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Mercedes Unimog poised for Canadian return

The Mercedes-Benz Unimog, the super-duper heavy-duty off-road workhorse vehicle that the German automaker has been making for more than 60 years, may soon be sold in Canada once again after a hiatus. Regulators had taken issue with both their emissions (super torquey diesel engines don't tend to run real clean) and the fact that some folks would take them out on city streets and even highways (these beasts have a top speed of about 25 miles per hour). Now, regulatory officials are considering allowing the Unimog to be sold in Canada again, albeit under strictly off-road driving regulations, Canada's Driving says. In fact, the diesel trucks apparently run a lot cleaner than they used to, while the torque levels remain off the charts. Naturally, some folks are clamoring for them because of their ability to run on just about any terrain. Hans Mross of Vancouver-based Mross Import Service Ltd., which previously imported the Unimog to Canada, told Autoblog he was "99 percent sure" the Unimog would be brought back to Canada. We'd last reported on the Unimog in April 2013, when Mercedes-Benz said it would start selling 10 different versions of the truck. Related Video: Featured Gallery Mercedes-Benz Unimog View 33 Photos News Source: Driving Mercedes-Benz Truck Diesel Vehicles unimog

2017 Mercedes-AMG C63 Coupe looks quick, mean

The latest Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe isn't even on the road yet. Still, the folks at AMG are already working at tweaking the two-door into a future high-performance variant as the natural challenger for the BMW M4. While this model is heavily camouflaged all the way around, an aggressive face akin to the C63 sedan is already pretty easy to spot. Both cars feature air dams with big openings to feed cool air to the 4.0-liter, twin-turbo V8 under the hood. Compared to the previously spied, standard version of the two-door C-Class, the AMG looks to feature wider front fenders, too. Despite the concealment, other visible high-performance touches include lower side sills and larger brakes peeking out behind the wheels. Of course, the four exhaust pipes sticking out the back are a big giveaway of the coupe's intended high-speed purpose, too. Like the C63 sedan, expect a choice of tunes of the V8 to be available with either 469 horsepower or the more powerful S with 503 hp. The wait to see the two-door without all of this camo shouldn't be too long, either. An earlier report suggests that both the standard coupe and AMG versions could debut at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show in September. Related Video:

2015 Mercedes-AMG C63 S First Drive [w/video]

As I mashed the throttle heading into the back straight of a nearly three-mile-long race track, I couldn't help but center my mind on two ostensibly disparate subjects: physics and pistons. If the heart of an automobile is its engine, the heart of the engine are its rotating bits – the crankshaft, pistons and the block they're nested inside. It seems fitting, then, that the internals of the twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 typify the brand-new 2015 Mercedes-AMG C63 sedan I found myself piloting in Portugal. Whereas the last C-Class AMG availed itself of a brute of an engine, employing 6.2 liters of displacement to make its 451 horsepower the old fashioned way, the latest AMG's V8 engine has been downsized radically. I had the opportunity earlier in the day to actually hold the pistons of the new 4.0 Biturbo V8 in my hands, alongside those of the outgoing 6.2. The difference in size is staggering, the new lumps looking downright picayune in comparison to the latter. These eight seemingly diminutive pistons turn combustion into crankshaft-spinning power inside a block that is smaller, lighter and more compact than I'd have thought possible, considering the prodigious output the engine spits out. I had gone into this assignment expecting to pen an ode to lost love; a sonnet of sorrow bemoaning the switch from massive cylinders to wheezing power adders. But I was wrong. In fact, the report that follows may indeed read a little like a love song, except it will heap praise not on what used to be, but instead on what is now possible. The new heart of AMG more than makes up for its reduction in size by relying on turbochargers and smart engineering to turn just 4.0 liters into 469 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque starting at just 1,750 rpm, or as much as 503 ponies and 516 lb-ft in uprated S guise. Foot to the floor, eyes focused on the turn ahead, a hard right-hander named Primeira that requires hard braking and quick reflexes, I had a fleeting moment of clarity: These are some hard-working pistons. A few days on the street and track in and around Faro, Portugal, has convinced me that the new Mercedes-AMG C63 is a better car in any meaningful measurement than it was before. And I'll go one step further. Not only is this the best C-Class AMG ever, it's also my new favorite in the hotly contested segment that includes such knee-benders as the BMW M3 and M4.