Sl Mercedes Benz 450sl on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Mercedes-AMG planning hybrid hypercar?

It used to be that, a few overlapping two-door models aside, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche didn't really compete with one another. That's how the two ended up collaborating on projects like the Mercedes 500 E that put it on the performance sedan map without fear of stepping on each other's toes. But Porsche has grown considerably since then, challenging its Stuttgart neighbor with four-door sedans and crossovers, as well as sports coupes and convertibles. Little wonder, then, that Mercedes has hit back at Porsche with the AMG GT, and there will be many more versions to follow in 911 style. But that may not be the final salvo the Silver Star marque launches at Zuffenhausen. According to the latest bit of speculation and deduction from our friends at Motor Trend, Mercedes-AMG may be planning a hybrid hypercar of its own to take on the Porsche 918 Spyder – not to mention the McLaren P1 and LaFerrari. Solid information is sparse at this point, but after speaking to AMG chief Tobias Moers, MT speculates that the new flagship will likely be mid-engined, with a boosted version of the company's 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 kicking out between 650 and 700 horsepower, working with a pair of electric motors at the front to deliver tenacious through-the-road all-wheel traction and a combined output in the thousand-horsepower range. There is the possibility, though, that Mercedes could go after the latest hybrid hypercars with a flagship version of its just-launched AMG GT, packing a similar powertrain setup as the ultimate evolution of the breed. Other GT versions will likely soon include a GT3 racing model, a Black Series version and a roadster – following a similar path taken not only by the 911, but also by Benz's previous halo supercars like the SLR McLaren and SLS AMG.

New Mercedes E-Class nearly exposed, may be Maybach

The all-new Mercedes-Benz E-Class is marching closer and closer to production, with a new round of spy photos giving us our best look yet at the S-Class-inspired looks of the German brand's executive luxury car. There really is very little camouflage this time around – what's there looks more like the kind of plastic wrapping you'd see on a freshly imported vehicle at the port. In front, we can see the new E will wear similar LED accents to the S- and C-Class. The E-Class' big and little brothers also inspired the tail of the new model, where we can see slightly disguised, vertically oriented LED taillights. Prominent, enclosed exhausts are very similar to what we saw in our spy shots of the Mercedes-Maybach E-Class. Aside from the exhausts, this particular car also wears the same blingy wheels as the range-topping tester we spied last August. The thick-rimmed, multi-spoke design isn't the only giveaway to this car's luxurious intentions, though. Our last Maybach sighting showed a car completely covered in camo, making it difficult to tell just how large the rear doors are relative to the car we're seeing today. Instead of the doors, though, we suggest you look at the windows. Like the August spy photos, this prototype features tinted rear glass, which could perhaps indicate that we're looking at yet another example the second Mercedes-Maybach model. So is this yet another Maybach E-Class? We're leaning towards yes. The size of the back doors – and the rear quarter window, in particular – is close enough to what we saw last month, and the presence of tinted glass, the same exhausts, and the same wheels can't be discounted either.

Mercedes G500 4x4 rumbles into view

Mercedes keeps raising the bar with the G-Class: just when you think the legendary Gelandewagen couldn't get any more hardcore, it mashes the throttle and does exactly that, plowing through a bank of snow, sand, hell or high water in the process. What you see here is the latest. It's called the G500 4x42. Aside from the various engine specs, the G-Class has been offered in a number of body-styles. Right around the same time that the two-door convertible was discontinued, Benz rolled out the indomitable G63 AMG 6x6 – a half-million-dollar, six-wheeled monster truck powered by Affalterbach's 5.5-liter twin-turbo V8. Evidently enough people liked the idea but didn't see the point in that extra set of wheels, so Mercedes has toned it down – just a little – but kept the high-riding suspension. The result is the truck we've seen testing a couple of times now in a bright shade of Hulk green, and which is now just about ready for its debut. On the scale of extreme G-Wagens, it slots in between the standard model and the 6x6, keeping the jacked-up suspension and giant wheels, but losing the extra axle. The G500 moniker also indicates that it'll at least be available with the 382-horsepower, naturally aspirated, non-AMG version of the 5.5-liter V8 that we'd know as the G550. Just how much of a premium Benz will charge for the beefed-up version, we don't know, as further details are set to be released next week ahead of a likely debut in Geneva. But hopefully it'll be closer to the $115k it gets for the standard version than the $500+k the 6x6 goes for.