Autoblog

Click above for a high-res gallery of the M-B C63 AMG DTM safety car.

The Mercedes-Benz SL63 might have the honor of being picked as the official safety car for Formula One, but the equally badass, slightly more affordable and dangerously practical C63 AMG has been chosen to run ahead of the DTM racers, minus its 250 km/h speed limiter.

While the DTM safety car might look exactly like its production counterpart, save the roof-mounted lights and decals, the suspension, brakes, cooling system and exhaust have all been modified. To help keep the stock 457 hp, 6.2-liter V8 from running too hot while trying to avoid a DTM car-shaped enema, the radiator has been upgraded, along with a larger transmission oil cooler and two engine oil coolers mounted behind the front bumper's large air dams. Additionally, the rear axle cooling fins have been optimized to provide better airflow and benefits from a remote oil cooler.

The AMG C63 DTM safety car will make its official debut this weekend at the second race of the season in Oschersleben, Germany.

Hit the jump for the full press release.

Click either image for a high-res photo gallery of the AMG F1 Safety/Medical cars

Mercedes-Benz has unveiled the new AMG Safety and Medical cars that will stand watch over every F1 race this season. The CLK Safety Car of last year has been retired, and in its place is a modified SL 63 AMG. Beyond the usual Safety Car markings and lighting, this 525-horsepower SL sports a front fascia that's modified to allow for extra cooling requirements, composite brakes, carbon fiber body panels, as well as a redesigned rear diffuser insert. Since the SL won't be used for open-top cruising, the entire top mechanism has been ditched, and its roof remains in the upright position. That, plus additional weight reduction measures, shave a hefty 485 pounds (220 kilos) off the AMG SL, making it lighter than the production version even when you take the emergency lighting, communications gear, and other Safety Car-specific mods into account.

The Safety Car will be joined by the 457-horsepower C63 AMG Estate Medical Car. The Medical Car carries a team of four and a full suite of emergency equipment as it shadows the competitors on Lap 1 of each race (generally the diciest) and is intended to be the first vehicle on scene in the event of an accident. Like the SL63 Safety Car, the Medical Car wears a revised front fascia and rear diffuser, both of which are required for the car to meet its enhanced cooling needs. It too uses the AMG Performance Braking System, with composite brakes providing maximum stopping power. As you'll see in the attached gallery, both cars feature a pair of monitors in the instrument panel that allow the safety and medical teams to follow the race from inside the vehicles so they can be ready to move the moment an incident occurs. Look for both machines next weekend as the 2008 F1 campaign kicks off in Australia.



[Source: Mercedes-Benz]

Click image for high-res gallery

Since the info was leaked over the weekend, there's not much new to report about the C 63 AMG wagon. There are, however, high-res shots of the warp drive-equipped station wagon available now, and they're in the attached gallery.
In case you missed it over the holiday weekend, here's a rundown on the essentials:

• AMG 6.2L V8 producing 457 horsepower/442 lb-ft
• Paddle-shift equipped 7-speed automatic
• 0-62 mph (100 km/h) in 4.6 seconds
• 155 mph top speed (electronically limited)
• Full AMG appearance package inside and out
• Up to 53 cubic ft of cargo space
• One-touch opening and closing tailgate
• European market launch in beginning of 2008
• Price (inc. VAT): €69,853

Hopefully it doesn't just stay in Europe, because this is one trick 'lil wagon. We'll get plenty of live shots and provide first-person impressions for you when it's unveiled next week in Frankfurt. Mercedes' full press release is included after the jump.

[Source: Mercedes-Benz]

Click image for photo gallery

Carscoop scooped everybody over the weekend by publishing the first official(ly leaked) shots of the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Estate. The sister to the recently-announced sedan, this is the flagship that will sit atop the C-Class wagon range. It sports AMG's 6.2L V8 tuned to produce 457 horsepower and 442 lb-ft of torque. That's enough to give the wagon a 4.6-second 0-62 time and an electro-nannied top end of 155 MPH. Outside, it gets all the AMG visual goodies, which make it look like quite the menacing little family truckster. Pretty awesome, kids, and it lets you bring up to 53 cubic feet of stuff along for the ride. Look for it later this month in Frankfurt, where it'll make its grand entrance along with the rest of the C-Class Estate lineup. We're looking forward to what the tuners like BRABUS do with this.

[Source: Carscoop]

Mercedes engineers have been busy testing several new prototypes at Colorado's Mt. Evans roadway, with both the upcoming C63 wagon and the facelifted SL roadster spotted on the high-altitude pass. These shots were taken by Doug DeMuro who you may remember also sent in the pics of Ralph Lauren's all-black Bugatti Veyron driving near the designer's ranch near Ridgway in Colorado.

Mercedes took the wraps off the new C63 sedan at the start of this month, and the forthcoming wagon variant is in line to get the same performance upgrades. This means the new sports wagon will be powered by a 457hp hand-built 6.2L AMG V8 developing peak torque of 600Nm. The spy shots reveal the new C63's bonnet power bulge, pumped wheel arches and the front bumper side vents. Previous versions of the AMG prepped C-wagon were never sold in the US, but the fact that Mercedes engineers are testing it in Colorado means we might see it Stateside.

Another new model spotted on Mt. Evans that same day was the facelifted SL roadster, which is likely to feature a new SL63 variant as well. The prototype reveals a new front-end design for the SL with different shaped headlights, plus a new bumper and grille, but we'll have to wait until it's launched next year to see how it all pans out.

Big props to Doug for sending these in!

Click the photo for a high-res gallery of the new C63 AMG

Mercedes-Benz has announced the latest edition of its M3 challenger – the new C63 AMG. The new uber-C has an AMG hand-built 6.3L V-8 with 451 hp and 443 lb-ft of twisting force. As with other Germans from Audi and BMW, the C63 has it's terminal velocity electronically capped at 155 mph, although the acceleration is capped only by physics with 60mph available in 4.5 seconds.

All that twisting force is transferred from the crankshaft to the drive-shaft via AMG's Speedshift Plus 7G-TRONIC transmission, which can be manually manipulated by paddles on the back side of the steering wheel. The programming on this application adds the ability for the engine to automatically open up the throttle during downshifts to match revs and smooth things out. The electronic stability control also now provides the driver the ability to select the activation thresholds for the system to activate. More details from Stuttgart after the jump.

[Source: Mercedes-Benz]

Over the past three or four days, there have been a lot of rumors running through the tubes of the interwebs about BMW's surprise unveiling of a concept version of the M3 uber-coupe during next week's Geneva motor show. We had been holding off on posting anything about it, but thought that if it does come to fruition, you might like to know in advance.

The latest bit of news comes courtesy of Motor Authority, that points to last year's unveiling of the M5 in Geneva just as sales were about to begin a few months later. According to MA, the M3 will be powered by an all-new 4.0L V8 that will send 420 HP through a newly developed dual-clutch DSG-like transmission. Knowing that lightweight materials are essential to beat out rivals like Audi's RS4, the upcoming IS-F and the forthcoming C63 AMG, BMW may employ carbon fiber in some of the M3's body panels.

Our crew is beginning to pack our bags, power adapters and photo equipment for our jaunt to Switzerland, so rest assured that if BMW does drop the M3 next week, you'll be looking at pictures and reading the details shortly after the veil is lifted.

[Source: Motor Authority]