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Back in December, Mercedes-Benz announced a four-wheel-drive version of its endlessly charming Sprinter van (the European model is pictured above), but didn't make a mention of any plans for US market sales. Now, that's all changed, as the German automaker has confirmed that its Sprinter 4x4 will be available for US consumption, with the 2015 model hitting dealerships in the first quarter of next year. This means Mercedes will offer the only four-wheel-drive work van in the US.

Unlike the rest of the refreshed Sprinters, which can be had with a new 2.1-liter inline-four-cylinder turbodiesel engine, the US-spec 4x4 can only be had with the larger, 3.0-liter Bluetec V6, good for 188 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque. While the Sprinter 4x4 does not feature full-time four-wheel drive, the system can be activated at the push of a button, at which point, there's a 35/65 front/rear torque split.

Mercedes-Benz points out that, obviously, the Sprinter 4x4 is not an off-road machine, but the body has been lifted by 4.3 inches in the front and 3.1 in the rear. There's even an optional low-range gear which, at the push of a button, shortens the transmission's gearing by 42 percent. Sounds pretty darn capable, to us.

The Sprinter 4x4 will be offered in both 144- and 170-inch wheelbases, with low and high roof options, and will come in Passenger, Crew and Cargo van specifications. (And here we thought the current model was already capable of anything.) Pricing should be announced closer to the van's on-sale date early next year. For now, have a look below for Mercedes' official press release.

Audi and BMW have long been enemies on both the road and the track, with their respective M and S/RS lines duking it out to the delight of auto enthusiasts everywhere. In this video from Evo, two of the rivalry's newest combatants take to the track - the Audi S3 and the BMW M135i.

The new Audi S3, which is finally coming to America, throws down with a 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder. 290 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque are deployed to a Quattro all-wheel-drive system via a six-speed, S-Tronic dual-clutch transmission, allowing the five-door Audi to scamper to 60 in under five seconds.

The BMW, which Americans will know as a long-roof version of the new M235i Coupe, comes to the track with 320 ponies and 331 lb-ft of torque. That's a good bit more than the Audi, but the M135i has only two wheels to send its power to, an eight-speed single-clutch automatic (a six-speed manual is available) and a slightly higher curb weight.

Which will be best on the track? Scroll down and find out.

What do we know about the 2016 Chevy Volt? Well, for now, all we can do is try to put the puzzle together without the box. Thankfully, a new batch of pieces has arrived from a new report in Edmunds, which says that the 2016 model year will introduce the second generation of a car that hasn't been dramatically updated since it went on sale in 2010. The new Volt is getting an "evolutionary styling change" and will ride on a new front-drive platform that has been developed by General Motors. GM's Kevin Kelly told AutoblogGreen that he has "no comment on future products," but he did acknowledge that Chevrolet is working on a second-generation Volt, "but I can't say anything about timing."

Everybody already knew that a next-gen Volt is coming, so that's not a surprise. What we don't know is any real concrete information on the car itself. The few tidbits of information we do have help define the outlines of the next version of Chevy's halo car, but they're not confirmed yet. For the record, they range from the eye-raising (a $10,000 price drop) to the logical (20 percent more electric range). We can't see the whole picture yet, but the pieces do point to the 2016 Volt, which would be released next year sometime, being a much bigger deal than the last update, when the Volt's range was increased by three electric miles thanks to a battery capacity increase of 16 kWh to 16.5.

Jeep is hard at work on the next-generation Wrangler, though the truck is still a few years from hitting the trails. The new model will still be aimed at off-roaders, but rumors suggest it will be a little more comfortable than previous versions to appeal to more people.

According to Road and Track, Jeep is developing a power-retractable top as an expensive option for the Wrangler. There is no word if the top in question is a sliding canvas rollback like the ones found on many European vehicles or a full convertible hardtop or softtop, nor do we know whether it would be made available on two- or four-door models. It might be a nice feature for some buyers but would certainly add complexity to a truck already known for its ruggedness. We asked Jeep for confirmation, but Jeep spokesperson Todd Goyer could only remind us that the company "can't comment about future products."

In news that is likely to irk the faithful, R&T reports the next model may also ditch its folding windshield for improved safety and possibly even get rid of its rear-mounted, full-size spare tire. The new Wrangler won't go completely soft, though, and will reportedly still feature removable doors and solid axles.

It's been 25 years since Mercedes-Benz took the wraps off its R129-series SL roadster at the 1989 Geneva Motor Show. While it may look dated now, it was a revolutionary product in its day – a day that lasted a good eleven years.

Compared to the R107 series it replaced, the R129 was a technological tour de force. Though the shape may appear boxy to modern eyes, it won awards upon its debut and was exceptionally aerodynamic for its time and bodystyle. Underneath the sheetmetal, with its squared-off lines and flared wheel arches, the favorite luxury roadster of the 1990s packed such advancements as electronic stability control, advanced seats that were integral to the design and warranted 20 patents, a fully automatic roof mechanism and a pop-up roll-over bar that deployed in less than a third of a second.

The R129 was also the first SL to offer a V12 engine and the first to be offered in an AMG version – both features we can't imagine a modern SL roadster to do without. But it all started with the R129, a series that saw nearly 240,000 units produced. See the image gallery above and the press release below for a wind-in-your hair drive down memory lane.

Roughly 18 months after going bankrupt, being put up for sale (which prompted rumors that Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone would buy it), the Nürburgring is finally very close to having a new owner. While the final contracts reportedly aren't signed yet, German business magazine Wirtschaftswoche indicates that American investment group HIG Capital, British investor Meyrick Cox and a German named Markus Graf Oeynhausen-Sierstorpff are buying the track for 60 million to 70 million euros ($83.2 million to $97 million).

HIG is reported to have purchased the essential parts of the track, which according to the magazine includes both the grand prix course and the 20km historic course used by tourist drivers, plus the hotel and amusement park. Whether it's also buying the track's museum isn't known yet.

According to Wirtschaftswoche, track administrator Jens Lieser says that there's still no final decision on one or more buyers for the circuit, but he reportedly acknowledges that the investor process is well underway. Even without the ownership being official yet, Reuters reports that HIG has already registered itself as the owner of some of the track's assets with the German Federal Cartel Authority.

Unfortunately, the future of F1 racing there is not assured, and Ecclestone's machinations are already at work. He told Reuters that the future of Formula 1 races at the 'Ring "depends who buys it" and suggested that he is working with Hockenheim to hold a race there every year. Currently, the two tracks alternate which hosts the German Grand Prix. While Ecclestone was rumored to buy the track multiple times, a recent report indicated that he was not among the highest bidders.

Autoblog attempted to contact HIG for more details, but it had no comment. We think the company needs to box up its new purchase and ship it over to these shores as soon as possible so that we can have some fun.

Students and teachers at a Washington community college are up in arms following an order from Chrysler that it must destroy the pre-production Dodge Viper that was donated to the school's automotive technology program ten years ago.

The Viper in question is said to be the fourth off the production line, based on its VIN, and has had its emissions controls disabled, allowing its ten-cylinder engine to produce 600 horsepower, according to a report from Yahoo! Autos. As one of the first Vipers ever produced, the school's AT instructors claim it could be worth $250,000 in a museum, while a local news report purports that Jay Leno once tried to purchase the car, but the sale was prevented by Chrysler.

As pointed out by our friends at Autobytel, though, there are a lot of things in this story that don't quite add up. Immediately noticeable from the news report embedded below – which shows the car at South Puget Sound Community College – is that the car in question is not a 1992 model. When the Viper went on sale in 1992, it was only available as an RT/10 with a (flimsy) soft top, like the red car shown above. But the car featured in the report from KING5 News (inset image) is clearly a hardtop Viper GTS, which didn't enter production until 1996. And even if, as reported by a local newspaper, the hardtop featured is a prototype, it doesn't explain the lack of another iconic feature of the first Vipers - their distinctive side pipes. This kind of pokes holes in the school's argument that this is the fourth Viper to ever roll down the line. At best, this appears to be a pre-production Viper GTS.

Regardless of the significance of the Viper, let's talk about why Chrysler is demanding it be crushed. First, the car was donated for educational use. It's fair to say that a nearly 20-year-old car – especially one that lacks traction control or anti-lock brakes – isn't really the best instructional tool in today's high-tech, automotive landscape for budding mechanics. In fact, according to the Chrysler press release we've included below, the college is under contractual obligation to return the car to Chrysler once it's outlived its educational usefulness.

Look, we aren't expecting Transformers 4 to be the next Citizen Kane or Casablanca. All we're expecting is lots of explosions, some vague attempts at acting and an excuse to stuff our faces with some buttery popcorn in a cool theater on a hot summer day. Judging by this new, full-length trailer released on Michael Bay's YouTube page, we're pretty sure we're going to get just that – and we're going to get a bunch of neat cars and trucks.

This two-and-a-half minute spot shows a lot of action, as per usual, but it also gives us a glimpse at some of the vehicles that will star in the fourth installment of Bay's robot explosionfest. Besides Optimus Prime, who's disguised as a battered, cab-over-engine semi resurrected by actor Mark Wahlberg, we've spotted a classic Mini, a brace of Cadillac Escalade SUVs, what appears to be a Bugatti Veyron (which fits with previous reports) and a red Pagani Huayra. Bumblebee also features heavily, although his transformed form now features elements of an older Chevrolet Camaro (a late 1960s Camaro SS is also shown later in the trailer). One Autoblog staffer also pointed out that the scene with Bumblebee and the Huayra appears to take place in the General Motors design dome.

Take a look below for the full trailer. Transformers 4: Age of Extinction hits theaters on June 27.

We're all a bit jet-lagged from our week in Switzerland covering the Geneva Motor Show. But since coming home yesterday, we've had the chance to look through our full roundup of coverage, and pick out the vehicles that warmed our hearts the most.

Like all of our Editors' Choice posts, this list represents the purely emotional side of what we do – some of these cars are hugely significant, sure, but the point here is to highlight the stuff that really caught our eyes and captured our hearts the most. To that end, we're doing a different take on the usual Top Five format. Rather than synopsize each debut, we're including personal thoughts from individual editors, showing exactly why we chose what we did.

Of course, we want to hear your opinions, too, so after reading the list, sound off in the Comments and tell us about your favorite Geneva debuts. But first, scroll down to read our picks for what was hot at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show.

Land Rover is acting like it has something very big up its sleeve. Its Discovery, known as the LR4 on our shores, is celebrating its 25th birthday, and at the Geneva Motor Show, LR announced that "Discovery will become a family of vehicles from 2015."

What exactly this means remains something of a mystery, but it likely is linked to the off-road brand's plan to separate its vehicles into three categories – Luxury for the Range Rover models, Dual Purpose for the Defender and Leisure for the LR4/Discovery and LR2/Freelander. It is priming the pump for the new models with a teaser video, a line drawing of its silhouette and a video celebrating the model's 25-year history. Scroll down to check them out.

While the next Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG has been rumored to get a new twin-turbocharged, 4.0-liter V8 with somewhere between 450 and 500 horsepower, the looks of the actual car have been a mystery – at least until now. Our spy shooters have caught Affalterbach's latest creation during cold-weather testing in Sweden, and it's surprisingly understated.

The front and rear are still under camouflage, but a few details can be made out. The front air dam has been significantly enlarged, presumably to feed cool air to those two reputed turbos. At the rear, you can glimpse the quad exhaust outlets integrated into the diffuser. The trunk also appears to be hiding a tiny lip spoiler. The ride height also seems somewhat lower than stock, as would be expected for an AMG model. Otherwise, there aren't many changes on the outside – at least not yet.

There are still some lingering questions about the Mercedes' upcoming model. For example, we don't know if the C63 name is staying or if the smaller engine will force a change. The sport sedan is expected to be revealed by the early portion of 2015, but its official debut date and location remains unknown.

When you see a golden bowtie, you know you're looking at a Chevrolet. And that's completely by design. First introduced way back in 1913, the famed Bowtie has gone through several permutations, but it's never quite been modified like it has for the new Chevy Camaro Z/28. Instead of a solid bow, as we've become accustomed to seeing, the Z/28's Bowtie is hollow.

According to Chevy's press release, which can be found below, Powertrain Cooling Development engineer Richard Quinn noticed during wind-tunnel testing that the Z/28's Bowtie-emblazoned grille was pushing air away instead of allowing it to hit the radiator. The solution was to cut out the center of the emblem, leaving a chrome outline that lets air through.

GM's engineers have named the new Bowtie-shaped emblem the Flowtie. Clever, boys. An additional three cubic meters of air is let into the engine bay per minute, lowering coolant and oil temperatures by 2°F. Scroll down below for more information from Chevy about its so-called Flowtie and to watch a video.

As a car culture, we throw the word "iconic" too much, but if there's anything it has ever applied to – when it comes to racing liveries especially – surely it's the legendary stripes of Martini Racing. The Italian vermouth brand has sponsored everything from Porsche endurance racers to Lancia rally cars. It's followed Ford into the WRC and Alfa Romeo into DTM. It's even sponsored offshore racing powerboats. But when it comes to Formula One, it's come and gone over the years.

Martini Racing started out sponsoring the unsuccessful Italian squad Tecno in 1972, then switched to the World-Champion Brabham racing team run by Bernie Ecclestone. It sponsored Lotus in 1979, then disappeared from the scene for decades until its logo showed up on the Ferrari 248 F1 in 2006, only to vanish again into the history books. But now it's back.

As promised, Martini has penned a new deal with the Williams F1 team to see its stripes adorn the Mercedes-powered FW36 which Felipe Massa and Finnish newcomer Valtteri Bottas will be driving in the 2014 FIA Formula One World Championship. The rechristened Williams Martini Racing has just revealed its car in full race livery – complete with those red, navy and light blue stripes draped over white bodywork – ahead of the Australian Grand Prix that will open the season in Melbourne next weekend.

The partnership gives Williams the best-looking livery and highest-profile sponsor since Rothmans in the 1990s, and gives us one more reason to pull for the plucky underdogs that have been outshining the frontrunners in pre-season testing.

We could be in for a big push from Nissan in the manufacturing realm if Vice President of US Sales and Marketing Fred Diaz has anything to say about it. Speaking to the Automotive Press Association recently, Diaz (above) expressed a desire to build some 85 percent of the vehicles Nissan sells to Americans in the US, claiming it will happen "in the very near future." Nissan has already moved to increase exports of its US-built products, and in 2013, it built just over 76 percent of the models it sold in this market within our country's borders.

"Any issues of us taking advantage of the value of the yen, we want to dispel that," Diaz told reporters, pointing out the contentious issue of currency manipulation. There's also the obvious goal of positive PR - Americans like things made in America, and they like companies that invest in America. Diaz is quick to point out that Nissan had done just that: "While a lot of people retrenched [during the recession], instead we leaned into it and we continued investing and in fact made over $5 billion in investments, bringing a lot of production from Japan to the United States and to Mexico," Diaz said, pointing out that Nissan has helped create 8,000 jobs through its investments.

Nissan runs three factories in the US, two in Tennessee and one in Mississippi. Between the three, production is up 22 percent, while the overall exports from the facilities have increased by 100,000 units, Diaz told reporters.

Still, there's reason to believe that Nissan's goal of sourcing 85 percent of the cars it sells in the US from the US is going to be tough to attain, according to The Detroit News. "We see them forecast for 1.15 million in 2014, which is slightly up from 2013. But we see them flat throughout the rest of the decade," Stephanie Brinley of IHS Automotive told the newspaper. "Compared to some of the other companies, there's not as many new additive products coming."