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Mercedes-AMG GT attacks Circuit of the Americas

Mercedes-Benz is having a banner year with its Formula One team. Through 2014, the constructor has 454 championship points; ahead of its nearest competitor (Red Bull-Renault) by a margin of 182 tally marks. We're sure they can almost taste the champagne.
It's fitting then, and a little big cocky in a good way, that Mercedes has released a video of its newest sports car at an F1 venue. In this case, the car is the lovely Mercedes-AMG GT S, and the racetrack is Austin's Circuit of the Americas.
Having seen the official photo set and scratched the surface of the technical specifications earlier this week, we're excited to finally hear the thing run. As you might guess, the deployment of 503 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque from the twin-turbo V8 is a motivating experience. Crank up your volume, and hit that play button. (Oh, and Mercedes shot the thing in 4K, too, so those of you with expensive televisions/monitors should take heed to the settings.)

Mercedes-Benz C-Class scores well in TUV lifecycle analysis

Mercedes-Benz drivers and treehuggers don't always go hand in hand, but, like a lot of other companies, the German automaker is looking to boost its green cred. This time, it's all about the car's lifecycle carbon footprint. The Daimler AG unit is using its new C-Class sedan as an example of how it's making progress in that department. Mercedes-Benz, citing the inspection authority TUV Sud, says the 2015 C-Class has a 10-percent lower lifecycle carbon footprint than its 2014 predecessor, based on driving about 125,000 miles over the life of the car. About 95 percent of the car (by weight) is recyclable, slightly higher than the average for most vehicles, and the model has upped its amount of recyclable materials up by 23 percent and increased its use of "natural materials" by 55 percent. Better aerodynamics also helps things out on the fuel-economy front, Benz says. Taking a longer view, the 2015 C-Class's carbon footprint is 28 percent better than the 2007 version that launched the vehicle line. The 2015 C-Class hasn't received a fuel-economy rating from the US Environmental Protection Agency, which tagged the 2014 C350 with a combined fuel-efficiency rating of 24 miles per gallon from its 3.5-liter 6-cylinder engine. Check out Mercedes-Benz's press release below and find the Autoblog First Drive impressions here. TUV Environmental Certificate: The new C-Class makes its mark with an exemplary life cycle assessment Stuttgart, Mar 28, 2014 The C-Class sets efficiency benchmarks for its class, helped by an intelligent lightweight concept, excellent aerodynamics and new, frugal engines. The neutral inspectors from the TUV Sud technical inspection authority have confirmed the high level of environmental compatibility of the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class. Besides a sensuous, clean-cut design, a top-class interior and a host of technical innovations, the premium saloon also boasts an exemplary life cycle assessment, which is why it has been awarded the Environmental Certificate in accordance with the ISO 14062 standard. Professor Dr. Herbert Kohler, Chief Environmental Officer at Daimler AG: "Our engineers have pulled out all the stops in an effort to lower fuel consumption while at the same time further accentuating the car's sporty character. By employing an intelligent lightweight design with a high proportion of aluminium, for example, it has been possible to make the new C-Class up to 100 kilograms lighter than its predecessor.

F1 Race recap: 2016 Russian Grand Prix same as it ever was

The three-year-old Sochi Autodrom that hosts the Russian Grand Prix combines beautiful scenery with a hallmark turn 3, a tricky turn 13, and two long DRS zones. So far, however, those haven't added up to exciting races after the first lap. Despite an in-race issue with his car's MGU-K, Mercedes-AMG Petronas driver Nico Rosberg aced the weekend with his first career grand slam: pole position, fastest lap of the race, leading every lap, and victory. Behind him, not much happened on the leaderboard after an incident-filled opening lap. The drama started at turns 2 and 3. Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel lined up in seventh on the grid because of a five-place gearbox penalty, Red Bull's Daniil Kvyat sat next to him in eighth. Kvyat hit the back of Vettel's Ferrari in the braking zone for Turn 2, shoving Vettel into Daniel Ricciardo – Kvyat's teammate. Kyvat then clobbered the back of Vettel's car at the entry to Turn 3, spinning the German into the wall and out of the race. Kvyat probably regrets saying before the race that he would show Vettel "no mercy" on the first lap. At the back of the grid at Turn 2, Haas F1's Esteban Gutierrez hit Force India's Nico Hulkenberg and Manor's Rio Haryanto. Gutierrez continued, both the Force India and the Manor retired. A brief Virtual Safety Car period ensued, then the actual Safety Car emerged for three laps while marshals cleaned up the track. Mercedes-AMG Petronas driver Nico Rosberg nailed the restart and took off for the rest of the race. Teammate Lewis Hamilton battled his own gremlins all weekend but still finished second, 25 seconds behind Rosberg. During the final qualifying session on Saturday Hamilton's car suffered the same MGU-H failure as in China two weeks ago. The problem relegated him to tenth on the grid. In the race, Hamilton fought his way to second place by Lap 19 out of 53 laps and began closing the 13-second gap to Rosberg. On Lap 37, the gap now under eight seconds, Mercedes told Hamilton his car had a water pressure issue. The malfunction forced the Briton to manage his race and settle for second. Afterward, Hamilton said he was certain he could have won if not for the malfunction. The rest of the top ten barely changed throughout the contest. The first five positions on Lap 21 crossed the finish line in that order 32 laps later. Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen took the final podium position ahead of the Williams duo of Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa.