Rumormill: 2012 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Black Series Coupe to get 5.5-liter turbo

Filed under: Coupe, Mercedes-Benz, Rumormill

Mercedes-Benz AMG Black Series badge

The Mercedes-Benz C Class already has a hugely capable and entertaining performance model in the 451-horsepower C63. But a refreshed C Class is expected to bow at next month’s Detroit Auto Show, and an exotic Black Series Coupe is expected to follow later in the year.

Inside Line reports that a conversation with Mercedes spokespeople has revealed that the 6.2-liter in the C63 will not be tweaked for Black Series duty, opting instead for the company’s twin-turbo 5.5-liter mill. That powertrain, as you may recall, already puts out 571 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque in the S63 AMG. That’s 71 more ponies than the the CLK AMG Black Series and more twist than almost anything this side of a diesel-powered heavy-duty pickup truck. That should help justify the expected $100k-plus price tag of the rarest of AMG variants, while simultaneously making every BMW M3 owner a bit leery of a race with the Black Series coupe. Let’s just hope it maintains the otherworldly bark of the naturally aspirated 6.2-liter, which is one of the C63’s primary draws.

[Source: Inside Line]

Rumormill: 2012 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Black Series Coupe to get 5.5-liter turbo originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 17 Dec 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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eBay Find of the Day: 1915 van Blerck Special Speedster is 18′ long with 17-liter engine

Filed under: Classics, Convertible, Performance, Auctions

1915 van Blerck Special Speedster

1915 van Blerck Special Speedster – Click above for high-res image gallery

Make room on your holiday list, boys and girls; here’s something we definitely want to see under ye olde yuletide pine tree this year. On second thought, you’d better make it a redwood.Tucked away in the Other Makes section of eBay Motors is a custom racer with a fire engine chassis and a 17-liter engine borrowed from one of the most famous racing boat manufacturers of the early 20th century. Called the 1915 van Blerck Special Speedster, this awesome ground-pounder is over six feet tall and nearly 18 feet long. All 17-liters of displacement from the vehicle’s engine is soaked up by just six cylinders, each of which has three spark plugs all to itself.

The engine was created by none other than Joseph van Blerck – an engineer who crafted record-setting engines for speed boats in the early part of the last century. According to the seller, the engine produces well over 200 horsepower and is more than capable of scooting the big machine to speeds of over 100 mph. That is, if you’re brave enough to lean on the vehicle’s chain-drive system. You can buy it now for the low price of $199,000, though the seller says that trading is always an option, too. Us? We think it’d make a bitchin’ new sleigh for Santa.

Gallery: 1915 van Blerck Special Speedster

[Source: eBay Motors]

eBay Find of the Day: 1915 van Blerck Special Speedster is 18′ long with 17-liter engine originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 07 Dec 2010 16:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Subaru prices 2011 Forester with new 2.5-liter boxer

Filed under: Crossover, Subaru

Subaru Forester

Subaru Forester 2.5X Premium – Click above for high-res image gallery

Despite packing an all-new, third-generation boxer engine, Subaru is keeping the price of the 2011 Forester within a stone’s throw of last year’s model. Starting next year, the middle child of the Subaru family will carry a price tag of $20,495 for the 2.5X – around $200 more than the 2010 high-rider. More importantly, the 2.5X will pack the company’s all-new 2.5-liter flat four-cylinder engine, complete with chain-driven dual overhead cams, 170 horsepower and 174 lb-ft of torque. Curiously, those numbers are nearly identical to what the old mill churned out, and the new powertrain’s 21/27 mile per gallon city/highway fuel economy estimates are only one mpg better than the 2010 model equipped with an automatic gearbox. Harumph.

Meanwhile, the company is throwing in an additional trim level. Buyers who opt for the Touring versions of the Forester will be met with niceties like an automatic transmission, HID headlights and dual-zone climate controls, among other goodies. Prices start at $27,995 for the 2.5X Touring, though the package can be fitted to the turbocharged XT for a bit more change.

Speaking of the XT, Subaru says that the forced-induction Forester will continue to get its grunt from the same 2.5-liter four-cylinder as last year, so don’t look to see any more power come from that mill. Hit the jump for the press release.

Gallery: Review: 2009 Subaru Forester 2.5X Premium

Photos by Dan Roth / Copyright (C)2010 AOL

[Source: Subaru]

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Subaru prices 2011 Forester with new 2.5-liter boxer originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 24 Sep 2010 15:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Land Rover Evoque to get 2.0-liter EcoBoost from Ford?

Filed under: Paris Motor Show, Crossover, Ford, Land Rover, Luxury

Jaguar’s got a good thing going with its use of Ford engines, and even an engine shortage isn’t enough to deter Land Rover from getting in on the game. A report in Autocar suggests that the Land Rover Evoque could make use of the 2.0-liter, four-cyliinder Ecoboost engine that Ford just installed as the premium engine into the 2011 Explorer.

On the ‘sceptered isle, the same Ecoboost serves in the Mondeo, but with 203 horsepower instead of the 237 that the Explorer variant outputs. Since Land Rover won’t say anything about the report, probably trying to maintain the surprise until the Evoque is revealed at the Paris Motor Show, we don’t know which tune the Evoque might get. But that engine and the possibility of using Ford’s six-speed, dual-clutch Powershift transmission could go all the way to backing up Land Rover’s assertion that the Evoque will be the most fuel-efficient vehicle it has ever produced.

[Source: Autocar]

Report: Land Rover Evoque to get 2.0-liter EcoBoost from Ford? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 25 Aug 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumormill: Ford Falcon to get blown 5.0-liter Coyote

Filed under: Performance, Ford, Rumormill

Ford FG Falcon XR Series

Ford FG Falcon XR Series – Click above for high-res image gallery

Back before Ford announced it was producing a new aluminum block version of its supercharged 5.4-liter V8 for the 2011 GT500, speculation ran rampant that the new 5.0-liter Coyote V8 would get the force-feeding treatment. At the time, Ford declined to comment, but even with the introduction of the lighter 5.4-liter, the speculation never died away.

It now appears that a supercharged 5.0-liter will first appear in Australia in 2011 powering the new Falcon XR8 and possibly a GT-HO. Ford acknowledged that the Boss 302 could have been fitted with a blower, saying in its release that “the Mustang team knew a supercharger would be the simplest way to extract significant power improvements from the new 5.0-liter V8, but they elected not to pursue forced induction for the 2012 Boss to stay true to the original Boss 302 engine.”

Given that the rest of the 5.4- and 4.6-liter V8 applications in North America are disappearing in 2011, one has to wonder how long Ford will keep the current GT500 engine around. The most recent speculation is that a boosted version of the Coyote will arrive here in time for the 50th anniversary of the ponycar in 2014. And that can’t come soon enough.

Gallery: Ford FG Falcon XR Series

[Source: GoAuto.com.au]

Rumormill: Ford Falcon to get blown 5.0-liter Coyote originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 18 Aug 2010 19:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Ford 6.7-liter Power Stroke diesel to churn out 800 lb-ft of torque

Filed under: Truck, Work, Ford, GM

In February, the specs on Ford’s 6.7-liter Power Stroke turbo-diesel V8 were announced: 390 horsepower and 735 pound-feet of torque. A month later, General Motors laid out the specs on its 6.6-liter Duramax turbo-diesel: 397 hp and 765 lb-ft. According to PickupTrucks.com, the Duramax could be shoved to the corner again later this year, when a high-output Super Duty blows out the footlights with 400 hp and 800 – or more – lb-ft of twisting gumption.

According to the unknown source within the Blue Oval, Ford’s new 6R140 TorqShift six-speed transmission has strong enough guts that Ford can open up the taps on that engine a bit. And give GM something to think about. If this absurdly powerful dream does come true, the behemoth motor will be seen in the second wave of 2011 Super Duty pickups that begin production in a few months. No word on whether early adopters of the 6.7-liter will get a free upgrade.

[Source: PickupTrucks.com]

Report: Ford 6.7-liter Power Stroke diesel to churn out 800 lb-ft of torque originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 19 Jul 2010 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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