25Nov/120
Video: EVO “2012 Car of the Year: The Track Battles” is a sports car salmagundi
Filed under: Convertible, Coupe, Performance, Videos, BMW, Lotus, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Scion, Toyota, Luxury, MISC, McLaren
EVO has come out with another gotta-watch-it video, throwing its 2012 Car of the Year contestants around the UK's 1.5-mile Blyton Park track. It's actually a 15-minute teaser for the full-length DVD detailing the magazine's Car of the Year selection, but the tease is worth every
Tiff Needell and sports car racer Richard Meaden handle the wheel duties, the two driving five pairs of sports cars: Lotus Exige S vs. Porsche Boxster S, Morgan Three-Wheeler vs. Toyota GT86, BMW M135i vs. Porsche 911, Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Black Series vs. Alpina B3 GT3, the marquee event pits the McLaren MP4-12C vs. the Pagani Huayra. After a head-to-head lap with commentary during drifts, Meaden takes each car out to set a representative lap time.
You'll find the verdicts, lots of tire smoke, and lines like "Anything you can do sideways I can do sideways" in the video below.
Continue reading EVO "2012 Car of the Year: The Track Battles" is a sports car salmagundi
EVO "2012 Car of the Year: The Track Battles" is a sports car salmagundi originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 25 Nov 2012 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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11Sep/120
Video: Motor Trend addresses reader feedback from Best Driver’s Car roundup
Filed under: Performance, Videos, Comparisons
We've already watched the 2012 Best Driver's Car competition from Motor Trend numerous times, and like us, apparently many M/T viewers had questions about the week-long, nine-car comparison. Not wanting to disappoint its audience, the crew got together to enjoy a few pints while reflecting on the experience and respond to viewer questions during an episode of The Downshift.
It sounds like one of the most frequent questions asked was why some cars made the list and others were left out in the cold. First and foremost, the editors wanted to assemble a group of the newest (or significantly updated) most fun-to-drive cars available, but had to do so within the constraints of the automakers' test vehicle fleets. This explains why, for instance, the Subaru BRZ made it in to the final group of nine, while no Ferrari did.
M/T also addressed the age-old question of how and why a non-manual transmission car could be considered a top driver's car. Editors were quick to point out that, with the great automated manual gearboxes used on the Porsche 911, Nissan GT-R and Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Black Series Coupe, all that the cars were really missing was a clutch pedal.
Some of the more interesting bits of the conversation included a breakdown of tire and brake replacements required during this massive comparison. We were amazed to find out that only four sets of tires were shredded, but the "surprising amount of brakes" that required replacement definitely made sense for a competition like this at a track like Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Another thing that caught our attention was the amount of negative feedback in regards to the Lamborghini Aventador (which finished dead last) - from the failed brakes to Autoblog-alumnus Jonny Lieberman stating that "it had no business on a racetrack."
From Jonny's praise of the PDK transmission to former Editor-in-chief Angus Mackenzie's vibrant description of the 911's handling, it's easy to see why the Porsche was named M/T's Best Driver's Car for 2012.
As for the list of cars being considered for the 2013 Best Driver's Car, check out the 13-minute video below to see some of the predictions for next year's lineup.
Continue reading Motor Trend addresses reader feedback from Best Driver's Car roundup
Motor Trend addresses reader feedback from Best Driver's Car roundup originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 11 Sep 2012 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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24Aug/120
Video: Motor Trend returns with The World’s Greatest Drag Race
Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Videos, Chevrolet, Lamborghini, Nissan, Comparisons
Our old pal Jonny Lieberman gets to have all the fun. The former Autoblog editor now gets to play with multiple supercars at a time for his post at Motor Trend. As part of MT's Best Driver's Car award process, Lieberman and the rest of the magazine's team quarter-mile all of the year's contenders in what they call "The World's Greatest Drag Race." Based on the contenders, we're inclined to agree with their bluster.
While last year's race saw the Nissan GT-R edge out the Ferrari 458 Italia, this year features a few new contenders, including the Lamborghini Aventador and McLaren MP4-12C. Other contestants include the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Black Series, Chevy Camaro ZL1, Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, Subaru BRZ, Jaguar XKR-S and Porsche 911 Carrera S, which - spoiler alert - actually won the Best Driver's Car award this year. Oh, and the updated version of Nissan's GT-R makes a repeat appearance, but no Ferraris are in the field this year.
A special thanks should go out to the Subaru BRZ. It was so far behind the competition that it provided many of the wide-angle shots that captured the whole rest of the field. The straight line is not the forte of a 200-horsepower drift-o-matic, but a fourth place finish in this year's Best Driver's Car competition is a mighty feat for this seemingly outmatched sports car.
The biggest competition in this drag race will be from the new Aventador and the MP4-12C. Do they have enough to take on a new Godzilla? You're just going to have to scroll down to find out. And make sure to stick around for the closing credits to hear each one of these contenders rev their engine in a sweet mechanical symphony.
Continue reading Motor Trend returns with The World's Greatest Drag Race
Motor Trend returns with The World's Greatest Drag Race originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 24 Aug 2012 12:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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23Aug/120
Video: Motor Trend picks its top driver’s car of 2012 [w/video]
Filed under: Performance, Videos
Here's a test of nine cars (see above), only two of which make less than 500 horsepower. Three of these nine cars recorded 0-60 times of less than three seconds, and all the rest but one (the Subaru BRZ), did it in 4.2 or less. Those are impressive stats, to be sure, but huge horsepower figures and stupid-quick acceleration, while certainly amazing in its own way, doesn't necessarily mean the car is a blast to drive - as Motor Trend says, if it were, they'd be testing a bunch of Top Fuel dragsters.
No, the point of throwing together these nine cars was to find out which is the magazine's Best Driver's Car of 2012. As you might imagine, a lot of instrumented testing goes into the equation, but perhaps the most important pieces of information come from the pilots behind the wheel. Again, to quote Motor Trend, "picking the Best Driver's Car, while fun, takes a great deal of time, thought, sweat, and vicious arguing."
Sound like fun? Instead of spoiling the results, we'll direct you to the video pasted below and the accompanying article here.
Continue reading Motor Trend picks its top driver's car of 2012 [w/video]
Motor Trend picks its top driver's car of 2012 [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 23 Aug 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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18Jun/120
Report: Mercedes-Benz sells out of C63 AMG Black Series coupes
Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Mercedes-Benz, Luxury
If you've been sitting on your hands mulling over the idea of spending $125,000 on a Mercedes-Benz C-Class, we've got some bad news for you: your time is up. That's because, according to reports coming in from Europe, the German automaker has sold out every last example of the C63 AMG Black Series coupe.
The most hardcore of AMG models, need we remind you, is capable of hitting 60 in four seconds flat en route to a 186-mph top speed. Those are near-supercar figures from what you might otherwise call the baby Benz, if "baby" in this context more closely resembles Chucky from Child's Play. The car was built to dice it with the likes of the Porsche 911 GT3 RS and BMW M3 GTS... and ended up clocking a blistering 7:46 lap time at the Nurburgring in the process.
Mercedes-Benz had originally planned on building just 650 examples, but when demand far outstripped supply, it upped production to 800 units - all of which have now apparently been spoken for. Word has it that, even with its six-figure price tag, Daimler could still sell plenty more. The reason for the cap on production was apparently because the vital elements that set the Black model apart from its donor car were too time-intensive and were holding up production on the assembly line it shared with the rest of the C-Class range.
You may still have a chance to get your hands on a C63 Black Series, however, if spy shots of a wagon variant come to fruition. Daimler may, however, need to find a way of diverting their production off the main line to a specialist shop in order to complete them without disrupting production.
Mercedes-Benz sells out of C63 AMG Black Series coupes originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 18 Jun 2012 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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9May/120
Video: Mercedes-Benz shows off the dark side of the C63 AMG Black Series coupe
Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Etc., Europe, Videos, Mercedes-Benz, Luxury
Mercedes-Benz has rolled out a new video for its vicious C63 AMG Black Series. The 510-horsepower machine spends a little time frolicking through an industrial complex before taking to an open stretch of track for a little more fun. The entire clip is appropriately shot in black and white and set to the riotous tones of the hefty 6.2-liter V8 banging off the limiter. Not a bad way to blow two minutes of your day.
As you may recall, Chris Harris recently lined the C63 AMG Black Series up against bruisers like Porsche 911 GT3 RS and the BMW M3 GTS for a little German showdown. Harris found the C63 to be a willing dance partner with appropriate levels of presence on the street, but still found the machine out gunned by the track-bred Porsche. Scroll down to check out the Black Series video for yourself.
Continue reading Mercedes-Benz shows off the dark side of the C63 AMG Black Series coupe
Mercedes-Benz shows off the dark side of the C63 AMG Black Series coupe originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 09 May 2012 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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26Apr/120
Official: Mercedes C63 AMG Black Series launched as DTM safety car
Filed under: Coupe, Europe, Safety, Mercedes-Benz, Specialty, Racing
The latest hotted-up safety car for DTM is the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Black Series. If we'd been in a racing accident, we're not sure we'd trust the men who stepped out of a car that's half steroids, half Satan, but after 12 years of providing the safety cars (along with Audi) for the German touring car series, we'll assume Mercedes-Benz knows what it's doing.
The most powerful C-Class ever will rush to the scene with 517 horsepower, an "aerodynamically optimised light bar" and other Christmas lights, AMG Track and Aero packages and an AMG-specific exhaust.
The safety car is more powerful than the 500-horsepower Mercedes actually racing in the series, so if it weren't for the extra weight it's carrying, it might even beat the other cars to the scene of the accident. You can read all about it after the jump and peep it in the high-res gallery of images.
Continue reading Mercedes C63 AMG Black Series launched as DTM safety car
Mercedes C63 AMG Black Series launched as DTM safety car originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 26 Apr 2012 10:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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