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Mercedes spotted testing updated A45 AMG

Now on the market (or some markets at any rate) for a couple of years already in its current form, Mercedes is preparing a slight refresh for the A-Class. And that means a new A45 AMG performance version, as well. Pictured undergoing testing in Germany, this prototype is hiding some enhancements for the littlest Benz. We're expecting the updates to be rather subtle, but they ought to help the Silver Star hatch keep up with the likes of the BMW 1 Series and Audi A3 in the increasingly competitive premium hatchback market. Best of all, Mercedes is tipped to be preparing an even more powerful A45 AMG S with over 400 horsepower to keep pace with the upcoming Volkswagen Golf R400. Unfortunately the A-Class isn't offered in North America, but we can hope that some of the enhancements (especially in the performance department) are ported over to the CLA-Class sedan and GLA crossover as well. Related Video:

Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff takes a stake in Aston Martin

LONDON — Mercedes Formula One boss Toto Wolff has taken a stake in British sportscar maker Aston Martin, whose executive chairman Lawrence Stroll runs the Racing Point F1 team, according to company filings. A Mercedes F1 spokesman said Wolff's move was purely an investment on the Austrian's part and would be diluted by a rights issue on Monday from 4.77% to less than 1%. "Fully diluted following the pending rights issue, this investment will represent a 0.95% stake in the company," he added. "It is a financial investment and Toto's partnership and executive role with Mercedes are unaffected by the transaction." Swiss billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli has also bought a 3.38% stake which will be similarly diluted. Wolff previously had a 16% shareholding in former champions Williams but sold that after he joined the Mercedes team, where he serves as principal and owns 30%. Canadian billionaire Stroll, whose son Lance drives for Racing Point alongside Mexican Sergio Perez, is close to Wolff. The Silverstone-based team — to be renamed Aston Martin next year — use Mercedes engines and gearboxes. Mercedes-Benz's parent Daimler also has a small stake in Aston Martin. "It's clear that Aston are now Mercedes' B team," the Daily Mail quoted one Formula One insider as saying. Wolff's future at Mercedes has been the subject of some media speculation, with the 48-year-old linked variously to senior management roles with Liberty Media-owned Formula One and at Aston Martin. His Aston Martin shares were bought from Yew Tree Overseas Limited, a vehicle controlled by Stroll who acquired a roughly 25% percent holding in Aston Martin with a consortium of investors. Mercedes have won the past six Formula One drivers' and constructors' titles but have six times world champion Lewis Hamilton out of contract at the end of the 2020 season, which has yet to start due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Hamilton, who has also been linked to Ferrari, had told reporters before the global crisis changed the sporting and financial landscape that his decision would depend on Wolff's plans. The Briton is now expected to stay at Mercedes, with a radical overhaul of Formula One's sporting and technical regulations postponed to 2022. Related Video: Motorsports Aston Martin Mercedes-Benz

Cigarette Racing unveils the AMG GT S-inspired 50-foot Marauder

The Cigarette Racing stand at the Miami Boat Show this morning hosted the latest in the eight-year collaboration between Mercedes-AMG and Cigarette Racing: the AMG GT S parked next to the fast-boat it inspired, the Cigarette Racing 50 Marauder GT S Concept. The vinyl ester resin and fiberglass go-fast boat is more than a matching Solarbeam yellow paint job with the coupe that inspired it. Like other carmakers who have partnered with companies outside the industry - such as Nissan's recent tie-up with NASA - there's an exchange of technology involved; Cigarette said that working with AMG on composites and bonding helped them drop 1,000 pounds off the Marauder GT S Concept compared to the standard Marauder twin-engine, which comes in at 14,200 pounds. Customers who order standard Marauders can request the weight reduction (for a price), but we were told that unless they plan to spend most of their time above 100 miles per hour, the extra weight contributes to a smoother ride. Mercedes head designer Gordon Wagener penned the exterior paint job and worked with Cigarette to design the cockpit trim, which would have seen him in familiar surroundings: Cigarette Racing owner Skip Braver is a long-time AMG customer, and the boat company based its bespoke department on the AMG Design Studio in Affalterbach. Every one of its boats is handbuilt in its factory in Opa-locka, Florida using some of the same processes seen in automaking, like bar codes to track the progress of hulls and components, computer controlled paint samples with digital files that can be sent around the world for matching, and doing all the stitching in-house to keep tabs on quality control. The engine compartment holds two, nine-liter, four-valve, DOHC, quad-cam, twin-turbocharged Mercury Racing engines with all-aluminum blocks, each one of them good for an electronically-limited 1,550 pound-feet of torque, and either 1,350 horsepower or 1,550 horsepower depending on whether you run regular 91-octane fuel or 116-octane race fuel. So yes, that's 3,100 hp and 3,100 lb-ft at once, if you go all out. Mercury says they're the most powerful powerful emissions-certified gas-powered marine engines you can buy. The engines don't have knock sensors, though, so you have to turn a key to register the kind of fuel you're putting in, and you can switch from one to the other when two 150-gallon tanks are down to 10-percent full.