The Carlsson C25 officially debuted last year at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show, and this year it’s back in Geneva with more goodies and an even cooler name. The Super GT C25 Royale is a tuning project based on the Mercedes-Benz SL 65 AMG. It includes an abundance of carbon fiber elements, as well as optimized driving dynamics and perfected electronics. Carlsson will only build 25 units of the C25 Royale, one unit for each country the vehicle will be sold in.
"There are more than enough super cars around that can only be driven safely on a racing track", says engineer Markus Schuster, Managing Director at Carlsson. "We deliberately wanted to develop a car that is exclusive on the one hand but can still be used for the daily commute to the office. A Super GT which can go from 0 to 100 kph in just 3.7 seconds while at the same time offering the utmost in ride comfort."
Hit the jump to read more about the Super GT Carlsson C25 Royale.
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Two things have been around for a long time, Mercedes Benz and Performance Tuning. The two also share intertwined histories as companies such as AMG, Brabus, Renntech, and Lorinser were born and continue to adapt the latest technology to factory Benz models. There are hundreds of tuning companies and race shops throughout the country, but telling them apart can be difficult. Most do not build their own parts, but rather perform the mechanical work for you to add aftermarket exhausts, ECU upgrades, and turbochargers. Some offer full service tuning and testing, but currently there is only one that is attempting to push a natural-gas powered Mercedes to a land speed record.
Speedriven is a Chicago-based firm that is currently working with Bernie Towns to develop this “green” record breaker. Towns’ is an engineer for HighMount Exploration and Production and the companies main focus is natural gas energy. Many of your home appliances, such as the water heater and stove, may run off natural gas, but did you ever think your car would? Actually, Utility and Transportation departments throughout the country have been using natural gas in everything from construction equipment to buses for years; which have helped to reduce costs and improve air quality.
For someone that wants to help the environment, lower costs, and produce tons of horsepower, natural gas is the perfect option for this SL600. Speedriven also provided other performance enhancements for the Mercedes in order to keep it safe under high speeds. Jo Borras of Speedriven speaking about Towns’ said, “He doesn’t just want to do a CNG Benz, though. Bernie wants to break records.”
Hit the jump to learn more about Towns’ vision.
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There’s no shortage of tuning firms that work on wide-body aerodynamic kits for Mercedes vehicles. Whether it’s a renowned firm like Brabus or just a local custom company in your town, you’re going to inevitably find someone that can offer you these packages.
Over in Osaka, Japan, a shop called Pole Position Tuning recently released their aerodynamic kits for two Mercedes models, the CLS-Class and the SL Class. Judging by the photos of these two kitted out Mercs, the folks over at PPT have definitely shown some promise with their packages.
The Mercedes CLS-Class was given a wide-body kit, a lower stance, and a set of custom wheels. The wheels look massive, and the tires practically look non-existent when tucked in the wheel arch, making it seem as if driving the Mercedes will give way to some metal to metal action. On top of that, there’s also a pretty intimidating rear wing that, if you ask us, doesn’t really suit the luxury styling of the CLS. The wide-body kit, the lowered stance, and the custom wheels all look good on the car, but that rear wing, especially those aluminum wing mounts, does very little to give the car’s overall luxury appearance some justice.
Hit the jump to see what Pole Position Tuning did with the SL 65 AMG.
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Some have mistakenly thrown around the name ’Shining Star’ a little too loosely for our liking, and as is often the case, the vehicles with that sparkling name almost always fail to deliver. This, however, is not the case with MR Car Design’s work on the Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG. The name ’Shining Star’ fits the sports car almost perfectly.
As the latest work of the Erftstadt-based auto tuner, this particular SL65 comes with a number of exterior improvements, including a new carbon bonnet courtesy of its compatriot and tuner-at-arm, Kicherer. In addition to the SLR-inspired bonnet, MR Car Design lowered the SL65 AMG’s ride height by 30 mm while also putting in a new rear bumper, black fender lights at the front, a mid-mounted black brake light out in the back, a new sport exhaust system, and a set of 20" forged rims courtesy of yet another aftermarket brethren, Carlsson. As for the interior, not a lot of changes were done except for the installation of custom-made Black Series dial lenses.
Under its hood, the SL65 AMG also gets a little boost in performance, thanks to software adjustments done on the ECU that netted an improvement on the 6.0-liter twin-turbo V12 engine from its standard 604 horsepower and 748 lb/ft of torque to 683 horsepower and 819 lb/ft of torque.
Overall, there’s plenty to like about MR Car Design’s work on the SL65 AMG and for the first time in a long time, the ’Shining Star’ name is more than just a title.
In 2010, Mercedes unveiled the SLK Grand Edition, and now, one year later, the German manufacturer is ready to bring out yet another model with the same "Grand" makeover. The SL Grand Edition is being offered as a celebration of the company’s 125th anniversary, with packages for the SL 300, 350, and 500 versions. Prices for the package will range from an extra € 4,830 (about $6,532 at the current rates) for the SL 500 to € 7,176 (about $9,704 at the current rates) for the SL 300.
The Grand Edition will be distinguished by Nappa leather seats, door trim, and steering wheel, a start button in the gear lever, and the newly developed AIRSCARF personal warming system integrated into the front headrests. Plenty of "Grand Edition" logos were placed all over the body of the vehicle, as well as the interior, so no one is confused by its distinction. The final touches are provided by silver air vents, silver paddles, KEYLESS-GO, a chrome air shot, headlamps matching the paint finish, a third brake light, and a new set of 19" AMG wheels.
