Putting the patrol vehicle 6.X beside the older LAPV 5.4, the newer Mercedes creation has a bigger payload capacity, better agility, and improved level of protection.

The new G-Wagen has a common-rail diesel powerplant with a higher torque that allows it to go as fast as 93 mph and manage without a problem a payload capacity of 1.4 tons.

The body is armored by full steel protection against ballistics. The vehicle also has a mine deflector installed with its flooring.

The LAPV 6.x is also equipped with variable-lift air shocks that give it a ground clearance of up to 17.7 inches. It also comes with its own tire inflation system.

The EADS or European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company gave the vehicle a data recorder, VHF/UHF communication setup, a jamming system, and a mobile control/command system.

To be more specific, the overall length of the luxury car (taking into account the roomier rear legroom and the wheelbase) increased by 5.5 inches or 14 cm. Consumers also noted that the front seats can be controlled from the rear.

Again, reviewers aren’t sure if this is such a good thing. One thing’s for sure though—it’s not a good idea to have pranksters and naughty little kids into the secret.

The ground clearance of the car has also increased significantly for this model, thanks to Mercedes’ Agility Control suspension system. A Mercedes car wouldn’t be a Mercedes car without safety features, and the ones included in this model are the sleep alert system and the PRE-SAFE technology.

The mechanics under the hood also make for a pretty smooth drive, despite the less than spectacular external design alterations. The car will be available to consumers in two 540-liter variations. One is the 260-CGI BlueEFFICIENCY which produces 150kW/204hp and the E300 which produces 180kW/245 hp. This is, to date, the smallest turning circle for this model class. Take note that the E 260 AVANTEGARDE also comes with an electronic, panoramic sliding sunroof, rear seat entertainment system, thermatic air conditioning system, and a keyless-GO electronic drive authorization system with remote boot closing.

There is no need to worry though if you are hoping for more green cars in the market. There are several European car producers that are on the race to come up with the technology as early as 2011. French carmaker Citroen promised to use a diesel-hybrid engine with their new baby the DS5 but this will have to wait until 2011.

Mercedes-Benz was able to step on the pedal and may hit their goal. Mercedes Benz will be able to deliver a hybrid diesel-electric vehicle and also launch a version of the technology through the E-Class before the end of the year. Deliveries of the hybrid units will start by the first months of 2011.

The E-Class hybrid will be labeled E300 Hybrid and will be depending on a 2.2L 4-cylinder turbo diesel engine paired to a lithium ion electric motor. This engine is also used by the E250 Bluetec running on diesel.

The E300 hybrid will only be on a mild hybrid configuration. This means that the car cannot really run on a full electric mode but the electric motor is just used to boost the power of the combustion engine and restarting the vehicle from a stop. The fuel consumption though is still very good and will be more than 50mpg.

The components of the Mercedes-Benz hybrid will be similar in configuration with the S400 Hybrid. The S400 is doing well in the local German market with makes up 15% of the sales figures of the S-Class. The modular platform being followed by the carmaker allows the sharing of the components of their different units. Diesel hybrid configuration is also being planned for the GL, ML, and GLK SUV.

Mercedes-Benz’ F800 Style represents what future Mercedes-Benz will look like. The four-door, five-seat coupe blends safety, future driving technology, and comfort with the new design language of the company.

The interior of the concept vehicle is quite roomy and makes use of display concepts and intelligent controls for seating. The concept vehicle has two versions. One version will be purely utilizing an electric drive which runs on fuel cells and has a decent range of 375 miles. Another version is a hybrid plug-in that can run on pure electricity for 18 miles.

F800 Style plug-in hybrid car will depend on the 300 horsepower V-6 gasoline powerplant and an electric motor that uses lithium ion battery packs. According to insiders, the F800 plug-in variant will be able to zoom from 0 to 60 mph in just 4.7 seconds. It will hit 155 mph as its top speed. The fuel efficiency of this concept will be pegged at 81 mpg. The electric vehicle mode of this variant will allow it to hit 75 mph for its top speed. The new generation of Mercedes-Benz S Class will feature an engine like this one.

The pure electric variant of the F800 Style will depend on an electric motor that has an output of 136 horsepower. The engine will also make use of a hydrogen fuel cell just like the one that will be installed on the F-Cell of the B-Class due to roll out in the near future.

During the Detroit Auto Show, Mellinghoff explained that around 80% of the accidents on the road involving people entail only 20% of the car’s front hitting the pedestrian. They did the math and studies show that it will only take a Mercedes Benz to swerve by 40 to 50 centimeters to avoid the pedestrian detected by the safety system.

Safety on the road is ultimately the responsibility of the driver so the technology will still encourage that the driver should react first during a potential road mishap. This concept is also applied on other Mercedes safety systems.

The Mercedes’ crash prevention technology will be unlike Volvo’s CitySafe system which triggers the brakes to avoid collision. The new safety protocol will be added to other existing safety platforms of Mercedes like the drowsiness monitor first used with the E-Class. The drowsiness system will be rolled out as a standard featured in all Mercedes Benz vehicles.

Mellinghoff admitted that it might be impossible to totally eliminate all accidents on the road, like what is set by their Volvo counterparts, but he is proud to say that fatal accidents involving Mercedes Benz is rarely part of the real world statistics. The head of safety of Mercedes boasts that they do not have a reported incident of a Mercedes Benz driver who was killed or seriously injured in the last two years.

The new breed of ML may have a smaller body compared to the current version of the ML. The wheelbase though appears to be the same.

There are also reports that Mercedes Benz is working on a hybrid M-Class that can run on both electric power and diesel. A hybrid petrol variant is already due to roll out before the end of this year. The car manufacturer may also come up with a plug-in hybrid ML running on an 80hp electric power train coupled with a V6 3.5L twin turbocharged engine.

The plug in variant of the ML will be based on the other hybrid programs for Mercedes Benz like the S400. The underpinnings and the other elements will be shared with the G-Class and the next gen R-Class. The underpinning of the ML’s chassis is similar to the 2011 Grand Cherokee from Jeep.

The new ML will be relying on the efficiency of its set up rather than its performance when it tries to convince the 4×4 consumer market. The European release will have under its hood a 204hp powerplant. There is also a plan to come up with 225hp diesel and 333hp petrol engines.

The three new engine options were derived from the DNA of 4-cylinder power plants while the C350 a V6 CGI Bluefficiency engine.

The C220 gets a 2.2L turbodiesel CDI BlueEfficiency under its hood which is claimed to be the most efficient of the pack. This new engine outputs 170hp and generates a torque of 295 lb-ft. The C220 can burst from 0 to 100 in an impressive 8.4 seconds. The car’s fuel mileage is also excellent at 49 mpg or 4.8L/100km. Emissions will also not be a problem at 127 g/km.

Another member of the new C-Class line up is the C250 turbodiesel with CDI BlueEfficiency. The powertrain under the hood of the C250 is more powerful with 204 hp and a torque of 369lb-ft. The C250 only takes 7 seconds flat to blaze the car from 0 to 100. It is also very fuel efficient with a mileage of 5.1 L/100km or 46 mpg.

The last sibling in the C-Class brood is the CGI BluEfficiency petrol fueled C250. The engine can also generate a 204 hp but with a lower torque at 229 lb-ft. This variant takes 7.4 second to accelerate from 0 to 100. Its not as fuel efficient as the other two cars with a return of 32 mpg or 7.2 L/100km.

Mercedes-Benz has yet to announce when the new C-Class variants will be available in the US and other markets. It is now limited to Europe and is available both as the Estate and Sedan models. The C-class Mercedes is still doing reasonably bad in Europe compared to BMW’s 3-series, but with these green car touches, we hope Mercedes can move up the ranks soon!

There is no official name for this new two-gullwing-door coupe model yet. Earlier reports last year suggested that it would be bear the SLC badge, but it seems that the plans have changed. There’s a possibility that it will carry the AMG badge. However, no official announcements from Mercedes-Benz have been made.

The company has already released a number of image clips of this coupe’s exterior. The car shows off a highly aerodynamic and modern finish which is almost spacey. Aside from the slick overall exterior, the coupe is also expected to boasts of a 550 hp to 650 hp V12 engine. This is the same engine used in the AMG Black Series.

The movable grille at the coupe’s rear, along with the three pointed black star behind the bumper’s black tape is reminiscent of earlier Mercedes-Benz classics, namely the Mercedes 300 SL. The Mercedes 300 SL is an earlier gullwing model from the 1950s.

This coupe’s class and power tandem has a big price tag pegged on it once it hits the show rooms in 2010. Quotes for this gullwing model reach up to $450,000 in the US and €150,000 in Europe.

This Mercedes-Benz gullwing coupe is designed to rival the Porsche 911 Turbo, Audi R8 and Lexus LF-A.

Source: Sports Car Rent Las Vegas

The official press release:

RENNTECH 777 20th Anniversary, or: Horsepower Wars really Really REALLY Not Over

Lake Park, FL – Earlier this week, AMG boss Volker Mornhinweg
announced that â the horsepower war is over.” If this
sounds familiar, it’s because AMG issued a similar press
release LAST JANUARY.

“Last year, it was a coincidence that we were releasing a
new, 695 hp performance package for the 65 series AMG
cars at around the same time. We sent out a press
release that said ‘HP War Not Over’,” recalls Hartmut
Feyhl, president of RENNTECH and four-star General of
the horsepower wars. “This year it is the same timing
again, and we have something much more extreme to
announce for our 20th Anniversary.”

Feyhl founded RENNTECH in 1989, and the company
has since established itself as one of the world’s premier
tuning firms and the foremost authority on Mercedes-Benz
performance tuning. 2009 marks the company’s 20th year
in business, and the company intends to celebrate by
releasing a small number of extreme, limited edition
performance vehicles, beginning with the 777 hp,
RENNTECH 777 shown here.

“This 777 concept is really an all-new car that makes use
of the advanced carbon fiber chassis of the SLR McLaren.
It can be described as a street-legal track car, or
something closer to what the enthusiasts were hoping for
from the SLR, originally – which is more a successor to the
McLaren F1.”

RENNTECH heavily revised the SLR McLaren bodywork
and aero package using some of the same technology the
company used to develop the the GLK Hybrid Rally Racer
for Mercedes-Benz, including advanced CFD software to
develop the aerodynamics for improved downforce. Even
with the big wing, splitters, and skirts, a top speed in
excess of 210 mph is well within reach for the 777.

The 777 is much more than lightweight bodywork,
however. The 5.5 L supercharged “Kompressor” v8
engine is heavily revised, with internal and external
performance upgrades and a significantly upgraded
cooling system.

Getting that power to the ground is the job of a fully
redesigned suspension and driveline, with a heavily
reinforced transmission sending power to RENNTECH’s
revolutionary new limited-slip differential. Built for
RENNTECH by Japanese supplier OS Giken, the
recently-released differential allows for 100% locking
between the drive wheels for unsurpassed mid-corner
traction. Aggressive Nitto NT-05 ultra-high performance
tires wrapped around extremely lightweight, 1 pc. center-
locking wheels round out the street -legal handling
package.

“The 777 will be a very special car,” explains Hartmut.
“The first example is being built now, and will be ready
this Spring. We intend to build a few different extreme
vehicles like this for our 20th anniversary, with each one
being strictly limited to 20 units. They are all very exciting
projects, and we will be announcing them throughout the
year, as they approach completion.”

Contact RENNTECH for information and RENNTECH 777
SLR McLaren package pricing.

This BlueZero concept is one of the main research results — which will probably lead to electric versions of the A-class and the Smart ForTwo…

I’m not unimpressed with the look either. Keep at it, Mercs!