2021 Mercedes-benz G-class Amg G 63 on 2040-cars

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Mercedes G63 vs. BMW i8: Our silly drag race between the past and future

You see, we were just trying to conserve resources. We had Milan Dragway rented for a test of the AMS Alpha 10 Audi R8, and there was some extra track time, so we brought these two along. That's called saving money. Or something. Aside from being German, the G63 and i8 couldn't really be much more different – one is a prehistoric military vehicle with a nutty twin-turbo V8, the other a vision of the near future of efficient sports cars. So what did we do? We lined them up against each other, editor-in-chief Michael Austin in the i8 and me in the G-Wagen. Though we had a good idea of the likely winner – note which car the boss is driving – the results were still surprising. Watch for yourself above. Green Humor BMW Mercedes-Benz Coupe SUV Hybrid Luxury Performance Videos Original Video drag race milan dragway

Brabus luxes up new Mercedes V-Class

Looking for a luxury coach to get you around town in style and comfort, but don't need anything as big as a Sprinter? Mercedes will gladly point you towards the smaller V-Class, trading Stateside as the Metris. And now Brabus has released a full array of customization options for the van as well. The list of modifications available from the venerable Benz tuner include an aero kit to give the van a sleeker look while reducing front-end lift, a full complement of 18- and 19-inch wheel options, a retuned suspension, engine enhancements, exhaust upgrade, and a fully refitted interior. The first-class cabin on this show vehicle has been reupholstered in leather and Alcantara, offset by wood and carbon-fiber trim, and a complete entertainment system. It includes a pair of 15.6-inch LCD screens that drop from the headliner and WiFi. Finally, there's a touchpad integrated into the interior C-pillars to operate the system as well as the lamps, heated seats, power windows and curtains, and the sliding doors. Accommodation is clearly the emphasis here. But Brabus being Brabus, it has also optimized the BlueTec four-cylinder turbo diesel engine to produce 44 more horsepower and 52 pound-feet more torque. With output now up to 232 hp and 376 lb-ft, the van will reach 62 miles per hour from a standstill in 8.8 seconds and top out at 130 mph – and look that much slicker in the process. Related Video: Engine tuning, exclusive looks and entertainment: BRABUS Exclusive Program for the new Mercedes V-Class The new Mercedes V-Class as a sporty-elegant jack-of-all-trades: in a world premiere, BRABUS (Brabus-Allee, D-46240 Bottrop, phone + 49 / (0) 2041 / 777-0, fax + 49 / (0) 2041 / 777 111, internet www.brabus.com) presents the exclusive refinement program for the new Mercedes V-Class. BRABUS upgrades the people mover with powerful engine tuning, an exclusive appearance package, tailor-made wheels and an individual entertainment concept. A sporty-elegant design is the trademark of the BRABUS aerodynamic-enhancement kit for the new Mercedes V-Class and Vito. All components are manufactured from PUR in OEM quality, giving them a precise fit and making them easy to paint. To give the vehicle an even more distinctive face, the BRABUS designers have developed attachments for the side air intakes, which can be complemented with auxiliary LED side markers, and a front spoiler that attaches to the lower section of the bumper.

Mercedes F1 to use Qualcomm 5 GHz WiFi for its tire data

In Formula 1 you need more of everything. More speed, more grip, more hospitality, more money. And you need data, reams and reams of data. The Mercedes-AMG Formula 1 team – the guys with the silver cars driven by 2015 F1 champion Lewis Hamilton and his teammate Nico Rosberg – need so much information that they've teamed with Qualcomm to wirelessly upload thermal imaging data of its tires. During a typical race weekend Mercedes's two racecars will generate approximately half a terabyte of data. Live telemetry has been a feature of Formula 1 for 20 years, though there are more restrictions on it than in the past. (In the days leading up to last weekend's United States Grand Prix in Texas, Formula 1 major domo Bernie Ecclestone said that F1 needs to cease being an engineering war and return more responsibility to the drivers.) Nevertheless, F1 teams gather vast amounts of data during a race weekend, particularly in practice sessions during which restrictions on what they can upload from cars – from engine/power unit parameters to aerodynamic loads – are less prohibitive. For example, during a typical race weekend Mercedes's two racecars will generate approximately half a terabyte of data. Mercedes F1 technical director Paddy Lowe points out that the standard telemetry system simply doesn't have the bandwidth to handle the thermal tire imaging data that the onboard thermal cameras generate. Why do you want a thermal video of the tires? Because it tells the engineers and drivers precisely how much temperature there is across the surface of a tire during a lap, in corners and on the straights. It also indicates how quickly the tires come up to temperature and when they potentially overheat. Understanding the temperature variations allows the team to set the cars up optimally for grip and tire life during a stint. Qualcomm's system works with the race cars like this: Each car has forward- and rear-facing cameras in a winglet mounted on the left side of the engine intake behind the driver's head, which continuously record thermal images of the tires. As a Mercedes enters the pit lane, it passes a Qualcomm 802.11ac WiFi receiver to which it uploads the thermal data. As the car nears the garage, another receiver takes over the upload. Several Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processors crunch the raw data as it uploads. The data is encrypted – there are always prying eyes in Formula 1.