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Mercedes AMG GT3 racecar due in 2016

Our life with the Mercedes-AMG GT has only just begun, and a full life it looks like it will be. The latest in preposterous two-doors from AMG is launching in GT and GT S flavors, but a few more branches of the family tree are already planned: a racing entry for the FIA GT3 championship is scheduled to appear in 2016, giving the current SLS AMG GT3 another year to gobble up victories before it takes a drive across the Styx. More exciting for those who only suit up on Sunday for church, whispers are that a we'll also get a streetable version of the race car - not called "GT3" because that alphanumeric is owned by Porsche, but definitely aimed at its Stuttgart rival. AMG boss Tobias Moers told Autocar the objective for that car is "more power, less weight, better aerodynamics and different suspension but the targets should be the power to weight ratio, drivability, lap time and tremendous feel." Those targets will be aided by a carbon fiber weight-loss regime of up to 220 pounds and more power - perhaps 550 horsepower - from the currently "very understressed" engine. Supposing that still isn't enough for you, then the Black Series version should curl your toes, if you can wait until 2018 for it.

Regulators consider adding more carmakers to Takata recall

Volkswagen's diesel emissions scandal has been getting a lot of press recently, but the Takata airbag inflator affair could be grabbing headlines again soon. According to Bloomberg, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is contemplating an expansion to the campaign that could add seven automakers to the 12 already affected. They are Jaguar Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Spartan Motors, Suzuki, Tesla, Volvo Trucks, and VW Group. To be clear, there's no recall for any of these automakers, yet. The government is simply asking for a full list of vehicles that each of them have with Takata-supplied inflators containing ammonium nitrate propellant. The agency is concerned this substance could play a roll in the ruptures. "NHTSA is considering not only whether to issue an administrative order that would coordinate the remedy programs associated with the current Takata recalls, but also whether such an order should include expansion of the current recalls," the letters say. All seven can be viewed, here. From a report supplied by Takata, the government already knows that the company supplied 887,055 inflators with ammonium-nitrate propellant to VW and 184,926 of them to Tesla. In an incident during the summer, a side airbag allegedly burst in a 2015 VW Tiguan. In early September, NHTSA put out a revised report that there were 23.4 million inflators to be replaced in 19.2 million vehicles in the US. An earlier accounting from the agency had about 34 million of the parts in 30 million cars. High humidity is still believed to be among the biggest risk factors for the ruptures. Although, if ammonium nitrate also gets the blame, some already recalled models might need to be repaired again. Related Video:

Mercedes-AMG C63 Coupe gets first video teaser

With less than a week until its big reveal, Mercedes-AMG has kicked up its teasing of the two-door version of the C63 Sedan. This 16-second teaser shows off the sonorous sounds of the coupe's expected powerplant, a 4.0-liter, twin-turbocharged V8. The car is still camouflaged, although we're able to get a nice look at the two-door C-Class' form, which we must say is darn attractive. As previously reported, the C63 Coupe will almost certainly mirror its four-door counterpart in terms of mechanicals. So that 4.0-liter V8 should be offered in both 469- and 503-horsepower varieties, with grunt dispatched to the rear wheels via a seven-speed AMG Speedshift transmission. While output should be identical, it's a safe bet that the two-door C63 will trim some of the four-door's 3,900-plus-pound curb weight. That should, hopefully, improve upon the C63 S' already impressive 3.9-second sprint to 60. We'll have much, much more on the Mercedes-AMG C63 Coupe when it makes its grand debut on August 19. Until then, check out the video of the prototype being flung around the track and stay tuned for the official reveal of the non-AMG C-Class Coupe, slated for later today.