So Here’s a Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Coupe Drifting Around Two C63 AMG Sedans [VIDEO]

July 27, 2011 at 4:02pm by Alexander Stoklosa

Mercedes-Benz asked its fans on Facebook to vote for which vehicular stunt they felt Benz’s latest commercial should feature, and the fans picked a drifting figure-eight. What, no R-class jumping through a flaming hoop while pulling off a triple-axel? Not very imaginative, these Merc fans. Still, Mercedes answered the fans’ call and produced the video below, in which a Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG coupe executes its maneuvers around two stationary C63 sedans. Enjoy.

Tags: Mercedes-Benz, Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG, Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG coupe |

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Hyundai’s 429-hp Genesis R-Spec to Cost $47,350, While Other Genesis Sedans Get Price Bumps

May 25, 2011 at 4:23pm by Alexander Stoklosa

Hyundai has released pricing information on its refreshed 2012 Genesis sedan (read a full rundown of the 2012's cosmetic changes and powertrain updates here), including the brawny 5.0 R-Spec model. The Hyundai with the five-point-oh produces 429 hp and 376 lb-ft of torque, and is rated at 16 mpg in the city and 25 mpg on the highway. (That’s just one fewer mpg on each cycle than the 4.6-liter Genesis ekes out.) The V-8-powered 5.0 R-Spec will start at $47,350—just $2000 more than the Genesis 4.6, and in addition to the engine has a unique body kit, different rims, and—allegedly—sportier suspension tuning. It should be noted that the 5.0 costs less than a base BMW 535i, while packing 129 more horsepower and more standard equipment, though we acknowledge that few virtually no one will cross shop the two.

Genesis sedans with the other two powertrain configurations on offer, a 3.8-liter V-6 and 4.6-liter V-8, are updated for the 2012 model year, and also carry new price tags. The “base” Genesis sedan 3.8 starts at $35,050—a  $1200 increase over last year’s car—and sports a new 333-hp, direct-injected V-6 engine. The freshened V-6 is really win-win; it pumps out 43 more horsepower and 27 more lb-ft of torque than the outgoing V-6 did, and ups highway fuel economy from 27 mpg to 29 mpg. The Genesis 4.6, which was once the top-of-the-line engine in the sedan (and also served for a whopping 100,000 miles in our long-term test fleet) is now the middle child in the range, and rings in at $45,350, $1500 dearer than last year’s 4.6 model. Its 385-hp (on premium fuel), 4.6-liter V-8 is unchanged from last year. All three engines are paired with Hyundai’s new-for-2012 eight-speed-automatic transmission.

We hope the suspension tweaks being deployed across the Genesis line will quell the harsh ride we experienced in our long-termer, and are psyched to strap on our test gear and see to what extent the new engines improve on the Genesis’s performance stats.

Tags: Hyundai, Hyundai Genesis |

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Maserati to Have Five-Vehicle Lineup by 2014: Two GranTurismos, Two Sedans, and SUV (Thanks, China!)

Don’t tell us you didn’t see this coming—after all, isn’t everybody doing it? Maserati is under orders from Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne to make nice with affluent Chinese buyers, a cozying up that also will shape the brand’s lineup globally.

Two Four-Door Models, Shared Ferrari Tech

What it will affect most are are the brand’s premium four-door cars—yes, plural. There will be a new Quattroporte, plus a 5-series–sized derivative for the B-level management kiss-ass who can’t possibly buy the same car as his boss. (This is a huge deal in China.) Both cars are being planned and designed by Pininfarina together with the Fiat Auto Centro Stile as we speak. New engines will enter the Maser fold, too, including a 400-hp MultiAir-equipped, turbocharged version of the Pentastar V-6 and a newly available 300-hp V-6 turbo-diesel benefiting from Fiat Powertrain Technology’s latest generation of JTD II high-pressure diesel injection and management. Whether the latter can come play in the U.S. is yet to be decided.

It was clear that the trick, all-wheel-drive-enabling PTU that hangs off the front of the Ferrari FF‘s engine wouldn’t stay exclusive to Ferrari for long. We’ve been told that that both Maserati sedans will offer all-wheel drive versions using the ingenious technology, and the cars also will have ZF’s eight-speed automatic gearbox to help ease fuel-consumption and improve highway cruising manners.

The two cars shouldn’t be porkers, either, since the Fiat family’s close ties with Alcoa should allow it to merge some of Ferrari’s lightweight and rigid aluminum chassis technology into the Maserati models. At the same time, responding to complaints of cargo volume, rear passenger space, and ride quality, the rear suspension on both future four-door Tridents will be designed to allow 20-percent more cargo capacity and a repositioning of the gas tank. (The gas tank is currently placed on end right up against passengers’ lower backs.) The fresh Quattroporte arrives at the end of 2012 and the mini-QP comes one year later.

Maser SUV by 2014

While the Italians occupy themselves with the next Quattroporte lineup, the U.S. boffins at Jeep HQ have been handed the challenge of hammering Maserati SUVs out of Grand Cherokees by 2014 and no later. Maseratis off Detroit’s Jefferson Avenue assembly line? Dogs and cats sleeping together? We shall see. Actually, those 4×4 Maserati soft-roaders seem destined to exit the ex-Bertone facility outside of Turin—Fiat bought Bertone in 2009—since just this week the plant’s 1100 or so union workers approved a restructured labor agreement that could allow a $750 million investment to prep for Maserati SUV production. Production capacity would then be 50,000 units once all is in full swing, which means other Fiat-Chrysler models could join the Maser whomper at the factory.

So, by 2014, look for a five-model lineup at your local Maserati dealer: Quattroporte, mini QP, GranTurismo, GT convertible, and the performance SUV. So many Masers—thanks, China!

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