2006 Mercedes-benz Slk55 Amg Convertible - Well Maintained - Fun.. Fast.. on 2040-cars

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2013 Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG

Make way for the 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG, the most wonderfully preposterous car I have ever driven.
There is absolutely no reason why any two-seat roadster should be fitted with a twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter V12 developing 621 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque, but I sure am glad that Mercedes-Benz doesn't see things that way.
Drop into the leather-lined cockpit of this $213,145 provocateur, floor the accelerator pedal as I did over and over again, and 60 miles per hour falls in a traction-limited 3.9 seconds. Top speed has been electronically held to 186 mph (this apparently saves Gulfstream jet owners from embarrassment). Forget the SL550 and SL63 AMG, the valets will trip over themselves attending to the tycoon driving this thoroughbred - it's the real deal.

Watch Schumacher's hot lap of N"urburgring in Mercedes F1 car

In advance of the Nürburgring 24-hour race last weekend, Mercedes-Benz put on a demonstration that had Michael Schumacher playing catch-up in a Formula One car against four examples of AMG metal. There were four cars sent off in staggered starts before Schumacher: an A45 AMG, E63 AMG 4Matic, SLS AMG Black Series, and an SLS AMG GT3 car. "Mr. Formula One," as the German television commentators call him, left three minutes after the SLS AMG GT3.
There are two videos of Schumacher's lap, the first is on-board footage - and even though there were several GoPros on the car the POV never cuts away from the front wing. You can hear the throttle and tell he's not pushing it, you can also tell how bumpy the track is. The second video is footage from the German Sport1 channel - with commentary in German - that shows all the cars taking off and takes the aerial view of proceedings. He looks to be going a lot faster in that one. You can compare and contrast yourself with the videos below.
Oh, and it's worth noting that, even with the likely restricted car, and the made-for-TV environment, Schumi turned in a quick lap. The nose camera shows the F1 car start to slow down on the back straight, near the start/finish line, right around the modern-length track record time of six minutes and eleven seconds.

Audi, BMW, Daimler buy Nokia's Here digital mapping business

The fight for control of Nokia's Here digital mapping service appears to have drawn to a close as a consortium of German automakers has announced a deal to jointly acquire the business from the Finnish telecom giant. As anticipated, ownership in Here will now be taken over jointly by Audi, BMW, and Daimler, beating out reported rivals bids from the likes of Apple and Uber. Here is one of the largest and most advanced digital mapping and location systems. It started out in Chicago in 1986 as Navteq before Nokia acquired it in 2007, and is now slated to change ownership again. The cloud-based service maintains high-definition digital maps for nearly 200 countries and supports over 50 languages, gathering data from users to update the data continuously. Rather than transition the service into their own proprietary technology, however, the automakers insist that it will remain open "to all customers from the automotive industry and other sectors." Ownership will be shared equally between the three companies, with "none of them seek[ing] to acquire a majority interest" in Here. For another, Here's management is promised to remain independent, and "the consortium will not interfere into operational business." Though the purchase price has not been disclosed, it is rumored to be worth in the neighborhood of $2.7 billion. Assuming it passes regulatory approval, the acquisition is slated to be completed in the first quarter of next year. The German automakers anticipate implementing the service to provide connected vehicles with accurate, up-to-date information on road and other conditions. Examples it outlines include warning other drivers of icy conditions based on outside temperature and ABS activation. It could also warn drivers of impending traffic jams, or even guide traffic through green lights in an urban environment. In the future, the highly detailed maps are envisioned to enable fully automated driving as well. Related Video: AUDI AG, BMW Group and Daimler AG agree with Nokia Corporation on joint acquisition of HERE digital mapping business Ingolstadt, Munich, Stuttgart, Aug 03, 2015 - Acquisition will secure and strengthen HERE as an independent company serving customers from all industries - Real-time maps and location based services will be the basis for the mobility of tomorrow - Transaction expected to close in first quarter 2016 Ingolstadt, Munich, Stuttgart – August 3rd, 2015.