Thursday, January 10, 2013
Friday, June 17, 2011
Chrysler Asks Fan to Show Their Most Insanely Tuned Mopars in the Mopar Top Eliminator Competition
Mopar Top Eliminator winner, 2007For the fifth year, Chrysler’s Mopar division is challenging owners of Chryslers, Dodges, and Plymouths of all vintages to produce highly modified masterpieces for its Top Eliminator competition. While “Top Eliminator” sounds like it could be a new, testosterone-laden trim level for the Grand Caravan, it’s actually a serious contest for the company: The most spectacular entries will be taken to Vegas in the fall, where they will be featured on the Mopar stand at the annual SEMA show. After that, one winner will be picked at each of three events by panel of Mopar representatives. The first gathering is coming up soon—on June 4th and 5th—at the 27th-annual “Midwest Mopars in the Park,” in Farmington, Minnesota. The next winner will be chosen at the Carlisle Chrysler Nationals in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, taking place from June 8th to the 10th. And the last one will be selected among the many Mopars that will be rumbling through Royal Oak, Michigan on August 20th during the Woodward Dream Cruise.
Past winners have mostly been muscle cars, including a 1970 Challenger, a 1968 Dodge Coronet, a 1970 Plymouth Super Bee, a 1971 Plymouth GTX, as well as a 2006 Dodge Charger SRT-8. Sadly, no Grand Caravan has been crowned Top Eliminator, though we think a turbocharged, stick-shifted Caravan from the 80s would win over the hearts and minds of any true fans of Mopar muscle.
Chrysler’s sponsorship of this program is no surprise, considering the important role that Chrysler’s storied aftermarket division now plays in the marketing of Chrysler’s new cars. Mopar has been very busy lately, making nifty add-ons for Challengers, an awesome pickup-truck conversion for the Jeep Wrangler, and a go-anywhere pack for Ram trucks. As we reported a few weeks ago, Mopar is giving customers of its 2012 Chrysler 300 a choice of no fewer than eight grille options and six accessory wheel and tire packages.
Top Eliminator is the sort of program we love, encouraging real passion for automotive ownership and personalization. Kudos to Mopar for shining the spotlight on its most creative and loyal customers. Check back this fall to see the winning vehicles.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Brabus Takes Downsized Mercedes-Benz V-8s and Upsizes Their Power
Brabus, the Mercedes-Benz tuning company that has long specialized in granting Benzes more power than anyone thought imaginable, is in serious trouble. It’s under fire from a new competitor: not Lorinser, not Renntech, and not Kleeman. No, the threat to Brabus in the insane-horsepower-for-Benzes battle comes from Mercedes-Benz itself. The new twin-turbocharged 4.7-liter V-8, being deployed throughout the Mercedes-Benz range in models like the CL550, and eventually the S550 and E550, makes 429 hp. A new twin-turbo V-8 from AMG displaces 5.5 liters, and in cars like the S63 and CLS63, will product a whopping 536 hp. What’s Brabus to do but offer still more power for these cars?
How Does 610 hp Sound?
Brabus’s ECU boost and supplementary intercooler result in a whopping 610 hp from the S63 and CL63's 5.5-liter V-8, a 74 hp bump over stock. Torque swells accordingly, ballooning from 590 lb-ft to 737 lb-ft. Mercedes does have its own method for boosting the power of this engine: A $7300 AMG Performance package for its 5.5-liter AMG models increases power by 27 hp and 74 lb-ft of torque, but these numbers still fall short of what’s offered by the Brabus enhancements. For what it’s worth, Brabus warrantees its mods for 3 years or 62,000 miles.
For drivers of humble 550-badged Mercs—like the CLS550, CL550, and upcoming refreshed S550—with the company’s new 4.7-liter, 429-hp engine, Brabus has a pair of options to up the ante a bit. The first kit consists of an ECU upgrade that nets drivers an additional 53 hp and 59 lb-ft, bringing the totals to 482 hp and 575 lb-ft. Add Brabus’s supplementary intercooler and the totals jump to 512 hp and 604 lb-ft. Of course, shoppers eager to bring the look of their Benz up to spec with their speed can also dip into Brabus’s catalog to outfit their rides with everything from wheels to body kits to carbon-fiber accessories.
You’ll Have to Shell out for the Power
The upgrades to the 4.7-liter cars will set you back 4900 euros for the 482 hp kit, and 5900 euros for the 512 hp kit. At current exchange rates, that’s $7185 and $8652, respectively—though when these are available in the U.S., they could cost something different altogether. No pricing was announced for the 5.5-liter AMG engine upgrades. The old mantra is that there’s no replacement for displacement. Mercedes-Benz’s new twin-turbo 4.7- and 5.5.-liter engines go far to disprove this—but the power mongers at Brabus push it further still.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Brabus Takes Downsized Mercedes-Benz V-8s and Upsizes Their Power
Brabus, the Mercedes-Benz tuning company that has long specialized in granting Benzes more power than anyone thought imaginable, is in serious trouble. It’s under fire from a new competitor: not Lorinser, not Renntech, and not Kleeman. No, the threat to Brabus in the insane-horsepower-for-Benzes battle comes from Mercedes-Benz itself. The new twin-turbocharged 4.7-liter V-8, being deployed throughout the Mercedes-Benz range in models like the CL550, and eventually the S550 and E550, makes 429 hp. A new twin-turbo V-8 from AMG displaces 5.5 liters, and in cars like the S63 and CLS63, will product a whopping 536 hp. What’s Brabus to do but offer still more power for these cars?
How Does 610 hp Sound?
Brabus’s ECU boost and supplementary intercooler result in a whopping 610 hp from the S63 and CL63's 5.5-liter V-8, a 74 hp bump over stock. Torque swells accordingly, ballooning from 590 lb-ft to 737 lb-ft. Mercedes does have its own method for boosting the power of this engine: A $7300 AMG Performance package for its 5.5-liter AMG models increases power by 27 hp and 74 lb-ft of torque, but these numbers still fall short of what’s offered by the Brabus enhancements. For what it’s worth, Brabus warrantees its mods for 3 years or 62,000 miles.
For drivers of humble 550-badged Mercs—like the CLS550, CL550, and upcoming refreshed S550—with the company’s new 4.7-liter, 429-hp engine, Brabus has a pair of options to up the ante a bit. The first kit consists of an ECU upgrade that nets drivers an additional 53 hp and 59 lb-ft, bringing the totals to 482 hp and 575 lb-ft. Add Brabus’s supplementary intercooler and the totals jump to 512 hp and 604 lb-ft. Of course, shoppers eager to bring the look of their Benz up to spec with their speed can also dip into Brabus’s catalog to outfit their rides with everything from wheels to body kits to carbon-fiber accessories.
You’ll Have to Shell out for the Power
The upgrades to the 4.7-liter cars will set you back 4900 euros for the 482 hp kit, and 5900 euros for the 512 hp kit. At current exchange rates, that’s $7185 and $8652, respectively—though when these are available in the U.S., they could cost something different altogether. No pricing was announced for the 5.5-liter AMG engine upgrades. The old mantra is that there’s no replacement for displacement. Mercedes-Benz’s new twin-turbo 4.7- and 5.5.-liter engines go far to disprove this—but the power mongers at Brabus push it further still.