Ascari KZ1 to Feature in Persuaders

Ascari Heads for the Hollywood Hills

Banbury based supercar manufacturer, Ascari, has topped a public vote to find the star car for the forthcoming Hollywood adaptation of the 70’s crime caper, the Persuaders.

Hosted by CAR magazine on behalf of the movie’s producers, Brass Hat Films, the vote asked the motoring public to select their supercar of choice from a list including Lamborghini, Ferrari and Aston Martin. Notching up a victory for the underdog, Ascari stole the vote, with the stunning KZ1 now readying itself for its big screen appearance alongside some of tinsel town’s biggest stars.

Ben Stiller, Steve Coogan, Hugh Grant and George Clooney are just some of the names tipped to fill the legendry shoes of Tony Curtis and Roger Moore – the stars of the original TV series. Playing two millionaire playboys in the fight against crime, the new on screen heroes will follow on from where Curtis and Moore left off, with stylish clothes, exotic locations, beautiful girls and of course fast cars the order of the day. With 500bhp and a 200mph top speed, the Ascari should be more than a match for any would be villains when filming starts in summer 2007.

Built entirely of carbon fibre, the £235,000 Ascari KZ1 is the UK supercar industry at its finest. Mating stunning performance with everyday usability, the Ascari has the presence and looks to stand shoulder to shoulder with the world’s best, with its bespoke interior and hand crafted bodywork a testament to the team of craftsman and technicians based at the company’s Banbury HQ.

On hearing the news, Ascari Sales and Marketing Director, Chris Burton, said, "The whole team is obviously delighted. It’s a great result for us and I’d just like to say a big thank you to the readers of CAR for their votes. To have the KZ1 immortalised in celluloid, particularly in a movie with such strong British heritage, is a huge honour for Ascari. The premier can’t come soon enough."

WCF Test Drive: Ascari KZ1

Supercars used to be savage, one-dimensional beasts that tore up the tarmac like a nuclear-powered drill. They were uncomfortable, hot and sometimes dangerous, but they were fast and that was all that mattered. Not anymore, now even the warp-speed hypercars are iron fists wrapped in the velvet gloves and the Ascari KZ1 has the softest touch of the current breed.

Niche marques have taken on the fast and brutal role for far less money, the hypercar world is heading in a different direction. The new breed have creature comforts like air-con, sound insulation, suspension that doesn’t break the driver’s newly purchased teeth on a speed bump and a car that is safe to drive. It’s a much harder task, but Ascari has created a near masterpiece .

The £235,000 KZ1 was never intended to be a pared down racer, despite its final kerb weight of 2810lb. This is a luxury GT with comfy, Connolly leather seats, a fully decked out interior and a set-up geared as much for comfort through town as a committed assault on the apex.

Considering the five-litre, BMW E39 M5 engine, tuned in house at Banbury and clearly visible, Ferrari style through the rear window, delivers 500bhp and 386lb/ft of torque through the rear wheels, that’s no mean feat. This engine has a split personality. It’s a pussycat beneath 4000rpm, after that the beast is unleashed.

This car races to 60mph in 3.8s, to 100mph in 8.3s, which is frankly ballistic. It won’t run out of steam until it hits 200mph and it will stop pretty much as fast, too, thanks to AP Racing six-piston callipers on the front and four-pots on the rear clamping on to drilled and ventilated discs. But far more important than the raw performance is the relatively civilised manner in which it gets there.

Soft suspension helps transmit the power to the road, as well as stopping the car spinning violently on every bend, and despite a lack of electronic traction taming measured the KZ1 rarely lights up those 19” rear wheels without serious provocation.

The manufacturers have woken up to the fact that most with people that have the £235,000 it takes to buy this machine don’t necessarily have the ability or inclination to ride the ragged edge For them it’s ability to cruise past nightclubs is just as important as its talents at 200mph in off-camber bends.

The steering feels alive from the moment you turn the key and the car jinks in response to the slightest movement at speed. It’s not nervous, thanks to the natural tendency to push wide at the first sign of trouble, but it’s still go-kart instant. Incidentally the first sign of trouble was so far beyond the remit of a normal road car that, had the local police witnessed the test, I would probably be on a ‘career break’ by now.

It will mooch through town happy as your average saloon and reversing and tight manoeuvres, traumatic experiences in almost every other hypercar of this ilk, become second nature in no time. It’s only 20cm shorter and narrower than the Lamborghini Murcielago, but it’s like a rapier next to a broadsword at parking speeds and those lithe dimensions make the world of difference when facing oncoming traffic. It’s a genuine go anywhere supercar, which had no trouble with kerbs, ditches, towns or countryside park roads – near insurmountable obstacles for others in its class.

The KZ1 a hellishly beautiful machine and every organic panel flows towards that rear end in a display of cohesive design missing from the Ferrari Enzo and Lamborghini Murcielago. Everything is carbon-fiber, from the monocoque that one man can lift to the swooping panels that are manufactured in sufficiently low numbers not to worry about simplification.

There are mass production components, including Peugeot headlights and a Vauxhall VX220 starter button and those wing mirrors look like they came off something far cheaper and nastier. But the savings went into three years of development and most prospective buyers will be so wrapped up in the sense of occasion that such details will pass them by.

There will never be lots of these cars around, this is no common or garden Ferrari, and that alone will be worth the price of admission to this exclusive club for some. Only 50 will ever be made, so get on the phone right now if you’re one of the elite few that could even contemplate an impulse buy of this magnitude.

When Klaas Zwart took the reigns of the company it was a traditional English supercar manufacturers, knocking out road rockets from what looked like an old greenhouse. Now Klaas has a glass-fronted workshop in Banbury, within spitting distance of BAR’s headquarters, and a unique race resort and test in Marbella, where the super rich can while away their time driving supercars and even an old Formula One, replete with road silencers.

It’s a hard life, well no it isn’t, and there are people that genuinely live like this, wafting from society get-together to race circuit, to polo match, the kind of men that have a blonde for the morning and a brunette to end the day. These are the kind of people that will drive a KZ1 and they indeed are the privileged few.

Ascari World Debut of the 625bhp A10

British Supercar manufacturer, Ascari has produced the answer to the Ferrari Enzo FXX, but for keeps!

Whereas the Enzo FXX is not road legal, it was produced to be driven during track days only and costs just over £1 million (1.5m EUROS), the A10 is road legal so can be driven home and parked on your drive, to the envy of your neighbours for just £350,000 (522.000 EUROS).

Designed, engineered and hand built in Banbury, England the A10 has 625bhp and weighs in at around 1200kg, thanks to its lightweight carbon fibre bodywork. Reaching 60mph in just 2.8 seconds and 100mph in less than 6 seconds, the manufacturer claims the A10 is the fastest road going production car around a race track.

Only 10 are available and will be built to order.

The A10 is more than just a revamped KZ1, which has found success in its first year of competing in the GT3 in 2006. It has new body panels, a reworked engine and suspension, with extensive brake modifications to cope with the extra power. Lucky owners will also benefit, if they wish, from some luxuries such as remote central locking, electric windows and door mirrors, climate control and a Thatcham Category 1 alarm system.

The UK’s newest Supercar will make its first ever appearance at the 2006 MPH show in Birmingham, England on 28 October.

MPH’06 kick starts on October 26^th at Birmingham’s NEC for 3 days before heading south to Earls Court in London between 2^nd and 5^th November.

2018 Mazda 3 at LA Auto Show

From lump of clay to life-size model

Last September Mazda started their search for the 2018 Mazda3 via a Facebook competition called the Mazda Design Challenge. Anyone could enter by submitting a 150-word description of their vision, a sketch was optional.

Mallory 'Car Girl' McMorrow, Industrial Design major at Notre Dame, won by a landslide and Mazda designer Jacques Flynn helped produce an early design sketch, “Jacques took everything I said and sketched, and put my thoughts and feelings on paper,” said McMorrow. In her own words 'I want a car with the body and soul of a sports car, but a car that knows that sometimes I want to bring my friends, my things, or my dog.'

Best part of the competition will be that Mazda designers will make a life-size model of the 2018 Mazda3 live at the LA International Auto Show!

“Now the hard part comes – to see if we can actually build a full concept car on the show stand in ten days and in full-view of show goers.” said Franz von Holzhausen, director of design at Mazda. The final unveiling will take place at 3 PM Nov 24.

It’s neither a commuter vehicle nor boring sedan. It is also not an undersized sports coupe or awkward, disproportionate hatchback. At the moment, the 2018 MAZDA3 is nothing more than a lump of clay on stage at the Mazda booth at the 2007 Greater Los Angeles Auto Show – and the vision of Mallory McMorrow of South Bend, Ind., the winner of the Mazda Design Challenge. By the time the auto show comes to a close, an exciting, life-size model will be unveiled for all eyes to see – and a talented woman will be one step closer to fulfilling her automotive design career dream.

A landslide victory, McMorrow’s entry was voted number one by Facebook members, as part of the first-ever program between Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) and the social networking site. To enter, contestants submitted a 150-word description of their vision of the 2018 MAZDA3 and an optional sketch drawing.

After weeks of voting – first by Mazda designers, then Facebook members – McMorrow was selected as a finalist, at which time she was paired with Mazda designer Jacques Flynn who helped bring her design to life on paper. “Jacques took everything I said and sketched, and put my thoughts and feelings on paper,” said McMorrow. “I was thrilled when I opened up the images of the final renderings. I’m proud to say that the end design was still definitely my car and I can’t wait to see it come to fruition on the show floor.”

Today McMorrow will begin working one-on-one with Franz von Holzhausen, director of design, MNAO, and his team to bring her concept to life, live from the Mazda booth at the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show. A formal press conference will be held at 12:50 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 15, at the Mazda booth.

“The Mazda Design Challenge brought in a flood of cool, unique design ideas. The winning design concept is a fresh new way to look at the design of a vehicle,” said von Holzhausen. “This competition was a tremendous success, and the entire process was really beneficial to my team and me to understand what design means to our target buyers. Now the hard part comes – to see if we can actually build a full concept car on the show stand in ten days and in full-view of show goers.”

Auto show attendees can watch von Holzhausen and his team in action from 12 noon to 8:00 p.m. daily, as they mold, carve and smooth the would-be 2018 MAZDA3. The final clay sculpture of the concept will be unveiled at 3 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 24.

Mallory McMorrow – “Car Girl” by design

An Industrial Design major at the University of Notre Dame, McMorrow, 21, of Whitehouse, NJ, first heard of the Mazda Design Challenge from her professor, Paul Down. Dubbed “the car girl” by her classmates in the Industrial Design department, McMorrow, who discovered her love for cars at a young age, jumped at the chance to enter.

With a background in graphic and industrial design, most of McMorrow’s design experience to date has focused primarily on product design, including automotive cleaning and car products. “All throughout college, I’ve heard nothing but how hard it will be to get into the auto design world, how I should keep my options open, and even how I should ‘think about interiors (because) …women work on interiors,” said McMorrow. “Now, thanks to this contest, I have a completely refreshed feeling about pursuing a career in cars.”

Mallory’s 2018 MAZDA3– In her own words

“A decade from now, I want a car that doesn’t believe in falling into a category. A car that makes sure sedan and hatchback are no longer four letter words. A chassis made to handle every s curve that comes its way. Fast. I want a car with the body and soul of a sports car, but a car that knows that sometimes I want to bring my friends, my things, or my dog. I want a car that has a sunroof that’s actually a sunroof, not a sun-one-quarter roof. I want a car that causes heads to turn – even before the first rev of the engine. I want a car that went from concept to showroom without meeting muted for the masses – unapologetically. I want a MAZDA3 that gets me – the everyday sports car, the 5-door that makes me forget I own a 5-door.”

In addition to McMorrow, finalists in the Mazda Design Challenge included Christopher Chung, Silver Spring, Md.; Preston Gilliam, East Bend, N.C.; Andrew Kinomoto, Bothell, Wash.; and Danny Song, San Mateo, Calif.

2009 Mercedes B Class Facelift Spied

The current Mercedes B class came on the market in 2005 and is set for a facelift in 2008. Here we see the clearest photos yet of the new facelifted model which is likely to make its debut at next years Paris Motor Show.

Judging by these photos, the facelifted B Class can only be considered as a minor facelift, the grille and headlamps show a slight redesign but there are no signs of a more aggressive nature we crave. The rear will feature a slightly redesigned bumper.

Our sources report there will be a new BlueTec diesel engine and possibly a hybrid version to follow.

Leaked: Euro Ford Focus Wagon

Ford's not been able to keep its upcoming Focus models under wraps too well recently, with leakage of the facelifted ST model hitting the web only last week. The nip-tucked new Focus hits showrooms from January and is to be followed by a refreshed estate version shortly afterwards, the first photos of which have been leaked by dutch magazine Autoweek.nl.

As with the hatch and the outgoing Mondeo, the new Focus in estate guise adopts Ford's European 'kinetic' design language. The front of the car adopts the facelifted Focus' fresh new face, while the rear hatch remains unchanged from the previous generation.

A range of trim levels will be available, including base trim 'Studio', 'Style', 'Zetec' and 'Titanium'. The engine line-up will consist of three petrol units - a 100 hp 1.6-litre, 125 hp 1.8-litre and 140 hp 2.0-litre. Three turbodiesel TDCi drivetrains will be available in the range from the 90 and 110 hp 1.6-litre units to 115 and 130 hp 1.8-litre TDCis.

Ford's expanded more fuel efficient and emissions-reducing ECOnetic range will include two 1.6-litre TDCi-powered models in the Focus Estate line-up, producing just 115 gm/km of CO2 and fuel consumption of some 54 US mpg. Five and six speed transmissions are to be available across the range with the choice of a standard manual gearbox, a conventional automatic or all-new dual-clutch automated gearbox.

Sporty ST and Coupe-Cabriolet versions are to follow closely behind the facelifted hatch and estate models, lagging by only several months and due early summer 2008.

You Could Design The 2018 MAZDA3

If you ever thought you could design a car, Mazda is giving you the opportunity. The "Mazda Desing Challenge" just launched at Facebook.com, where you can submit your own ideas for what the 2018 MAZDA3 should look like. The winner will work with Mazda designers at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

North America Mazda Design director Franz von Holzhausen and his team will join the winner to bring his or her concept to reality on stage at the show. Prospective designers are asked to submit a 150-word description fo their 2018 MAZDA3 and a sketch of the car, if possible. The design team will look each entry over, narrowing the field down to 10. The Facebook community will pick their five favorites, each of whom will work with a Mazda designer to fine tune the concept.

These five will again present to Facebook, whose users will pick the winner. The one caveat? You have to reside in the United States.

The chosen one gets a flight to L.A. where they will work with the Mazda designers during the ten-day auto show. In the end, a full-scale model will be produced to represent the winner's idea.

"Usually the design ideas come from inside our studio, but this is a rare opportunity for my team to look at design through our potential customers' eyes," von Holzhausen said in the release. "Never before has any other automaker built a concept car on the show stand, in full view of show attendees. The pressure's really going to be on all of us -- especially the contest winner -- to get it finished in time for the closing weekend of the show."

The winner will also get a hotel room, $1,000 in cash, and a MAZDA3 to use while they're in L.A. The Mazda's Design Challenge began this week, and ends November 7th at just before midnight. You must visit Facebook.com to enter.

IRVINE, Calif., Sept. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- It's the ultimate assignment:
tell Mazda what you think the 2018 MAZDA3 should look like. And better, if
your design is chosen, you'll have the chance to put your talent where your
mouth is at the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show, where you'll work with Mazda
designers to bring your creation to life in front of more than a million
anxious show-goers.
The "Mazda Design Challenge," launched today on Facebook.com
(http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7602701619), will enlist help from
Facebook members across the United States to compete to design a future
MAZDA3, Mazda's best-selling car globally. For the first time ever in the
auto industry, the victor will work with Franz von Holzhausen, director of
Mazda Design in North America, and his team, to bring the concept to life,
live on stage at the 2007 Los Angeles International Auto Show.
To enter, contestants must submit a 150-word description of their
vision of the 2018 MAZDA3 including an optional sketch drawing. The Mazda
Design team will then judge each entry, choosing 10 semi-finalists. Five
finalists will be chosen by the Facebook community. Each of the five
finalists will be paired with a Mazda designer to hone their concept, which
will then be judged and voted on in a second round by fellow Facebook
members.
Voting will take place over the course of a week, with the winning
designer traveling to Los Angeles to hone their work with the Mazda Design
team. Over the course of the ten-day auto show, the winner will bring their
vision to fruition, ending with a full-scale model that represents their
view of what the 2018 MAZDA3 will be.
"The 'Mazda Design Challenge' is an exciting, interactive competition
that capitalizes on the power and influence of social networking," said
David Klan, director of marketing, MNAO. "By inviting young voices into the
highly classified and secretive design process, Mazda will prove it's a
company involved in an active partnership with its customers."
"Usually the design ideas come from inside our studio, but this is a
rare opportunity for my team to look at design through our potential
customers' eyes," added von Holzhausen. "Never before has any other
automaker built a concept car on the show stand, in full view of show
attendees. The pressure's really going to be on all of us -- especially the
contest winner -- to get it finished in time for the closing weekend of the
show."
Travel, accommodations, $1,000 spending cash and a new MAZDA3 to drive
during their stay awaits the winner. In addition, the winner will have the
opportunity to take the microphone to introduce the final concept at its
unveiling on the final day of the show.
The contest is open only to residents of the United States, and begins
on September 25 and ends on November 7, 2007 at 11:59 p.m. EST.
Participants must enter by visiting Facebook.com.
Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., Mazda North American Operations
oversees the sales, marketing, parts, accessories and customer service
support of Mazda vehicles in the United States, Canada and Mexico through
nearly 900 dealers. Operations in Canada are managed by Mazda Canada Inc.,
located in Ontario, Canada, and in Mexico by Mazda Motor de Mexico in
Mexico City.

Audi to Start Engine Initiative in China

Audi is now bringing its latest-generation engines onto the Chinese market. "We are now making preparations for selling even more cars with FSI and TFSI engines in China", said Werner Eichhorn, Head of Audi Sales in China. In this connection Audi is currently also drawing up a scenario for launching its TDI engines on the Chinese market. The opening event of the "Audi Green Olympics Initiative" took place in the major Chinese industrial centre and port of Shanghai, coinciding with a TechDay at which the car maker presented its efficiency technologies.

The initiative complements the "Audi Olympic Games Program" of cultural and ecological highlights to flank the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. In a few days' time, the car manufacturer will be unveiling a new, ultra-efficient saloon model at the Guangzhou Auto Show near Hong Kong - the A6 L 2.8 FSI, with a V6 engine featuring the company's valvelift system (AVS), a pioneering technology for variable control of valve lift. The same engine will be available in the A8 2.8 L FSI. According to European licensing data, the A8 2.8 FSI uses just 8.3 l/100 km - and its CO2 emissions are 199 g/km.

The company believes there is every prospect of establishing the TDI technology in China in the next few years, as indeed there is in the USA. The TDI is a cornerstone of the car manufacturer's global strategy for the future; it combines power with low fuel consumption. TDI engines are consequently capable of harnessing escalating fuel consumption specifically in China, and therefore also CO2 emissions. Diesel-powered passenger cars have hitherto been virtually unknown in China; the introduction of the low-sulphur fuel that they require now satisfies a vital requirement for the operation of modern, low-pollution TDI engines. The company became the first premium carmaker to move into the Chinese market when it started operations there in 1988.

Evolution Through the Season

Depending on the nature of the circuit - featuring long straights such as Monza or tight corners like Monaco - the engineers in the BMW Sauber F1 Team continue to develop the car throughout the course of the season. According to Willy Rampf, Technical Director of the BMW Sauber F1 Team, Aerodynamics played a central role in the development of the F1.07. The aim was to build a car with high aerodynamic efficiency, yet at the same time one that handled well through corners.
In Barcelona the engineers added an extra multi-piece wing to the rear crash element for the first time in order to increase downforce. A transitional version of the front wing was used for the roll-out. A lot of work is put into the endplates, in particular, with the goal of achieving high downforce even when turning in.

The tight corners in Monaco saw the team opt for a new front suspension package with modified geometry to allow a sharper turn-in angle. The short straights there mean the brakes hardly have any time to cool, and they therefore used brake ducts with a large inflow area.

The new rear wing with modified endplates was the key element in a medium-downforce package the team developed for Montréal and Indianapolis. They fitted this in combination with the extra single-piece wing on the rear crash element in order to achieve high efficiency. With the four long straights at Monza producing speeds of over 300 km/h, a low-downforce package with highly efficient wing combinations to keep drag low was used. Plus, several additional fins on the engine cover were removed, again in the interests of ensuring low drag. The rear wing for the high-speed Monza circuit differed fundamentally from other variants, as the main wing was shorter than the flap. In addition it was given a zigzag profile, which ensured both high efficiency and good airflow stability.

In Japan the engineers introduced a new version of the additional wing on the roll hoop for the first time. Its optimised form allowed improved air flow to the rear wing. "The aero elements on the F1.07 at the roll-out in Valencia - the engine cover, front and rear wings, turning vanes and underbody - changed completely over the course of the season", Willy Rampf explained.

The Second-Generation Mazda6

Mazda announced the launch of the all-new Mazda6. The second-generation inherits three engines of the previous model, all of them updated to use less fuel than before. The MZR-CD 2.0-l common-rail turbo diesel with diesel particulate filter (DPF) produces 103 kW at 3500 rpm and 330 Nm of maximum torque at 2000 rpm, and uses 6.7 % less fuel than the outgoing 2.0-l turbo diesel version.

Also carried over from the previous model are two petrol engines in 1.8-l and 2.0-l displacements. The 2.0-l produces 108 kW of maximum power at 6500 rpm and maximum torque of 184 Nm at 4000 rpm. The 1.8-l base engine produces 88 kW of maximum power at 5500 rpm and maximum torque of 165 Nm at 4300 rpm. The model comes with a choice of three transmissions including the company's five- speed and six-speed manual gearboxes for all models. To this it adds a five-speed automatic with manual shift mode for the 2.0-l petrol version for near-manual-like shifting in every gear.

The 2.5-l petrol engine, replaces the 2.3-l petrol of the outgoing model. It not only produces more maximum power of 125 kW at 6000 rpm and more maximum torque of 226 Nm at 4000 rpm - additional 19 Nm - than the 2.3-l, it also uses 6.9 % less fuel per 100 km. Also the engine includes a high-rigidity block, a stronger crankshaft, a dual-mass damper and a flexible flywheel. It employs sequential-valve timing (S-VT) and a variable intake system (VIS). At the same time, the new 2.5-l petrol has reduced exhaust resistance for better engine efficiency.

Mercedes-Benz S 63 AMG Revealed

Premium brand on course for success

"We have worked hard and achieved a great deal – and now we are reaping the benefits“, Dr. Zetsche told the international media representatives. "Both efficiency and quality have improved in equal measure, as our customers are acknowledging. From January to August 2006 our worldwide unit sales increased by around eleven percent compared to the same period last year. Mercedes Car Group generated an operating profit of more than 800 million Euro during the first half of the year.” All in all, an increase over the 2005 unit sales level was to be expected for 2006.

Major contributors to this success include the new S-Class introduced one year ago, more than 77,000 examples of which have been sold since its market launch in September 2005. As the bestselling series in the worldwide luxury segment, the S-Class is well ahead of its competitors in all regions of the world. In Paris the S-Class celebrates its debut with the newly developed 4MATIC permanent four-wheel drive system. With the S 320 CDI 4MATIC, Mercedes-Benz is offering a combination of diesel power and four-wheel drive for the first time in the S-Class.

The other Mercedes-Benz model series are also producing outstanding results. The SUV family comprising the R-, M-, GL- and G-Class was able to double its sales to more than 103,000 units in the first eight months of this year, and since June the E-Class has regained its worldwide market leadership in the luxury business segment. Dr. Zetsche: "The new-generation E-Class represents the pinnacle in every respect. We will shortly be demonstrating this with an extraordinary long-distance rally which starts here in Paris on October 21 and ends in Peking, covering a distance of almost 14,000 kilometres.“ This feat will be performed by 33 E-Class models featuring the latest diesel technology, including standard examples equipped with our ultra-clean BLUETEC technology, which will be introduced in the USA in the E 320 BLUETEC on October 15. The rally cars will reach Peking on November 17, after just 28 days, in time for the most important Chinese motor show - "AutoChina 2006".

CL-Class: public debut of the masterpiece among luxury coupés

With the new CL-Class, which is celebrating its public debut at the Paris Motor Show, Mercedes-Benz is re-emphasising its leading position in the luxury coupé segment. With more than 47,000 units sold worldwide, the preceding model has been the bestselling car in its class. The new luxury coupé is equipped with the most powerful engines in the Mercedes lineup: the V8 unit of the CL 500 has an output of 285 kW/388 hp, while the state-of-the-art biturbo V12 of the new CL 600 develops 380 kW/517 hp.

World debut of the SLR McLaren 722 Edition, CL 63 AMG and S 63 AMG

The new Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 722 Edition displays thoroughbred motor-racing attributes. With this new model variant, Mercedes-Benz evokes memories of the unforgettable victory achieved by Sir Stirling Moss at the wheel of a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR with the start number 722 (indicating a starting time of 07.22 hours ) in the classic Mille Miglia endurance race of 1955. At the heart of this super-sportscar, a limited edition of only 150 examples is a supercharged 5.5-litre V8-engine developing 478 kW/650 hp. With a top speed of 337 km/h the "722 Edition” even betters the SLR, which remains in the model range.

With the CL 63 AMG, Mercedes-AMG is presenting the flagship model of the new CL-Class in Paris. Its wholly independently developed AMG 6.3-litre V8-engine develops an output of 386 kW/525 hp and 630 Nm of torque. The high-tech appointments of this luxury coupé include an AMG sports suspension based on Active Body Control. The CL 63 AMG is the current highlight of the 2006 strategic model initiative by Mercedes-AMG – with ten brand-new cars to date. The S-Class is now also represented by the S 63 AMG and equipped with the 386 kW/525 hp high-tech engine. Both AMG models accelerate from zero to 100 km/h in 4.6 seconds, and the maximum speed is electronically limited to 250 km/h.

SLK "Edition 10": Showcar to mark the tenth anniversary of the Roadster

Ten years of the SLK-Class – a cause for celebration at Mercedes-Benz. At the "Mondial de l’automobile" fair in Paris, the company is presenting the "Edition 10" showcar, which has numerous distinguishing design features and gives the roadster a sporty and exclusive aura.

With its matt-grey metallic paint finish, the anniversary showcar is immediately distinguishable from a standard SLK sports car and illustrates a trend in the future colour styling of automobiles. The exterior also features dark-grey painted, high-sheen light-alloy wheels in a ten-spoke design, shod with wide-base tyres in size 225/45 R 17 (front) and 245/40 R 17 (rear). The wheels are also embellished with black-and-silver emblems bearing the Mercedes star. Dark-tinted rear light clusters also contribute to the exclusive appearance of the "Edition 10" showcar.

In the interior the driver and passenger are treated to a selection of fine materials. The seats and the armrest in the centre console are covered with black leather. Silver-coloured underlays beneath the centre panels of the seat cushions and backrests discreetly yet effectively accentuate the perforations in the leather. This sporty and elegant black-silver contrast is heightened further by the silver thread used for the decorative seams of the SLK sports seats. The liner of the vario-roof and the rear window surround are painted in black.