Schoenfeld 3525 3-1/2in Diameter Turn Out Imca Dirt Track on 2040-parts.com

New Mercedes SL 400 replaces SL 350

The new Mercedes SL 400 (pictured) replaces the old SL 350 It’s a little over two years since the latest Mercedes SL arrived, and Mercedes has now decided to add a little zest to sales by dropping the old SL 350 and replacing it with a new Mercedes SL 400. The new SL 400 gets its power from the new E400 which means a twin-turbo 3.0 litre V6 with 328bhp and 354 lb/ft of torque – 26bhp and 81 lb/ft more than the old SL 350 – enough to let the SL 400 scoot to 62 mph in 5.2 seconds – 0.7s better than the 350 -= and on to a limited top speed of 155 mph. The new SL 400 has to make do with Mercedes tried and tested 7-speed auto – despite a new 9-speed now being available in Mercedes’ arsenal – which gives the SL 400 official economy of 38.6 mpg and emissions of 172g/km – not that you’ll come close in the real world.

Video: The making of Forza Motorsport 4

Turn 10, the studio behind the design of Forza Motorsport 4 video game, has produced a video to revealed the lengthy process behind the creation of each car in their virtual pit garage. The video describes each, painstaking step from sourcing of the cars that will feature in the game to the development of the sound of each car. Some cars are scanned using equipment which gives accurate readings to 1/12,000 inch (around 0.002mm) is used to capture data that's imported into software used by anyone familiar with a design studio.

Detroit Electric reboots for Shanghai auto show

The Detroit Electric name is being revived in the Motor City. The company says it will reveal its first electric sports car -- based on the Lotus Elise -- at the Shanghai Motor Show in April, and begin selling in limited markets by August. That's a lofty goal for a company that just hit our radar on Tuesday morning.