Mercedes-Benz G-Class News

AMG puts the C63, E63 and G63 through their paces at a New Zealand ski field.With summer just around the corner, Mercedes-Benz AMG have taken the C63 coupe, E63 sedan and G63 SUV to the snow fields of New Zealand's south island to play with some of the country's finest winter sportsmen.The result is a mix of sports car power, agile skiing and a fair amount of displaced powder.

The next season of Top Gear is just around the high-speed corner, and the hit car show has released an extended trailer to give us a taste of the action.It shows you can expect to see the stunning Alfa Romeo 4C facing off in one of the signature mismatch races, the completely insane six-wheeled Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG 6x6, the McLaren P1 supercar and a tank. For starters.Then there's a trek through Thailand and Burma with some luridly decorated trucks, plus there is tipped to be a segment featuring Australia's V8 Supercars. Garnish with some stars in a reasonably priced car, hot lap times from The Stig, and it looks like another recipe for vehicular viewing success.Watch the extended trailer to Top Gear season 21 on our desktop site. 

Despite its resemblance to the 6X6 G-wagon used by the Australian Army, the Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG 6X6 isn't coming here.Mercedes-Benz Australia spokesman Jerry Stamoulis says the G63 -- with an overseas price equivalent to $550,000 -- a left-hand drive vehicle only and is being produced in "very, very limited numbers".And it shares almost no drivetrain components with any of the other G-Class vehicles. "It has a very complicated drivetrain and chassis," Stamoulis says. "It has absolutely no relation to the other G-Class vehicles including the 6X6 G-wagon used by the Australian Army. The G63 is a complex, super-articulated machine designed for extreme off-road conditions."However the G63 is built alongside the other G-Class vehicles in Austria by Magna-Steyr. Like the other G models, the G63 is hand built. The less complex G models, such as the G350 and G500, take 11 days each to hand assemble. Stamoulis says the G63 6X6 started life as a concept but drew demand from some countries. Mercedes recently started making limited numbers to satisfy demand.The G63 AMG model gets a 5.5-litre bi-turbo V8 with 400kW and 760Nm that's enough to haul the 3.8-tonne monster to 100km/h from rest in 5.9 seconds. It's even farm-friendly with its 650kg payload. But if that's too lame for you, specialist fabricator Brabus has its own interpretation.The Brabus 700, launched at the recent Frankfurt motor show, boosts the AMG's output to 515kW/965Nm using the same engine but with some clever tweaking. For example, the intake and turbo pipes are lined with gold leaf - that's real gold - to keep air temperatures as low as possible. It also gets two new, high-pressure turbochargers.The extra kit adds weight to Brabus has added a carbon-fibre bonnet and wheel arches. But it works - the 700 will rocket to 100km/h from standstill in only 7.4 seconds. Because of the off-road tyres, the machine is limited to only 160km/h.The price is about $700,000 and it too is made only as a left-hand drive. Though if you offered a bit more money they may consider moving the steering wheel.This reporter is on Twitter: @cg_dowling 

With a name like 'Scary Spice', you'd imagine the singer Mel B would drive something a little more challenging than a run-of-the-mill family car. But you might not expect to find her behind the wheel of an armoured fortress bristling with hi-tech anti-personnel gadgets. However, now that the former Spice Girl is carving out a successful TV career hosting shows like Australian The X Factor, she has decided that what she really, really wants is a £200,000 ($345,000) specially modified attack-proof Cadillac Escalade capable of destroying the tyres of pursuing vehicles.Melanie Brown has joined the growing band of jittery U.S. celebrities who are driving armoured vehicles which can withstand bullets, bombs and chemical attacks. Her giant, gas-guzzling sports utility vehicle will even give an electric shock — up to 240 volts-worth of 'non-lethal current' — to car-jackers, paparazzi or anyone else foolish enough to grab the door handles in a bid to gain entry.At the push of a button, it will belch out dense white smoke to help the driver evade any pursuing vehicle, and pump out small spikes to puncture their tyres. Some customers specify pressurised cabins and on-board oxygen supplies to protect against chemical and gas attacks.Mel B's specially armoured and fully loaded seven-seater vehicle was delivered to her at her home in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, recently by Jason Forston, vice-president of the Texas Armoring Corporation in San Antonio. His 38-year-old Leeds-born client also has an armoured Range Rover and Mercedes-Benz S-Class on order, he said.Texas Armoring employs 50 people and customises about 200 vehicles a year, usually for heads of state, politicians, business executives, diplomats and royal families. But more recently, Hollywood celebrities and sport stars have sparked a mini-boom in armoured vehicles as the worsening international climate — from chemical strikes in Syria to terrorist attacks in Boston and Kenya — have made them twitchy about their personal safety and the risk of kidnap or worse.These stars include British actor Sacha Baron Cohen and the rapper Kanye West, who recently ordered two outrageous Latvian-built Prombron Iron Diamonds costing around £800,000 ($1.4m) each. They are made by Dartz Motorz, the same company which built Sacha Baron Cohen's gold-plated presidential SUV which featured in his film The Dictator.Texas Armoring's Mr Forston, 32, said: 'Five years ago we had no Hollywood celebrities as customers. Nowadays, we have anywhere between 10 to 15 orders a year from celebrities and professional athletes.' They include Steven Seagal and rapper TI, who has a blinged-up version of Mel B's Cadillac Escalade, including a 32in flat-screen television with satellite TV and mobile Wi-Fi.Love-cheat golfer Tiger Woods is also understood to have one of the firm's armoured cars, which is presumably more than capable of withstanding a sustained attack from an angry wife wielding a nine-iron. Mel B — who is a judge on America's Got Talent and has been co-hosting NBC's Today show — and her producer husband Stephen Belafonte have opted for a traditional family-friendly interior to suit the lifestyles of her daughters Phoenix, Angel, Madison and stepdaughter Giselle.Mr Forston said: 'I delivered it to their house in Beverly Hills. They are very good people. We all went for a test drive so they knew how to use all the different options. Her husband is a big car guy. She drove it for a while — and on the right side. 'It's pretty much the standard leather interior. They've got kids so are pretty down to earth about things.'From the outside, these cars are virtually indistinguishable from the standard models — but have been stripped down to the frame and rebuilt with armour and hi-tech gadgets. In a country where guns are part of the fabric of day-to-day life — 'I carry a gun in my pocket every day: we're in Texas,' says Mr Forston — customers can specify a special gun-port through which to shoot at attackers on the outside. And Texas Armoring clearly has supreme confidence in its product.In an astonishing video on the firm's website — which comes with a 'don't try this at home' health warning — president and chief executive Trent Kimball is seen crouching behind a sheet of the company's bullet-proof glass while a young employee shoots at him with an AK-47. He lives to tell the tale as the triple-glazing shows up the spider-web impact of the bullets which nevertheless fail to penetrate the glass.But the American firm draws the line at emulating one South African security company which fitted a flame-thrower to a top-of-the-range BMW. At the push of a dashboard button, it shoots up a wall of fire outside the driver's car door in order to incinerate any would-be car-jacker.Demand for armoured cars is also on the increase on this side of the Atlantic. In Britain they are popular with Eastern European oligarchs. Luxury car-makers such as Jaguar Land Rover, BMW, Bentley and Mercedes-Benz already have their own 'in-house' security arms which build in armouring from scratch. Mr Forston acknowledges their high level of expertise, but says his company — which takes apart existing cars and customises them with armour and gadgets before re-assembling them — can do almost as high a specification but at a fraction of the cost.Among the car makes they tackle are Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Jaguar, Aston Martin, Lotus, Audi, BMW, Porsche, Maserati, Volvo and even the more humble Honda, Volkswagen, Toyota and Ford. The most expensive car Mr Forston has sold to date is a customised and armoured £500,000 ($870,000) stretch Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon for an unnamed client.When he was Prime Minister, Tony Blair took delivery of a fully armoured BMW 7-series — dubbed the 'Blair Panzer' after the German word for armour. Ironically, on delivery in London, police found that illegal immigrants had stowed away in the container lorry transporting it to Britain.David Cameron has, as his official car, an armoured, top-of-the-range Jaguar XJ. But trumping them all is U.S. President Barack Obama with his gargantuan armoured Cadillac-style limousine, dubbed 'The Beast', which follows him around the globe on official visits. Security expert Robert Siciliano, in New York, says that for the super-rich earning millions, the cost of an armoured vehicle is a drop in the ocean and a sensible investment.'What's your life worth?' he says. 'A bullet costs about 25 cents. It will go through a non-armoured vehicle pretty efficiently. So to spend three-quarters of a million dollars on an armoured vehicle isn't that outrageous.' No doubt, Scary Spice would agree. The former Spice Girl's current vehicle certainly brings a whole new meaning to the term 'girl power'. 

Never say never – at least at Rolls-Royce. In just months the luxury brand has backflipped on the statement they’d never build an SUV, announcing the reversal at Frankfurt motor show."We are intensively thinking about entering the SUV segment," Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös said at the event. The competition for the best concept design will heat up at the company, now in a catch-up race with rival Bentley who has already pre-empted this move, leading the charge with the ultra-luxurious EXP 9 F concept.Production of the high-riding Bentley will begin in 2016, at least a full year before Rolls-Royce can respond in the showroom.  Even so, Rolls-Royce and its parental conglomerate in Bavaria will likely use this opportunity to develop a large SUV platform that will give buyers an alternative to the Audi Q7 and Mercedes-Benz GL-Class. Just another sweetener for venturing into what has become a lucrative market segment.While every Rolls-Royce is hand-built in their UK Goodwood factory, the British brand has access to BMW's extensive parts bin, so that could help fast-track a future concept into reality. However, with the cheapest Roller starting at about $600,000 here, expect the SUV to be similarly priced if it hits our shores.

Private ownership is likely after Mercedes-Benz successfully won the Australian Defence Force contract for a fleet of khaki G-wagons. The necessary homologation for the ADF has opened the door to importing vehicles for the public.Mercedes-Benz Cars spokesman David McCarthy says it could be on the cards."There is certainly the possibility that we will bring in the diesel V6 and the G55 AMG," he says."We are currently investigating the volumes and pricing to make a business case.""This window has been made possible after the G-wagon received certification for Australia because of the military orders."The military G-wagons will be six-wheel drive versions with most of the chassis work contracted out to a firm in Newcastle, NSW.New private-sale G-wagons will arrive in 2009 guise, with a new three-bar grille and a chrome grille surround.The 2009 Mercedes G-Class wagons come in three body variants — short-wheelbase wagon, long wheelbase wagon and ragtop — powered by a 165kW/540Nm 3-litre V6 turbo-diesel; 285kW/530Nm 5.5-litre V8 petrol; or for the AMG version, a supercharged 373kW/700Nm V8 petrol.There is also a 5-litre V8 petrol for some commercial applications.The wagon is no slug, either, with the G55 AMG capable of a 0-100km/h time of only 5.9 seconds and on to a top of 210km/h.Only one transmission — Mercedes' ubiqitous seven-speed sequential automatic — is offered and is mated to a two-speed transfer case with constant all-wheel drive.The brick shape — a legacy of the commercial application of the vehicle and its 30-year age — hints at the G-Class' off-road ability.All models have three electromechanical locking differentials that can be engaged on the move.Other standard equipment is a full ladder chassis, solid-axle front and rear suspension, recirculating-ball steering and high ground clearance. All can climb slopes up to 80 per cent gradient and can tow up to 3200kg.The G55 AMG will have 19-inch alloys, leather upholstery, burl walnut or maple wood trim, Harman/Kardon premium 10-speaker audio and a sunroof.The vehicle has seating for five adults — there is no third-row option — and while it borrows luxury components from other Mercedes models, it still regarded as being noisy, has some bodyroll and is awkward to enter because of its tall stance and narrow door openings.But it is likely that if it makes it to Australia, the tiny quote will make it a rarity on our roads.

We know what it is, where it is and how desirable it is but we can’t find the key to make it a reality.But the search to unlock the GLK’s heart is nearing.For more than 18 months — even before production started — it was seen as a natural addition to Mercedes-Benz’s Australian range, complementing the M-Class and rivalling BMWs X3.But European demand for the GLK caught out Mercedes. It sought volume and, because the engineering design wouldn’t allow compatibility between the all-wheel drive mechanism and right-hand drive, discarded thoughts of a right-drive version. Goodnight Japan, the UK, Thailand, Hong Kong, South Africa and Australia.But persistence by Mercedes-Benz Australia and GLK’s shrinking market because of new rivals in Audis Q5 and the Volvo XC60 means the brand is looking to keep the factory humming.Mercedes-Benz Australia spokesman David McCarthy says a right-hand drive GLK could now be seen as an important new model.Before Mercedes signed off the GLK, ready for production, the compact luxury SUV market was barely breathing, he says.Now its busy and getting busier.McCarthy says a 2WD GLK would suit the market segment which had few — if any — off-road ambitions.He sees the price being vital, allowing the GLK to slip under the M-Class and under the psychological $100,000 line.That may mean a 350 engine — diesel or petrol — may be too expensive, he says.If the 350 comes under $100,000, it could work. More likely is that we would take the 200, 220 and 250 engine range in diesel and/or petrol.The latest 250 diesel is regarded as one of Mercedes’ best four-cylinder engines because of its high torque — 500Nm — low fuel consumption and class-leading emission levels. The same engine is slated for the E-Class sedan and Coupe.But despite the current upbeat attitude, McCarthy admits it is still early days.He says that even if the green light for a 2WD, right-drive GLK was switched on today, it wouldn’t be seen in Australia

Every car on the BMW stand at the Frankfurt Motor Show this year was white and the Vatican has joined trendsetters by ordering the new Mercedes-Benz G500 cabrio Popemobile in “Vatican mystic white."The Pope joins millions of car buyers whose colour of choice is white or pearl, according to the latest global colour survey by North American paint maker DuPont.White has displaced silver as a preferred colour for the first time in seven years, according to the DuPont survey.However, despite its global findings, silver still ranks as one of the more popular colours in Australia at Holden, Mitsubishi and Toyota.But 50 per cent of Ford buyers overwhelmingly choose white, in part because many are fleet sales. Silver, in its various shades, accounts for 30 per cent of colour choices.Silver ranks top with Holden at 25 per cent, closely followed by black, then white, spokesman John Lindsay says. Buyers of Holden's sports models the SS and SV8 are more likely to choose black, followed by silver.At Mitsubishi, silver edges out white as the most popular colour.DuPont says that after seven years as the world's top colour choice, silver was edged out by white/pearl in one key region and two countries.In North America, white/pearl, silver and black/black-effect are just behind white/pearl.The return to white is being seen in many show and concept cars at international car shows, particularly the Frankfurt Motor Show.In Japan, white overcame silver as the leader by a slim margin; 24 per cent versus 22 per cent. In Mexico, white outpolled grey by a huge margin, 32 per cent of Mexican buyers choosing white.DuPont has tracked colour statistics for more than 55 years and this year marks the first time white or pearl has become a trend-setter.However, the company expects new black metallic and other colour effects to gain popularity.Red continues to gain ground with people wishing to exercise their individuality.“Our customers are looking at niche colours and effects such as matte finishes and warm neutrals with effect,” DuPont colour marketing and technology manager Karen Surcina says.