From our colleagues at Formula One blog:

Not Indianapolis, not New York, not Las Vegas but Austin, Tex., will host the return of Formula One to the United States, the Formula One rights holder announced today.

After the Indianapolis deal ended in 2007, there have been many rumors about efforts to get Formula One back to the United States. Now it’s done, and the deal covers 2012 to 2021, according the statement by Formula One World Championship Limited, Formula One Administration Limited (together, the F1 Commercial Rights Holder) and Full Throttle Productions,  the promoter of the Formula One United States Grand Prix.

“We are extremely honored and proud to reach an agreement with the F1 Commercial Rights Holder,” said Tavo Hellmund, of Full Throttle Productions. “We have been diligently working together for several years to bring this great event to Austin, the state of Texas and back to the United States. All parties involved have a great amount of trust and confidence in each other and are committed to establishing the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix in Austin, Tex., as a prestigious global event.”

What is more interesting is that Bernie Ecclestone is also announcing that there will be a “world-class facility purpose-built” to host the event. With all the futuristic Hermann Tilke monolithic tracks cropping up around the world — in Bahrain, China, Malaysia, etc. — this must mean something special.

Source (article): NYTIMES

Source (picture): IMAGES.BUSINESSWEEK

Dating to the 2008 Paris debut of its ConceptFascination show car, whose styling presaged the current E-Class, Mercedes-Benz has demonstrated a keen interest in the brake body style, which in strictest terms is a coupe with a squared-off back.

At the Beijing auto show, which opens to the news media later this week, Mercedes will unveil its Concept Shooting Break, a car that owes little to its Paris predecessor and even less to its nominal inspiration.

Aside from the spelling tweak, which is consistent with French convention versus the more common, British “brake,” the Beijing car did not start life as a traditional two-door coupe, as is typical of the body style. Instead the Concept Shooting Break expands on the Mercedes CLS, a four-door whose signature swept roofline has flaunted facile sedan-coupe labeling since 2004. That car’s D.N.A. is readily apparent in the Concept Shooting Break’s dramatic greenhouse arc and wraparound taillight array. The chopped greenhouse makes the beltline below the passenger windows appear remarkably high, creating a sinister if somewhat beefy profile stance.

What will likely inspire more debate, however, are the concept’s nose and tail, which also pick liberally from the Daimler family tree. The grille references the $200,000 2011 SLS AMG supercar, which in turn paid homage to the legendary SL gullwing racers of the early 1950s. The ample rear’s pedigree is less evocative, harking back to the R-Class crossover conceived under Daimler’s star-crossed partnership with Chrysler.

Motivating the concept is a forerunner of Mercedes-Benz’s new line of BlueEfficiency engines. The show car has a 3.5-liter, gas-burning V-6 rated at 308 horsepower.

While brand reps are tight-lipped about the concept’s production prospects, timing the debut for Beijing rather than the New York auto show a few weeks ago is significant.

“We sell an extended-wheelbase E-Class in China that’s very popular,” says Larkin Hill, a Mercedes-Benz spokeswoman, also noting that the automaker’s Chinese customers tend to be chauffeured. A luxury shooting brake with four doors, unencumbered by a high-zoot S.U.V.’s public-image baggage or a luxo-barge’s stuffy anonymity, could consequently be a marquee player in a big market.

Source (article): NYTIMES

Source (pictures): CARANDDRIVER

Mercedes-Benz design chief Gorden Wagener is starting to reshape the future look of the Stuttgart carmaker. As such, some of the firm’s show cars of the recent past, such as the 2005 Bionic Car or the 2007 F700, primarily must be interpreted as design exercises. But with Wagener taking the helm in mid-2008, the direction of Mercedes styling has been whittled down to some precisely defined, common themes.

Indeed, the latest Mercedes concepts—for example, the BlueZero and the somewhat presumptuously named F800 Style—indicate more clearly where Wagener wants to take the brand. Long wheelbases, short overhangs, and fluid convex and concave surfaces will define the next generation of Mercedes cars.

These renderings demonstrate what shape the next C- and E-class are likely to take once they reach production. Our examples are based on the F800 Style, which is the most road-ready take on the new styling language. The concept slots in between the current C- and E-class in length, although it’s wider and has a longer wheelbase than both. Despite their coupe-like rooflines, the future C and E would offer very generous interior space thanks to the extra length between the wheels.

As the renderings show, the F800’s sliding rear doors will be subbed out for a conventionally hinged setup on production models. And if your favorite view of the road is through a three-pointed star, don’t despair. While cars spec’d with the grille shown here—which currently is available on sporty coupes, convertibles, and the C-class—ditch the traditional hood ornament, the look won’t replace the classic M-B grille altogether. We are assured from within the company that the latter grille will prevail on the E-class.

Look for advanced versions of Mercedes’ COMAND infotainment system inside the car. There will be even fewer buttons, and voice activation—which works surprisingly well even today—will become even more of a focal point. The army of nanny systems Mercedes has planted into its current cars is there to stay; we just hope the next generation of the tech will still keep the secrets of our irresponsible driving habits to itself.

Under the hood of the next-generation C-class and E-class we expect to find turbocharged four- and six-cylinder diesel or gasoline engines, and hybrids will play a big role, too. The traditional hybrids will without exception be full hybrids, says Mercedes’ R&D chief Thomas Weber, and range-extending and plug-in variations are in the plans. And model designations will be further disconnected from actual engine displacement. Given the greener, earth-friendlier tone of the powertrain lineup, the attractive E550-style exhausts on these renderings are unlikely to see much use in real life.

Source (article): CARANDDRIVER

Source (picture): CARANDDRIVER