2005 Mercedes-benz G-class on 2040-cars

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2016 Malaysian Grand Prix recap: Surprises and missed opportunities

Mercedes-AMG Petronas pilot Lewis Hamilton drove so well in the run-up to the Malaysian Grand Prix that he said before the race, "Honestly, I don't feel anything is going to stop us." On Sunday, the Sepang race showed what it thought of plans and predictions. Heading into the right-hand Turn 1, Sebastian Vettel practically recreated the dust-up at the Belgian Grand Prix three races ago. When Mercedes' Nico Rosberg swept across from the outside line toward the apex, Red Bull's Max Verstappen had to jink right to avoid, touching Vettel's Ferrari on the inside. Vettel speared straight on and hit Rosberg. Vettel's left front suspension broke, ending his race. Rosberg spun and got moving again, but at the back of the pack. That appeared to put Hamilton on a clear run to the checkered flag. His car looked perfect, his pace was perfect, he easily kept Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo and Verstappen behind. A result that would have seen Hamilton retake control of the Driver's Championship – at Petronas' home race – got crushed on Lap 41 when Hamilton's engine blew down the main straight. That put Ricciardo in the lead, followed closely by his teammate. Just two laps before Hamilton's exit, Ricciardo and Verstappen had battled for second place with some of the best driving we've seen all season. Ricciardo drove as if exorcising the demons of missed opportunities earlier in the year, keeping the young Dutchman behind. The two Red Bulls took the flag fifteen laps later in that order, clocking the first one-two finish for a team other than Mercedes since 2014. It's Red Bull's first one-two since Brazil 2013, when Vettel and Mark Weber took the top steps at the last race of the V8 era. Rosberg recovered to take third in spite of a ten-second penalty for an optimistic pass on Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen. The Finn crossed the line 12 seconds later, followed by Valtteri Bottas in the Williams and Sergio Perez in the Force India. In another Belgium repeat, Fernando Alonso drove from the back of the grid to finish seventh. Nico Hulkenberg secured eighth, Jenson Button ninth for McLaren in his 300th grand prix, and rookie Jolyon Palmer scored his first point of the season for Renault in tenth. The issue to trump all others from now until next week's Japanese Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton's terrible luck with engines. Power unit gremlins earlier this season helped drop the Brit to 43 points behind Rosberg after the Russian Grand Prix.

Autoblog Unplugged: 2015 Mercedes-Benz GLA45 AMG

Mercedes-Benz's AMG division entered new territory in late 2013 with the launch of the CLA45, an all-wheel-drive sedan (with front-wheel-drive underpinnings) motivated by a turbocharged, four-cylinder engine. But it wasn't any old turbo-four – the boosted 2.0-liter powerplant claimed the title of most powerful production four-cylinder engine. From behind the wheel, we loved its turbo-heavy antics and steer-it-with-the-throttle dynamics. Now, Mercedes offers the GLA-Class – a small crossover based on that CLA architecture. And rather than just leave it alone in GLA250 guise, the AMG folks created the tiny-tough GLA45 high-riding hatch you see here. It's got the same 355-horsepower, 332-pound-feet turbo-four underhood, a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, and a unique sound that's unlike anything you might expect from a small CUV. That's why we took to some of our favorite backroads to capture another Autoblog Unplugged video with the GLA45. There's no talking, no music, no rizzle-razzle – just shots of the GLA45 driving down our favorite winding roads with nothing but the sweet, throaty sounds of the AMG powerplant. Good luck holding back your giggles when you hear the braaap of a quick gear-change. Mercedes-Benz Crossover Luxury Performance Videos mercedes gla-class mercedes gla45 amg

Volvo S60 Polestar concept plays in the snow with Mercedes C63 AMG

Chris Harris took to a snowy stretch of tarmac to get a fingertips-on-the-wheel feel of the Volvo S60 Polestar concept. Harris says the turbocharged sedan with 508 horsepower and 424 pound-feet of torque - and a manual transmission - is "a study to see if Volvo can get back into the fast-car market." The Polestar S60 concept, one of which was already purchased for $300,000 by a private buyer, is still making the publicity rounds because even Volvo's Chinese owners realize that, as Harris says, "Volvo sold more cars because it made fast cars" like the old 850 T5 Wagon that stormed the British Touring Car Championship in the 1990s.
For reference, Harris compares the blue wonder to the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG and its 487 hp and 442 lb-ft. The question is, were Volvo to get the price of a production version of the S60 Polestar to climb way down from its 200,000-pound sticker, could it be worthy competition to the established giants?
You can watch Harris divine the answer via a lot of drifting through the snow and a drag race in the video below.