World's most expensive sports saloon
Mercedes has slotted the S65 AMG's 6.0-litre twin-turbo V12 into the Maybach 57 to create the world's most expensive sports saloon, the 57S.  At £289,900, the 57S is only £2000 less than the bigger 62, but it's significantly more powerful, with 604bhp over the regular car's 543bhp.  Torque rises from 664lb ft to a mammoth 737lb ft, electronically limited to protect the drivetrain.  The handbuilt engine features improved lubrication systems, beefed-up main bearings and redesigned combustion chambers.  It gives the 57S the ability to crack 62mph in 5.0sec, but it's the quoted 50-75 mph time that's more impressive at just 3.7sec.  Top speed is limited to 171mph.  To give the 57 the road manners to deal with the power, Maybach has lowered the car by 15mm, added thicker front and rear anti-roll bars and stiffened up the settings on the electronic Adaptive Damping systems.  It rides on 20in alloys with 275/40 Michelin Pilot Sport tyres, specially developed for the car.  On the outside, Maybach has redesigned the 57's radiator grille and the rear bumper to accommodate the two triangular tail pipes.  Unlike other Maybachs, the 57S is not available with two-tone paint.  Inside the car gets piano lacquer and carbon trim, and the leather is available in black or two-tone black and white

Brabus bling beast
The global new car market is becoming ever more niche-ified.  But surely nobody expected a 11.9 tonne Brabus-tweaked Mercedes Unimog.  Whatever, the Brabus Unimog U500 Black is for real and it's intended to be 'the most outrageous car of its type in the world, with the ability to discover the most inaccessible parts of the globe'.  Brabus has completely revised the existing U500 throughout.  Outside there are new panels, a huge stainless steel roll-over bar, 455/70 tyres on 24" rims, a powerful winch system and upswept exhausts, while inside there's lashings of carbon fibre, alcantara, leather sports seats, a black leather-trimmed steering wheel, alloy pedals and plush carpet.  Interior toys include the S-Class' COMAND system with 6.5" screen, DVD satnav, CD auto-changer, two separately controlled air conditioning systems, tinted glass, a tyre-pressure control system and, not least, a belter of a sound system.  A 6.4-litre diesel pumps out 280hp with a mighty 811lb/ft (1,100Nm) of torque.  Unlike most vehicles from the Brabus stable, top speed is unimpressive at a decidedly radar-friendly 75mph, but at least you can load it up with 4.3 tonnes of luggage.  A standard Unimog U500 costs around £93K and the Brabus kit adds a further 60K.  So, there you have it, the ideal school/supermarket run vehicle, assuming that home is in Cape Town, school is in Anchorage, the Vladivostok Waitrose is your preferred grocery store and you have over £150K to spend on a two-seater lorry. 

Handy bike rack
Owners of a Mercedes passenger car can choose from five different carrier systems for the safe and easy transport of bicycles.  Depending on what's required, the bikes can be transported on the roof, on the rear, or even in the vehicle interior.  An innovative tailgate rack especially for A- and B-Class models can accommodate two bikes.  The carrier frame, which is resistant to deformation, is first mounted onto the rear of the vehicle.  Plastic protective coverings are placed on the contact points in order to prevent damage to the body paint.  One advantage over transporting bicycles on the roof is that the bikes are fastened at chest level, which means much less effort is required to mount them.  In terms of safety, the slightly higher position of the rack ensures that the tail-lights always remain visible.

Jacksons No.1
Jacksons Bournemouth ended last year on a high after being ranked the top performing Mercedes-Benz Market Area in the country.  The Poole operation and its sister sites in Salisbury and Dorchester topped the performance league table of 34 dealer groups representing 147 retail outlets.  Mercedes conducts a monthly analysis of the performance of individual sites and market areas across key business criteria.  These include customer satisfaction, financial, sales and after sales, where productivity and efficiency are monitored.  The news came days ahead of Jacksons moving into its state-of-the-art, refurbished retail facility in Holes Bay Road, which has been transformed at a cost of £2 million.

Cool to be colourful
Smart is looking at the world through rose coloured, designer shades, with the latest special edition.  Followers of fashion can now buy a stylish pink fortwo.  Apparently this is designed to appeal to individuals with their fingers on the pulse of all things hip, the car is cool and certain to be top of every must-have list.  The car comes with 'styleline' alloy wheels, air conditioning, glass roof, driver and passenger airbags, leather steering wheel and gear knob. The pink edition costs £8,515 on the road.