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New 2015 Mercedes S 65 AMG Coupe revealed – price from £183,065

The new 2015 Mercedes S65 AMG Coupe arrives The range-topping Mercedes S65 AMG Coupe has been revealed, and offers up its credentials as the perfect alternative to the Bentley Continental GT W12 with its 621bhp V12 delivering performance of 0-62mph in a 4.1 second whoosh. Even with its AMG badge, the S65 AMG Coupe is probably best thought of as the luxury take on the more aggressive and sporty S63 AMG Coupe – just as the V8 Continental GT is the sporty side of the Bentley Continental range – with its more effortless take on performance and power. There’s no doubt you get plenty of power and torque from the big V12, with 621 bhp and 737lb/ft of torque – driven to the back wheels through Mercedes’ seven-speed Speedshift automatic ‘box – on tap, enough to get to 62mph in 4.1 seconds and on to a 155mph limited top speed – but in a more creamy and effortless way than the S63.

Celebrating Mitsubishi...mostly the Evo

Is Mitsubishi going to come back better than ever or has it overevved its corporate four-banger and sent a rod through its corporate head? Depends how you look at it. If you made your judgment solely by spending last Saturday at the Mitsubishi Owner's Day at company headquarters in Southern California, you'd think this carmaker was the greatest thing since overhead valves and forced induction.

Mercedes S65 AMG Coupe (2014) - the 621bhp Mega Merc

By John Mahoney First Official Pictures 14 July 2014 11:50 We’ve already driven the mighty 577bhp S63 AMG Coupe but now Mercedes has unveiled its flagship S65 AMG Coupe. Powered by a 6.0-litre twin-turbo V12, the S65 AMG produces 621bhp – 44bhp more than the S63 and 38bhp more than the Mercedes SLS supercar. This makes it, along with the S65 AMG saloon that shares its engine, the most powerful Mercedes road car of all time.

Upcoming Mercedes-Benz MLC-class spied testing

Just a few weeks after the debut of the Mercedes-Benz MLC in concept form, prototypes have been spotted testing in Colorado earlier this month. The MLC is meant to offer packaging similar to the BMW X6, combining the SUV shape of the ML with a more coupe-like exterior design. The MLC will make its public debut at the Moscow International Motor Show in August of this year, a location that is perhaps indicative of the target audience for this upcoming crossover.

Driver spends £3,400 on failing theory test 110 times

A WOMAN from London has failed the driving theory test 110 times, it has been discovered. At £31 per attempt, she has therefore spent £3,410 on failing the first half of the driving exam - and cannot sit the practical element until she passes. The woman, who was not named but is from the south east of the capital, is followed by many more hapless learners including a 30-year-old man from Peterborough who has had 86 unsuccessful attempts at the theory test.

The Designers, Pt 10 – Dave Marek, Honda

Car Design News launched its first-ever Car Design Review yearbook at the Geneva Motor Show, featuring the award-winning Production Car and Concept Car Designs of 2013. If you're interested in buying a copy of the 160-page yearbook this interview appears in, alongside trend reports, bespoke car design infographics and a special feature on Marcello Gandini, our inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Car Design Review can be purchased here. Name Dave MarekRole Division director, Auto design, Honda AmericasAge/nationality 56/USLocation California, USAEducation Art Center College of Design “We have a tremendous optimism at Honda right now.

Japanese Cars Top Reliability Table

THERE’S some good news for owners of cars from Japanese brands, as they have topped a recent reliability survey conducted by Warranty Direct. The bad news? Certain UK brands didn’t perform so well.

Audi A7 Sportback Competition is a 322 bhp diesel special edition

Audi A7 Sportback Competition gets 322 bhp Audi has decided that a fitting way to celebrate 25 years of turbodiesel Audis is to create a special edition A7 Sportback with added power. Seems reasonable. So we get the Audi A7 Sportback Competition which comes with the regular 3.0 litre BiTurbo diesel but with just a little bit more oomph with 322bhp and 479lb/ft of torque – just 6bhp up on the normal lump.

Cabbie trials smartphone-only payment

A LONDON cab driver has become the first to accept payment only from a mobile phone app as part of a new trial. Ian Cable will only accept payment via the Barclays PingIt app during the five-day trial, following on from also being the first cabbie to use chip and pin as a form of payment back in 2004. "I am very excited to take part in this trial,” said Mr Cable.

Nimbus e-Car: the eco camper of the future

Following on from the super-cute Porsche-alike Carice Mk1electric car we brought you recently, today we have news of a futuristic family adventure car that might just rival the Carice for sheer "awwwww". Meet the Nimbus e-Car concept. It’s like a Volkswagen Transporter Kombi for the hippies of 2020.

SMART ForTwo & SMART ForFour teased with what it’s NOT (Video)

The new SMART City Car will be a giant – apparently It’s a bit of a cliche, but we’re not entirely sure Germans should use humour to promote their products. But SMART seem to have decided the way to go to tease the upcoming 2015 models of the SMART ForTwo and SMART ForFour is to try and convince that they’ve decided a small City Car is wrong and what we really need is a giant City Car. So we get two videos purporting to show what the new SMART City Cars offer – basically a SMART the size of a lorry – and set about convincing us, and gullible members of the public on camera, that this is indeed the route they’re going for the new SMART.

Vauxhall Astra GTC gets new 1.6 litre ‘Whisper’ diesel – price from £22,260

The Vauxhall Astra GTC gets the new 1.6 litre CDTi Just like all major motor manufacturers, Vauxhall are busy improving their engine range with new, more efficient and more powerful lumps. One of Vauxhall’s major engine projects has been to get the old 1.7 litre CDTi out of its cars and replace it with their new ‘Whisper’ 1.6 litre CDTi. The first Vauxhall to get the new 1.6 CDTi was the Zafira Tourer in early 2013, and the latest is the Astra GTC.

Hyundai Genesis is practically autonomous on ‘Empty Car Convoy’ (video)

The Hyundai Genesis driver makes his escape The new Hyundai Genesis is a proper poke by the Koreans at the big, luxury end of the car market, and as such it comes equipped with plenty of luxury features and high-end technology. So with a new Genesis to promote, Hyundai thought it would be a bit of a wheeze to demonstrate just how good many of the driver assist technologies are on the new Genesis, to the point where it is capable (with a bit of fiddling) of being autonomous and safe. Hyundai lined up a convoy of six stunt drivers in the new Genesis saloon at their test track in the Mojave Desert, engaged adaptive cruise, lane hold and automatic emergency braking and set it off round the test track.

Infiniti QX30 compact SUV to join new Q30 in Sunderland production

The Infiniti Q30 (pictured) will be joined by the QX30 compact SUV The 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show saw the arrival of the Infiniti Q30 compact hatch as a concept, with plans to put it in to production in 2015 at Nissan’s plant in Sunderland. And it will be joined by the Infiniti QX30 compact SUV. Based on the underpinnings of the Mercedes A-Class, the new Infiniti Q30 is Infiniti’s first foray in to the compact market, and it seems Infiniti are keen to simultaneously tap in to the compact SUV market with the higher-riding QX30 as Infiniti’s take on the Mercedes GLA.

Hyundai ix35 FCEV completes record distance on a tank of hydrogen

The Hyundai ix35 FCEV completes record distance on a tank of hydrogen Now the Hyundai ix35 FCEV (the hydrogen-powered version of Hyundai’s iz35) is starting to move out in to the real world (in a small way) Hyundai are keen to shout about its abilities. And perhaps its greatest ability is to do everything an ICE-powered ix35 can do, but doing it using hydrogen to create electricity to power the IX35′ electric motors, but do that in a way that creates a car with the same sort of range as an ICE car and the ability to refuel in a very similar way, and in a very similar time. So Hyundai decided to fill the tank up on an ix35 FCEV in Oslo and head off to Copenhagen to see if they could do it without needing to fill up.

Insurance changes to make shopping around easier

DRIVERS renewing their car insurance could find it easier to shop around or haggle for a discount under new proposals set out by insurers. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) said it has written to the City regulator, suggesting that new minimum standards of information should be set across the market. The standards would mean that renewal documents for motor and home buildings and contents insurance would include the premium that the customer started the year paying alongside their renewal quote, so that they could be compared more easily.

New, Cleaner Diesel For Sporty Astra GTC Coupe

KEEN to boost availability of its new, greener diesel engine, Vauxhall has fitted it’s ‘whisper’ 1.6-litre motor to its rakish three-door Astra GTC. The coupe bodied Astra joins the five-door and estate Sports Tourer models, and it boasts numbers that should appeal to tax-savvy company car drivers as well as private buyers seeking to save some cash. The engine replaces the 1.7 CDTi, providing 136 horsepower - a slight increase on the outgoing unit- delivered through an improved six-speed manual transmission.

The last Volvo XC90 rolls off the production line to make way for the all new 2015 XC90

The last Volvo XC90 rolls off the production line in Sweden. When the current Volvo XC90 arrived in 2002 it staked a claim as the perfect family SUV, a role it’s managed to hang on to – more or less – even though the XC90 is now long past its sell-by date. That’s because the 2002 XC90 was so cleverly conceived in the first place, with family-friendly ease of access to the back row of seats, inflatable side curtains for all three rows of seats, an integrated adjustable booster cushion for children, safety belt tensioners for all seats, easy to drive, decent looking and almost classless.

2015 Jaguar XE: everything you need to know

Jaguar will return to the crucial compact executive sector later this year with the all-new XE four-door saloon. The firm’s most important car in decades, Jaguar’s future expansion into a genuine Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz rival is based around this car. It’s vital the new Jaguar XE is a hit.

Festival of the Unexceptional featuring Princess Diana's Metro

Truly unexceptional - the Morris 1100 By Adam Binnie Motor Shows 11 July 2014 14:07 Do you prefer the Midlands to Maranello? Would you rather have a tattered mauve interior to a hand-stitched leather one? If so, the Festival of the Unexceptional is the place for you.

Concept Car of the Week: Cadillac Voyage (1988)

Once a symbol of America's most luxurious automobiles, Cadillac's image had begun to wane by the mid-1980s, and not even the Pininfarina-designed and built two-seater Allante was enough to excavate the brand's long gone leadership. In an effort to take Cadillac onto the global stage, engineers and the team of designers led by Chuck Jordan began working on the Voyage concept, a rolling laboratory with visionary styling and innovative technology. It was unveiled in 1988 at a technological exhibition in New York thus highlighting that rather than a stylist's dream come true, it was a very serious study towards aerodynamic, performance, handling, comfort and efficiency in an age when automated superhighways would allow fast, safe inter-State travel.

Mazda MX-5 1989-2014 in pictures: 25 years of everyone's favourite roadster

It's hard to believe but the Mazda MX-5 celebrates its 25th birthday this year, writes Adam Binnie. The occasion will be marked with a special edition model, before the launch of the fourth-iteration MX-5 in September 2014. The MX-5 earned the title of 'bestselling two-seater sports car of all time' from Guinness World Records in May 2000, after global production reached 531,890 units.

Tomorrow's world: Jaguar and Land Rover showcase intelligent car tech

By John Mahoney Motor Industry 11 July 2014 17:21 CAR has been given a sneak preview of some of the weird, wonderful and slightly creepy new technology that’s coming to Jaguar and Land Rovers in the not too distant future. The new tech - including gesture control, next-gen voice control and intelligent windscreens - was shown at an event in Whiteley, where Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) also announced details of its new four-cylinder engines.  So what should we expect from Jags and Landies of the future? Gesture control is the next big thing for Land Rovers and Jaguars say its engineers.

PM opens Williams F1’s new Advanced Engineering Centre

Prime minister David Cameron has today opened Williams Racing’s new £8 million Advanced Engineering Centre in Grove, Oxford. The new facility will help transfer Williams’ four decades of title-winning F1 expertise into the world of road cars – and the PM has challenged the engineers working there to continue helping Britain compete on the world stage by developing new business opportunities. On Bing: see pictures of Williams F1 cars Nismo Williams!

AA urges private parking regulation

PRIVATE LAND parking enforcers are "free to reap any and every parking infringement," despite recent legislation, according to the AA. Highlighting findings of the new Parking on Private Land Appeals (Popla) body, the AA said the requirements of the 2102 Protection of Freedoms Act were not always being observed. Popla's report for 2013/14 said some private parking operators were acting outside some statutory provisions of the Act in their pursuit of those who they think have offended.

Dude, Where’s My Car?

HAVE you ever forgotten where you parked your car? Don't worry, as you’re not alone. According to a new survey from Direct Line, Britain is a nation of dozy parkers with many drivers forgetting where they have left their car.

Closed-road racing made legal in the UK

Could the UK host its own Mille Miglia? By Adam Binnie Motoring Issues 11 July 2014 15:52 A London Grand Prix on closed streets or even a Pikes Peak style hill-climb in the Lake District could now by possible after the Government approved plans to allow motorsport events on public roads. It is hoped that the decision to allow staged rallies, hill climbs and trials of speed on closed-road street circuits will give the country’s motorsport industry a jump start. Prime minister David Cameron made the announcement today while touring the new Formula One Williams factory in Oxfordshire.

Olympic gold medalist Nicola Adams tries her hand at rally co-driving

The memory of the Goodwood Festival of Speed 2014 may now have faded, but for Olympic gold medallist Nicola Adams, the experience of the event is one she’ll be sure never to forget. That’s because Hyundai brand ambassador Adams was strapped into the passenger seat of the firm’s i20 WRC world rally car alongside factory rally driver Thierry Neuville for a white-knuckle ride around Goodwood’s famous forest rally stage. Thankfully for Adams, she got her own back in the ring, too… Please click on the image above to read more about Nicola Adams and Thierry Neuville swapping sports

Suzuki Swift SZ-L Special Edition makes a ‘Swift’ return – price from £11,099

Suzuki Swift SZ-L Special Edition – price from £11,099 It was only in February that the Suzuki Swift SZ-L Special Edition arrived as a special offer Swift with cosmetic tweaks. And now it’s back. We did question why Suzuki were using a special edition name they’d rolled out before when the Swift SZ-L arrived in February, but it seems odd to relaunch it all over again just a few months later.

Evanta Barchetta (2014): first sight of Kahn's new roadster

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 10 July 2014 16:30 You're looking at the new 2014 Evanta Barchetta, the first fruits of a collaboration between famed tuning company Kahn and specialist manufacturer Evanta, whose boss starred in Channel 4’s For The Love of Cars. Due to be unveiled officially at the Goodwood Revival in September, the Evanta Barchetta has been made by Ant-Kahn, the name for the surprise new partnership first revealed by CAR magazine earlier in summer 2014. It's a retro-styled roadster with seats for two and a wardrobe inspired by 1950s motorsport.