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September 06 News |
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Active package for B-Class
The new ‘Active Package’ is a selection of the most popular options, usually ordered while buying a
new B-Class car. Ordering all these options as a single package will save an average customer about
30 per cent of the total. Active Package includes such options as a panoramic glass roof with a
manually operated roller-type sunblind, cruise control, fog lamps, stowage boxes under the front driver
and passenger seats, and a socket for connecting external devices such as an Apple
iPod. Other options available as part of the package include the ‘Light and Sight’
package with rain sensor and automatically activated headlamps.
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SLR McLaren sets London land speed record
A Mercedes SLR McLaren powered into history by setting the first London land speed record at 175.7mph. Journalist Steve Sutcliffe was behind the wheel at
London City Airport as the magazine lined up 10 of the country’s fastest production cars against each other to set a new benchmark, which is being sent to
Guinness for consideration for the Book of Records. At 1319m, City Airport has the shortest main runway of any of the UK’s 23 major airports, and it’s the only
one to be surrounded by water. That didn’t deter Steve Sutcliffe, who had to accelerate from a standing start, only hitting the brakes at a predetermined point
around three-quarters of the way along the course.
The SLR McLaren is the world’s most complete super sports car, combining the engineering skills and production processes of Mercedes-Benz and the
construction expertise of McLaren. Hand-made at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, it has a carbon fibre composite body making it supremely
stiff and strong, as well as relatively light. Power comes from a 5.5-litre supercharged V8 Mercedes-AMG engine developing an incredible 626hp at 6500rpm
and 780Nm between 3250-5000rpm. This means it can accelerate from 0-62mph in a blistering 3.8 seconds, reaching its 208mph top speed shortly
afterwards. The SLR McLaren has the braking performance to match its power, with internally ventilated fibre-reinforced ceramic discs all round, aided by a
boot-mounted airbrake. A five-speed automatic gearbox and speed-sensitive power-assisted steering make it as easy to pilot at 175 miles per hour as it is
driving in city centre traffic at 7mph. To demonstrate this every-day ability, the £317,500 SLR was driven through London to and from the event.
This blend of power and precision engineering helped Steve Sutcliffe set the record, despite never having driven an SLR before. He said: “The SLR McLaren
has the power, the technology and the stability to hit those high speeds with incredible control. This is the fastest any production car has ever been driven
legally in London.”
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AMG Performance Studio
Though it began as an independent tuner, AMG has become the ultimate factory performance division
for Mercedes. That independent spirit is still alive at AMG as the division is establishing a new
Performance Studio that will be dedicated to serving the needs of people not satisfied with the AMG-
tuned hardware at their local Mercedes dealership. The studio will work on three separate series of
vehicles. The high-end will be occupied by the Signature Series, comprised of exclusive models that
are designed to handle lap after lap on the track. The first Signature Series model will likely be a
successor to the CLK DTM coupé/cabriolet. Then there's the ‘Black Series’, which will be ‘racetrack
compatible’ and very sporty, though likely more tractable in everyday driving than Signature Series
models. Finally there's the ‘Edition’ line up that will be based on AMG production models and feature
extensive cosmetic changes to both exteriors and interiors.
The opening of the Performance Studio is being marked by the introduction of its first model, the SLK
55 AMG Black Series. This is a special coupé version of the V8 AMG roadster with a carbon fibre roof
and AMG's 5.5-litre V8 producing 400 horsepower and 383 ft-lbs. of torque. Other special items
include 19-inch AMG forged wheels that offer a 68 lb. weight saving versus the standard car's 18-inch
alloys, an AMG adjustable sports suspension and
composite brakes with six-piston calipers up
front. The coupé also gets a redesigned front
apron, nice looking carbon fibre side air vents and
wider front wings. All told, the extensive use of
carbon fibre, the absence of the standard car's
retractable hardtop and the lighter wheels lead to
a total net weight saving of around 100 lbs. The
interior also gets swathed in carbon fibre trim,
although more for visual impact than function.
Only 100 SLK 55 AMG Black Series will be
produced by AMG at a cost of around £70,000.
Delivery has already started, so if you didn't get
one yet, you're likely out of luck.
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Convertibles roof controllers
Mods4cars offers its newest product, the smartTOP multi
functional roof controller for Mercedes’ convertibles SLK
(R171), SL (R230) and CLK (W209). Features
include one-touch operation of the roof, remote
operation of the roof with original key and operation
on the go (maximum speed 5-30 mph). Installation
can be done by anyone in about 30 minutes. No
permanent changes are made, due to the intelligent plug-
and-play solution. With this new product line mods4cars now
offers controllers for the latest Mercedes’ convertibles alongside its well known
top controllers for Porsche Boxster and Carrera and maintains it’s role as the
leader in easy to install,
modular plug-and-play
comfort controller
solutions for high-class
cars. More information
can be found on
www.mods4cars.com
+44-207-9838501
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Reproduction brake boosters
Good news for all owners of Mercedes classics from the 1950s and early
1960s. Mercedes-Benz Classic is offering new brake boosters, type ATE
T50 and T50/12, for historic Mercedes cars such as the 190 SL (W121), the
300 SL (W198), the 300 Sc (W188) and the Ponton models. In one of the
most extensive reproduction campaigns, the Genuine Parts Department of
the Mercedes-Benz Classic Centre cooperated closely with Continental
Teves in the reproduction of the brake boosters. “Complete brake
boosters, individual parts and repair kits ceased to be available from the
manufacturer years ago,
which is why the
reproduction run had
become necessary,”
says Stephan Bornert,
Technical Product
Manager for Genuine
Mercedes-Benz
Replacement Parts at
the Mercedes-Benz
Classic Centre.
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