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Mercedes pays tribute to 1955 Mille Miglia with special-edition SL

The Mercedes-Benz SL is one of the longest-running nameplates in the business, and its history has been marked with numerous achievements. But few were as impressive as the 1955 running of the Mille Miglia, and Mercedes pays tribute to that race and the results it achieved there with this latest special-edition roadster. Called the SL Special Edition Mille Miglia 417, this roadster starts with the eight-cylinder SL550 with dynamic stability management and adaptive damping and adds on several highlights. Red trim adorns the front spoiler, the stripe across the matte carbon rear spoiler, the brake calipers and the rims of the black AMG Performance wheels. The red pieces accent the matte black paint, while the interior features AMG Line sports seats with carbon-finish leather and red trim, along with a red and black nappa leather steering wheel and carbon trim. The SL arrives 60 years after the Mille Miglia in which a 300 SL driven by American gentleman racer John Fitch - bearing the number 417 and starting at 4:17 a.m. - led a 1-2-3 class finish, landing fifth overall and leaving many purpose-built racers in the dust. The special edition is confirmed for the US, arriving this fall with pricing to be announced closer to launch. SPECIAL EDITION SL "MILLE MIGLIA 417" Exclusive SL passion February 17, 2015 - Stuttgart -- Mercedes-Benz celebrates the 60th anniversary of a memorable motor racing success with an extraordinary special model of the SL Roadster. Its name commemorates the unexpected victory of a 300 SL in the production sports cars class at the 1955 "Mille Miglia", one of the world's most challenging long-distance races. What's more: the SL Special Edition "Mille Miglia 417" provides a special experience of the unique symbiosis of maximum comfort and motor racing spirit that traditionally characterizes every SL. The Special Edition adds a distinctive note, among other things, with red exterior highlights and fine materials in the exclusively appointed interior. The Mercedes-Benz SL Roadster is more than an icon. Passion shapes its character and its charisma – in the past and today. Legendary vehicles and their stories dominate the model history. One of them is told by the SL that started the famous "Mille Miglia" in 1955 with race number 417 at 4:17 am. After 11 hours, 29 minutes and 21 seconds it had completed the race distance of 1597 kilometres on public roads from Brescia to Rome and back.

Mercedes invests $1.3 billion to expand Alabama factory

Mercedes-Benz announced a $1.3-billion investment Friday in its Tuscaloosa, AL, factory to increase SUV production capacity. The move comes on the heels of Autoblog's exclusive report that the GLC Coupe Concept will enter production as the German luxury marque continues to push for increased SUV sales. The investment will add 300 jobs to the approximately 3,500-strong workforce. The facility will be responsible for what Mercedes calls "the next SUV generations," which makes it sound like the plant will continue to assemble the GLE-Class and GL-Class SUVs, as well as the C-Class sedan. The next-gen SUVs built in Alabama will include hybrid variants, Mercedes said. Upgrades to the sprawling 5-million-square-foot facility include a new 1.3-million-square-foot body shop that will implement modular construction techniques. As for the current body shop, it will be expanded by nearly 140,000 square feet and will receive a larger "marriage" station, for pairing bodies and powertrains. Finally, the entire facility will receive a major IT upgrade. "In the next years we invest $1.3 billion in the expansion of our SUV production and turn the Mercedes-Benz plant Tuscaloosa into a high-tech location," Mercedes' Markus Schafer said in the attached release. "In this way we can produce the next SUV generations even more flexibly, efficiently and in proven top quality." If you're interested in the nitty gritty particulars of the announcement, you can read all about them in the official press release. Mercedes-Benz Tuscaloosa Plant: Mercedes-Benz invests $1.3 Billion in the expansion of its SUV production Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA / Stuttgart, Germany, Sep 18, 2015 MBUSI (Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, Inc.) to produce future SUV generations including hybrid versions SUV production to be expanded – 300 new jobs New Body Shop, major enhancements to SUV Assembly Shop and upgraded logistics and IT systems Implementation of state-of-the-art technologies and end-to-end digitization of production processes in line with the smart factory approach Markus Schafer, Member of the Divisional Board Mercedes-Benz Cars, Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management: "In the next years we invest $1.3 billion in the expansion of our SUV production and turn the Mercedes-Benz plant Tuscaloosa into a high-tech location.

2017 Aston Marin Lagonda could live on Mercedes M-Class platform

A few weeks ago, we brought you news from the launch of the Aston Martin Vanquish Volante that the British brand, which is formally known as Aston Martin Lagonda, was still planning on going ahead with a Lagonda-badged crossover. Now comes word that that vehicle could very well be based on a Mercedes-Benz M-Class.
When the first Lagonda Concept debuted at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show, it sat on a Mercedes-Benz GL-Class platform, some four years before Aston Martin and Mercedes-AMG deal was inked. And with that partnership, which will see Aston Martin gain access to AMG electrics and "bespoke, V8 powertrains," the opportunities for platform sharing are many.
Dr. Ulrich Bez, the boss of Aston Martin, told the UK's AutoCar, "I look at what Porsche is doing with the 911 as its core business and then it is able to do models like the Cayenne based on the Volkswagen Touareg. It is good business." We've said many times that we'll tolerate exotic CUVs and SUVs if it means keeping the beloved core models alive, which has been the case with Porsche. We see no reason Aston Martin wouldn't be able to do the same.