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The 2017 Mercedes-Benz E-Class interior is the new standard [w/video]

You can choose from 64 ambient light colors in the 2017 Mercedes-Benz E-Class. Sixty-four. It's this sort of personalization that highlights Mercedes' approach with its new midsize sedan, a car I'm comfortable saying will once again secure its place as the most luxurious car money can buy in that class. It's the true Mercedes of the segment. All you have to do is look inside. If the cabin of this new E-Class looks familiar, it's because it builds on a successful Mercedes-Benz formula. There's a wealth of luxurious materials at your fingertips; leathers and trims from the S-Class trickle down to Mercedes' midsize E, and work in perfect harmony with beautifully sculpted surfaces. If I told you the pictures above show a new S-Class Coupe, you'd (probably) believe me. That's exactly how I felt during an intimate preview of the new E-Class' interior at one of Mercedes' research and development buildings in Sindelfingen, Germany. After hearing Merc's suits talk about the mission of the new E-Class, my iPhone was confiscated, and I was ushered behind a dark curtain where I met a lightly camouflaged car. Sitting inside, my first impression was the same as when I first met the current S-Class a couple of years ago: wow. Much like how the new C-Class is often referred to as a "baby S-Class," the same can be said of the new E, with even more validity. Here's why. Everything On The Big Screen The first thing you notice is the flat, dual-screen display that makes up the instrument panel and central infotainment headunit. This large piece of tech is a "Mercedes interior signature," according to lead designer Hartmut Sinkwitz. All versions of the E-Class have this setup, but in two different levels of execution. Base models get traditional fixed speedometer and tachometer gauges, with a seven-inch color display between them and an 8.4-inch color display off to the right for the COMAND system. Uplevel cars, like the ones you see here, get two 12.3-inch screens, with a huge range of customization options, and a revised main menu interface for COMAND. With that premium system, three different skins can be selected for the gauge cluster. The standard configuration – Classic – is exactly what you expect from a new Mercedes, with a clean, two-gauge design and different driver-selectable information screens in the middle. But new for the E-Class are two other views, branded as Sport and Progressive. Sport still uses the two-gauge setup, but uses different fonts and colors.

Mercedes-AMG working on a successor to the SLR?

It's been mere days since Mercedes-AMG chairman Tobias Moers told journalists at the LA Auto Show that his brand would not develop a super coupe to challenge the likes of the Porsche 918 Spyder and Ferrari LaFerrari - at least, not right now. Nevertheless, German magazine Auto Bild has the story that AMG is "considering" a successor to the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, which, technically, wouldn't need to be a competitor at the great-white-shark end of the supercar spectrum. According to Auto Bild's sources, Considerations have apparently gone far enough for engineers to be debating whether to develop such a car on the brand's Modular Sports Architecture (MSA) that will support the next-generation SL-Class, which would necessitate a front-engined car, or to do a mid-engined monster. An MSA-based coupe would use a supercharged V6 to power the rear wheels with an electric motor working the fronts, and somewhere around 650 horsepower would get the help of active aerodynamics to make the most of its potential. Production numbers of roughly 3,000 units per year are tied to a price of at least $260,000 or more. Discussions around a mid-engined supercar, on the other hand, go all the way with composite body wrapped around a supercharged V8, a total of of supposedly 1,050 horsepower with the aid of two 125-kW motors on the front axle, all-wheel drive and lots of ground-effects aero to tame it, and a price of "over one million euros" for a limited run of no more than 750 units. Either car would begin with a coupe model, followed by a roadster, a Black Series, and a GT3 version. The SLR could be considered in between these two, but closer to the MSA-based car. A collaboration between Mercedes and McLaren, it made 617 horsepower from a front-mounted, supercharged 5.4-liter V8 and cost $450,000 at a time when the Porsche Carrera GT cost $444,000 and the Ferrari Enzo cost $643,000. It's biggest problem was that it wasn't very good as a supercar, and Auto Bild posits that AMG might want to correct that blemish on the corporate record. Moers said at the auto show that AMG doesn't have the engineering capacity right now to do this kind of car. He also said he thought the marketplace wouldn't accept AMG as a hypercar brand, but talks with customers in prime markets "give me a different view to that." Related Video:

Brabus boosts big Benz plug-in hybrid

With vehicles like the BMW i8 and Porsche 918 Spyder, the Germans have demonstrated as well as anyone that "performance" and "hybrid" can go in the same sentence. And now Brabus is plugging in to the performance hybrid station as well. Though nowhere near as extreme as the aforementioned PHEV sports cars, the Brabus PowerXtra B50 Hybrid performance kit kicks the Mercedes S550 Plug-In Hybrid up a notch. The electric side of the powertrain remains untouched, but the internal combustion engine has been boosted by 51 horsepower and 52 pound-feet of torque. That gives the 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 a total of 385 hp and 405 lb-ft, which is nothing to cough at – but with the electric boost kicking in, the vehicle now packs a combined output of 493 hp and 656 lb-ft. That slots its twist figure in between that of the S600 and S63 AMG. As a result, the big Brabus hybrid will now reach 62 miles per hour from a standstill in just 4.9 seconds (down from 5.2) – almost as quick as the 12-cylinder model but with half the pistons – though the top speed remains pegged at 155 mph. Naturally, Brabus didn't stop there, giving the sedan a new exhaust, aero kit, rolling stock and interior, all catered to the customer's specifications. BRABUS PowerXtra B50 Hybrid with 368 kW / 500 hp (493 bhp) and 890 Nm of torque The eco-friendly performance upgrade for the new Mercedes S 500 PLUG-IN HYBRID For more than 35 years, BRABUS has been the synonym for powerful high-performance automobiles and exclusive refinement at the highest level of perfection. One philosophy has always been paramount in all these years: combining top performance with exemplary eco-friendliness, immaculate durability and perfect everyday practicality. With the new BRABUS PowerXtra B50 Hybrid performance kit for the new Mercedes S 500 PLUG-IN HYBRID, the engine specialists of the world's largest independent tuner once more demonstrate their unrivalled know-how. The power increase of the V6 engine by 38 kW / 52 hp (51 bhp) and the boost in torque by 70 Nm (52 lb-ft) bumps the system output of the hybrid sedan to 368 kW / 500 hp (493 bhp) and system torque to 890 Nm (656 lb-ft). As a result, the luxury liner sprints from rest to 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 4.9 seconds, and impresses in daily driving with even further enhanced superiority. Due to the hybrid system, the top speed remains electronically limited to 250 km/h (155 mph).