Tag Archives: mercedes-benz

Reviews

Fast German Cars

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Fast German car performance statistics taken from Dec 2013. Below are the fastest cars by manufacturer to 60 mph and with the highest top speed:

Audi – R8 5.2 V10 GT, 0-60 mph in 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 199 mph

BMW – E92 M3 GTS, 0-60 in 4.4 seconds and a top speed of 182 mph

Bentley (VAG) – Continental GT Speed, 0-60 in 4.0 seconds and a top speed of 205 mph

Bugatti (VAG) – Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse, 0-60 in 2.6 seconds and a top speed of 255 mph

Lamborghini (VAG) – Aventador LP 700, 0-60 in 2.9 seconds and a top speed of 217 mph

Mercedes-Benz – SLS AMG GT, 0-60 in 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 198 mph

MINI (BMW) – JCW Coupe, 0-60 in 6.4 seconds and a top speed of 149 mph

Porsche – 918 Spyder, 0-60 in 2.6 seconds and a top speed of 214 mph

Rolls Royce (BMW) – Wraith, 0-60 in 4.4 seconds and a top speed of 155 mph

Volkswagen – Golf R, 0-60 in 5.5 seconds and a top speed of 155 mph

Mercedes

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Experience

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An awesome experience at Mercedes-Benz World brand experience centre in Brooklands, Surrey! This facility has been setup as a Marketing front for Mercedes-Benz and allows drivers of all ages to experience beginners vehicles right up to the £168k SLS AMG.

Starting off in the E63 AMG, I drove the usual AMG drivers package including straight line performance and breaking testing, wet circle and experiencing black ice simulation with driver aids switched off and finally the race circuit.

E63 AMG

SLS AMG

The 575bhp 6.2L Mercedes-Benz V8 is a monster and is such a different animal to the usually refined AMG cars such as the E63 I drove. The E63 was incredibly fast but the handling was very smooth and the suspension had an every day feel to it – I’m used to the E46 M3 ride as my every day car. The SLS on the other hand, had a much more uncouth idle and low speed engine noise and at full throttle there was a fantastic gurgle and crackle from the exhaust. The only car I can compare this to is a TVR Tuscan with the low windscreen, long bonnet and savage acceleration. The grip on the corners and steering feedback through the handling circuit was very impressive and didn’t feel as tail happy as was portrayed on Top Gear. It’s officially on THE list!

While you can’t experience the top end thrills in comparison to the likes of Silverstone and other track days, it is the only track experience I’ve encountered where you can drive a performance car with traction control turned off, have guides assistance at ‘hanging the back out’ and feel the thrills of actually driving 0-60 mph (and more) in 3.8 seconds while hanging on to the steering wheel. I never really did feel like I truly got to explore the Ferrari 355 at the Silverstone track day, whereas I had an E63 AMG in a full 180, a 3/4 wet lap with the back hanging out and really gave the SLS some stick and this means tyres screeching, the back stepping out and full throttle in 1st, 2nd and 3rd rather than just 4th-6th gear around a track. Missing the acceleration already.

Stats:
Engine: 6.2L V8, 563 bhp
Performance: 0-60 in 3.8 and 197 mph limited
Cost: £168k + options

Reviews

125 Years of The Car, Germany

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125 Years of the Car – Day 2

http://www.fastgerman.com/Germany.htm

The Porsche Museum was easily my favourite of the three (Mercedes, Porsche and Audi), which was also contributed to by the very knowledgeable tour guide, who actually drove one of the cars at the 2010 Goodwood Festival of Speed. I found the comments by Ferdinand Porsche dotted around the museum very interesting, my favourite of which ‘In the beginning I looked around but couldn’t find the car I dreamt of, so I decided to build it myself’. The line up of 911 Turbo’s from 930 – 997 on revolving platforms at exactly the same turning speed was the longest point of admiration from me. I liked the nickname for the 930 Turbo as the ‘Widow Maker’, which was mentioned on a recent excursion by a PCGB member with reference to the outrageous turbo lag and tail out cornering. The museum was nowhere near the size of the Mercedes Museum but I preferred the more peaceful atmosphere, design of the building, more knowledgeable tour guide and better contents – I’m biased on this however.

Porsche Museum, Germany

More events can be seen here:

http://fastgerman.com/forum/events-attended/

Mercedes

What are Mercedes up to

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So Mercedes think they can produce more exotic, exciting, exhilarating and better accelerating cars than their German rivals do they?

Well lets take a look at the latest efforts from Merc: –

The fabulous Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG has a 6.3 litre V8 engine which delivers 571 BHP and a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. This monumentous partnership translates into chest crushing acceleration from 0 – 60 mph in 3.8 seconds. This performance is matched with a stunning body and of course, Gullwing doors.

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG

You may have also noticed the latest track prepared SL keeping the F1 cars at bay on the safety car laps. A volcanic roar that perhaps the road version doesn’t have, but you can have the same looks and similar performance.

Mercedes-Benz SL F1 Pace Car

Mercedes really is on form this year, I would put them above BMW and Audi in terms of looks and performance but not quite sure if the handling is there yet. There is a sense of the traditional Mercedes-Benz comfort element retained with automatic boxes fitted even in their sports models.