Star Lounge
General => Navigation => Topic started by: fasteddy on September 20, 2007, 09:18:02 PM
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This road trip consist on a short nine days travel between Germany and France. We rented a BMW 3-series diesel with a 6-speed manual transmission. (originally booked a Mercedes-Benz A-Class CDi not available) Later we find the considerable larger size 3-series is a challenge to find parking spots; but the parking sensors and GPS that came with the car comes in handy. Although we had brought a Garmin GPS of our own. It was good to compare performance of the two.
The trip started from Vancouver,Canada. Stop over at Calgary. Then fly directly to our hub in Frankfurt. There were several small excursions; but the major visits were two days at the IAA Frankfurt AutoShow, two days in Paris, France; and two days in the neighborhood of Stuttgart.
Fresh off the plane we visit a business associate and test drove some pretty slick Smart cars. Include a 125hp Roadster with Lambo doors, and a 115hp brand new 451 cabrio.
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This car was for sale. Comes with 17" all around. 6-piston calipers. 315mm composite rotors that require to counter 125hp. Adjustable coilover suspension provide the most comfortable go-kart ride merely inches off the ground. Sport exhaust and custom alcatera leather interior. A similar powered example in yellow was also available.
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Interior. Sport exhaust
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Brabus pedal steering wheel as well. Metal clutch.
And then there is the 115hp 451 cabrio.
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Remapped turbo charged 115hp. Sport suspension. Sport exhaust. Sport front brakes. 245/17" rear tires.
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Saw this Crossblade at the lobby of a sex shop across from the train station. Thought of asking the owner if he wants to sell it.
The downtown area of Frankfurt has cleaned-up and renewed since the last time I was there. A lot more eateries. Food in general has improved a lot for our Canadian taste. You can find the price from reasonable to expensive.
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Train station is always the central "haupt" for most European cities. It is a busy place. We saw a pick pocket being arrested; and a old lady hit by a street car.
This is also the first time I see a Smart Fortwo as a taxi. Seating for ONE?
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You can find strangest cars and custom build car at auto shows. And the Frankfurt show is no exception. Here is a Mercedes-Benz W202 C-Class with a W203 updated front end. Attached with some custom made DTM style fender flares. Sponsored by German wheel company Borbet.
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A custom painted Carlsson CL216 show car.
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Latest Mercedes-Benz W204 C-Class touched by Carlsson.
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A tuned Fiat 500.
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Lorinser Smart 451 wide body prototype.
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17" wheels and quad exhaust. Much better wheel clearnace then it did for the 450.
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Lorinser C-Class W204 and Lorinser CL216.
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German police acquire powerful tuned Mercedes-Benz to catch the landspeeders on the autobahn.
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Colourful tires to match.
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Hamann Porsche and Hamann Lamborghini.
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Mansory Rolls Royce and Aston Martin.
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A Hamann Ferrari with trendy matt paint.
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TechArt Porsche and Novitec Rosso Ferrari.
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I have to get close to a Pagani Zonda, which is also powered by AMG V12 engines. This example finished with bare carbon fibre body.
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It is an art that belongs to a museum in my book. Love to have one to my collection just because.
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It is not the fastest of supercars any longer. But records are only made to be broken.
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Brabus is now being the largest tuner on earth. Their display and products are as good as it can be. Here is their land speeder named "Rocket".
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The latest Brabus CL and SL.
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First debut at the IAA. The Brabus "Bullit". 730hp V12 twin turbo mounted into the latest Baby Benz C-Class. Power to weight ratio of 4.9
A Porsche 930 was 10 to 1. Compare that.
Not a car for the light hearted or without advanced driving skills.
Flying Tiger had strike a deal to bring this car into Canada. Price starting at 354,000 euro. (Not include shipping, applicable tax and fees) It will take approximately one year to construct. Deposits can now be taken.
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A very tidy package with brakes and suspension to match.
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Brabus office. Your mobile office can be functional and luxurious in a Mercedes-Benz S-Class.
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The Ultimate 112 experience. We were fortunate enough to experience the Brabus Ultimate 112. And was also offered to us to import to Canada. We were told this limited series customized version from Brabus are no to be sold through the Smart network. But rather from Brabus themself. Further, the wide body styling will not be sold separately. This means if you are not buying the car you cannot duplicate the look.
This make the limited series to be very exclusive at 40,000 euro. Shipping, applicatble taxes and fees are not included. Looking at about 1 year delivery.
Contact Flying Tiger to place your deposit.
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-Brabus steering wheel
-Brabus pedals
-Brabus lighted stainless steel entrance strip
-Brabus shift knob
-Brabus hand tailored door panels
-Brabus hand tailored seats
-Brabus floor mats
-Brabus custom painting
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Rear view consist of:
-Brabus rear valence
-Brabus black anodised exhaust
-Brabus logos
-Brabus custom painted Type VI wheels
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More rear view.
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Another view.
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Close-up front.
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More close-ups.
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Rear close-up.
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Ultimate 112 identification.
Composite alloy wheels with custom painting.
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Dual auxilary lights.
Multiple front splitters.
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One more.
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Brabus GL and Brabus ML WideStar.
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Some people think the Beetle is a real diamond.
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A very trendy coloured Corvette.
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The 2007 IAA Hall 2 is dominated by one brand. Mercedes-Benz. It is a fun place. It is the most impressive hall; and is probably the most populated hall per square meter. Once you walk in, if the light and sound show have not already taken your attention; the display on the wall size TV; or the architecture of the structure certainly will. That is only before a McLaren SLR Roadster or the AMG C63 smack you at your face at the entrance.
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Yours truly has to take one for the record.
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Lighting from the sky, wall, and runway changes constantly with the music. Matching with display on the giant screen.
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W204 C-Class Touring under the space dome.
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New C-Class touring.
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Wow... that IS a car show. ;D
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Two days of exhaustive walk was only able to browse through the show. If you want to see all of the interesting cars in detail; it will probalby takes 3-4 days. And this was on trade-days where the tickets are triple the normal price; so attendence is considerably less. Still you cannot get close to the cars during prime time. You'll be surprised by the number of exhibitors from Asia.
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Change of colour. Change of mood.
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Welt Premiere AMG C63.
Having a DIALOG with some "night glow" Smart girls.
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How safe is a Smart you may ask. Here shows its got more layer of boron steel then any Asian cars that you can compare.
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Presenting the mass produced Brabus Smart. But North Americans are not getting one anytime soon.
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The business like silver and grey.
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One for the Hybrid kind.
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A spunky car in a spunky colour with a spunky girl. Gotta look cute for the camera.
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Where Smart begins....
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Designed since 1993. Quite a few years before first alunch in 1997.
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A model to follow...
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Concept of Crossblade??
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Smartismus.
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Mercedes hall viewed from the top.
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Spectacular model runway.
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Large animated piston I've ever seen.
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Compression stroke.
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Red carpet or neon lights.
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Ocean Drive and Hybrid Drive.
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More like Rodeo Drive.
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S-Class Hybrid
B-Class Fuel Cell
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streamlined models.
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Faszination. Diesotto.
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Mercedes-Benz. Center stage.
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Racing heritage a part of any major automotive firm.
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Innovative F700.
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You've got to love that paint job.
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Another World Premiere.
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The only Audi I was interested in.
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This is the BMW display.
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Debut of the 1-series coupe. Cute.
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BMW Concept X6
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What do you make of this?
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Lada rally car.
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Interesting concept.
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Double rearward facing seats.
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KIA concept.
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Did you know that Spyker are designed by Karmann?
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Porsche display.
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Inside of a Porsche Cayenne.
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New Cayenne GTS and Cayenne Transsyberia.
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American Le Man Prototype 2.
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Alpina BMW's.
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Euro Honda's.
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Concept and reality.
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Honda's street and race cars.
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Honda's vintage and modern F1.
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Honda racing.
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The Mini.
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Mini Challenge.
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Fun Colt.
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Delphi techonolgy.
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2008 McLaren F1 brakes.
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Alpine single seater.
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KTM X-Bow. What a piece of engineering. My current favourite summer fun in the sun car.
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FIAT's.
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Ferrari.
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Abarth.
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:) so are so lucky to get to go and see those car, they our great, really like the fiat the little white car. to bad we can't get those cars here in cdn. the cars over sea's our better looking and drive better also. when i go to hong kong also stop by the peugot dealership like the 206 cabrio they had blue one 20" wheels and widebody kit looked ;D ;D
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Mr. Ferrari.
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French Citroen.
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More Citroen.
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Citroen prototype.
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Peugeot 308RCZ.
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Peugeot Le Man prototype.
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See what a small production car manufacturer can do.
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Toyota DJ mobile.
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Toyota lowered IQ.
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California fire rescue by Hummer.
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Two small car in a small city in France.
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Reim, France hosting a car rally event. Following are few of the participants.
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Prancing horses and others.
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Some vintage too.
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Paris Opera.
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Typical city traffic.
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The hotel VIP shuttles.
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Smart car old (450), new (451).
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Paris famous land mark. Moulin Rouge.
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Church with a view.
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An old train station now restored for a different function.
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In front of the art museum. But I couldn't find the Di Vinci Code.
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Inside Notre Dame.
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They don't make buildings like they used to.
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Detailed model.
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Some thing you don't see in Canada.
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Notre Dame landmarks.
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Back in Paris.
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You can see a lot of the historic sites with the self guided open top city tour bus.
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A fountain in front of FIA. (Federation International de Automobile)
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Brabus packaged Smart 450.
Mercedes-Benz display centre across the street from Louis Vitton on Champ Ellysee.
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The latest McLaren SLR Roadster displayed on the busiest street in Paris.
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Champ Elysee.
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Very relexing on River Sine.
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Hourly boat tours are available from several tour companies.
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Very well maintained tourist sites and district.
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I would suggest the best time to visit Paris is a warm fall day. Where it is a relatively low season and the weather can still be excellent.
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City architecture is fantastic for the historic city.
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Scene from river cruise.
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River scene.
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Ille Notre Dame.
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Napoleon's home.
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Mr. "N".
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A big feast after a long day.
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Kill bugs fast. 7 days of Bahn Storming can get a lot of bugs killed.
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My favorite place of all. HWA. Headquarters to some of the fastest Mercedes on earth. Home of the AMG-DTM racing team.
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Formula One and DTM safety cars.
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AMG Performance Studio. No pictures allowed inside.
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Celebrating 40 years of AMG.
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The continuous expansion of AMG.
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Development and manufacturing. All in one town.
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More buildings and more land.
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A few trophies at HWA.
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CLK-GTR Roadster and CLR racer build by HWA.
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SLC racer and C-Class DTM at HWA.
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SLK55 Black Series.
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AMG driving shoes.
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Mercedes-Benz Design centre.
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Black Series CLK and SLK.
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Composite body pieces and composite brakes.
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Differential cooler. Carbon fibre rear spoiler.
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Carbon fibre rear defuser. Quad exhaust.
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Mercedes-Benz museum.
Mercedes-Benz classic center.