This post is dedicated to all of you who love spy shots! Here we have spy photos of the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster that was found winter testing in the cold and snowy weather.  The Roadster will come with a 560-horsepower 6.2-liter V8 engine.  The SLS Roadster will be heavier, due to the extra reinforcement needed to make up for the structural loss of the hard top.  What do you think of the new SLS AMG Roadster?

For the full article click here.

Thanks to Mercedes-Benz.tv we have a short video of Mercedes-Benz presenting the CLS 63 AMG at the 2010 LA Auto Show. The design icon offers maximum performance and impressive efficiency. The fuel consumption has been decreased by 32 percent in comparison to its predecessor.  Another announcement made at the auto show was that AMG and the Italian motorcycle manufacturer Ducati plan to cooperate by working together to open up their brands to new customers. Check out the video below and let us know what you think!

Courtesy of Mercedes-Benz USA check out the following article about the 2010 DTM Driver’s Championship and the Shanghai race.
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The 2010 DTM season has ended at the Shanghai Circuit in China and AMG Driving Academy sponsored driver Paul DiResta is the Driver’s Champion. AMG Mercedes drivers rounded out the top three with Gary Paffett nipping season long points leader Bruno Spengler in this final race. The top placing Audi driver was defending Champion Timo Scheider in 4th. AMG Mercedes had already clinched the DTM Manufacturer’s crown at the penultimate round of the series in Adria.

The final race was won by Paffett in his Salzgitter HWA AMG C-Class, the 9th AMG Mercedes win of the 11 race season,  with DiResta’s second place enough to earn him the crown worn by such legendary AMG drivers before him as Bernd Schneider and Klaus Ludwig. The DTM Driver’s title has not been won by an AMG Mercedes driver since Schneider in 2006.

The Holiday dinner table back in Scotland will be plenty festive as DiResta’s cousin Dario Franchitti won the 2010 Indy 500 and was crowned the Izod Indy Car Series Champion for the second year in a row.

DiResta is now rumored to be headed to Formula One where he has been reserve driver for the Force India Mercedes team. This would open up the best seat in the DTM in the crack HWA Team for 2011.

The 2011 season will again see the specification of the cars frozen at 2009 designs ahead of an all new DTM formula for 2012 when BMW rejoins the series and DTM prepares for their style of racing to be exported around the world including to the US for 2013.

Here are the final standings for the 2010 DTM Driver’s Championship and the Shanghai race- round 11.

Shanghai Round 11
1.  Gary Paffett Salzgitter HWA AMG C-Class
2.  Paul DiResta AMG Driving Academy HWA C-Class
3.  Timo Schieder Abt Sportline Audi A4
4.  Martin Tomczyk Abt Sportline Audi A4
5.  Miguel Molina Abt Rookie Team Audi A4

2011 DTM Driver’s Standings
1.  Paul Di Resta
2.  Gary Paffett
3.  Bruno Spengler
4.  Timo Scheider
5.  Mattias Eckstrom

Here we have a review of the 2011 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG from the editors over at Autoweek.  This car is fast and furious with all the luxury you would expect from Mercedes-Benz!
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2011 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG, an AW Drivers Log

EDITOR WES RAYNAL: This car is a beast. I’ve liked the new E-class since its introduction, and this hot-rod version is great fun. The steering wheel is nice and thick and the seats are enveloping.

The car is a rocket off the line–as you’d expect–and the power goes down smoothly and with all the right noises. The adjustable suspension gives good body control and a decent ride in the comfort mode and a much firmer ride up in to the sport and sport-plus modes. It’s all quiet and smooth no matter the setting. I liked comfort best.

This is a car that was about what I expected–fast as hell, well built and solid as a rock.

EXECUTIVE EDITOR–AUTOWEEK.COM BOB GRITZINGER: The E63 AMG is my top gun in performance sedans right now. The car is a hoot to hammer around in, with plenty of seat, chassis and powertrain adjustments to fit the kind of driving you’re doing at any given moment. I like the sport mode for most driving, with the amped-up sport-plus and sport handling settings dialed in whenever the chance arises for more spirited running. Properly set, the car responds with killer acceleration, a super-solid suspension (punch it–hard–and there’s surprisingly little lift), controlled oversteer and steering that comes close to providing the kind of feedback we love in our Bimmers. The exhaust accompaniment on downshift is sweet music, the kind of cacophony that makes you want to run it back up through the gears and back down, again and again.

In the E-class, it is clear the Mercedes engineers seem to be coming to terms with the fact that people spend a lot of time in their cars, and not all of it is devoted to 150-mph-plus runs down the autobahn. As such, the E offers a reasonable place to put a cup of coffee, stowage for other loose items and an easy-to-use interface with all the key systems represented.

Top it off with a menacing, yet understated style, and there’s not much to quibble about in the E63 AMG. Of all the E-class variants, this E63 AMG sedan is the clear choice if you can afford the price of entry.

For the full article click here.

The end of the 2010 Formula One Grand Prix season at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix this weekend marked 250 races since the first Official Formula One Safety Car, a C36 AMG was deployed at the 1996 French Grand Prix. It has been driven since the beginning by AMG Driving Academy driver and former DTM standout Bernd Maylander. The High Speed Medical Response vehicle has also been supplied by AMG and this year was a C63 AMG Wagon driven by South African sports car racer Alan van der Merve. With the addition of the SLS AMG to the F1 Safety Car fleet for the 2010 and 2011 F1 seasons AMG has very visibly and audibly led the field of F1 cars.

Here are some AMG F1 Safety Car Stats:

– The Safety Car was deployed in 90 races , or 36% of the Grands Prix run since the French in 1996
– It was actually deployed 135 times for accidents, weather, etc.
– Out of a total of 15,524 race laps, 574 were behind the Safety Car or 2853.9 kms 3.8% of the total race distance of 75,657 kms.

Since 1996 the AMG F1 Safety Cars have been:

– C63 AMG
– C43 AMG
– CLK55 AMG
– CL55 AMG
– SL55 AMG
– CLK63  AMG
– SLK55 AMG
– SL63 AMG
– SLS AMG

Autoweek posted a nice review of the 2011 Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG.  All three Editors who reviewed the vehicle thoroughly enjoyed the swiftness and luxuriousness of the ML63 AMG. Check out the rave review below!
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2011 Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG, an AW Drivers Log

EDITOR WES RAYNAL: This truck is silly. Who needs a 500-hp SUV? No one really, but that’s not to say this isn’t a hoot. It is. It’s fast, solid and for weighing 5,000 pounds, it handles decently.

How fast is this ute? As fast as a Lamborghini Gallardo, according to Mercedes-Benz, which is plenty fast enough. The power and torque are effortless and the engine growls beautifully. The steering is nice and the ride isn’t as harsh as I’d feared it might be. It handles well for a big truck. It’s not a sports car but there’s a ton of grip. This baby is quite entertaining and yet it will dawdle along like a luxury ute.

Comfort mode has the car gliding along while sport hunkers down everything and makes the gearbox shift faster. I played around with sport mode for a bit and then went back to comfort. I have a feeling that’s what most owners will do.

The seats are comfortable and grippy and hold you in place while you fling the beast around. I suppose the only competition is the Porsche Cayenne Turbo.

EXECUTIVE EDITOR ROGER HART: Just as comedian Robin Williams said, “Cocaine is God’s way of telling you that you have too much money,” an ML63 might be saying the same thing. Does anyone really need something this large to go this fast? Probably not, but it’s a hoot, none the less. There’s a great rumble from the exhaust and massive thrust from the V8–just like a 500-hp mill should be. As Wes noted, handling is better than you might expect, with tons of grip, nicely weighted steering and outstanding seats.

MOTORSPORTS EDITOR MAC MORRISON: At one time I made fun, without hesitation, of such truly illogical machines, but the last few years have forced me to reconsider.

Does anyone need this level of performance in an SUV? Heavens, no. Then again, does anyone need it in a Ferrari or a Porsche or a Lamborghini? No, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting it.

The thing that has changed for me slowly, though, is that nowadays I also want that in an SUV such as this ML. Consider that this thing weighs 100 pounds less than the Bentley Continental GT we tested recently. Think about that. On one hand, you say the Bentley is too heavy, which it is. On the other hand, it tells you something about the performance potential on-hand in the AMG.

The bottom line is that the ML63 is flat fun to drive hard. Just like Porsche’s Cayenne. Some of that stems from the fact that it takes you a while to wrap your head (and hands and feet) around the performance potential that it offers. Jump in a Ferrari and you expect it to do certain things, but these ultraperformance SUVs defy your expectations. I’ve driven plenty of them now, yet I’m still pleasantly surprised by how well this ute brakes, corners and accelerates. It’s a ridiculous type of fun–but also a ridiculous amount of fun. And if anyone who owns one of these things tells you they bought it for any other reason, they are either lying or just tooling around town like a clueless, well, tool. I almost wished I had a bunch of kids to rocket to a soccer game when I drove this ML.

For the full article click here.

If you haven’t been keeping up with the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, you should! We found this Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG Black Series (thanks to Car2Be!) in a matte gray body that has mean skirts and splitters, along with carbon fiber trimmings all over.  Oh and we can’t forget that every single window had been remedied by the heavy application of tint.  Check out the photos below and let us know what you think!

The following information was passed on to us by Steve Erlichman, AMG Learning and Performance Specialist:

The 2010 DTM (German Touring Car Masters) series Driver’s Championship will now go down to the final race in Shanghai, as Abt Audi Sportline driver Timo Schieder claimed the victory at the Adria circuit in Italy, after 7 Mercedes wins in a row. Second place went to Salzgitter AMG Mercedes driver Gary Paffett. The Driver’s Championship lead now shifts back to Daimler Bank AMG Mercedes driver Bruno Spengler due to his 3rd place finish. Going into the Adria round of the series AMG Driving Academy driver Paul DiResta has been leading in the Drivers’ standings, but his 9th place finish did not add to his points tally so Spengler pulls back ahead. The Driver’s Title is between DiResta, Spengler and Paffett. The DTM Teams Championship has already been clinched by the HWA AMG squad with the Salzgitter, Daimler Bank and AMG Driving Academy cars driven by Paffet, Spengler and DiResta securing that title at the previous round at Hockenheim. Audi will be shut out of all DTM Championships for 2011 with only 2 wins on the season so far.

The Drivers’ Championship shoot out between Spengler, Paffett and DiResta will be especially important to DiResta as he is strongly rumored to be moving to Formula One for 2011 with the Force India Mercedes Team for whom he has been a Test Driver this year. He would like to move on the pinnacle of the sport with the DTM crown. If he does move to F1 that would open up one of the most desirable seats in the series at the HWA Team. The only HWA Driver confirmed for 2011 is Ralf Schumacher in the Laureus Sport car.

DTM Adria, Italy 10/31/10
1. Timo Schieder Abt Sportline Audi A4
2. Gary Paffett Salzgitter HWA AMG Mercedes C-Class
3. Bruno Spengler Daimler Bank HWA AMG Mercedes
7. Maro Engel Team GO AMG Mercedes
9. Paul DiResta AMG Driving Academy HWA AMG Mercedes C-Class
10. David Coulthard Deutsche Post Team GO AMG Mercedes

Next and final round in the 2010 DTM is at Shanghai on 11/28.

We’ve got spy shots here thanks to BenzInsider and TheMotorReport! The Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG was seen out and about while testing in Europe.  The new ML63 has larger cross-drilled brake discs behind larger sports wheels and a dual exhaust.  The new ML63 AMG will most likely be powered by Mercedes-Benz’s brand new 5.5-liter twin turbocharged V8 engine. This engine features direct injection and it should be able to easily churn out 400kW power and 800Nm of torque, topping even the naturally-aspirated 6.2-liter engine’s 390kW power and 630Nm torque.  How do you like the newly designed Mercedes ML63 AMG?

For the full article click here.

You all seem to love it when we post spy shots so here we have pictures of the 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLK in disguise!  Some changes to the SLK include the grille, which now closely resembles its larger SLS AMG sibling, along with LED running lights.  If Autoblog’s insider sources hold true, the reason behind the larger grille isn’t just to mimic the gorgeous gullwing, but to feed the new 476 horsepower, twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6.  If that is the case, the SLK will be wearing an AMG badge on the back.  Hopefully the Paris Motor Show will provide us with more information on the Mercedes SLK soon!

For the full article click here.