Gear Patrol

The SLS AMG by Mercedes-Benz is truly the 300SL Gullwing reincarnate. Only the resurrected version is so much faster, you’ll wonder what happened to your eyebrows. How do we know? We got behind the wheel and watched it make people’s necks sore.

If you know anything about Mercedes-Benz, you know that they deliver amped up AMG versions of their cars (and even did so for the now-deceased fat R-Class), so it comes as no surprise that the newly released CLA Class has received similar treatment in the form of the CLA45 AMG.

For most of us the world of powerboats is a bit on the abstract side — we simply imagine loud, fast and ridiculously expensive, but on water instead of pavement. The Cigarette AMG Electric Drive Concept boat is a spectacular example of at least the last two qualities.

Small car. Big engine. The 2014 A45 AMG is a guaranteed recipe for ear-to-ear grins and a way for Mercedes-Benz to prove they still know the magic elixir well. This beast of a hatchback, debuting early next month, gets a whole range of the badass treatment from our favorite German mad scientists (AMG): a new look and a big upgrade under the hood.

Most drivers with sport-tuned cars like BMW’s Ms and Audi’s S line are relegated to red light straightaways, only partially exploiting the true potential of their steeds. The pathway to higher speeds lies elsewhere. Mercedes recognized this problem and invited us to Rosamond, CA., a quiet farming town with long, unpatrolled stretches of road, to play with all their AMG toys offerings for 2013 and to use the track at Willow Springs Raceway for their brand new Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT ($200,000 Base Coupe).

Opting for the standard 2014 E-Class coupe, sedan, convertible or wagon gets you the new grill, hood and lights (along with a serious list of safety features) for a streamlined Optimus Prime look to the front as well as the put-a-drink-on-it wide and flat backside. But because we all need a little more-cedes in our…

Childbirth is a painful thing. Mother screams, child cries, various fluids splash onto the cold floor of a sterile hospital room. Yet, through this (un)natural sequence of events, life and beauty spring forth. Mother heals, child grows strong and healthy, and the once separate genetics of a loving couple are combined into a new generation….

If you know anything about the compact MPV known as the Mercedes-Benz A-Class, you’d know that previous generations have been, um, less than thrilling. Well, that’s all changed with the 2012 Mercedes-Benz A-Class, a complete reworking that’s simply beautiful. Mercedes-Benz hopes this new version will make the A-class world class and push sales into the…

451 horsepower just not enough for you? Well, how about 510 then. And that’s exactly what you’ll get in the 2012 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Black Series. Mated to an AMG Speedshift multiple-clutch 7-speed multimode automatic transmission (try saying that 5 times) that snaps off shifts in just 1/10th of a second, the C63 Black will…

How does this sound? Spend two grand to make your heart stop. Not too appealing, right? Well, Mercedes AMG Driving Academy aims to do just that. In exchange for $2,100 (starting), the skilled madmen of AMG will give you the chance to train with a master instructor behind the wheel of an AMG vehicle, including…

By Jay Shoemaker | The Truth About Cars I made my first pilgrimage to AMG in 2001. Arriving unannounced, I was relegated to longing stares through a chain link fence at rows of serious looking automobiles. I eventually bought an SL55 AMG. I loved its ability to terrify unsuspecting passengers. But it always struck me…

[click on image to enlarge] The Mercedes-Benz G55 AMG is not Greenpeace approved. The Mercedes-Benz G55 AMG is not economical. The Mercedes-Benz G55 AMG 507 hp/516 lb-ft of torque will require more trips to Exxon this year than a Ford Focus would require in it’s entire lifespan… make that your lifespan. It may as well…

Television commercials, for the most part, are blasé. Little creativity and a lot of politics tends to sum up the results of most of what’s on the airwaves today. However, this spot for the 2008 Mercedes C63 AMG, which we posted on GP a while back made me want to take a second mortgage on…

Shoving large engines into small cars isn’t just for hot rodders and high school kids in shop class. It’s also for trained German engineers, especially the ones at AMG, a performance division of Mercedes Benz. Enter the C63 AMG. A compact car with, well frankly, a big ass engine. A 457 horsepower 6.2 liter V8,…

The 2008 CLK63 AMG Black Series is a street legal version of the Official F1 Safety Car. The Black Series is a 500 horsepower version of the AMG 6.3-liter V-8 engine with 0-60 mph acceleration of 4.1 seconds and an electronically limited top speed of 186 mph. It uses a seven-speed automatic with manual control,…