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Ferrari 458 Speciale vs Porsche 911 GT3 shows what Chris Harris does best

After a brief trip behind a pay wall, British auto journalist Chris Harris is back posting videos for free online, and shorts like this one are the perfect example of why his return is so welcome. Showing up at the damp Anglesey Circuit on the Welsh coast with the Ferrari 458 Speciale and Porsche 911 GT3, Harris ostensibly aims to find the better model. However, the final result really succeeds in showcasing the fun to be had behind the wheels of both supercars, particularly when initiating huge slides around the track. As Harris presents it, the vehicles get through the circuit in somewhat different ways The Ferrari is brash and "feels alive," as he puts it as it screams around the track. Alternatively, the Porsche is a bit more restrained, while still being able to show some emotion. In the end, it comes down to trying to get a controlled lap around Anglesey from this duo, but it's pretty clear that the times don't tell the whole story. If you're in the mood to watch two of the world's premiere supercars wag their tails in the wet, then this video cannot be missed.

Weekly Recap: Mercedes continues the pseudo-coupe craze with AMG-tuned CUV

But as BMW's X6 has demonstrated, sport sells in in the crossover segment, and Mercedes is giving the people what they want. BMW proved there is a market for crossover utility vehicles designed to look like coupes – as much as a vehicle with four doors and noticeable ground clearance can look like a coupe, anyway. Now comes the reply from Mercedes-Benz: the GLE Coupe. The rakish crossover is a harbinger of things to come from Mercedes, as it begins the company's transition to a new nomenclature and marks the debut of the AMG Sport line. It also continues the recent coupe craze. Designers from many automakers, like Nissan and Volkswagen, have increasingly turned to swoopy, dramatic styling to make utility vehicles and sedans seem more desirable. By revealing the GLE 450 AMG Sport model first, Mercedes is clearly hoping to cast the GLE Coupe as a sportier, lifestyle-oriented alternative in its lineup of beefy crossovers and SUVs. Mercedes used the word "sport," or a variation of it, 53 times in its press release, so uh yeah, it's sporty. It's not an empty promise: Benz means business with the AMG Sport line. This GLE Coupe gets a 3.0-liter biturbo V6 rated at 362 horsepower and 384 pound-feet of torque paired with Mercedes' new nine-speed automatic transmission, and it runs with 4Matic all-wheel drive. Specs on the other GLE Coupe models were not disclosed. But as BMW's X6 has demonstrated, sport sells in in the crossover segment, and Mercedes is giving the people what they want. After all, more than 260,000 people have bought X6s since 2008, and Mercedes wants a piece of that. From certain angles, the GLE Coupe even looks vaguely like an X6. "This is really a vehicle that is all about status," said Dave Sullivan, product analysis manager for research firm AutoPacific. "You can buy a SUV that doesn't have the inherent qualities of a SUV, such as cargo hauling. People will likely be drawn to the looks. Coupes are all the rage." BMW, however, isn't running from the fight, and the updated 2015 X6 is arriving in showrooms this month. It also added a smaller sibling, the X4, to its coupe-crossover stable in July. The GLE Coupe arrives next year, though Mercedes hasn't specified exactly when it will hit showrooms from the factory in Alabama, or specified details on the rest of the non-AMG Sport models. In 2008, it was surprising the X6 was a hit. In 2015, it will be even more surprising if the GLE Coupe isn't.

Porsche Fire and Ice is chilling art born of flames

Porsche held a contest inviting ten filmmakers to riff on the tagline for the Panamera, "Thrilling Contradictions," in a 60-second film. The winner was an entry called Fire and Ice by director Ross Cohen, a concept that uses just those two elements in a premise as simple as it is rewarding. For his efforts, Cohen will receive a trip to the Chicago International Film Festival, and you might see the short in the pre-movie advertisements in a theater served by Spotlight Cinema Networks.
Porsche did this kind of thing just two years ago, when it asked filmmakers to illustrate the idea of "Everyday Magic". The winner of that contest, Michael Korbel's It's a Magical Life, followed the journey of a young man to husband and father from the perspective of the trunk of a 911. You'll find that video as well as Fire and Ice below.