Mercedes-Benz is in the process of turning its expansive test site located in Immendingen into a development hub for future technologies Known as the Mercedes-Benz Test and Technology Center the site spans close to 1,300 acres and includes dozens of test tracks the layouts of which were designed by renowned Formula One racetrack designer Hermann Tilke The site is also dotted with the different road types and signs found around the globe to ensure Mercedes' self-driving systems can be tested for multiple regions and tedious stop-and-go traffic as in major cities “Many traffic situations can be realistically simulated on the test site,” said Reiner Imdahl “A great deal can be calculated by computer but in the end test drives on proper roads are indispensable...we repeatedly find that reality always has surprises in store which the computer has not considered.” For the testing of partially and fully automated driving systems there's a dedicated site spanning about 25 acres that Mercedes has nicknamed Bertha after the wife and business partner of Karl Benz Mercedes is also testing new car-to-car and car-to-infrastructure communications which many firms see as a requirement for robust and reliable self-driving systems Mercedes is working with BMW on self-driving cars. The two auto giants joined forces in February and in July said that they aim to have cars with up to SAE Level 4 self-driving capability on sale by 2024 Level 4 means a car can operate without a driver in select conditions and can safely stop should a driver fail to take back control outside of those conditions the initial select conditions will be highways and parking situations Both automakers also plan to have a system able to handle urban areas and city centers though timing for this feature is yet to be announced This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page deputy prime minister of the federal state of Baden-Wuerttemberg Thomas Strobl and guests from politics and business attended an opening ceremony for Daimler’s new state-of-the-art €200m (US234.2m) Test and Technology Center in Immendingen “Immendingen will play a key role in developing the mobility of the future: here we are bringing together our worldwide vehicle testing and will further develop alternatively driven vehicles systems such as hybrid and electric vehicles under the EQ brand as well as testing future assistance systems and autonomous driving functions,” said Dieter Zetsche chairman of the board of management at Daimler and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars Testing and development work will focus on four key areas – connectivity Approximately 300 new jobs will be created “The automotive future and the future of Baden-Wuerttemberg are profoundly linked In this state the car was invented – that’s our motivation to lead the innovation We want to develop Baden-Wuerttemberg into the most innovative mobility region in Europe state-of-the-art Immendingen Test and Technology Center is a positive and very important signal to further strengthen the technology cluster in Baden-Wuerttemberg.” member of the board of management at Daimler and Mercedes-Benz Cars research and development “High-tech vehicles require high-tech testing The Test and Technology Center in Immendingen offers us many possibilities to test and optimize new technologies including alternative drive systems and driver assistance systems for example by moving durability testing to the test site.” Following an extensive selection process during which about 120 sites were considered all over Baden-Wuerttemberg Daimler decided in 2011 to build the facility on the Immendingen site From the beginning of the project the company received support from the municipality and the citizens of Immendingen testing has been able to continue without any interruption Facilities on-site include a bertha area covering 100,000m² Here challenging and complex traffic situations can be reproduced There’s also an urban district area with 1.5km of roads and intersections where driver assistance systems C2X communication and autonomous vehicle technologies can be evaluated To protect the local nature and the environment Daimler has partnered with local associations on conservation Habitats for plants and animals have been created on the Immendingen site and some areas have been reforested and planted a wildlife passage crosses over the entire site Daimler is carrying out offsetting and replacement measures in accordance with nature conservation law on an area of 625ha the short construction period and the open and transparent overall process the Test and Technology Center has been regarded as a model for future major construction projects in Germany Rachel's career in journalism has seen her write for various titles at UKi Media & Events within automotive her favourite aspect of the job is interviewing industry experts and learning more about the groundbreaking technologies and innovations that are shaping the future of transportation GERMANY—Driving off in the Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX was slightly more stressful than I had anticipated Not that it's difficult to drive or hard to see out of the low-slung streamliner—it's just the only one in existence Mercedes wouldn't tell us the program's exact budget, simply warning us that the sole EQXX should be considered priceless, but I'd guess it's somewhere in the range of three Bugatti Pur Sports the EQXX was built to an engineering brief—in this case the aim was to build an electric vehicle capable of at least 621 miles (1,000km) on a single charge less than two years after the project was given the green light the team drove the EV 625 miles (1,006 km) from Sindelfingen in Germany to Cassis arriving with 15 percent state of charge in the battery Two months later, the team followed that up with a longer drive that involved descending down fewer mountains, driving from Stuttgart, Germany, to the Silverstone racetrack in the UK, where reigning Formula E champion Nyck de Vries then used the remaining charge to drive some hot laps The car eventually completed 747 miles (1,202 km) before coming to a halt in the pit lane even if it's one that uses a cactus-fiber fabric instead of leather the Vision EQXX's shape is more than a little aero-optimized About 62 percent of the work the motor has to do is fighting against air resistance It's a smaller car than it seems from the pictures—about a foot shorter than the production EQS And that includes the long overhanging nose and tail so the Vision EQXX's wheelbase is actually compact-car short at 110.2 inches (2,800 mm) A narrow 73.6-inch (1,870-mm) width and low 53.1-inch (1,348-mm) roofline give the car a small frontal area—22.8 sq ft (2.12 m²)—and the frontal area works with the drag coefficient, which in this case is just 0.17, making it one of the lowest-drag cars ever made The door handles retract flush to the doors or at least they do up front; the rear doors don't open one of the few tells that this really is a concept and not a production car The side-view mirrors are of a size you might expect to find on a racing car rather than something wearing a license plate that space—and the whole roof—is given over to a 300 W solar array that feeds into the car's 12 V battery (Since the priceless one-off will never be left parked outside for very long Mercedes didn’t bother adding the extra parts that would allow the panel to trickle-charge the traction battery.) the lower part of the tail retracts into the bodywork; it extends when the car's onboard brain decides it's more efficient to do so Rolling resistance is the next most important factor in efficiency The bespoke Bridgestone tires keep a tall and narrow profile at 185/60 You can tell there's something clever going on with the tires just by how rounded the shoulders are but a closer look reveals that even the text on the tires has been optimized not to stick out too much lest the bumps add more drag than is necessary And if the tires didn't give the game away the disc-like wheels themselves provide the punchline there's some more cleverness you can't see The EQXX team tried out new topographical optimization techniques applied after the normal finite element analysis that is used to predict how a part might react to heat or vibration That explains the organic shape of the aluminum casting that forms part of the car's rear structure which features load paths that no engineer would draw in CAD But extensive simulation allowed the EQXX to go from blank sheet to that first drive in the south of France in less than two years the battery pack features no active cooling; instead it sits atop a big metal plate that provides structural protection but also acts as a heat sink but that's what engineering projects like the Vision EQXX are for and Mercedes' engineers told me that doing so not only saved a lot of weight but also meant there was no need for a big radiator or the grille you'd want to feed it cold air (There is a small grille behind an active shutter that opens when the climate control needs fresh air.) Since it needs to fit the EV's wheelbase, the battery pack is quite compact, and nothing is carried over from production electric Mercedes like the EQS. The cells are an R&D project, optimized for greater energy density, with more silicon in the anode than you'd find in the Mercedes-Benz EQS and operating at 920 V allows for a lower overall current taking about 30 minutes to go from 10 to 80 percent like you would see on a race car or stripped-out Porsche The cactus-fiber fabric used to trim the seats and the plush bamboo rugs in the footwell sell the interior as a luxury car that deserves to wear the three-pointed star and cruelty-free products instead of the wood and leather of the olden days Continuously running an 8K screen is a good way to waste energy so this one uses local dimming and can even go into a Saab-like mode where the whole thing goes black other than the critical information presented to the driver That's represented as your speed in the center of a dark ball or dot The Vision EQXX's onboard brain is constantly monitoring your efficiency and relays that information to you as a nice or brake so much that you lose energy to friction Everything is rendered in real time in Unity and there's also an onboard voice interface that's a further evolution of the one you'll find in the brand's MBUX infotainment system Before going for a drive in the Vision EQXX the engineering mule that proved the hardware all worked together eMMA started as an EQB crossover before losing its original powertrain so its drag coefficient was more like 0.28 and it obviously has a much bigger frontal area than the EQXX over the 9.53-mile (15.34-km) test route at Mercedes' Immendingen it still achieved 5 miles/kWh (12.5 kWh/100 km) Satisfied that I wouldn't wreck the silver streamliner Mercedes decided that it was time I drive it Although the shape suggests a high top speed the Vision EQXX is actually electronically limited to 87 mph (140 km/h) I only gave it full throttle once at the urging of the Mercedes engineer in the passenger seat despite the fact that it would affect my final efficiency figure And I only went up to 62 mph (100 km/h)—the test track constantly monitors the speed of every vehicle on its tarmac and breaking the speed limit is not appreciated The 241-hp (180 kW) electric motor is plenty for a car of this size and shape The motor's stator uses a copper winding technique borrowed from Mercedes' Formula E team where powertrain efficiency is as important as it is here compared to 97 percent for the single-seat electric race cars Paddles behind the steering wheel spokes let you vary the amount of regenerative braking that happens when you lift your foot from the throttle pedal so using the brake pedal would regeneratively brake blending in the friction brakes as and when it's necessary we can see that it would often have been more efficient to coast than one-pedal drive even if I did regenerate 1.41 kWh compared to the 0.66 kWh regenerated by Mercedes' driver On sections where eMMA would coast and lose a few mph the Vision EQXX would instead pick up a little speed and the car spent most of its time in no-regen mode during its two long demonstration drives earlier this year The glowing ball UI will be familiar if you've driven a Chevy Volt or Bolt and it's a great way to give drivers the feedback they need to drive efficiently So while I wasn't quite as efficient as the reference drive I achieved a respectable 7.44 miles/kWh (8.35 kWh/100 km) at an average speed of 29.81 mph (47.97 km/h) I know that number would be beatable by coasting more and not accelerating hard that one time The Vision EQXX isn't destined for any kind of production not even a limited run like Volkswagen's XL1 experiment I see more demonstration drives in its future I wasn't the only person to suggest a coast-to-coast US drive or a test of how many laps of the Nürburgring Nordschleife it could do on a full charge—they'd be quite slow laps given that 87 mph top speed But its real value is in the lessons Mercedes has learned which the company now has to apply to the cars it does want to sell It was unveiled three years ago and two years ago we reported testing had started – and now the Mercedes-AMG Project One is… still testing Well at least Merc’s much-vaunted “Formula 1 car for the road” hasn’t run out of road… After a year of silence Merc-AMG has today confirmed the 1,000PS hypercar rival for the Aston Martin Valkyrie is alive and kicking It has entered the latest phase of its development with several pre-production cars fitted with what is said to be the final version of its petrol/electric hybrid power unit running fast laps at the firm’s Immendingen proving ground Next up are even faster laps on the north loop of the Nürburgring For this final hurdle before owners get their hands on the AMG One – still thought to be scheduled for 2021 – everyday driveability of the F1 drivetrain and fine tuning of the active aerodynamics are said to be the priorities It will be the first time the active aero components – the louvres air outlets and rear aerofoil – have proved their worth at speed outside the wind tunnel The cars are still wearing their prototype livery but are not thought to be substantially different from the Project One first seen three years ago at the Frankfurt Motor Show A great deal has happened in the world of hypercars since then; 1,000PS is not that unusual now and even the AMG Project One’s 11,000rpm rev limit is beaten by Gordon Murray’s T50 But the road-legal One remains unique in using an actual F1 drivetrain not so different from that used by Lewis Hamilton That means a V6 of 1.6 litres delivering 870PS to the rear wheels with the hybrid electric side adding more horses to take the total up to 1000PS In the past Merc-AMG has cited performance of 0-124mph in six seconds and 218mph flat out along with electric-only running of up to 15 miles Despite more high-power competition than ever AMG remains adamant the Project One will deliver “a new dimension of driving dynamics and performance for a road-going vehicle” and become “a new milestone in automotive history” If testing goes to plan the £2.1 million Project One will be in a showroom near you in 2021. Not that that will help you much if you haven’t already put your name down for one of the 275 cars to be built (like David Coulthard, who has bought an AMG Project One and an Aston Martin Valkyrie) In the past the company has said all are spoken for – though after such a long delay it is not known if any customers have got cold feet The must-have subscription for motorsport enthusiasts Mercedes-Benz recently organized a special drive event for AMG One customers It was held at the Daimler test track in Immendingen Rana65556 is one of the lucky individuals who has the Mercedes-AMG One hypercar on order He has shared his driving experience with us The Mercedes-AMG One is powered by the same engine that propels Lewis Hamilton’s F1 racecar It’s a 1.6-liter turbocharged V6 that revs to 11,000 rpm The IC engine is paired with two electric motors for a combined output of 1063 hp Mercedes claims the AMG One will do 0-62 mph in 2.9 seconds and 0-124 mph in 7 seconds As you can see from the video, the AMG One makes quite a racket at idle and off-throttle. That being said, it sounds a lot better at high revs. The EV mode also seems a bit too loud, which explains why Mercedes was struggling with the NVH on this car The Aston Martin Valkyrie is the direct rival to the Mercedes-AMG One While the latter is a road car with an F1 engine The Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX Concept glides along the track at the company's Immendingen Test Center in southeastern Germany like it's been in development for years Such a short gestation for a concept car is not unusual And now I was taking it on two 10-mile jaunts around the Immendingen facility. For anyone that thought extreme range demanded extreme sacrifices, the effortlessly refined and rich EQXX says otherwise. At the same time, Mercedes has proven that current mass-market EVs have barely scratched the surface of electric efficiency Efficiency was the literal name of the game Rather than just setting me loose on a loop that was designed to mimic two-lane roads and highways in various countries Mercedes challenged me and the other media in attendance to complete the route in the most efficient manner possible an electric drive system engineer and one of the pilots that drove the EQXX from Sindelfingen to Cassis which have three different regen settings – strong and off – the EQXX adds a stronger-than-strong mode that provides substantially more stopping power Avoiding the brake pedal means the wheel-mounted paddle shifters are effectively my brakes Tugs on the left increase regen and the opposite reduces it The good news is that the EQXX is never more than three pulls of the paddles from maximum or no regen And even with Strong or Stronger (shown as “D-” or “D- -” in the digital cluster) regen the accelerator pedal is immensely easy to modulate But more exciting is what happens when you let the aerodynamics work There's a tendency to only consider the impact of drag on wind noise and when maintaining speed in a highway setting – a low CoD generates less wind noise and requires less fuel to hold a constant speed – but the EQXX proves how a sleek body allows long-distance coasting and lift off the pedal to feel the EQXX almost surge forward on pure momentum gravity takes over – the body manages the air so well that the EQXX gains speed on even the slightest downhill grade I had to reintroduce some regen to keep below Immendingen's GPS-monitored speed limits which varied from 60 to 100 kilometers per hour (37 to 62 miles per hour) on the route Mercedes' aerodynamics work is a combination of novel and familiar an air curtain on the leading edge of the front wheel wells channels air to a breather on the trailing edge reducing turbulence from the semi-flush magnesium rollers The coke-bottle shape and excessively long tail are also familiar aerodynamic aids But the EQXX benefits from other newer touches I managed to eke out a consumption figure of just 7.4 kilowatt-hours per 100 kilometers (8.4 miles per kWh) beating the 7.9 kWh/100 km (7.9 miles/kWh) of Mercedes test driver there are adaptive aerodynamic aids at both ends of the car including a deployable rear diffuser that's as extreme as any dinner-table-sized rear wing The rear track is 2.0 inches narrower than the front and keeps the back tires flush with the tapered rear end Active shutters in the front fascia and a cooling plate in the underbody manage air flow without compromising cooling (supremely important with an air-cooled battery pack) This ability to coast almost endlessly was key to the EQXX's journeys from Germany to Cassis and Silverstone and it was equally important during my test beating the 7.9 kWh/100 km (7.9 miles/kWh) of Mercedes test driver on the same stretch] my average speed was about 5 kph (3 mph) lower than Mercedes’ own test driver the EQXX was nearly three times more efficient than the production EVs I usually test But even if I wasn't driving in such a pokey way most of my colleagues recorded efficiency figures in the 8.0 to 8.5 kWh/100 km range (7.8 to 7.3 miles/kWh) while driving nearer the 49-kph average Mercedes saw along the same route Those consumption figures aren't far off the 8.3 kWh/100 km Mercedes recorded driving from Stuttgart to Silverstone the EQXX's power-to-weight ratio is better than an EQS 450 The Vision scoots along happily when given a boot full of pedal at one point dispatching a brisk run to 100 kph while traveling uphill with surprising authority It won't win any acceleration contests with Tesla Model S Plaid or a Porsche Taycan but the performance is equal to almost any other single-motor electric vehicle on the road It's like the best grand tourers in the way it hides its extreme capability until called upon The ride quality is, as Senior Editor Brett T. Evans noted in his ride-along as the EQXX felt like it found a happy balance between the performance-focused stiffness of a mid-range AMG with the focused ride quality of a mainline Mercedes model Road noise from the super-skinny Bridgestone tires is noticeable or even the radio you'd find in a production EV I couldn't push the EQXX too hard through corners – priceless concept car problems I know – although the steering seemed well weighted But despite the stiffness of the suspension the EQXX didn't handle with the usual poise I'd expect of a Mercedes even if the center of gravity was super low and as a result there was more body motion than expected I doubt Mercedes put in the kind of time tuning the EQXX's handling as it did the powertrain this thing came together in just a year and a half It's easy to get wrapped up in the EQXX's world-beating range and efficiency But as I write this a few days after my drive all I'm thinking is how completely that misses the picture but Mercedes could have achieved that with a huge battery and design and engineering inspiration that will serve as a roadmap for the future both during development and with its two single-charge road trips will shorten the time from conception to production and result in smarter The EQXX is named Vision because that's exactly what it will provide as the automaker prepares for the future of motoring The Toyota Corolla Looks Even Better With White Wheels This 'Damn Sexy' Mercedes Design Will Shape Future Cars The New Audi A6 Plug-In Hybrid Has a Decent Electric Range The New Base Mercedes CLA Loses Its Passenger Screen Forget the V-8: Brabus Tune Pushes E53 Wagon to New Heights Between two farms outside of Mercedes’ proving grounds in Immendingen, Germany, I pull the 2025 Mercedes-Benz AMG GT 63 S E Performance to the side of an open country road I turn the steering wheel dial to Race mode The 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster flashes “Race Start Ready,” and I let go of the brake The V-8 engine and electric motor come together to deliver immediate The Michelin Pilot Sport S 5 tires hook up at all four corners my back cracks as my body snaps back into the supportive and well-formed sport seat and the car rockets to 60 mph in what feels a lot like the 2.7 seconds Mercedes quotes for its performance plug-in hybrid I’ve just experienced the quickest Mercedes ever enabled by a seamless blend of gas and electric power the meandering route from AMG headquarters in Affalterbach to Lake Konstanz that Mercedes has chosen for the bulk of the media drive is also telling The route features short spurts of autobahn This might be the most powerful car in the brand’s most expensive sports car range but Mercedes bakes in no track time or long stretches of mountain roads likely because the car is simply too heavy The new coupe’s plug-in hybrid system adds about 500 pounds to a car that has gained 600 pounds in its second generation It turns the GT from a sports car to a grand tourer 2025 Mercedes-Benz AMG GT 63 S E Performance The plug-in hybrid system is a technological marvel that also powers the S-Class and AMG GT 4-Door Coupe It pairs the brand’s familiar twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 with a rear-mounted permanently excited synchronous electric motor The engine spins out 603 hp from 5,750-6,750 rpm and 627 lb-ft of torque from 2,500-4,500 rpm the engine and motor produce an incredible 805 hp and 1,047 lb-ft Mercedes blends the two propulsion systems well Acceleration is predictable based on pedal position with no awkward handoffs of power from one system to the other The familiar guttural growl of the Mercedes V-8 accompanies the power but so does another sound: the eerie synthetic whirr of the rear motor it sounds like a spaceship landing in a pitched World War II mortar battle A couple of autobahn blasts also show that power stays on boil at high speeds I wait for traffic to clear then step deep into the throttle but that’s 163 mph with a rock steady feel and plenty more left in the chamber Another journalist hits 192 mph (which I find overly brave) The plug-in hybrid system is located on the rear axle in a rather complex arrangement shared with other performance hardware While the engine’s power flows through a 9-speed AMG Speedshift MCT transmission with a wet clutch the rear motor’s power goes through an integrated 2-speed transmission and a limited-slip differential The rear transmission can spin up to 12,500 rpm before it changes gears While the engine can power the front wheels so can the rear motor as both power sources turn the driveshaft in the same direction the center differential determines how much power goes to the front A 6.1-kwh (4.8-kwh usable) battery is also located above the rear axle to power the motor and the whole rear end assembly is further complicated with the addition of a rear-wheel-steering system Driving through some of Germany’s quaint small towns seems like the perfect time to try the EL electric mode the AMG GT 63 S E Performance isn’t nearly as quick as it is with the aid of the engine but it also isn’t as slow as many other plug-in hybrids The rear motor can add 94 hp continuously and deliver its 201 hp shots when needed and the driver stomps the throttle past a detent at the end of the pedal travel It has enough oomph to keep up with traffic in just about any situation and get up to freeway speeds but it’s iffy enough that it requires a free lane and smart planning The bursts of max electric power are mostly needed when teamed with engine power on a racetrack the full power will be available for use on long straights and the Mercedes Track App can sync the car to a track and determine when the best times are for full power The 400-volt battery is built to handle the quick blasts each of its 560 cells is liquid-cooled to keep it around its ideal operating temperature of 113 degrees Fahrenheit That lets the battery dole out power quickly and recover it fairly quickly as well The small battery provides about eight miles of electric driving range on the more lenient European WLTP cycle so that might be five or six miles on the EPA cycle that doesn’t mean the battery easily runs out of charge but not all the way and switching to the other modes will charge it back up aided by four levels of regen that tops out at 0.3 g of regenerative braking that doesn’t quite bring the car to a stop one electric run takes the battery down to 25% but switching between Sport and Sport+ modes brings it back up to 63% after an hour or so as I switch between max and minimum regen The battery can also be charged at home via its 3.7-kw onboard AC charger An Individual drive mode lets drivers get the most performance out of the car while driving on electricity rather than aiming strictly for fuel efficiency the driver can choose the Sport or Sport+ settings for the suspension and loosen the reins of the stability control by opting for the Pro or Master settings of the AMG Dynamics stability control system A louder or softer synthetic sound can also be chosen and the traction control can be turned off 2025 Mercedes-Benz AMG GT 63 S E Performance Coupe Budgetary considerations are one reason the second-generation AMG GT weighs more than the first generation This time around Mercedes has combined the SL and GT lineups on a common platform with the GT serving as the coupe and the SL as the convertible and it makes the SL sportier while adding weight to both The second-generation GT evolves from a two-seater with a rear transaxle to a longer 2+2 with the transmission moved to the front the 2025 Mercedes AMG GT 63 S E Performance weighs in somewhere north of 4,600 pounds (official figures have not yet been published) So much weight isn’t ideal for best handling but Mercedes employs a lot of performance equipment and advanced suspension technology It starts with a hydraulic-linked suspension, a la the McLaren 750S to counteract body roll instead of anti-roll bars The hydraulic links and the pressure in the system’s pump determine the virtual spring stiffness and the system stiffens up to prevent lean and maintain proper camber for quick turn-in response and the system can remain mostly open to soak up bumps The adaptive dampers also have two hydraulic connections so they can follow along with the spring rates The stiffness is all adjustable through Comfort the ride doesn’t beat me up on Germany’s smooth I never reach for Comfort mode due to ride quality though I’d have to try it on America’s finest pockmarks to render a complete opinion The rear axle is home to an electronic limited-slip differential that ensures the rear wheels apportion the power to most efficiently exit a corner at speed Rear-wheel steering also aids parking lot maneuverability and either makes the car turn a little sharper in lower-speed corners or holds it steadier in high-speed lane changes or fast cornering The system can turn the rear tires 2.5 degrees opposite of the fronts and it switches over to steering with the fronts at 62 mph It also includes a variable front steering ratio that is quicker at lower speeds Active aerodynamics play a part in handling performance An aero element on the underbody in front of the engine lowers 1.6 inches at 50 mph to create a venturi effect that sucks the car to the road and reduces axle lift The car also has a retractable rear spoiler that activates into one of five positions starting at 50 mph to increase stability or reduce drag An optional AMG Aerodynamics Package comes with a fixed rear wing that adds 31 pounds of downforce at 155 mph I learn that all this equipment harnesses the GT’s weight quite well helping the car maintain a mostly flat attitude both under heavy braking and when attacking a turn The car turns in quickly with the brand’s typical fast thanks in part to a near-perfect 51:49 front-to-rear weight balance aided by all that extra weight on the rear axle as it rides on a big set of Michelin Pilot Sport S 5 tires 295/35R20 up front and 305/35R20 at the rear Braking is also robust due to a standard set of carbon-ceramic brakes that reduces unsprung weight and increases braking performance These are the biggest beasties Mercedes has ever put on a car with 16.5-inch front rotors and 6-piston calipers and 15-inch rear rotors with single-piston calipers While the suspension affords excellent control on public roads the weight will cause some problems on a track It will make the car understeer in sharp corners and it will put greater stress on those big brakes It won’t feel quite so willing to change directions and it won’t feel as light on its feet as the last GT which carried up to 1,100 fewer pounds on its well-balanced chassis The handling champion of the GT lineup will be the newly announced AMG GT 63 Pro It does away with the plug-in hybrid system and its V-8 makes the same 603 hp as in the plug-in hybrid model both of which are 26 hp more than the standard AMG GT 63 model It comes with the Aero package and is offered with even stickier Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires this drive program does include a ride-along in the Pro with legendary Mercedes racer and five-time DTM champion Bernd Schneider at the wheel the AMG GT Pro appears to have all the capability of the best of the last generation AMG GT Making that determination will have to wait for a drive opportunity or concrete evidence in track time A low-set seating position enhances the sporty feel of any AMG GT provided you’re used to a leather- and carbon-fiber-lined tub replete with screens and etched-metal Burmester speaker grilles Its multi-contour sport seats give me the right kind of hug without squeezing the admittedly excess stuffing out of me The 11.9-inch center touchscreen lets me monitor several hybrid- and AMG-specific vehicle systems The AMG Performance display shows front and rear steering angle and temperature of the electric drive unit That tech is balanced by plenty of luxuries including available seat heating and cooling two-tone nappa leather upholstery with diamond quilting and synthetic suede inserts and optional tighter AMG Performance seats A Manufaktur option extends the nappa leather to the armrests Deep pile floormats and illuminated side sills add even more luxury The AMG GT’s rear seat is about as useful as it is in the Porsche 911 the AMG GT is actually a hatchback with a decently sized rear cargo area that loses a few cubic feet of space due to the battery mounted above the rear axle The 2025 Mercedes-Benz AMG GT 63 S E Performance is due in the U.S but expect it to cost roughly $25,000 more than the GT 63 model Do you want to spend more for the quickest Mercedes ever one with incredible power and a short electric range for city jaunts or does a purer sports car—albeit one with less power—appeal more though I doubt it could crack my back as well as the AMG GT 63 S E Performance plug-in hybrid Mercedes-Benz paid for travel and lodging for Motor Authority to bring you this firsthand report Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information A Mercedes-Benz S-Class automobile during a Daimler autonomous driving demonstration in Immendingen While many car-component makers are hesitant to put large sums toward the development of highly automated driving due to regulatory uncertainty several vehicle manufacturers expressed an interest in the alliance reviews and comparisons of electric cars and SUVs from Australia's most trusted experts chief technical officer of Mercedes-Benz’s high-performance sub-brand says it learned a lot working on the PHEV drivetrain of the new C63 S E Performance This electrified four-cylinder replacement for the V8 C63 a car with strong appeal for performance-loving Australians with deep pockets was a challenge for Hermann’s team of engineers “Everything that we have done in the past as AMG – improving driving dynamics the way we set up a suspension – now we’re combining all this with all these different driving modes,” he says “This new level or new dimension that we bring into play where you have to deal with energy managment is a very important part for the future.” “Because if you go fully electric – that’s the next big thing – how can you manage rather smartly the way you deal with the energy that’s available?” Hermann is steering very speedily around the handling track that’s part of Mercedes-Benz’s massive Immendingen Proving Ground in south-west Germany The car is a pre-production C63 S E Performance wearing carefully colour-co-ordinated camouflage and he’s skilfully demonstrating its many modes and moods This is a car with a very complex drivetrain There’s a 350kW 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine with a high-voltage electric turbocharger under the bonnet It’s connected to a nine-speed automatic transmission But the rear axle of this AMG also houses a 150kW electric motor with its own two-speed gearbox The drivetrain’s clever design means this motor can drive all four of the C63 S E Performance’s wheels in electric-only mode It’s near-silent and smooth-riding in E-for-electric Immendingen’s hillclimb road section Comfort and quietness were never words for the old C63 And the new C63 PHEV absolutely smashes its immediate ancestor for performance With an extra 125kW compared to the old C63 V8 the plug-in hybrid has a total of 500kW on tap the hybrid system’s maximum torque exceeds 1000Nm No wonder AMG’s engineers decided the new C63 needed all-wheel-drive The new C63 also has a longer wheelbase than a regular C-Class The axles are wider than Mercedes-Benz’s medium-size sedan and AMG added a total of eight different braces and reinforcing plates to increase the stiffness of the body.  “We have never changed so many things in a series car to make it a C63,” says Hermann While the larger footprint naturally brings handling advantages he explains that the longer nose of the C63 was also needed to create space for extra radiators.  “We are not only cooling the combustion engine but also the battery in the back.” Keeping the car’s compact but power-dense battery pack in its temperature comfort zone is one of the keys to the C63 PHEV’s stunning performance we can always pump in as much energy as possible and suck out energy as much as possible all the time And still also take care of the lifetime of the cell.” Hermann demonstrates how much regenerative energy the battery can absorb in a single savage ABS stop Then he selects the Boost function that’s only available in the new C63’s Race mode “I have this Boost function,” Hermann says but I am limited to 50kW from the back.” we will have an additional 100kW.” He pushes through the resistance point near the end of the accelerator pedal’s travel “This is a dimension we brought into the C63 that’s only known from supercars Hermann knows some existing C63 customers treasure its V8 soundtrack “It might be possible some people will say ‘It’s not my car any more’ but I am very sure with the new part that we brought into this car we will also maybe gain new customers.” will feel at home with the new C63 PHEV’s multiple driving modes and set-up options It’s this mature car that still sticks to its heritage of being an aggressive the C63 S E Performance is a taste of the company’s future “It gives you an outlook on what is about to come from AMG once we have another full electric car,” he says The new C63 PHEV makes the old C63 V8 seem slow and simple the effectiveness of well-engineered PHEV tech for high-performance applications But the C63 S E Performance itself will soon be overshadowed future AMGs based on the high-performance EV platform the company is already developing Has written about cars and the car business for more than 35 years working full-time and freelance for leading mags major newspapers and websites in Australia and (sometimes) overseas Avidly interested in core EV technologies like motors and batteries and believes the switch to electromobility definitely should be encouraged Is waiting patiently for someone to make a good and affordable EV that will fit inside his tiny underground garage in northern Italy often called hydrogen fuel cells vehicles (FCEV) Insipid on the outside it may be, but the interior of the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class is intense beautifully crafted blend of tradition and technology that is profoundly impressive and instantly attractive it really is a lot like an S-Class in here… The effect is especially strong in this light-coloured cabin of this C300 sedan one of the fleet of new C-Classes Mercedes-Benz has brought to Immendingen for introductory test drives by media able to travel into Germany The lower section of the car’s instrument panel is dark wood strips divided by thin metal inlays a combination that’s one of the best-looking in the new S-Class Like the other C-Class variants available to drive on Mercedes-Benz’s massive new proving ground south of Stuttgart and public roads around it, this C300 is heavily optioned. It has bigger central and driver display screens top-level LED matrix headlights and rear-wheel steering From the driver’s seat, the big screens and scarcity of physical buttons present a pleasing panorama. The new steering wheel, too, is attractive. This car doesn’t have the thicker-rimmed AMG Line wheel with doubled horizontal spokes. The slimmer rim is nicer to hold and the touch controls on its spokes are more natural to use. Having earlier tried the C200, there’s pressure on the C300. Performance of the turbo 1.5-litre of the lesser model isn’t awful, but the four-cylinder lacks refinement. It’s gruff in the 2000 to 3000rpm zone of its rev range, where the standard nine-speed auto keeps it operating for much of the time. It’s an elegant, beautifully crafted blend of tradition and technology that is profoundly impressive and instantly attractive. The turbo 2.0-litre four of the C300 is a much sweeter engine. It’s feistier, of course, but also sounds better. The C200 and C300 sedans will be the first of the new C-Class family to arrive in Australia, sometime in the fourth quarter of this year. It’s clear, at least to me, which one is the smart choice. Both engines are equipped with 48-volt mild hybrid technology. The system’s motor is an integrated starter generator sandwiched between engine and auto, a more sophisticated way to do it than the bolt-on belt-drive hardware chosen by some other brands. In operation the system is unobtrusive. Though able to add 15kW and 200Nm, the motor doesn’t increase the engine’s 190kW and 400Nm maximums by the same amounts. This is because the electric motor and the internal-combustion engine, which are harnessed together, peak at different points in the rev range. What the driver will notice is strong step-off acceleration and instant engine restarts when the Stop/Start system is at work, as well as impressive fuel efficiency. Key changes to the new C-Class platform are quicker steering and a compact rear multilink suspension design that mimics the S-Class. On the optional-in-Europe adaptive suspension of the C300 tester, there’s a truly S-Class feel to the way it rides in default Comfort mode. Some may find the flotation-tank serenity soothing, but my personal preference is for a little more in the way of connection and control. Easily fixed; simply select Sport mode. But this creates another problem. Like many other German cars, Sport mode alters transmission behaviour, restricting access to the higher gears and holding the gears it does select for too long. Eventually I pull over and make Individual mode menu selections to get the C300 to drive the way I want; Sport for the suspension, Comfort for the steering and powertrain, in case you’re interested. This combination really suits the calmly competent character of the new C-Class. While the advantages of the optional rear-wheel steer system weren’t blindingly apparent on the road, it does definitely improve the C-Class’s handling stability. The special course set up on an Immendingen test track to demonstrate the tech was wet when I drove another C300 around it. The tenaciousness of rear-end grip through high-speed slaloms and swerve-and-recover manoeuvres was simply amazing. While it doesn’t much reduce the new C-Class’s turning circle, rear-wheel steer is an option that keen drivers should consider. If it’s priced reasonably. It’s not only option costs that are not known. Mercedes-Benz Australia is yet to announce prices of the C200 and C300, though there are hints that base prices and standard equipment levels will rise compared to the current C-Class. This means the C300 is likely to creep close to the $80,000 barrier. While the exterior does little to make a case for buying the new C-Class, its interior is very, very persuasive. Zero road accidents by 2050? We test latest Mercedes tech that’s intended to k Australia's BIGGEST New Car WebsiteAustralia's BIGGEST New Car WebsiteNews Reviews Research Buy SellGuest User Mercedes-AMG’s Formula 1 car for the road is entering a new stage of development. The performance arm of Mercedes-Benz has announced its 735kW (1000hp) Project One hybrid hypercar has graduated to performance testing, with several prototypes doing laps at the company’s proving ground in Immendingen, Germany. “Along with the dynamic test programme and some refinements to the car’s driveability, development work is also focused on its active aerodynamics,” says Mercedes-AMG in its media release. “The complex interplay between the various active components such as the louvres, the air outlets in the front fenders or the large rear aerofoil is now confirming its effectiveness even outside the wind tunnel as a means of delivering the car’s exceptional lateral dynamics.” In addition to dynamic testing at Immendingen, the AMG One continues powertrain development at Mercedes-AMG’s headquarters in Affalterbach, Germany, with the next step of testing to be conducted on the northern loop of the famed Nurburgring race track. First revealed at the 2017 Frankfurt motor show, the Mercedes-AMG Project One, set to be called just the ‘One’ when it enters production, will be limited to just 275 units globally and is pitched as a road-legal version of the Petronas Formula One race car famously driven by Lewis Hamilton. Power in the space-age race car for the road comes from a 1.6-litre turbocharged V6 hybrid system based on the powertrain fitted to Hamilton’s racer. In order to make the motorsport engine compatible with commercially-available fuel and better reliability, the company has previously stated the race car’s rev limit of 11,000rpm will be “significantly” reduced in the AMG One, though its 735kW total power output is nothing to be sneezed at. The performance targets are equally as bonkers. Mercedes-AMG has yet to officially indicate a 0-100km/h time, but it has said previously the AMG One will hit 200km/h from rest in under 6.0 seconds on its way to a top speed “beyond 350km/h“. The AMG One pairs its 1.6-litre turbo V6 to three electric motors – one for each front wheel, one on the rear axle – and a lithium-ion battery pack of an unknown capacity. At its production reveal Mercedes-AMG claimed the One would be capable of driving up to 25km on electric power alone. Drive is channelled through all four wheels using the aforementioned electrically-driven front axle and hybrid rear, assisted by a torque vectoring system and an AMG Speedshift eight-speed automated manual transmission. According to Mercedes-AMG, the eight-speed transmission is a bespoke unit developed in-house, featuring both full automatic and manual models, as well as steering-mounted paddle shifters. You may be lucky enough to one day see one on Australian roads, too, with the company confirming in 2018 that eight units would be delivered across the Australian and New Zealand markers – exact figures haven’t been disclosed. Are you excited for the Mercedes-AMG One? Let us know your thoughts in the comments James is an automotive journalist based in Melbourne, Australia. Before joining CarExpert.com.au in 2020 James has worked at leading auto media outlets including Carsales and CarAdvice as well as at Pulse agency for Ford Australia's communications team In 2019 James made Mumbrella's 'Top 20 most prolific web authors in Australia' list after publishing 1,360 articles between March 1 James is also an Ambassador for Drive Against Depression – an Australian charity whose mission is to support mental wellness through the freedom of driving and a shared love of cars The Mercedes-AMG Project One is a step closer to production with its Formula One-derived powertrain now at full power AMG has given us a peek behind the curtain at its Immendingen test track to see and hear how the Project One is coming along Previous press releases have referenced the difficulties with secretly testing a hypercar that sounds like an F1 racer The Project One’s 1.6-litre turbocharged V6 and its electric motors are “comprehensively electrified and highly complex” according to AMG “with its full output of more than 735kW.” Project One has been coming for some time, it was announced at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show where we discovered it would produce ‘around 740kW’ and be capable of a top speed near 350km/h This comes thanks to that turbocharged V6 as well as four electric motors a 120kW electric motor on each front wheel and an 80kW unit running the turbo to kill lag It will also have a full-electric driving mode but this isn’t the primary aim of the Project One and will thus only be good for around 25km according to the latest official info on that particular aspect of the car small tweaks are now being made to perfect elements such as the car’s aerodynamics “Testing has thus now largely transferred from the test stands to concentrate more and more on test tracks,” AMG says “The objective of reaching a new dimension of driving dynamics and performance for a road-going vehicle with the Project ONE and thereby setting a new milestone in automotive history is thus gradually drawing closer for Mercedes-AMG The techy details: AMG Project One “The next step in this extensive programme of testing and development is already clear: the performance of the Project ONE will shortly also be tested on the north loop of the Nürburgring.” it was confirmed nine of the 275 Project Ones will come to Australia though a higher demand which was disclosed in the form of seven more serious expressions of interest means that number may have changed Mercedes-Benz Australia expects international deliveries of Project Ones to commence in late Q1 2021 Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro Research Mercedes-Benz Cars at 10% discount when you renew your car insurance Compare prices between different insurer providers and use the promo code 'PAULTAN10' when you make your payment to save the most on your car insurance renewal compared to other competing services The pure EV range here is considered class leading very awful car compared to the excellent volvo s60 You can either post as a guest or have an option to register. Among the advantages of registering is once a name has been registered, a guest cannot post using that name. If you have an account, please login before commenting. If you wish to have a profile photo next to your name, register at Gravatar using the same e-mail address you use to comment Copyright © 2025 Driven Communications Sdn Are you sure because the northern religious political guys will tell you how uplifting or better it is than Asian brands eventhough they do not have money to pay their own Civil Servants as revealed back in 2018 There are so many truths on why many people criticize Merc these days He has enough thinking la…that’s his problem He has not enough thinking la…that’s his problem Mercedes fans won’t take any criticsm lightly lmao and yet somemore spending their time for downvoting people complaints Stop ass licking Mercedes or any other company you stupid fools Phev is always a tempting option provided the price is right and the product is reliable It does help in the transition from ice to ev Substandard quality is a worldwide phenomenon Just that our ckd cars have laziness added into the assembly process The Germans wouldn’t choose to open CKD kilang here if the abang2 were very lazy BMW on the other hand is the most reliable out of the German trio seems like they learnt a lot from their collaboration with Toyota with the Z4/Supra got incident like so many cases like A Class EQ got caught fire not here but everywhere E Class and many S Class where also not work properly that goes viral too Their sales in 2023 fell short compared to their Bavarian best friend/rival BMW their EV strategy is falling flat on its face because they’re pursuing only high-end market with subpar products and now they’re bringing in subpar C350e again… as if the W205 didn’t teach them anything better If you’re in the C-class Facebook you’ll see lots of electronic and sensor issues on W206 i want to pick up a C300 W205 going down in resale values malaysian warriors eager to advise global german luxury on how they do business ;;))) Tease tease tease…tease again and I will smack you If you need a nightmare to keep you up shivering at night go to any Mercedes specialist mechanic and ask them to tell you stories about Mercedes hybrid repair