2011 Sl65 Amg Used Turbo 6l V12 36v Automatic Convertible Premium on 2040-cars

Auto blog

The Mercedes-Benz S-Class leads this month's list of discounts

Like last month, the biggest discounts car buyers will find on new vehicles are all applied to expensive luxury sedans. Unlike last month when there were two, there isn't a single Rolls-Royce to be found anywhere in the top five. Sorry, one-percenters. But just because the pinnacle of European luxury isn't represented doesn't mean there aren't big discounts to be found on lovely luxury sedans. In fact, this month's list is led by the 2020 Mercedes-Benz S-Class, a technological wonder that coddles its driver and passengers with all the bells and whistles the German brand has to offer. The Mercedes-Benz S-Class is offered in many shapes and sizes with several powertrain options. That means there will be a huge variance in prices across the model range, but on average, 2020 S-Class buyers are seeing $11,803 lopped off the car's $109,447 sticker price, leaving an average transaction price of $97,644. That's a savings of nearly 11%. It's worth noting that there's a new S-Class for 2021, but the 2020 edition is still a lovely machine. Up next is the Porsche Taycan, sitting in second place just like it did last month. Buyers are seeing average sticker prices of $125,736 but are paying $113,938. That's a savings of $11,798 — or about 9.4% — off the price on the window sticker. As was the case last month, we're not sure how many of the Taycan's buyers will be able to claim tax rebates due to the Taycan's status as an electric vehicle, but that could potentially represent a further cut off the car's sticker. Rounding out the top three for the month of July is the Maserati Ghibli. With an average discount of $10,161 that represents a whopping 14.3% of the car's sticker price, this Italian luxury sedan actually leads the list of vehicle discounts when ranked by percentage. And if you're a Maserati fan but the Ghibli isn't your cup of espresso, the Levante crossover and larger Quattroporte sedan are also seeing very large discounts. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. 2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS Edition One revealed

The hottest modern sports cars rendered as rally racers

The modern-day World Rally Championship a monumental amount of fun to watch – I should know, as I recently was lucky enough to head to the UK to watch WRC Wales Rally GB – but even the most monstrous of the current WRC cars are based on fairly pedestrian European hatchbacks. Back in the heyday of rally, the Group B era in the 1980s, much hotter cars were the basis of even more incredible competition machines, for the most part. Take the exotic Ford RS200, or the Lancia Delta S4 with its twin-charged engine. And the hatchback-based Group B cars were bonkers, too. So what would some of our favorite modern cars look like if Group B had never ended? A British site named CarWow hired an artist to reimagine everything from the Rolls-Royce Wraith to the Porsche 911 as a retro-inspired rally car, and they were kind enough to let us share the results in the gallery above. The gallery features an Alfa Romeo Giulia in Martini livery, an Audi TT in classic Ur-Quattro colors, a Fiat 500 Abarth sporting massive flares and a hood blister full of auxiliary lights, a new Ford Mustang in RS200 livery, a Lancia Delta in Alitalia colors, a Porsche 911 in Rothmans livery, a Renault-Alpine in classic blue, a Rolls-Royce Wraith tribute to the Jules cologne Corniche Coupe, and a relatively modern-looking VW Touran. So far, the favorite around the office is the incredible Mercedes-Benz S-Class that is an homage to the wonderful 300 SEL 6.8 AMG "Red Pig" that essentially put AMG on the map. Check out the gallery above and see which one you like the best. Related Video:

Aston Martin reboots its EV offensive with Mercedes-Benz technology

Mercedes-Benz will provide Aston Martin the technology it needs to enter the electric car segment, according to the British firm's top executive. Its first battery-powered model is scheduled to arrive in 2025 at the earliest. As we've previously reported, Mercedes will increase its stake in Aston Martin to 20% by 2023. In exchange, it will grant the company access to its hybrid and electric powertrains. It's a win-win situation: On one hand, Mercedes can leverage the benefits of economies of scale. On the other hand, Aston Martin (which is far smaller) is able to access turn-key technology without spending an exorbitant amount of money on development. Executives are consequently rebooting Aston Martin's on-again, off-again electrification offensive. Its first electric model will be built using Mercedes-Benz-sourced technology when it goes on sale in 2025 or 2026, according to Automotive News Europe. Company boss Tobias Moers (who ran Mercedes-AMG until earlier in 2020) clarified the platform will come from Germany, but there's no word yet on whether the motor and the battery will, too. However, he confirmed plans to resurrect the Lagonda name on an electric-only sub-brand have been canceled. "Lagonda has a different purpose for the future. Electric-driven cars are supposed to be Aston Martins," he said. Hybrids are in the pipeline, too, including a gasoline-electric version of the high-riding DBX. Engineers were previously developing the technology in-house, but the project could end up in the automotive ash heap now that more Mercedes powertrains are in the picture. Moers affirmed he hasn't decided which route to take yet. "We are still working on that [hybrid drivetrain], but now we have alternatives. It's too early to say," he noted. Aston Martin will release the mid-engined Valhalla in 2021, and the plug-in hybrid DBX will begin rolling off the production line in 2023. Several new models will make their debut that year, Moers promised a "product firework," and it's reasonable to assume most will be available with some degree of electrification. He predicted every fourth or fifth car Aston Martin sells in 2024 will be electrified in one way or another. Green blues Aston Martin's path to electrification hasn't been smooth. In 2015, it joined forces with China-based LeEco to build an electric variant of the Rapide, but it was forced to finish the project on its own after its partner canceled the deal due to financial issues.