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Rare Isdera Imperator 108i flexes its considerable muscles

The Isdera Imperator 108i is a remarkably rare supercar from the late 80s and early 90s. Born of a Mercedes-Benz concept car, it's powered by a range of AMG-developed V8s, with five to six liters of displacement, depending on the engine. The example shown here, lapping the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit, features the most potent 6.0-liter V8 available. And rather than just being driven about on a perfectly clean racing line, it's freaking power sliding!
Yes, there's something eternally childlike about a wedge-shaped supercar from our formative years being flung about a Belgian racetrack. Adding to the appeal is the Imperator's stumpy, periscopic rear mirror, sticking out of the roof. Even after being out of production for 20 years, this is still a wild, wild car and we'd happily snap up the opportunity pilot one of the 36 Isderas that were built. Take a look below for the full video from Spa.

Smart will go electric-only in United States and Canada

By 2018, the Smart car brand will be only known as an electric vehicle manufacturer in the US. According to Automotive News, sales of gasoline-powered Smart cars will cease later this year, and Daimler will develop the product portfolio into a solely electrified one. This coincides with the upcoming launch of the new generation Smart ForTwo electric drive models this summer. Automotive News claims to have obtained a letter from Mercedes-Benz USA CEO Dietmar Exler sent to US dealers. In it, he underlines the decision to go electric-only, saying "developments within the micro-car segment present some challenges for the current Smart product portfolio," and that the change will only affect North American sales. Production of US-destined gasoline-powered Smarts will cease in April, and sales will continue until stock runs out. The current generation has been on sale from 2015, and it hasn't reached the 2014 sales peak of 10.453 units of the previous generation; last year, there were little more than 6.200 Smarts sold in the States. The first electric drive Smarts were unveiled a decade ago, but they became available in the USA five years later, initially via various trial programs, including Car2Go fleets. Related Video:

Mercedes-Maybach SUV concept headed for Beijing reveal in April

Mercedes-Benz has toyed with the idea of a Maybach SUV for at least 11 years. According to Autocar, we'll finally see a concept with production intent at the Beijing Motor Show next month, the luxury SUV slated for market release next year. As has been the rumor for at least six years, the Maybach people carrier will be based on a stretched version of the GLS, which moves to the company's new Modular High Architecture with the 2019 model. Back in 2007 when Maybach was its own brand and selling roughly 300 units per year, Car magazine reported that brand chiefs were interested in convertible versions of the Maybach 57 and 62 sedans, and an SUV. Maybach built a one-off concept based on the GL — the former GLS-Class — in 2009, but never took the idea further. The rumor popped up again in 2014, then in 2015, reaching not-if-but-when status early last year. A decade on, it's finally time to play the hand. Even though the super-luxe SUV would sit on a stretched version of what is already a three-row SUV, it's reasonable to expect the Maybach SUV will only get two rows. That would give designers plenty of extra room for seating luxury and amenities even beyond the S-Class Maybach. On the other hand, if Mercedes sticks to the rough Maybach playbook so far, a triple-row Maybach would be the only such SUV in the mid- to upper-six-figures. The S-Class 560 4Matic starts at $102,990, the S 560 4Matic Maybach starts at $168,600. Applying that spread to the $94,500 GLS 550, you'd land around $160,000 before adding the markup for a new generation. That kind of starter pricing might make a great tweener proposition. Mercedes could focus on a range of buyers who want to go upscale from the $125,300 AMG GLS 63, without needing to worry — yet — about challenging Bentley and Rolls-Royce. Power is said to come from some version of the company's oft-applied 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 that puts out 462 horsepower in the S 560, but the 3.0-liter inline-six hybrid in the S 560e is under consideration. We'll know next month, when the lightly veiled concept takes the stand in China. The full-on production version should get an introduction at this year's L.A. Auto Show. Related Video: