Mercedes unstoppable Unimog has once again captured the hearts and minds of a group of truck and special vehicle users by garnering the best cross-country vehicle of the year award in Germany. Off-road, a trade magazine that has been conducting a poll for such vehicles for more than two decades announced the results a few [...]

Filed under: Performance, Technology, Hatchback, Mercedes-Benz

While the current A-Class has stood as something of an odd man out from the rest of the Mercedes-Benz line-up, the new A-Class promises to be a proper Mercedes. And fortunately, with that territory, all signs point to the German automaker planning on including an AMG version.

The trouble is that while AMG has a wealth of experience boring out big engines, the small sort of mills capable of fitting under the hood of something as compact as the A-Class is outside its realm of expertise. Fortunately, Mercedes has another division that thrives on getting the most out of compact powerplants.

That division is Mercedes-Benz HighPerformanceEngines, the Northamptonshire, England-based firm formerly known as Ilmor that constructs the F1 engines for McLaren, Force India and Mercedes' own F1 team. It happened to have been run by Ola Kallenius until he switched over to AMG. Although HPE has until now been operated largely as a stand-alone business, Mercedes has been integrating it into its broader operations, and this - according to reports - could be the first road-car project on which it's called to work.

Until recently, F1 was expecting to switch to small, turbocharged four-cylinder engines, leading HPE to work on such a unit. Since that was scrapped in favor of a V6, the development work is reportedly being applied instead to a new high-output engine for the AMG A-Class.

Tipped to be called the A25 AMG, the veritable hot hatch is targeting the 335-horsepower Audi RS3, only is expected to carry even more power. The engine is also expected to find its way into the new CLC25 AMG, which bodes well for the B-Class-based four-door coupe and shooting brake.

Mercedes-Benz taps F1 engine division for AMG version of next A-Class originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Standing out on the Mercedes SL63 AMG are the larger air intakes, cross-drilled and larger brake rotors, upgraded calipers...

Filed under: Spy Photos, Performance, SUV, Mercedes-Benz

Here at Autoblog, our love for the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen runs deep. It's arguably one of the coolest vehicles available in the United States, and it sits alongside the Jeep Wrangler and Land Rover Defender as seemingly unchanged stalwarts of the off-road world. Perhaps the best part about the G-Class, however, is that Mercedes-Benz continues to offer a high-performance AMG version, and according to this latest set of spy shots, it appears that the G55 AMG is due to receive a host of updates.

Most notably, the naturally aspirated 5.5-liter V8 from the current G55 is expected to be yanked out in favor of Merc's new twin-turbocharged 5.5-liter powerplant. This means the new AMG Wagen should produce somewhere between 525 and 545 horsepower, sending its power to all four wheels.

Additionally, it appears that a modest visual freshening is in store, with the G55 getting new side mirrors and a revised front fascia, encompassing what appears to be a three-intake design. New LED running lamps should also be in the cards, and while one G55 prototype was sporting a new set of wheels, we're hoping those gaudy rollers don't make it to production. Well, except maybe in Dubai.

Updated Mercedes-Benz G55 AMG spotted originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 03 Oct 2011 14:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The New Orleans Saints announced that Mercedes-Benz is signing a deal to have its name on the dome where college and pro football teams have played. The superdome is not only important due to the sports events it hosted, but also because it serves as a refuge for those who were affected by Hurricane Katrina. [...]

The number of new car models coming from the design and engineering studios of Mercedes-Benz these days is astounding. But this must be part of the strategy that Mercedes is employing to once again establish its superiority over its other German car manufacturing rivals. On the heels of the announcement of the CLC is news [...]