Read Why Steve Jobs' Car Never Had a License Plate

Steve Jobs, the charismatic founder of Apple and Pixar, was a man who changed not only the way computers are made and marketed, but also popularized a number of novel products, such as the iPhone and the iPad, which made buyers form long lines outside Apple stores and the competition always play catch-up.

Sadly, Jobs passed away on October 5 at the age of 56. After his death, one of the rumors circulating the web was that of his car’s number plate – or rather its absence.

Some said that he didn’t care about paying the fines, as he surely could afford to, while others claimed that he had somehow obtained a special permit to drive without one.

Read more »

Inden Design Applies the Black Series Treatment to the Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG

Since 2008, Mercedes-Benz has been producing a special edition version of the SL65 AMG called the Black Series that comes with a fixed carbon fiber roof, a wide body kit, an upgraded V12 and numerous other performance and styling enhancements. If you happen to like the look of the Black Series but prefer to keep the retractable hardtop of the standard SL65 AMG, you may want to check out Inden Design’s latest tuning package. Read more »

Geneva 2011: Carlsson C25 Royale is a Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG in Disguise

Carlsson showed up at the Geneva Salon with a new version of its C25 supercar dubbed Royale. Based on the Mercedes-Benz SL 65 AMG, the heavily customized coupe with the fixed rooftop will be built in a limited run of 25 units. Company officials said six vehicles have already been sold and will be delivered to the customers in 2011. According to Carlsson, each C25 Royale takes six months from order to delivery.

Read more »

U Spy: 2012 Mercedes-Benz SL Roadster Convoy Scooped in Spain

Carscoop reader Frank Jonas hit the Mercedes-Benz jackpot when travelling in Spain last week, he stumbled upon a convoy of camo'ed SL prototypes, which were accompanied by several other vehicles with the star on their bonnet including an example of the current generation of the German firm's hardtop roadster model.

"On my trip to the south of Spain last week I had the opportunity to take some pictures of a heavily camouflaged Mercedes-Benz Coupe/Cabriolet, most probably the next SL," Frank told Carscoop.

Although Mercedes has done its best to disguise the SL by covering it in heavy cladding, we can see that the new generation model keeps its predecessor's two-piece folding hard top, while the styling is expected to adopt the German firm's more "artsy" design philosophy as seen on the latest CLS and recent concept models such as the F800 Style, along with a more in-your-face front grille.

Read more »

MR Car Design Tunes up the Pre-Facelift Mercedes-Benz SL 65 AMG

The pre-facelift Mercedes-Benz SL 65 AMG is the object of MR Car Design's latest tuning program. The exterior kit for the hardtop roadster model includes a lightweight carbon fiber hood from Kicherer, smoked up turn signals all around and the rear diffuser from the newer 2009MY SL 65 AMG. A set of shiny 20-inch alloy wheels from Carlsson and custom-made Black Series gauge dials inside complete the styling package.

Read more »

A Short History of the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 190 SL Roadster

It might not be a widely known fact, but strictly speaking, the Mercedes SLK roadster has a 55-year-old pedigree. Allow us to explain. When the German automaker presented the first SLK concept study in 1994, it was continuing the firm's small roadster tradition which stated back in 1955 with the 190 SL.

Read more »

Tokyo Auto Salon 2011: Notice anything Strange with this Picture?

Those of you who stayed with us last night (East Coast time), probably followed Phil's live coverage of the first day of the Tokyo Auto Salon 2011, which runs from January 14 to 16. We'll have more from the Makuhari Messe convention center tonight, but for now, we'd like to draw your attention to this particular photo.

At first, you'll probably focus on the glitzy, star-studded Mercedes SL roadster with the gold grille, but look a bit closer on your right and you may see something very strange and perhaps disturbing...

Read more »

Vilner's Mercedes-Benz SL 63 AMG Shadow Line gets some Interior Love [with Video]

From the makers of the redone Hennessey Jeep SRT600 Grand Cherokee and Chevrolet Camaro V6, comes our next tune. Vilner, a relatively new company in the aftermarket industry based in Bulgaria, has prepared a styling proposal for the interior of the Mercedes-Benz SL 63 AMG.

The package is called "Shadow Line" and it treats the hardtop roadster's cabin with handmade leather goods starting from the seats and door panels and finishing up with the steering wheel, which is also upgraded with a thicker rim featuring a more flattened bottom area. The colors of choice for the leather seats and door panels are red and black with contrasting silver stitching completing the look.

While Vilner did not release pricing for the customized interior, the Bulgarian company did publish a neat video showing us the work that goes into the creation of the tailor-trimmed steering wheel. You can watch it right after the break.

Read more »

SCOOP: 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL Roadster with Retractable Hardtop

Our spy photographers have snagged the next generation of Mercedes-Benz's SL roadster, which is due to arrive in 2012. As you can see in the pictures, Mercedes-Benz obviously will continue with the front-engine, rear-drive format, as well as with a retractable metal hardtop.

The prototype model's heavy disguise and body cladding makes it difficult to distinguish any details, but it's safe to assume that the new SL will carry styling hallmarks from the German firm's "artsy" design language previewed in its most recent concept models such as the CLS Shooting Break and the F800 Style.

Read more »

Carlsson C25: Mercedes-Benz-Based Super GT to Debut in Geneva

The closer we get to the 2010 Geneva Salon in March, the more automakers reveal their plans for one of the most important car shows of the year. Carlsson, the well-known Mercedes-Benz specialist, announced today that it will shake the covers off the C25, which it describes as the company's "first own-developed automobile".

And by that, Carlsson actually means that it has created its own limited run super-car using a whole lot of bits and pieces from Mercedes-Benz' parts bin.

Even though the tuner did not say which model the C25 coupe is based on, judging by the teaser sketches and the fact that it is powered by a 6.0-liter bi-turbo V12 engine, our first guess goes to the Mercedes-Benz SL 65 AMG.

Nevertheless, the drawings suggest that the C25 will have its own unique styling personality while the tuner claims that the same goes for the new interior that receives a generous use of real carbon, tanned buffalo leather and ultra-suede in special colors.

Underneath the sheetmetal, it's all about tuning Mercedes-Benz' running gear. Power comes from a tweaked 6.0-liter twin-turbocharged V12 engine that cranks out 753-horsepower and a mouth dropping 1,320Nm or 974 lb-ft (!) of peak torque that's available at 3,750 rpm.

With that kind of power, it's no surprise that Carlsson announces a 0-100km/h (62mph) time of just 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 353 km/h or 219mph.

The completely street-legal C25 also gets ESP, ABS, airbag systems, an intelligent lowering C-Tronic SUSPENSION, 20-inch lightweight alloy wheels shod in 265/30 tires at the front and 325/25 at the back as well as 405mm slotted race brake discs at the front and 380mm race brake discs at the rear.

Carlsson said that it will produce only 25 examples of the car delivering only one automobile per country. More details and pricing are to be announced at the C25's world premiere at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show.

Mercedes-Benz Launches SL Night Edition and SLK Grand Edition Specials

Two new special edition roadster models have been added to Mercedes-Benz's European range. Both the SL Night Edition and SLK Grand Edition gain numerous interior and exterior features, and are available for order now.

Starting with the SL Night Edition, Merc's flagship hardtop roadster is finished in an exclusive designo magno night black paint and features 19-inch AMG five-spoke light-alloy wheels in a two-tone, high-gloss finish, silver-painted front brake callipers with the Mercedes-Benz logo and darkened headlamps/tail lights.

Inside, the SL's cabin is dressed in black nappa leather and shining chrome trim while the seats also have arrow-shaped seams and silver-colored contrasting features. Finally, the sports steering wheel, shift lever and roof lining are in black.

Moving onto the SLK Grand Edition, the compact roadster is distinguished on the outside by the designo graphite paint finish, 18-inch light-alloy wheels with five triple spokes, silver-coloured fins on the bonnet and darkened headlamps.

Interior highlights include the standard AIRSCARF system, the new seats that are upholstered in basalt grey nappy leather, with red stitching and arrow-shaped seams. Basalt grey nappa leather is also used for the door linings and is contrasted by the designo pearl leather armrests.

Depending on the engine variant, the additional cost for the special models is between 3700 and 5200 Euro for the SL Night Edition and between 2300 and 3500 Euro for the SLK Grand Edition.

In typical Mercedes-Benz style, the special paint finishes will cost you an additional 3640 Euro for designo magno night black and 1800 Euro for designo graphite.

Video: Merc's 670HP SL65 AMG Black Series in Action

Not that the recently updated Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG with its 612HP twin-turbocharged V12 engine isn't powerful or fast enough, but you'll always have a few customers -very few to be honest- that crave for something a bit more special, a bit more fast and a whole lot more expensive. The result was the introduction of the SL 65 AMG 'Black Series' of which only 350 will be produced, with around 200 of those earmarked for the U.S. As a typical example of Merc's 'Black Series' cars, this SL has been stripped out and tuned to the bone. Among other upgrades the 'Black Series' has been enhanced with a fixed carbon-fiber rooftop and a tweaked 6.0-liter twin-turbo V12 engine producing 670HP and a monstrous 738 lbs/ft of torque. Hit the jump for a narrated video of the car or click here for details and photos.

Mercedes-Benz SL Styling Kit by Lorinser

After the latest facelift of the Mercedes-Benz SL Class, Lorinser’s designers headed back to the draw board to cook up a new styling kit for the German roadster. The result is a full bodykit that will satisfy the eyes of any yuppie boy racer. The kit consists of a front bumper spoiler complete with a blunt Lorinser badge that replaces Merc’s famous star, new fenders with redesigned air vents, side skirts with air openings, a new rear bumper with an integrated diffuser that houses the quad exhaust tips and a boot lid spoiler. -Continued

The aero kit is complemented by a new set of alloy wheels while Lorinser also offers a series of interior accessories for those who want to live on the wild side. As for performance upgrades, the Swabian tuner said that it is currently working on an engine optimization kit for the facelifted Mercedes SL range and that it will release details in the very near future. We just can't wait.

Lorinser to Unveil Mercedes SL Facelift Based Model at Automechanika

Instead of revealing its newest tuning proposition based on the recently facelifted Mercedes-Benz SL at next month’s Paris Auto Show Lorinser has decided to perform the world debut of its beefed up SL at the 2008 Automechanika Show in Frankfurt that runs from the September 16 to 21. The Automechanica show is an international exhibition for automobile parts, repair shop, service station and garage equipment. Lorisner hasn’t given out any details whatsoever on its interpretation of the Mercedes roadster but expect to see the usual mechanical and aesthetic upgrades.

Kicherer Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG with 580HP

Even the mighty Mercedes-Bezn SL63 AMG can’t escape from the horsepower-possessed German tuning firms. Thanks to a series of modifications that include a new sport exhaust system, Kicherer has managed to boost the SL63 AMG’s naturally aspirated 6.2-liter V8 engine output by 35 HP to a total of 560 HP while torque is also increased to 670Nm (494lb-ft). The 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) sprint now comes in 4.3 seconds or 0.4 sec faster than the standard SL63 AMG, while the roadster’s top speed is electronically limited to 320 km/h or 199 mph. -Continued

To match the SL63 AMG’s performance, Kicherer has developed a new bodykit with carbon fiber accessories than include a front apron, a rear diffuser that houses a new set of exhaust tailpipes and mirror caps. To complete the looks the German tuning firm offers a set of 20-inch RS-1 aluminium wheels.

Via: Worldcarfans