The Gelandewagen has a long history as a world-conquering off-roader. Now in its 30th year of production, the two ton Benz-built bruiser has conquered the Sahara, straddled the Alps and set dozens of records for going places lesser trucks could not.
But now Brabus has written another record for the G-Wagen: the most powerful production off-roader ever built.
In a statement today, BMW CEO Norbert Riethofer said the company will not produce a production version of the Concept CS sedan concept first seen at the 2007 Geneva Motor Show.
"Difficult business conditions and the volatile climate on the market mean that it is as good as impossible from today's perspective to make a reliable prediction of the earnings outcome for 2008," CEO Norbert Reithofer said in a statement.
The production version of the Concept CS would have competed in a small and high-priced market. It's primary competitors would have been the Mercedes-Benz CLS, Porsche Panamera and Maserati Quattroporte.
Production would have been limited, and with sales tanking industry wide, the Concept CS failed to make a case for itself.
"At the moment we do not need that kind of brand shaper", said Reithofer.
The decision was made after a very grim third quarter sales report. The German automaker's return on sales fell below 1.3 percent, forcing the company to focus intently on maintaining a profitable model range.
BMW abandons 2008 profit target Following today's announcement, the automaker said it could not guarantee its earlier 2008 profit forecast in light of the troubled auto sales market.
Earnings before interest and taxes fell to 387M euros in the third quarter, well below industry analyst's earlier estimate of 574M euros.
The company said it would make additional production cuts to maintain profitability, reducing output by at least another 40,000 units on top of the 25,000 the company cut earlier this year.
To date, the automaker has made a five percent cut in production compared to 2007.
Even though the 2008 Paris Motor Show only days away, the previews keep on coming. For this week's video feature, we've got the Mercedes-Benz CoupeFASCINATION -- a concept car which offers some insight into the design of the next-generation E-Class.
A sporting coupe, redefined The CoupeFASCINATION concept builds on the four door "coupe" theme established with the production CLS series.
With this design aesthetic in mind, designer at Mercedes extended the roofline, adding frameless door glass and a set of suicide-style rear doors to aid entry into the copiously leather-trimmed interior, replete with all the show car glitz one would expect. (On-board humidors, anyone?)
Outside, the fenders swell dramatically around the front and rear wheels, lending a dynamic, fluid look to the long-established but rarely seen "shooting brake" - a vehicle category with its own distinctive charisma.
Up front, the traditional dual headlight treatment that has come to symbolize the E-class is expressed in a set of steeply raked rectangular headlights framed by the traditional pentagonal Benz grille and three-pointed star. The deeply contoured hood features a central ridge which picks up the V-shape of the front end and continues it along the body.
Together, they create a very dominant and expressive statement from traditional Mercedes-Benz design cues.
Inside, a panoramic glass roof adds to the sense of visual lightness aided by the pillarless sides and frameless door glass. In contrast, complementary shades of leather and nubuck cover much of the interior, with the aluminum center console spanning the space between four individual seats. Trim strips in American walnut with a fine chrome surround complete the portfolio of materials.
As for motive power, the CoupeFASCINATION concept features a 204-horsepower 2.2-liter turbodieselinline-four, using BlueTec technology to reduce NOx emissions while providing plenty of torque for swift acceleration.
Drivetrain details remain sparse, but the production version would likely use the six-speed automatic transmission used by the current diesel E-class sedans.
As with all concept cars, there's the question of how much of the the show car's extravagance filters down to the production model. For instance, we don't know if the 2.2-liter diesel will be offered for the US market. It's unlikely that the suicide doors or pillarless sides would make it to production. But in its present form, the CoupeFASCINATION concept is one of the most cohesive and thoughtful designs to come out of the post-DaimlerChrysler era.
For those of you who still mourn the passing of the C32 AMG and its silken supercharged six, take solace.
Within the next 30 months, Mercedes-Benz will roll out a series of smaller displacement turbocharged engines to improve gas mileage without sacrificing performance.
Emissions compliance is also a factor in the decision to choose forced induction over big displacement. The EU will begin to fine automakers whose fleet CO2 output exceeds 178 grams per km starting in 2012. Without resorting to smaller, force-fed engines, the fleet will not comply with the new law.
A similar emissions law is under consideration in the US Congress. Incidentally, the S-class übersedan will be offered with a full hybrid drivetrain by 2009.
In the announcement, Daimler board member and R&D chief Thomas Weber also said that a zero-emission production vehicle is among the auto maker's long-term goals. In addition to electric vehicles, hydrogen fuel cells are also being considered for future Benzes.
A full-electric version of the ForTwo from Mercedes sister brand Smart will go into production in 2010.
