Auto blog

Maybach could become Mercedes-Benz sub-brand

When you're arriving in a twin-turbocharged, twelve-cylinder Maybach limo, there's no reason you should ever have to be late. Except, maybe, to make a fashionable entrance. But up at the corporate level, the entire Maybach brand is being slowed down as critical decisions about its future are being undertaken.
Last week, we reported that a decision on what path Maybach would take going forward would be due at the start of next month, but the latest reports indicate that the timeframe has been extended as further options are being considered.
The previous options under consideration were twofold: either relaunch the brand with production outsourced to Aston Martin - which suddenly finds itself with excess production capacity - or shut it down completely. And those are still two very real options. Word has it that Aston has put together four concept cars for the Daimler brass to consider, all based on the next-generation S-Class platform (and thankfully not the old one).

Mercedes AMG GT3 racecar due in 2016

Our life with the Mercedes-AMG GT has only just begun, and a full life it looks like it will be. The latest in preposterous two-doors from AMG is launching in GT and GT S flavors, but a few more branches of the family tree are already planned: a racing entry for the FIA GT3 championship is scheduled to appear in 2016, giving the current SLS AMG GT3 another year to gobble up victories before it takes a drive across the Styx. More exciting for those who only suit up on Sunday for church, whispers are that a we'll also get a streetable version of the race car - not called "GT3" because that alphanumeric is owned by Porsche, but definitely aimed at its Stuttgart rival. AMG boss Tobias Moers told Autocar the objective for that car is "more power, less weight, better aerodynamics and different suspension but the targets should be the power to weight ratio, drivability, lap time and tremendous feel." Those targets will be aided by a carbon fiber weight-loss regime of up to 220 pounds and more power - perhaps 550 horsepower - from the currently "very understressed" engine. Supposing that still isn't enough for you, then the Black Series version should curl your toes, if you can wait until 2018 for it.

Highlights from the Goodwood Festival of Speed, including the McLaren P1 and a Ford Transit running the hill

The sole purpose of this post is as a time-waster, and since you shouldn't have to work to waste time, we've done it for you. In the numerous videos below you'll find cars that have lately been in the news tramping all over the grounds of Lord March's estate in Goodwood, England.
There's the McLaren P1 heading up the hill, the Jaguar Project 7, then a casually-driven Porsche 917 followed by an even-more-casually-driven Porsche 956, topped off by a Porsche 936 that is anything but casually driven. The next round is the flame-spitting Peugeot 405 T16 Pikes Peak from Climb Dance, a camera mounted on the Peugeot RCZ R after it showing you what the whole, uninterrupted run up the hill looks like. For a real head-turner, we couldn't embed it but there's Andy Reid blasting up the hill in a Ford Transit Supervan with a Cosworth 3000 V6 engine.
The modern racing contingent has Allan McNish doing the hill in the Audi R18 e-tron quattro he used to win Le Mans and Lewis Hamilton making lots of tire smoke in the Mercedes-AMG Petronas MGP-W02. For comparison, that's followed by Nick Heidfeld's record-setting run up the hill in 1999 in the McLaren MP4/14 . The classic racing contingent is headlined by 71-year-old Giacomo Agostini on an MV Agusta.