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May 07 News |
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ABritain s ideal car
The theory is simple invite motorists across the land to choose which elements
of existing vehicles they particularly like, from body shapes and engine power to
their top safety features and accessories, put them all together and, hey presto,
everything Britain s car buyer seeks. Visitors to www.newcarnet.co.uk have been
taking part in just such a survey. The resulting vehicle features the front end
of a Porsche Boxster and the roofline of the Jaguar XK, stretched to accommodate
the 3-5 seats favoured by a whopping 68 percent of respondents. The overall effect
bodes well for future sales of four-door coupés, so Mercedes can feel smug that
their CLS is one of the few cars currently on sale that meets the four-door coupé
criteria. |
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Award for Unimog
For the third time, readers of a leading off road magazine have voted the Mercedes
Unimog 'cross-country vehicle of the year' in the special vehicles category. The
Unimog picked up the title after the all-wheel-drive magazine invited readers to
vote for a selection of crosscountry vehicles in various categories. Mercedes models
were winners in two of these: the Unimog was the top-scoring model among the special
vehicles with an outstanding 59% of the readers' votes while the G-Class won the
classics category. |
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Police rocket
UN highlight a Tune It Safe programme at the recent Essen show, German super-tuner
Brabus pulled out all the stops. Sporting full police livery was one of their jaw-droppingly
powerful CLS V12 S Rocket saloons. With 730 twin-turbocharged horses stampeding
under its hood, the Rocket has a 225 mph top speed. God forbid you
should ever see
one of these things materialize in your rear-view with its lights flashing, because
outrunning it is not on your list of options. |
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London to Sydney& the hard way
Have you got what it takes to drive a car from the Sixties overland to Australia
against the clock? The anniversary Marathon takes place on 12 October - 2 November
2008 and entries are invited. Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the original 1968
Marathon, organisers ERA are looking for 50 crews who can pound an authentic route
through remote regions, for original-specification cars, in a re-enactment of the
Daily Express London to Sydney Marathon. The original Marathon went down as an epic
adventure, the greatest long distance event of modern times. Nothing had been seen
quite like it since the 1907 Peking to Paris. It attracted top crews and cars from
14 countries, and ran virtually nonstop overland to India. The anniversary rally
gives priority to cars of the Sixties, similar model types and to authentic specification
that competed on the original event. The route and the competition, right down to
the original RAC timing system, will be organised along traditional and authentic
lines. Crews as well as cars must depart London in traditional period gear& if you
don t have wheels on the roof and a roo-bar you re not putting on the style of
the Sixties. Entries have now opened and the organisers are seeking crews with a
sense of adventure, just enough to fill an Antonov for a giant airlift out of India
to Australia. The website www.londonsydney40.com is being updated with regular information. |
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DTM Challenger
Like the road car, the 2007 DTM racing C-Class also represents the third generation
of this model. With 54 victories out of 106 races, the C-Class is not only the most
successful Mercedes-Benz in the championship, but also the most successful car in
the history of the DTM. Development, design and construction began in March 2006
when the HWA engineers received the CAD data for the new model. About ten months later, in January 2007, the new car made its track debut. At the initial testing in Estoril, Bernd Schneider and Bruno Spengler took turns behind the wheel; the
two drivers who had finished the 2006 championship in first and second positions
respectively. The engineers started with a 1:2 scale wind tunnel
model, as aerodynamic
development plays such an important role. Parts such as doors, front screen and
bonnet had to be designed and manufactured to match the car s new silhouette. The
V8 engine with a cylinder angle of 90 degrees, a capacity of four litres and four
valves per cylinder has been further optimised, particularly with respect to driveability.
Equipped with two air restrictors, each with a diameter of 28 millimetres, as stipulated
in the regulations, the engine now develops 350 kW/approx. 476 hp at 7500 rpm and
delivers a peak torque of 500 Nm. The engineers also worked on the suspension where the toe-in and camber angles offer great scope for further improving both handling
and driving dynamics. |
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