Autoblog

Typically when "music" is mentioned in the same sentence as AMG, it's in relation to the deep burble emanating from the exhaust pipes. But with all that Teutonic, sound-deadened cabin comfort, customers of the Mercedes tuning division have come to expect an equally impressive performance from inside the cabin. To that end, AMG has signed a new deal with the Danish audio gurus at Bang & Olufsen to provide their high-end automotive sound systems for these high-powered Mercedes models.

The deal is the third such agreement brokered by B&O, whose systems already appear in Audis and Aston Martins, spearheading a market proliferation that surely influenced the decision-makers in Affalterbach. Both AMG and Bang & Olufsen were clearly elated by the deal, and you can feel the sheer unbridled joy in the statement from AMG chairman Volker Mornhinweg: "Mercedes-AMG represents high performance and exclusivity. The same is true of Bang & Olufsen's in-car sound systems. Jointly, we are therefore able to meet Mercedes-AMG customers' expectations to sound systems." Contain yourself, Volk. Follow the jump to read the rest of the press release.

[Source: Bang & Olufsen]

Fans of the classic Gullwing Mercedes 300 SL have been eagerly awaiting the new Gullwing SLC supercar, which Mercedes' tuning house AMG has been spied working on over the last year. But if emerging reports are to be believed, the SLC won't wear a Mercedes badge at all. The true successor to SLR McLaren will reportedly be the first vehicle to be badged exclusively as an AMG product, forgoing the vaunted three-pointed star altogether.

Reports also indicate that with dimensions of 4650mm long, 2700mm wheelbase, 1950mm wide, and 1250mm high, the SLC will be similar in proportions to a Ferrari F430. Project C197, as the Gullwing SLC is internally known, is expected to make its debut at the 2010 Geneva show, with a cloth-roofed convertible R197 version to follow a year later.

[Source: Car via eurocarblog]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2008 Mercedes SLK55 AMG

It sits there, all tension and sinew, ready to pounce on lesser cars. Start it up and it barks with a clear V8 voice that thumps off the neighbor's house, setting them discreetly peeking from behind their lace curtains. This is an SLK? Oh yeah. No longer a blocky Benz with dwarfism, the SLK55 AMG ripples with muscle and delivers speed like a spin kick to the temple. A bad-ass Mercedes, indeed.


Photos Copyright ©2008 Dan Roth / Weblogs, Inc.

Some people are just pathological. At first, it was amusing that Fresh C280, a member of the MDStreetScene forums, would claim to own a Mercedes CLS55 AMG. How a 19-year-old affords a car that normally retails for around $100,000 is the first thing that made everyone on the forum suspicious. A story about a digital camera becoming a sewage buoy was also an immediate head scratcher, since the pic he posted supposedly came from said camera. Further cementing the obvious dementia was the claim that the picture was taken during a dyno run in New York. It could be New York, except right now it's chilly early spring in the Empire State, and the dyno run picture clearly shows garage bays with the doors flung open and leaves on trees. It gets better as it becomes clear how many balls this kid's trying to juggle to hold up his story. There's a nice little synopsis that debunks the girlfriend angle – even though it's supposedly her car.

It didn't take long for total pwnage to occur when Fresh C280s fellow Maryland car enthusiasts did a little detective work. The car is actually owned by a CarDomain member named Xavier, who hails from Florida and showed up with proof of ownership around 30 pages in. All of the pictures posted to the MDStreetScene bulletin board were stolen from the actual owner's CarDomain page. This is weirder than the guy who thought up direct exhaust injection. The makings of a character study are all there – apparent delusional schizophrenia, a longing to be somebody, a sad little existence, and completely self-inflicted massive public humiliation. There's even a cameo by a famous lolcat. It doesn't get better than this, folks, the thread is only a day old so far. Check it out for yourself, it gets good around page 6. Oh, and Fresh C280's quote at the bottom of his posts is oddly prescient. Thanks for the tip, Terry!

[Source: MDStreetScene]

The world's major sportscar-makers all have major parent companies behind them: Ferrari and Maserati have the Fiat Group while Lamborghini (and Bugatti) are under the VW/Audi umbrella. Pagani Automobili SpA, however, remains independent, but hooked up with Mercedes to provide the motivation in the heart-racing Zonda supercar. Not to worry, though, because by all accounts the V12 engine that AMG builds by hand for Pagani is an awesome powerplant. Its displacement and output have increased from six liters and 408 horsepower in the original C12 to 7.3 liters and 602 hp in the latest Zonda F. With dedicated development like that, it would be foolish for Pagani to look elsewhere or consider designing its own engine. So it's probably a good sign that Pagani and AMG have renewed their partnership, the fruits of which we're looking forward to seeing in the highly anticipated successor to the Zonda, whenever it debuts.

[Source: Pagani]

Click the image above for more hi-res shots of the SL63

Two doors, no top, red leather interior, ceramic brakes, and 538 horses is a combination you once expected to be named for an Italian city or racing personage. No more. And while the alpha-numeric SL63 might not be all that Germanic in itself, it gets no more Teutonic than the hyphenated moniker "Mercedes-Benz" that precedes it. Now that Merc is making cars as fast as those of its Latin neighbor, perhaps the SL63 -- being a tad more comfortable -- is the car you drive to go check on the progress of your bespoke Italian supercar. Check out the hi-res gallery of the Bahn-burningest droptop.

Stand anywhere near where an AMG Mercedes is driving and you'd have to be deaf not to hear it. But Mercedes-Benz is convinced that too few potential customers have heard of its performance range, so it's launching an awareness campaign around the United States that seeks to raise the profile of its top shelf performance models.

The project involves the establishment of AMG Performance Centers, a focused advertising campaign and a product-demonstration road show. An initial pilot project will involve seven dealers in California, Florida and New York, but by the end of the year, Mercedes expects that its top 30 dealerships – representing 80% of AMG sales in the US – will sign on to the program. Mercedes will subsidize dealerships on the cost of setting up separate AMG areas within their dealerships and training service personnel, as well as bringing the road show to town, which will demonstrate limited edition AMG models – we're thinking Black Series here – to select customers.

[Source: Automotive News – sub. req'd]

Audi's advertising agency, Ogilvy, decided to have a little fun with a speed camera in South Africa by placing in front of it an ad for the Audi RS6 with the line, "say cheese!"

One might find need for such a warning/laugh in an RS6, which at the time of this pic boasted 450 hp from a twin-turbo version of the 4.2L V8 in the A6. That makes for one very photogenic sedan.

[Source: German Car Blog]