Mercedes has a model for everyone and every niche – small cars, big cars, SUVs, vans, buses, supercars and the Unimog. The Unimog truly defies a complete explanation. No single consumer can comprehend the myriad of capabilities that these machines possess.
The standard U500 Unimog would have been the ultimate vehicle in the movie Dante’s Peak. If you’ve never seen it, the Unimog would have been racing up a mountainside road covered in volcanic ash, saving the family from lava rushing to destroy their house, fording a river on the way back down while using its winch to save a puny National Guard Hummvee – all in a day’s work.
So why would Brabus want to create a version of this car? Brabus has been making the fastest and most prestigious Mercedes vehicles for years and if they are willing to take the Smart car and give it a makeover then the Unimog should also have its moment of glory.
Hit the jump for more details on the Brabus Unimog.
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Off-road tuning company XPLORE Vehicles already has a very strong fleet of modified vehicles from its Venchurs XPLORE Adventure Series. Now, they’re getting ready to introduce the latest members of the family after the company laid out the plans for the Jeep line-up of vehicles.
In choosing from four levels of equipment – STAGE 1 to 4 - families can experience the thrill of the outdoors with a feature-heavy Jeep that can cater to a lot of outdoor needs.
According to XPLORE, the Stage 1 XPLORE Adventure Series will be made
available for all models where as Stages 2, 3, and 4 will only be available for the Jeep Wrangler.
Details on STAGE 1, 2, and 3 wasn’t mentioned in the press release with the only exception being the Stage 4 XPLORE H.E.R.O. Jeep Wrangler, which comes with an array of features including OME suspension, rock-rails, locking differentials, IPF lighting, super heavy-duty bumpers, roof-rack, air compressors, and an on-board refrigerator.
On top of that, other notable additions to the vehicle as part of the Stage 4 package include a special Katzkin-sourced XPLORE leather and suede interior, a Magnaflow stainless steel performance exhaust system, a set of XPLORE special issue graphite aluminum wheels that comes with BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A® KM2 tires, and warn winch and special edition badges on both the exterior and interior of the car.
Press Release after the jump
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Mansory is a tuner usual known for their impressive tuning packages for sports car models. But this time they turned their attention to a model a little bit more unusual, for them at least: the Mercedes G-Class. While there are no changes made under the hood, Mansory focused on improving the car’s ride comfort that ha always been a problem.
For that the tuner added a new suspension which is electronically adjustable from the cockpit, with two different characteristic shock absorber curves. After fitting, the shock absorbers can be readjusted from the interior of the car for use on tough terrain or for a comfortable drive on metaled roads. There are extra large gas reservoirs, made from high tensile hard anodized aluminum that ensure that the pressure remains constant even at operating temperatures of over 150 °C.
Next to this improvements the car also gets a new set of light alloy wheels, and on request different interior updates.
It seems a little odd that a rugged off-road vehicle like a Jeep Wrangler could be dressed up – as far as the interior is concerned – to the nines. But that’s what Jeep was able to do with the Wrangler 70th Anniversary Edition.
As part of their 70th anniversary celebration, Jeep has decided to roll out special edition models for five of their SUVs: the Compass, Grand Cherokee, Liberty, Patriot, and Wrangler SUVs. Each of the SUVs will come with their own interior upgrades, despite the fact that no exterior modifications and performance tune-ups were made on these vehicles.
Anybody interested in scooping up the special edition Wrangler, and the other variant models, will be glad to know that the brand is set to release the SUVs by the first quarter this year. Color options for all five models will include Bronze Star, Bright Silver, and Black.
Details on the Jeep Wrangler 70th Anniversary Edition after the jump
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The 2011 Geneva Motor Show is still four whole months away, but the dreamers over at Rinspeed are already preparing their newest concept set to be revealed in Switzerland. Looking like a cross between a Scion xB and a Jeep Wrangler, loosely speaking, the Rinspeed BamBoo appears to be the perfect beach-going vehicle.
Since the vehicle is called BamBoo, it’s easy to guess that the material will be found somewhere in the workings of the car. Rinspeed states that bamboo fibers are a part of major components of the interior, but we’ll probably have to wait for Geneva to get more information. In fact, we’ll have to wait until the Geneva Motor Show in March to find out a lot about this open-top vehicle. The only other information we could pull from the press release is that, if produced, this vehicle will more than likely be electric for that little bit of modernization needed for this retro design.
The Rinspeed BamBoo - described by Rinspeed as a "grown-up golf cart" - isn’t really our type of car which is made apparently clear with the statement made at the end of the press release...
"Anyone not blinded by horsepower orgies, chrome tinsel, and top-speed frenzy should take a closer look." If that statement didn’t describe us to a Tee then we would think this car was pretty cool.
Press release after the jump.
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