Saying that “only a fool would ignore” the emissions of a new vehicle and the current global economy, AMG head-man Volker Mornhinweg realizes that it can’t keep building gas-guzzling supercars with reckless abandon. Not that the company will lose its performance edge, mind you. In fact, hybrids and diesels could offer a meaningful performance boost if tuned properly. How so? Torque. Diesel engines are known for their massive axle-shreading twist, and electric motors, an essential part of any hybrid powertrain, make maximum power right off idle, allowing for an internal combustion engine that’s tuned for stratospheric revs.

In a recent interview with CAR, the notion of fitting a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter oil-burning V6 inside the C class was kicked around. Mornhinweg suggests such a vehicle is a distinct possibility as AMG moves forward. Hybrid technology could be based on the new drivetrain powering the recently-unveiled S400 BlueHYBRID. No matter what the future holds, we can be sure that the AMG crew is obviously not made up of a bunch of fools, and will therefore continue to offer cars with the highest performance pedigree, regardless of what’s underhood.

Mercedes 300 SL experience continued eagerly backlogged the new Gullwing SLC supercar, that Mercedes’ tuning residential structure AMG has carried on spied trying on within the the previous year. But if emerging states are to be believed, the SLC will not wear a Mercedes badge at all. The real successor to SLR McLaren are able to reportedly be the earliest car to be badged exclusively as an AMG product, forgoing the vaunted three-pointed star altogether.

Reports furthermore lead to the present through dimensions of 4650mm long, 2700mm wheelbase, 1950mm wide, and 1250mm high, the SLC am able to be similar in levels to a Ferrari F430. Project C197, as the Gullwing SLC is internally known, is approaching to craft its debut at the 2010 Geneva show, through a cloth-roofed convertible R197 version to mimic a year later.

It sits there, all tension and sinew, set to pounce on lesser cars. Start it up and it barks in on a obvious V8 voice the thumps off the neighbor’s house, setting them discreetly peeking based on what i read in behind this lace curtains. This is an SLK? Oh yeah. No longer a blocky Benz surrounded by dwarfism, the SLK55 AMG ripples investing in muscle and delivers swiftness covet a spin kick to the temple. A bad-ass Mercedes, indeedOf course, the SLK55 AMG is nonetheless quite efficient – in regards to the size of an MX-5, amongst a bit a greater amount of nose. Ignoring the hand-built 5.5 liter V8 for a moment, there is oodles of Mercedes-ness to produce you happy, if that is your thing. COMAND is without humor, but tries to compensate by suffering loads of buttons and a clunky GUI. Once you are sure out how to operate it, COMAND sucker in fact the present bad, but we would be heaps delighted hiring a good amount of to just now get the ease and simplicity of single-function switches for commonly spent items and stripping out all the multimedia gimcrackery.

Leave the nav and the Harman Kardon stereo at the dealership. As fine as too junk is, still a completely loaded iPod plugged to the glovebox-mounted interface could go unused according to the chiefly time the wonderful key is twisted virtually clockwise. Corvettes sound as if this, hot rods too. But a Mercedes? The muscular voice AMG has bestowed upon right now roadster is nonetheless additionally of a bombshell as opposed to the Jaguar XK’s rorty tone. The multitudinous speeds in the automatic transmission are slapped obtainable by wheel-mounted paddles, and the snappy sport shift mode is the one to use. Fuel economy? Who cares? For the record, the EPA thinks it’ll do between mid-teens to mid-twenties; concentrations that guess you will be able to remain your boot out of the throttle. Not bloody likely.

Mercedes has now released a trio of official videos of the SL65 AMG Black, one of that portions the new supercar working at its industry on-track, taking splendid noises all the while. Looks desire Team Autosblogusa should be going for up a couple of additional Powerball tix presently afternoon, from the time we undergo a new toy sitting atop the fantasy shopping list, but by now lack the greenbacks to significantly get ourselves on the impending list. It’s times covet this moment when we hope we would gotten to hedge funds.

After cycles of spy shots and speculation, the Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG Black Series is ultimately out in the open. And amongst a $320,000 cost tag, a twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter V12 and easily 200 houses on this way to the U.S., it is a considerable stopgap between the deceased SLR and Mercedes’ 2011 SLC gullwing supercar.

Mercedes’ in-house tuners applied the tried and real philosophy to the SL65 AMG Black Series, originating among a carbon fiber hood, fenders and trunk, along among nixing the retractable hard top in favor of a set carbon fiber roof among an integrated roll cage. As such, the Black is 550 pounds lighter as opposed to the inventory SL65, arriving in at 4,122 pounds.

Seven vents – 3 in the bumper, two on the hood and two in the fenders – feed copious ranges of air to the 6.0-liter V12, fitted investing in a duo of upgraded turbochargers. Power is up to 661 hp out there at 5,400 rpm, additonally torque is currently the same at 738 lb.-ft. With a five-speed automatic gearbox equipped in on AMG’s speedshift software, the Black can hit 60 mph in 3.9 moments on its way to a gearing-limited top promptness of 199 mph.

Expect the SL65 AMG Black Series to debut in Paris, in on sells commencing in the U.S. the beginning of upcoming year.

What started up as a rumor this Mercedes-Benz is able to commence furnishing Aston Martin providing engines has evolved to a full-blown partnership the current may input both automakers co-developing platforms and technology. The latest projection comes courtesy of Autocar, offering the current M-B is given buying a stake in Aston Martin and the Kuwaiti Investment Authority will in turn earn a seven-percent slice of the Daimler AG pie.

The partnership might force sense on a multitude of levels. Aston Martin, that is a tiny fish in a especially substantial pool, serves to wish to speculative severe elements based on information from mainstream suppliers yet its ties providing Ford are legally severed. Imagine AMG-levels of gas nestled inside Aston’s sensuous sheet metal. Yum. But the partnership wouldn’t be one sided. Recent alleges appearing out of Germany say who M-B is seeming to call a lightweight aluminum platform for the consequently production SL. Aston Martin has the technology to make it easier for boost this kind of an architecture, and provided Mercedes stepping away based on information from McLaren later year subsequent to generation of the SLR ends, M-B needs a new supercar manufacturer to join the party.

As we’ve heard before, the next generation of AMG-massaged Mercs will have to balance high output with low emissions. That means more turbos, less displacement and (gasp) hybrids.

The big and bad 6.2-liter V8 won’t be around much longer. Instead, AMG is turning its focus towards a new, twin-turbo 5.0-liter V8 that will produce 570 hp and 665 lb.-ft. of torque, with output possibly reaching 700 hp and 885 lb.-ft. to replace the outgoing 612-hp V12 mill.

Forced induction is only part of the equation, as AMG is looking to a new hybrid-equipped V8, dubbed BluePower, that will either come with the X-Trac Flybrid system or a 100-hp electric motor integrated into the transmission. There’s also talk that AMG will be releasing its own plug-in hybrid by 2012 and that diesels will continue to become an important part of the brand.

The other issue with which AMG has to contend is Mercedes’ own turbocharged offerings. Future M-Bs will be sporting turbo’d V8s displacing 4.0-, 4.6- and 5.5-liters, with outputs ranging from 355 to 544 hp.

And what of the upcoming AMG supercar? Car says that the gullwing super coupe, codenamed C197, will debut in March of 2010 and be powered by the same 6.2-liter V8 (likely the last application of that engine) while sending all that energy through an eight-speed automatic gearbox.
[Source: Car]