Williams and take fifth place. Ricciardo, trailing another Italian province behind, somehow closed the gap on Bottas in just the braking zone of Turn 1, pulling alongside near the apex without locking a wheel on entry nor running wide on exit. Bottas claimed sixth ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez in the Force India, Felipe Massa in the second Williams, and Nico Hulkenberg in the second Force India sealing the top ten. Monza did spring a few on-track surprises. Esteban Gutierrez drove Haas F1 into Q3 for the first time this season, the Mexican setting the sixth-best time in Q2. Manor Racing planned for Monza all season, Pascal Wehrlein repaying the effort by qualifying 13th. Fernando Alonso pitted his McLaren on Lap 50 of the 53-lap race for a set of super soft Pirellis, then set the fastest lap. It's Honda's first fastest lap since 1992. The biggest moments happened off the track.