2014 Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG revealed

Following the reveal of the standard Mercedes-Benz S-Class last month, we're eagerly anticipating the next several chapters of the brand's flagship range, especially the all-important S63 AMG. And while Mercedesitself has done a pretty good job of keeping things under wraps, it looks like a mistake was made. As part of its celebration kicking off S-Class production at the company's Sindelfingen, Germany plant, Mercedes released some official videos showing the new sedan coming off the line, and the one you see here is the S63 AMG.

Because of how precisely styled all of Merc's new cars are, the AMG models won't necessarily carry the same sort of visual assault that they've had in generations past. For example, take a look at the brand new CLA250, and then compare it to a CLA45 AMG. Almost identical, right? Even here with the S-Class, the larger air intakes below the front bumper are a dead giveaway about the performance underneath (as are the larger wheels), but it doesn't look substantially more aggressive than the other S-Class models sitting in the same room.

We don't have official details on the new S63 AMG yet, but we expect the company's twin-turbocharged 5.5-liter V8 to be found underhood, putting out something like 550 horsepower in the base model. (Like the newE-Class, an S model will likely be offered). The AMG Speedshift dual-clutch transmission and all-wheel drive will likely be part of the S63 AMG package, too.

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What on Earth is Audi doing with E-Tron?

If we take a quick look back in history, we realize that the first timeAudi mentioned the name E-Tron to the public was all the way back in 2009. Back then, the name was applied to an entire concept car, called simply the E-Tron, which was an R8 converted to an electric vehicle with a big battery pack and some powerful electric motors. It was a supercar for the plug-in set, and it went over so well that Tony Stark drove one in Iron Man 3 this year. With that kind of publicity for the marquee E-Tron, it's confusing that the E-Tron name has been applied to a seemingly endless stream of concepts, test vehicles and rumors over the past four years. At least a dozen, by our count.

There was the original R8 E-Tron, an A3 Sportback E-Tron (EV and PHEV versions), the R18 E-Tron Quattroracecar, an all-electric A2 E-Tron concept, an A6 L E-Tron PHEV that was shown off in Beijing and rumors of A4 and Q7 E-Tron Quattros. Then we had the E-Tron spyder concept and the city E-Tron concept, as well as news of an A5 E-Tron Quattro plug-in hybrid. And then there's the A1 E-Tron plug-in hybrid that is being tested in Germany. Got all that?

Audi is finally getting ready to take the E-Tron name out of the movies and the auto show circuit and start putting plug-in cars in customer driveways. As it gears up for the launch of the first E-Tron – the A3 Sportback E-Tron, coming in 2014 – we flew to Berlin to find out what's taken so long, and what's coming next.

Berlin is a city that welcomes alternatives. Leaving aside the city's embrace for different lifestyles and a wide variety of artists, transportation in Germany's capital is certainly "go as you are." Everywhere you go in Mitte (downtown), you see car-sharing vehicles (electric and gas-powered options from companies like BMW's DriveNow and Daimler's Car2Go as well as lots of the Citroen C-Zero, aka the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, fromMulticity). The public transportation network gets my vote for the best in the world. If you're biking through town – and there are bike paths everywhere – the chorus of start-stop engines firing up when a stop light turns green is astonishing. Add in the known European love for diesels and the fact that many vehicles burn autogas (liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG), you can see how Berlin moves in many different ways. The big question of the week, though, was whether Berlin and, of course, the rest of Germany/Europe/the world is ready for plug-in vehicles.

2013 BMW M6 Coupe *UPDATE

The 2013 BMW M6 is a rolling obscenity – one that begins with the capital letter "F." It is both the act and the exclamation, the curse and the encouragement. It courts no logic. It is all want and no need, and it is unbecoming of the BMW roundel. Whereas the brand's products once strove to unite man and machine in a duet of blissful performance, the M6 seems built solely to stand between the driver and the road. You are very clearly in its way every second you're behind the wheel, slowing it down and generally being the Monday morning to its two-day trance festival. It's clear this car is very fast, but it has no interest in making you fast in the way that the M3 or even the M5 are wont to do.

But somehow, all that doesn't stop the car from stoking every last lick of lust in your gut. A 560-horsepower twin-turbocharged V8 will do that for you.

Driving Notes

• I think this may very well be the most beautiful machine in the BMW stable right now. The fascia, wheels and carbon fiber roof of the M line all help sharpen the standard 6 Series nicely, turning the car from an awkward bubble into a lithe and purposeful grand tourer. It snatches eyeballs like a cleptomaniac Doctor Frankenstein at the optometrist's office: with both purpose and glee.
• The real magic of this car is at its heart: a 4.4-liter turbocharged V8 with 560 horsepower 500 pound-feet of torque. The thrust out of this engine is fiendish in its delivery, and you can't help but get the sense that the only thing keeping this powerplant from leaping out of the coupe's nose and terrorizing the countryside is you. The car strains against the brake pedal at every stop light, and the exhaust burbles and pops in some of our favorite anti-social tones. It is the rolling embodiment of Skynet.
• Our tester came with a seven-speed double-clutch transmission. The logic can be switched between "sane" and "why am I in the next county?" There is no middle ground, but the paddle shifters feel great. The shift lever, meanwhile, might as well have been imported from another planet. In the future. In an alternate dimension. It's that counterintuitive.
• Speaking of switches, there are independent controls for the shift logic, dampers and steering. You can save your presets by plowing through the iDrive system or by pressing and holding a button on the steering wheel, but it all feels like an unnecessary added step. The M6 doesn't simply remember which settings the driver preferred from one jaunt to the next. The result is a car that's in your way more often than not. It's either the best or worst first world problem in the history of our species.
• BMW didn't hold back with the carbon fiber on this machine. Our tester came with a composite roof and carbon-fiber trim indoors. It originally wore the optional carbon ceramic brakes as well, but some yokel had already roasted the rotors off of the car. BMW went back with steel. At $8,700 for the option, we don't blame them.
• This all sounds like a lot of bellyaching, but don't misunderstand. There are only a handful of cars out there that can evoke the sort of emotion this one does, and most of them carry price tags more than double the $123,345 of our tester. That's not saying it's worth the coin, but the car has its place.

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Hyundai planning EV for US market

California's stringent automotive emissions mandates, which require that all automakers include some form of Zero-Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) in the lineup, may be forcing the hand of Hyundai, suggests The Detroit Bureau after a recent tweet from John Krafcik, HMA Chief Executive. Up until now, the Korean automaker has been attempting to meet future regulations with fuel-cell vehicles like the modified ix35/Tuscon models(the technology uses hydrogen to generate electricity), but consumers have been slow to warm to hydrogen citing an immature and undeveloped refueling infrastructure.

While battery-powered EVs are far from perfect, they appeal to consumers who have short commutes and owners who find it convenient to recharge at home. If Hyundai were to get into the EV game in short order, one solution could be the BlueOn battery car (shown above) that is sold in the automaker's domestic market. In its current state, the BlueOn offers a 16.4-kWh lithium polymer battery, which provides a range of just over 85 miles and a lethargic 0-60 time of 13.1 seconds.

To be competitive, Hyundai would have to boost performance or seek another more expensive solution. We'll have to wait for official word, or another tweet from Krafcik, to see which way the company is heading.

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2015 Ford Mustang prototype spotted on the street

Our trusty spy photographers have snapped the first photos of the 2015 Ford Mustang prototype out on public streets. With nearly every square inch of the machine covered in heavy camouflage, it's difficult to discern details, but we can see smallish horizontal headlamps at work in the coupe's nose. Ford has made it clear that modern lighting technology will allow the company to get away from large, expensive headlamp arrays in the near future, and the 2015 Mustang may very well be the first of the automaker's products to bow with the new tech. The philosophy was first displayed on the very attractive Evos Concept.

The extensive cladding doesn't extend all the way to the prototype's rockers in the instance, giving us a look at the heavily-sculpted sills. Overall, this test car looks considerably smaller than the current generation Mustang, and elements like a short front overhang and beefy dual-piston calipers give us plenty of hope for the future model. Of course, reports that the 2015 Mustang will bow with an independent rear suspension and EcoBoost power certainly don't hurt our feelings, either.

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