Mercedes-Benz's AMG Division Posts Record Sales of 32,000 Cars in 2013

AMG has gone from a two-man operation that was founded in n 1967 by Hans Werner Aufrecht and Erhard Melcher, to a fully incorporated Mercedes-Benz subsidiary employing 1,200 workers and selling a record-breaking 32,000 cars in 2013.

"We are looking back on the company’s strongest year ever,” said Tobias Moers, Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-AMG GmbH. “This extraordinary growth has exceeded even our own expectations."

The German brand attributed its sales success to several factors including the broad introduction of the AMG-developed version of its all-wheel drive 4MATIC system on a number of models, including the E63 and CLS 63 AMG, as well as the arrival of the most affordable models in its range, the compact A 45 and CLA 45 AMG.

Mercedes noted that after its introduction, around 90 percent (!) of buyers of the new E 63 AMG chose the all-wheel drive 4MATIC technology.

AMG posted an overall growth of around 20 percent, with its two main European markets, Germany recording a 10 percent increase with the UK being up 40 percent. The company added that in China, 2013 sales were up around a quarter on the previous year, even though the new entry-level A 45 AMG and CLA 45 AMG models, as well as the new S 63 AMG 4MATIC, were not available there.

As for the future, AMG said it plans to enter a new segment with "a sports car it has fully developed itself" - it is likely referring to the SLC or GT AMG, a more affordable model aimed at the likes of the Porsche 911.

Mercedes' AMG Says Each Burnout is a Fashion Statement

This has to be one of the most unusual ideas we’ve seen lately: Mercedes-AMG and the Destroy vs. Beauty clothing line have decided that burnouts – more specifically, the shape left by rubber on the asphalt – have something artsy about them.

The two partners say each burnout is unique and thus worthy of being printed on fashion items. Participants at the AMG Driving Academy use AMG vehicles to perform the burnouts, which are reproduced with the help of a special material that goes under the rear wheels. The burnout prints are then used to adorn handbags and T-shirts.

The products can be then purchased at selected AMG Driving Academy events and will also be available in the AMG Showroom in Affalterbach soon. Confused? Well, scroll down to see what this is all about in the video demonstration with a Mercedes CLS 63 AMG.

Mercedes-Benz Displays Five Iconic Racing Cars at the Rétromobile 2014

This year, Mercedes-Benz celebrates 120 years of motor sport, which is the reason why the carmaker will display five original race cars and one Daimler engine at the Rétromobile 2014 (February 5-9) in Paris.

Focusing on the historic successes achieved by Mercedes-Benz in France, the carmaker’s booth will include iconic cars including the Mercedes Grand Prix racing car (1914), Mercedes-Benz W 196 R “Streamliner” (1954), Sauber-Mercedes C 9 (1989), McLaren Mercedes MP4-15 (2000) and Mercedes-Benz DTM C-Class (2009).

Besides these cars, Mercedes-Benz will also showcase the Daimler two-cylinder V-engine from 1894, which had a major role in motor sport’s first winning vehicles 120 years ago. Built under license in France, the “Moteur système Daimler” propelled cars from Peugeot and Panhard & Levassor to victory in the Paris–Rouen and Paris–Bordeaux–Paris motor races.

The Mercedes Grand Prix racing car from 1914 achieved the first one-two-three victory in the history of motor sport in the French Grand Prix in Lyon, while the W 196 R “Streamliner” marked the Silver Arrows’ return after the Second World War with a double victory in the 1954 French Grand Prix in Reims.

Following the horrific Le Mans crash in 1955, Mercedes-Benz withdrew from racing, but in 1989, it supplied engines to the Sauber-Mercedes C9 that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The fourth Mercedes exhibit at the Rétromobile 2014 is the McLaren Mercedes MP4-15, the Formula One car in which David Coulthard won the French Grand Prix in 2000. Finally, the Mercedes-Benz DTM C-Class was the winning vehicle in the 2009 DTM race at Dijon-Prenois in the hands of driver Gary Paffett.