What's New: August 2004

Ferrari F430  The F430 is the first of a new generation of Ferrari 8-cylinder models. This new car takes Ferrari?s achievements with aluminium technology, begun with the 360 Modena, to a new level, and offers a series of innovations derived from the Ferrari Formula 1 single-seaters. Two of these are world firsts for production cars: the electronic differential (E-Diff) and the steering wheel-mounted switch, which manages the integrated systems governing vehicle dynamics.

W.W.J.D. (What Would Jay-Z Drive?)

Since Maybach got the axe last month, there has been a hole 6.2 meters long in the hearts of rappers and ball players everywhere. Florida rapper Rick Ross, whose label name is Maybach Music, may even have to find another marque to follow. Shawn Carter, aka Jay-Z, who recorded several songs singing the praises of Maybach, will have to find a new ride in which to be chauffeured.

Mercedes-Benz Concept Style Coupe revealed ahead of China auto show

Mercedes-Benz is previewing its eagerly anticipated CLA sedan at an event in Los Angeles this week before providing a more detailed look at the Beijing motor show with the unveiling of the latest in a long line of concept cars, the 2.0-liter, 208-hp, four-cylinder-powered Concept Style Coupe. Pictured here officially for the first time, the heavily sculptured four-door reveals the dramatic appearance that the next junior Mercedes-Benz sedan will carry into North American showrooms in 2013. Advancing the look first established on the F800 Style concept wheeled out at the 2010 Geneva motor show, the Concept Style Coupe is clothed in a four-door body that makes extensive use of concave and convex surfaces to provide its exterior with what Mercedes-Benz design boss Gorden Wagener describes as “an almost fluid appearance and constantly altering depth.” The car has a large gaping grille known to insiders as a soft-nose treatment, striking headlamps with LED graphics, a heavily curved roofline, a shallow glasshouse, a high waistline, frameless doors and a trio of sharply creased lines along its flanks.