Participating in the Mercedes-Benz AMG Driving Academy has never been easier. Why? Now you can win a trip with the release of the new “AMG Performance Series Videos” and the opportunity to participate in the one-day intensive Basic Course at the Academy. Ten instructional videos, hosted by professional racecar driver and AMG Driving Academy instructor Tommy Kendall, are available on the Mercedes-Benz USA Facebook page as well as on YouTube. Enter the contest through September 15, 2011 on the Mercedes-Benz USA Facebook page. Contest includes a trip for four – you and three friends – to the AMG Driving Academy at Laguna Seca. And remember, when you get there drive like a PRO!

SEAT POSITION

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BRAKING

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SLALOM – AMG Driving Academy Video – Episode 3

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The Mercedes-Benz Club of America (MBCA) is offering members who own or drive AMG vehicles an exclusive opportunity to participate in the first MBCA SLS AMG Performance Week in Germany. This AMG event is not available anywhere else. It only costs $45 to join MBCA, if you’re not already a member.

Features of the event include partipants’ driving the SLS and other AMG vehicles on a variety of roads in Germany as well as on the Autobahn. Also included are lengthy visits to AMG headquarters in Affalterbach where you’ll tour the production, engineering, design, and research facilities. The trip focuses on all the particulars that make AMG Mercedes unique in the world of ultimate luxury performance cars.

There will be an in depth visit to the Sindelfingen plant, the SLS production area, and the Center of Excellence (Maybach and the designo studio). A visit to the Mercedes-Benz Museum and the Classic Center is also included.

The trip is scheduled for June 5-10, 2011; limited to 24 participants on a first come first served basis. The cost is $4,050. per participant and includes five hotel nights, all meals, guides, ground transportation and use of the AMG vehicles (fee does NOT include airfare). Our friend Jim O’Sullivan is the contact person; tell Jim that Greg Magnus said hello!

This is truly a unique opportunity for AMG Mercedes enthusiasts. Additional information and registration details are available on the MBCA website here for those interested.

Here’s the press release, the Gran Turismo5 Signature Edition Challenge:

The virtual world of Gran Turismo®5 makes dreams come true with the chance to win a real Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has announced that an exclusive competition for owners of the Gran Turismo®5 Signature Edition will go live on Monday, 27 December 2010. The racing competition will see the ultimate winner get their hands on a brand-new, real-life Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG worth €180,000. With 15 regional winners from across 22 countries set to benefit from a stint at the Mercedes-Benz Driving Event, the winner of the spectacular gull-wing, 6.2 litre supercar will have to demonstrate to the judges that he, or she, is best placed to handle the SLS’s 571hp that delivers acceleration of 0-100km/h in 3.8 seconds and a top speed of 317km/h.

The limited-release ‘Signature Edition’ of Gran Turismo 5 included a number of exclusive and collectable items, both virtual and real, but the voucher code contained in the GT5 leather wallet is the key to entry to the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG competition. To enter the competition, first make sure you have downloaded all the latest updates to GT5. Then owners of the Signature Edition will need to redeem their voucher code via PlayStation®Store on their PS3™, and register their details on gran-turismo.com [1] .

Once they have completed these steps they will be able to access the Signature Edition Challenge from within GT5. The Challenge takes place in Gran Turismo 5’s innovative B-spec mode – where players take the role of team director with their own AI drivers doing the racing. The Challenge is being held over a series of five, five-lap races on different circuits. The choice of B-spec mode opens the competition to more than purely the fastest GT5 racers as players, and there will be no limit on the number of times entrants can complete the races. In-game leaderboards for each region will display the top 50 race times for each circuit, as well as the top 250 combined times across the five races.

Entrants with the fastest total time from each region [2] at the closing time (23:59 (GMT) on 31 January 2011) will be invited to take part in the second phase of the competition – the Mercedes-Benz Driving Event. Winners from each international region will compete against each other in a series of real driving challenges under the scrutiny of judges. Points will be awarded for each challenge with the winner taking home the stunning SLS AMG.

Gran Turismo 5 has shipped 5.5 million copies worldwide since launching on 24 November, but limited copies of the Signature Edition were available throughout the 22 countries participating in the competition, with the majority being snapped up on launch day. With the SLS AMG featuring on the cover of GT5, it was a natural progression for Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and Mercedes-Benz to develop the Signature Edition Challenge, a manifestation of PlayStation®3’s (PS3™) brand promise that ‘the game is just the start’.

Commenting on the Signature Edition Challenge, Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi said: “We have enjoyed a brilliant working relationship with Mercedes-Benz throughout the production of Gran Turismo 5 and the stunning prize that they have offered for this competition is a testament to that. I am particularly happy that we have developed such a balanced challenge which both newcomers to the Gran Turismo brand, and more experienced racers, will find equally enjoyable.”

[1] Entrants must be 18 or over, resident in a participating country, hold a full driving licence and be in good general health. Other eligibility criteria apply. Full terms and conditions are available at www.gran-turismo.com

[2] Regions shall comprise one or more participating countries. The number of entrants that will qualify to stage two will vary per region. Full details are set out in the terms and conditions.

SOURCE: http://eu.gran-turismo.com/gb/news/d18458.html

AMG Market Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG – Gullwing Photos Here

Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG (Mercedes, Video)

Article List Update:

1. Mercedes-Benz AMG SL 65 Black Series
2. AMG Mercedes-Benz Suggested Retail Prices
3. C63 AMG Fire and Ice Test Drive Program Now on AMG TV
4. Mercedes-Benz SLK Milestone, 500k Vehicles Delivered
5. Mercedes-Benz Mixed Tape is BACK – Download the mp3 files
6. AMG Mods for the 2008 65 Series
7. New AMG E63 Performance Package
8. The History of AMG
9. AMG Videos
10. Mercedes-Benz AMG CL65
11. The Mercedes-Benz SLK Story to Date
12. VIN Decoder – Vehicle Identification Number
13. Road and Track 1972-1989 Mercedes-Benz SL Article (March 1994)

NOTE: In the mean time, you can also visit this page for a general list of Mercedes-Benz articles.

While development officially began in 2006, AMG Mercedes claims the SL 65 AMG Black Series is the culmination of more than 40 years of AMG engineering, motorsports and steadfast dedication to performance – a descendant of its forbearers if you will.

Click here for full details concerning the new AMG SL 65 Black Series (press release from AMG Mercedes-Benz).

Like the SLK 55 AMG Black Series and the CLK 63 AMG Black Series before it, the SL 65 AMG Black Series was also developed in the AMG PERFORMANCE STUDIO, which opened in 2006. The first vehicles will be delivered to customers, starting in November 2008.

You can view multiple images of the SL 65 AMG Black Series on the homepage of the Private Lounge. The promo also includes desktop wallpaper images for your computer and cell phone.

read more | digg story

• RENNTECH’s Package 2, 63 Series AMG (Press Release)
• MB Customer Satisfaction is on the Rise (JD Powers Study)
• Britney Spears Rolls in an AMG SL65 (Video)
• Mercedes-Benz SilverFlow is Robocar 2057 (Design Challenge)

AMG Market News Summary

Lake Park, FL, Oct. 30, 2007: RENNtech has developed a new line of aftermarket performance products aimed at getting more power out of the 63 series AMG Mercedes-Benz. RENNtech, generally regarded as the nation’s foremost authority on Mercedes-Benz performance tuning, took something of an “old school” approach towards building its new high-tech products.

“The new AMG motor isn’t like the last generation of turbo or kompressor cars,” explains Hartmut Feyhl, president of RENNtech and former technical director of AMG North America. “This new engine is naturally aspirated, like a more traditional race motor, and the way to get more power out of an engine like the 63 is to improve the engine’s breathing.”To that end, Feyhl and his crew at RENNtech have built new exhaust headers and high-flow sport mufflers, from 304 TiG welded stainless-steel, and developed new engine control software to further boost the engine’s efficiency – and, while “bigger pipes” might seem like a no-brainer, in this case, bigger wasn’t better. (RENNTECH’s Package 2, 63 Series AMG press release here).

MONTVALE, N.J., Nov. 14, 2007, AMG Market News – Customer satisfaction is on the rise for Mercedes-Benz according to J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI). The brand is once again among the five top-ranked nameplates.

The study rates nameplates on five unique aspects of the retail experience: dealership facilities, salespeople, paperwork/finance processes, delivery processes and vehicle pricing. Ernst Lieb, president of Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) commented,

“Over the past year, we have undertaken a comprehensive analysis of every aspect of our customer interface – from our corporate headquarters to dealership service bays.  In partnership with our dealers, we’ve committed ourselves to ensuring that we have the best tools and the best processes in place to meet the needs of our customers.  These study results are a gratifying validation from Mercedes-Benz owners.”

Britney Spears rolls out of Keyes Mercedes-Benz on Van Nuys Boulevard (Sherman Oaks, CA) with a new AMG SL65. She test drove the G-Wagon but settled on the AMG; she may actually be smarter than she looks.

Britney Spears in her Mercedes-Benz AMG SL65

In other news:

Mercedes-Benz SilverFlow is Robocar 2057
AMG Market/PR News, Los Angeles, Nov. 16, 2007: A car with extended, elegant lines which can change its form at the touch of a button and adapt to the requirements of its owners at any time – this is the automotive vision that Mercedes-Benz is presenting at the Los Angeles Design Challenge taking place at the 2007 L.A. Auto Show. When required, this Mercedes of the future can take on the form of a fast highway cruiser, quickly metamorphose into a compact city car, or become a roomy one-seater or economical two-seater, depending on the transport capacity needed. This is made possible by the magnetic control elements of the SilverFlow, a futuristic study by Mercedes-Benz, which take just seconds to configure the car required from tiny metallic particles.

Design Challenge is a competition where eight car design studios in southern California are challenged to create the “Robocar 2057″ as a combination of vehicle technology and artificial intelligence. The Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design Center of North America (Irvine, CA) looked 50 years into the future and came up with the shimmering silver and gold Vision SilverFlow car. With its long, flowing lines and narrow, exposed wheels, this vision of the future is highly reminiscent of the golden years in motor racing during the 1930s.

In fact the physical characteristics of the SilverFlow are even more exciting than its shape. It consists of billions of microscopically tiny metallic particles which are formed into variable but stable configurations by magnetic fields. This means that the driver can theoretically adapt the vehicle to its intended purpose. The one-seater highway configuration is aerodynamic, while the city version is short and spacious. The pre-programmed vehicle variants can be selected at any time at the touch of a button, whereupon the assembler electronics reshape the car from one form to another within a few seconds – specialists refer to this as morphing. Any desired shape is conceivable in principle. As a particularly convenient feature when parking, the intelligent control system completely disassembles the vehicle structure and compacts the ferro-magnetic particles into a small, space-saving configuration. And thanks to these flexible metallic particles, dents and paint damage are also a thing of the past.

The disadvantage of the Mercedes-Benz SilverFlow is that so far, it only exists as a two-dimensional graphic design.The SilverFlow study, which – if at all – will only be realizable decades into the future, clearly shows that while car designers certainly live in the present, their working environment is the future.

The new C63 AMG sedan is powered by a 6.3-liter normally aspirated V8 that produces 451 horsepower and 443 lb. ft. of torque.  << MORE C63 AMG here >>

• $39,950 – AMG bored out the 5.6-litre to 6.0-litres
• $33,302 – upgraded rear differential, Gleason-Torsion LSD, stronger rear sub-frame, plus more chassis modifications
• $14,170 – upgraded AMG suspension, 17 inch chrome wheels/tires, AMG interior package, etc.
• $18,000 labor charge
• Total package cost in 1988: around $162,000.

AMG Market obtained the following info and photos for the 1988 AMG 300E (AMG Hammer) from the AMG’s owner:

Additional Information Mileage: 19,146 (odometer read during 2007) Engine: 5.5-litre V8 No major body work (scratch repaired) History Original owner was professional baseball player Robert Deer: Rob Deer is famous for hitting the game-tying home run on Easter Sunday in 1987 to give the Milwaukee Brewers their 12th straight win to start the season. The home run was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. June 6, 1978: Drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 4th round of the 1978 amateur draft. San Francisco Giants (1984-1985), Milwaukee Brewers (1986-1990), Detroit Tigers (1991-1992), Boston Red Sox (1993), San Diego Padres (1996)

1990 AMG Hammer SL60

The following info was obtained from an auto dealer selling the vehicle (www.envisionauto.com)
Model: Mercedes-Benz SL60 AMG 6.0L HAMMER

• VIN number for vehicle photos shown: WDB1290661F012801
• Envision Auto asking price as of August 2008: $30,400
• Mileage : 28,158 Km’s

There are reportedly 49 known 6.0L V8 AMG Hammer Mercedes 500SLs; 18 built in 1990, 30 in 1991 and 1 in 1992.Removable Hard Top with Power Convertible Soft Top6.0 litre V8 engine producing 384hp. AMG claimed a 0-62 mph (100 km/h) speed of 5.8 seconds. Its top speed was limited to 155 mph (249 km/h), but with the limiter removed, it was capable of approximately 185 mph (298 km/h). AMG later unofficially admitted that 0-60 mph was closer to 5.0 seconds and the engine produced between 405-410 bhp.Optional rear seats for two passengers with seatbelts.    The Special Edition AMG Hammer package is a rare find, only produced in limited numbers. The 6.0L V8 produces 376 hp at 5500 rpm and a 0-62mph speed of 5.0 seconds. ALL ORIGINAL AMG package featuring AMG FULL Aero Kit, AMG 17-inch 3-Piece Alloys, AMG Exhaust, AMG Leather/Wood Combination Steering Wheel, AMG 300km/h Speedometer.

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• AMG Mercedes-Benz Wins Engine of the Year Award (eoecho.com)
• Mercedes CLS and SLS AMG Voted Best Cars – Auto Trophy 2010 (amgmarket.com)
• AMGmarket.com: 2011 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG (amgmarket.com)
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PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (Aug. 19, 2007) – The 18th fairway of Pebble Beach Golf Links® hosted some of the world’s rarest vintage vehicles and thousands of spectators Sunday at the 57th Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. The Concours competition, which included judging in 24 classes, culminated when a 1935 Duesenberg SJ Special, owned by Harry Yeaggy from Cincinnati, Ohio, was named “Best of Show.”
<< Full Press Release Here >>
Photos can be found here.

McCluggage received the Mercedes-Benz Star Driver Award: Denise McCluggage was recognized with the Star Driver award at the Mercedes-Benz's annual dinner at Pebble Beach. She is the only journalist in the Automotive Hall of Fame. The LA Times has a brief news piece here.

Autoblog has a few pics of the 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster with Mayfair bodywork sold at the RM Auction.

The South African Star has a nice piece on the S63 AMG:

Break Free to Dream
The S63 AMG has big shoes to fill, but it's the stuff of which legends are made, writes Brendan Seery

August 18, 2007: Back in the 1970s, the staid Daimler Benz company, purveyors of Mercedes-Benz vehicles, produced a hooligan hot rod which was cloaked in the metal of its 300SE series. Only the small "6.3" badge at the back gave any indication of its muscle. << MORE BREAK FREE TO DREAM >>

This car enthusiast's dream home was built by Jack Dunn. Tragically, Jack died in an automobile accident and his estate is being sold. Jack was a member of the Virginia Section of the Mercedes-Benz Club and other automobile clubs.

VeloceToday has a detailed story of the mansion here for those interested.