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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:

Recharge Wrap-up: Daimler spending big for fuel cells, Ford Go!Drive experiment advances

Ford's Go!Drive experiment is entering its beta phase in London. The project, which is one of the automaker's global smart mobility experiments, uses a mobile app for on-demand carsharing of Ford Focus Electric and Ford Fiesta vehicles. The beta phase involves increasing the number of available vehicles from 20 to 50, and collecting new data from users. The program offers one-way rentals and guaranteed parking, with no membership fees and a cost of 26 cents per minute. Ford hopes to get 2,000 drivers involved in the program. Read more at Green Car Congress. Daimler will invest billions of dollars to upgrade the Mercedes-Benz Unterturkheim plant over the next few years. This year alone, it plans to spend $1.06 billion. The company expects cost savings "in the range of hundreds of millions of euros until 2020," while maintaining its workforce of 18,700 employees and adding 150 vocational training positions. The upgrades will allow the plant to become a center for building more efficient engines, hybrid powertrains and fuel cell systems. "Alternative drive systems are an important element of our future mobility," says Mercedes-Benz's Markus Schafer. "Their share of automotive production is set to steadily rise over the next few years, complementing our highly efficient engines within the portfolio. This is what we have laid the groundwork for today." Read more at Reuters, or in the press release below. The Department of Energy is providing $20 million in funding for the development of more efficient high speed industrial motors and drives. Ditching old motors and gearboxes for ones that use integrated power electronics could help decrease the energy consumption of the industrial sector, which currently uses more than 25 percent of the electricity generated in the US. The projects being funded will reduce losses and decrease the size of drive systems used in industries like petroleum refining and natural gas, which could affect the lifecycle efficiency of transportation fuels. Read more at Energy.gov.

2016 Mercedes-AMG G65 coming to US this fall, priced from $217,900*

The top end of the luxury SUV market keeps edging northwards. Where the prospect of spending six figures on an off-roader once seemed unthinkable, a new class at the top end of the segment has emerged with prices exceeding $200k. And now American buyers will have another choice on their hands with the arrival of the Mercedes-AMG G65. The flagship model of the Gelandewagen range, the G65 is based on Benz's immortal SUV that's been produced in Graz, Austria, since 1979 and (officially) arrived in the US in 2002. But while the G-Class has been offered in a number of specifications even here in America – up to and including the eight-cylinder G63 AMG – the top-of-the-line G65 was kept away from these shores. But now the German automaker has announced it's bringing its ultimate sport-ute to American showrooms. Distinguishing the G65 from 'lesser' G-Wagens is its 6.0-liter twin-turbo V12 – the same essential unit that already powers the S65 coupe and sedan, SL65 roadster and the Pagani Huayra – producing in this application 621 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque. That's said to be enough to shuffle the big ute up to 60 in just 5.3 seconds. Of course all that power and prestige comes with a price, and as you might have guessed, it's astronomical: $217,900 plus $925 delivery, to be specific. In that ballpark, it'll be tangling with the new Range Rover SVAutobiography and the upcoming Bentley Bentayga. Not even the top-of-the-line, $157k Porsche Cayenne Turbo S wears that high a price tag. Look for the Mercedes-AMG G65 to reach showrooms in November, and check out the ever-so-slightly facelifted G-Wagen in our gallery above, live from New York. Related Video: Mercedes-Benz Announces Pricing on 2016MY Mercedes-AMG G65 An SUV in a Class of its Own to Start at $217,900* MONTVALE, NJ (April 1, 2015) – Mercedes-Benz USA announced pricing today for the ultra-exclusive 2016 Mercedes-AMG G65. Starting at an MSRP of USD $217,900, this model joins the G550 and G63 AMG in the U.S. lineup in November 2015. It is also the fourth exclusive AMG model priced above $200,000: SL65 ($215,250), S65 sedan ($222,000), and S65 Coupe ($230,900). Powered by a V12 bi-turbo engine, the G65 AMG delivers 621 hp and 738 lb-ft. of torque, with an estimated 0-60 mph acceleration in 5.3 seconds. The G-Class is the only off-road vehicle in its class to combine the electronic traction system 4ETS with a transfer case and three 100% differential locks.