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New Mercedes SL 400 replaces SL 350

The new Mercedes SL 400 (pictured) replaces the old SL 350 It’s a little over two years since the latest Mercedes SL arrived, and Mercedes has now decided to add a little zest to sales by dropping the old SL 350 and replacing it with a new Mercedes SL 400. The new SL 400 gets its power from the new E400 which means a twin-turbo 3.0 litre V6 with 328bhp and 354 lb/ft of torque – 26bhp and 81 lb/ft more than the old SL 350 – enough to let the SL 400 scoot to 62 mph in 5.2 seconds – 0.7s better than the 350 -= and on to a limited top speed of 155 mph. The new SL 400 has to make do with Mercedes tried and tested 7-speed auto – despite a new 9-speed now being available in Mercedes’ arsenal – which gives the SL 400 official economy of 38.6 mpg and emissions of 172g/km – not that you’ll come close in the real world.

2011 World Car of the Year: Three finalists – one’s not a car

Nissan LEAF in a bubble at Geneva It looks like the WCOTY (World Car of the Year) is infected with the same set of vested interest as the European Car of the Year – they’ve voted the Nissan LEAF as one of the three finalists. By any sane measure the Nissan LEAF is not a car. It is at best a very good second mode of transport for those who don’t seek value and live in an urban area.

Concorso Italiano car show at Monterey Historics week 2013: in pictures

Every year as part of the Monterey Historics week there’s an Italian car gathering that’s grown to the point where it’s an international – unmissable – event. For 2013 the venue was the Laguna Seca Golf Ranch, just next to the race circuit – and what an incredible line up of cars there was. Alongside the predictable was the completely unpredictable.