Mercedes-Benz Smart Roadster Model

Back in 2001 at the Geneva Motor Show, Smart introduced a quirky roadster concept with no doors, no roof and no windscreen called the Crossblade. The Fortwo Cabrio-based concept eventually went into a limited series production the following year with Smart offering a total of 2,000 cars.
Fast-forward to today, and Smart appears to be readying a spiritual successor to the Crossblade as the firm's parent company Mercedes-Benz has trademarked these designs drawings of a two-seater roadster model.
Unlike the original Crossblade, which came without doors featuring instead steel safety bars at passenger shoulder height that swing upwards with the help of a gas-operated struts, the roadster model seen in these pictures gets a conventional set of doors. It also features a larger wind deflector surrounding the driver and passenger as well as Smart's trademark Tridion Safety Cell - albeit redesigned to look like separate safety bars.
Unfortunately, the patent filing does not provide any information on the vehicle other than that the designs were submitted on November 16, 2010. However, unless it's a previous study we're not aware of, we'd say the car seen here is a new concept model (maybe for Detroit in January or Geneva in March) that could preview a production vehicle as well as the styling of the next generation Smart Fortwo series.


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Mercedes-Benz B55

 

The regular Mercedes-Benz B-Class wasn’t exactly created with the motoring enthusiast’s needs in mind, but this one-off B55 special is another story. Trainees of Mercedes-Benzs Rastatt plant in Germany turned a B200 CDI diesel model into a full-blown sports car by planting in a 388 hp 5.5-liter V8 and transferring the drive from the front axle to the rear.
The idea of the project came from plant manager, Peter Wesp, while the execution fell on the shoulders of foremen Andreas Würz and Matt Rieger and a team of twelve second and third-year trainees specializing in production mechanics and automotive mechatronics.
The team aimed to fulfill several goals, drawn up in a book of specifications. According to the plan, the spatial concept as well as the body of the B-Class were to remain unchanged. The interior, however, was to be upgraded to reflect the newly acquired qualities and the overall goal was to create a vehicle suitable for everyday driving.
While fitting the powerplant into the rather small engine bay wasn’t the hardest part of the build – the team was able to use the original engine mounts, installing other parts proved to be more difficult than anticipated. That was the case with the engine control unit, which had to be reprogrammed only to process signals from the rear axle, and the steering as well. Fortunately, by combining various replacement parts and doing a fair share of modifications, engineers were able to solve all problems.
The rear axle was sourced from a W210 E-Class and suitable brakes were found in the C32 AMG replacement parts catalogue. The B55 rides on 18-inch AMG alloys, shod in 235/50 front and 255/35 rear tires. The final performance upgrade is comprised of a K&W-sourced coil-over suspension.
Fellow trainees from the Sindelfingen plant helped modifying the interior, which was upgraded with sport seats and steering wheel, Alcantara linings and other, more luxurious materials.
The end result is a low-key, but definitely high-performance B-Class, which only weighs 180 kg (397 lbs) more than the stock model. With 530 Nm (391 lb-ft) on tap, the B55 accelerates like no other B-Class before it and can also do some pretty sweet burnouts.
“We have not made any measurements yet, but we should manage a sprint to 100 km/h in under six seconds”, said Andreas Würz.
The B55 may notr see the mass-production line, but the project's officials didn’t rule out the possibility of other similar conversions.
Check out the video below for some... smoky action from the Mercedes-Benz B55.

Honda CR-Z Hybrid Sport Hatch

Japanese tuner Noblesse has been steadily releasing numerous aftermarket bits and pieces for the new CR-Z ever since Honda launched its hybrid sport hatch . Among other parts, the company has developed a ground aero-kit with front and rear bumper aprons, side skirts, a rear diffuser and a large roof wing. These can be complemented by a lightweight carbon fiber hood, underbody aero parts, larger alloy wheels and a sport exhaust system. You can check out photos of Noblesse's Honda CR-Z offerings along with a video of a test car doing a circuit round right after the jump. 

Mercedes-Benz G-Class off road

To mark the 30th anniversary of the first G-Class, Mercedes has introduced a new hardcore model to conquer any terrain in Swat team style. With optional off-road packages, the Mercedes-Benz G-Class Edition30.Pur can be equipped with all-terrain tires on 16" aluminum wheels, flexible wheel arch flaring, protective grilles for the headlamps and lights, a large roofrack with ladder, a towing lug at the front and a two-section rear door. Inside is a load compartment with a wooden floor, an auxiliary heater and A/C, gray-and-black plaid or man-made leather seats, rubber floor coverings, spray-protected controls, and drains in the footwells.

James Robbins’ Corvette Design

We love us some Corvette design studies. Heck, if we wanted to we could probably serve up a new one every day of the week.
Today’s CAD mock up comes from transportation design student James Robbins. Think of it as a C6.5, a stopgap measure between the current gen Corvette and a future C7 model. The design brief required Mr. Robbins to use the basic proportions of the C6, which limited what could be done with the design.
Now here’s my two cents:
I find the shape of the bootlid and the V-shaped side intakes to be quite pleasing to the eye, but the ugly Dodge Viper / Ferrari 458 Italia taillights don’t fit the car at all. Also, the front end styling is a bit too conservative and I feel that more could have been done with the glasshouse. The overall design is good but it’s hard to say if that’s due to Mr. Robbins’ tweaking or the C6’s nice proportions.
I can’t help but feel that with a little more work around the head- and taillights, this could have been a real stunner. As it stands, it’s a good effort though just not quite there. But don’t take my word for it. Voice your own opinion in our comments section.