Southwest Star Magazine 2017 4th Quarter

COVERING YOUR CARS & YOUR EVENTS VOLUME 5, NUMBER 4

2019 CLS450, The S-Class Coupe & Cabrio refresh, W211 E-Class Insanity, Porsche on the high seas, EXLKUSIV, Refinishing Leather, and more.

The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

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The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

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10 The 2019 CLS 20 S-Class Coupe / Cabrio Refresh 30 Eight Hours at Laguna Seca 38 Discounted Porsches 42 Porsche on the high seas 50 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week 56 An insiders’ look at attending F1 66 A perspective on electric cars 70 Yousuf's Eccentric E 82 Indy at Sonoma 90 Refinishing Leather 96 The future of Porsche 100 An 800 HP 997 Turbo S 105 EXKLUSIV

113 GPS Antenna Repair 114 Upcoming Events

The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

Covering your cars & your events November 2017 The Southwest Star Magazine is published four times per year by Fitzhugh Media Santa Clarita, California, USA www.thesouthweststar.com info@thesouthweststar.com www.fitzhughmedia.com

Special Thanks to

Editorial

HWA AG

Editor in Chief Marcus Blair Fitzhugh

Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport

Creative Director Karcy Bowles

Porsche

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz USA Mercedes-AMG Daimler AG

MBenz Society

Motorsports Editor Kevin Ehrlich Features editor Mary Fischer East Coast Bureau Chief Wendy Fitzhugh Creative Consultant Sean Fitzhugh Contributors To This Issue Jay Pill Kenny Pi Tony Brown Yousuf Shahnawaz SoCal’s Finest 3 Point Social Club mbjunkies

Distribution The Southwest Star is available worldwide via the web at thesouthweststar.com, the 8 MBCA Southwest Section websites, Issuu, and Fitzhugh Media

Queries info@thesouthweststar.com

Hollis and 217th Street

Legalese The Southwest Star Magazine is published quarterly by Fitzhugh Media and we welcome all contributions. Any and all items submitted to The Southwest Star Magazine will become the sole property of The Southwest Star Magazine and are subject, but not limited to editing, comments, and titles.

The Southwest Star Magazine is a trademark of Fitzhugh Media. All rights reserved. This magazine may not be reproduced in part or in full – in print, by digital media, broadcast, or in any other manner without the express written permission of Fitzhugh Media. That said, permission is regularly given, so please, just ask first.

The publishers of The Southwest Star Magazine believe the content of the magazine to be reliable and correct at the time of publication. We do our best but no representation is made as to the accuracy hereof as this magazine is subject to errors and omissions. With that in mind, neither the publishers nor contributors can be held responsible for any effects arising from the content of The Southwest Star Magazine. This may include but is not limited to excessive time spent tinkering with, admiring, discussing, or dolling out money on Mercedes-Benz and/or Porsche vehicles. The views expressed in The Southwest Star Magazine are those of the individual contributors and not necessarily those of the publisher. Advertising is accepted with the understanding that it is accurate and does not contravene the Trade Practices Act. Inclusion of an advertisement should not be construed as an endorsement by The Southwest Star Magazine, the publishers or contributors.

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The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

From the editor’s desk

I

was never a broke college student living off Ramen, but early in my career I wasn’t

wrapping the Benjamins in bans after paying the bills. That was primarily due to a combination of saving and a modest income.

Years passed, my income increased, and at some point, something called lifestyle inflation crept in. Essentially, my spending kept pace with my increases in income. That didn’t last very long. I think allowing ones spending to track their earning is a bad idea. A really bad idea. It’s a conscious financial decision that may impact your ability to save, invest, and buy things you’ll enjoy a little more.

Here’s an example of lifestyle inflation.

Some say it’s better to spend money on

experiences – both big and small. This group feels things come and go, but experiences are for life. Food during the work week is an example of the small experience that could get pricey. Picture a designer coffee and a snack on the way to work, lunch at a nice restaurant once a week or so, and at a moderately priced eatery the other days. The coffee house is $6/day, the nice lunch is $40, and the regular lunch is $20. That doesn’t sound abnormal to some.

There are 22 work days per month, so 5 nice lunches, 17

regular lunches, and 22 trips to the coffee house comes to $672 per month. A three-year lease on a new Cayman with $2600 in options through Porsche Financial is $678/month.

Some may say the meals allow choices. This place today, that place tomorrow, and the other place next week, while the excitement of car, although thrilling when new, will fade.

Besides, you’ll have to eat at some point, and that won’t be free. That’s all true. It’s also

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true that most of us require the use of a car, and that isn’t free either. Ultimately it comes down to your personal preference.

No matter what your decision, we can probably all agree that one of the first financial lessons a person should learn is not to spend more money than they earn. The very next riddle a person should master is how to spend much less than they earn. We all like expensive things. Nice things are fun. However, choices are a luxury and having money allows one to have choices. Everyone can appreciate luxury.

The longer you can live on a reasonable budget with nominal expenses, the more you can save and invest. Whether that investment is another option on your Cayman or an extra week in St. Barts.

Marcus Blair Fitzhugh

The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

n November, Mercedes-Benz introduced the all-new 2019 CLS at the Los Angeles International Auto Show. Although all-new, the third generation of the CLS echoes the timeless aura of the first generation. Like the original CLS, the new model has an Page | 10

by Marcus Blair Fitzhugh

arching waistline, flat side window lines and a low greenhouse. The prior generation CLS’ sharp edges and body lines have been significantly reduced, bringing the new model more in line with the current Mercedes-Benz design features.

The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

"The new CLS is a design icon as the archetype of the four-door coupe.

In line with our hot & cool design philosophy, we have reduced its DNA to an extremely puristic level while emotionally charging its beauty," - Gorden Wagener, Chief Design Officer Daimler AG. The nose has a striking grille line that widens towards the base and has a forward-slanting front section. It’s a diamond grille, and typical of Mercedes-Benz coupes, it has a single louver. It has wide, flat headlamps with inward-slanting sides that follow the contour of the grille. The LED headlamps are optionally available with Ultra Wide Beam high beams.

As the name suggests, the Ultra Wide Beams provide a wider light pattern for maximum illumination of the road and surrounding areas.

When viewed from the side, the bending waistline with frameless side windows have a completely different look. The forward-slanting front end is suggestive of a shark's nose, and it appears longer due to the inset hood. The rear ponton lines are a distant memory, yet there is still a muscular rear shoulder line that blends smoothly into the flat rear end.

The rear has two-piece taillamps, with reflectors in the lower rear bumper. The license

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plate cutout sits between the reflectors, with a lower valance and dual exhaust tips below that. Like the headlamps, the LED taillamps have a crystalline look with a three-dimensional effect.

The CLS interior has been modernized and has a look that’s consistent with newer Mercedes-Benz models. The dash has a sporty, spaciousness look that flows in a wave-like course which extends from the front through the rear doors, opening up at the B-pillars. The high-resolution central display is optionally available as two 12.3-inch displays that merge to form a single wide-screen cockpit beneath a shared, continuous glass cover. The cockpit is now fully digital, and the driver can configure the display in different styles.

The center console with either open-pored or high-gloss wood appears to be freefloating thanks to its surface trim. The ambient lighting has been given a new highlight with the addition of illuminated air vents. The vents are suggestive of jet aircraft turbines and they momentarily change color to either red or blue based on the temperature of the air flowing through them.

The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

The seats are a new design, exclusively for the CLS. The premium materials have a handfinished appearance. The rear outer seats have the same high-quality piping as the front seats. With three across rear seating, the CLS is now a five-seater for the first time. The rear backrests can be folded down in a 40/20/40 ratio.

The new CLS has a four-link front suspension and a five-link rear. The optionally available AIR BODY CONTROL air suspension has been improved in the areas of adjustability and adaptive damping.

Now for the groundbreaking news; the engine.

Every now and then, a breakthrough

happens in the automotive world. When it occurs, every other manufacturer has to play catch up.

Mercedes-Benz has a long history of breakthroughs and this one is major.

We’ve been reporting on the new inline six with EQ Boost and a 48-volt electrical for years.

Mercedes-Benz introduced it at this year’s Shanghai auto show, and it’s finally going into a vehicle; The 2019 CLS450.

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The new engine is the M256. It’s an all-aluminum 3-liter, has two camshafts, 24 valves and direct injection. It’s an undersquare design with an 83 mm bore and a 93 mm stroke.

This long stroke design is very common for inline sixes. And right about here is where Mercedes-Benz makes a right turn.

The engine has two turbochargers. One is a conventional unit mounted on the exhaust side of the engine. The second turbo is electric, and it’s mounted on the intake side. This 48-volt electric turbocharger can generate a full 7 pounds of boost in 300 milliseconds.

That three tenths of one second means there is no turbo lag. This gives the twin-scroll exhaust driven turbo time to build a seamless peak boost of 29 pounds.

The new 48-volt DC electrical system is used to power the electric compressor. The 48 volts are produced with a device Mercedes-Benz calls the Integrated Starter Alternator (ISG). On the M256, the ISG is enclosed in the bell housing, between the engine and transmission, and it eliminates the need for a pully and drive belt at the front of the engine. Without the belt and accessories, noise and vibration are reduced.

The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

The 48-volt system used for the electric turbo also powers the electric water pump and air conditioning.

Coupling that with the electric power steering and air pump frees the engine to simply power the ISG and the drive wheels. The car has several components which still run on 12-volts. The electrical system has circuits that are stepped down to power those devices. This is like the 110 and 220-volt outlets in our homes.

The ISG also manages the engine’s idle. The M256 idles at about 500 RPM, and the ISG smooths out the roughness found at that low speed. The ISG is also used for the ECO mode’s stop/start function. In addition to starting the engine in mere milliseconds, the ISG can power the car in very short bursts; hybrid-style. It can do that because the ISG is rated at 22

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horsepower and 180 pound-feet of torque. This is opposed to other cars that are turned off while at a stop in ECO mode. They have a “semi”-seamless process where the engine is automatically started and the transmission is shifted into gear. I notice the delay and make it a point to turn the ECO function off in other cars. The ISG equipped CLS is truly seamless.

ISG also allows the engine to turn off while the car is coasting at higher speeds.

An

example of this is when the car coasts down a long hill. It’s the same as if the driver pushed in the clutch on a manual transmission and turned the car off. When ISG restarts the engine, it has enough torque to rev match the engine RPM before re-engaging the transmission. While the engine is off and the car is coasting, ISG recaptures kinetic energy and charges the battery.

The 48-volt system has other benefits.

We’ve all noticed automotive air conditioning

systems run better when the car is moving. We’ve also noticed that when the engine turns off while in ECO mode, the air conditioning goes into “fan only” mode. The M256’s 48-volt electric AC compressor can run at full capacity irrespective as to engine speed.

This means the AC can produce ice cold air when the engine is turned off. Another benefit is the 48-volt electric water pump can flow over twice as much coolant as its belt driven counterpart. Electronic cooling on demand allows the pump to be driven faster or slower based on the requirement, irrespective of engine speed. In Phoenix Arizona on a 110degree day, the coolant can flow at the same speed whether the car is sitting at a light or The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

doing 80 MPH on the Interstate. The same is true for cold weather. In that case, the coolant isn’t circulated until it’s necessary.

This new engine with EQ Boost has catapulted Mercedes-Benz to the forefront of engine design.

We have very little doubt the powertrain engineers at every other auto

manufacturer are burning the midnight oil trying to make their own version of the same system.

Lastly, Mercedes-Benz invented a belt driven version of ISG years ago. That system is called RSG.

CLS450 / CLS450 4MATIC Number of cylinders/ arrangement

6/in-line

Displacement (cc)

2,999

Rated output (hp)

362 hp @ 5,500 – 6,100 rpm

Add. output from EQ Boost (hp)

21 hp

Rated torque (lb-ft)

369 lb-ft @ 1,600 – 4,000 rpm

Add. torque from EQ Boost (lb-ft)

184 lb-ft

Acceleration 0-60 mph (sec)

TBA Page | 18

The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

he S-Class coupe and convertible have been refreshed for the 2018 model year bringing the coupe and cab in line with the recent updates to the S-Class sedan.

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by Marcus Blair Fitzhugh

The new changes include updates both inside and out as well as new engines and transmissions. Choices will now span from the 463-horsepower V8 powered S560 to the 621-horsepower V12 powered AMG S65.

The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

"With their unmistakable, exclusive design and high-class materials with extremely high value appeal in the interior, the new S-Class Coupe and S-Class Cabriolet embody our interpretation of modern luxury. On top of that, both luxury fourseaters feature the latest cutting-edge technology from the S-Class," - Britta Seeger, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG responsible for Mercedes-Benz Cars Marketing & Sales.

Working from the inside out, the coupe and cab interiors are improvements on what we thought was perfection. The front power sports seats still have standard Nappa leather, memory, and are heated, but they’ve been recontoured and now have more lateral support.

The three-spoke sport steering wheel has paddle shifters, a contoured rim

trimmed with perforated leather in the grip area, and is optionally available in Black Nappa/DINAMICA microfiber.

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The dash features two new high-resolution cockpit displays that are each 12.3-inches wide. The two displays are under a single glass cover, giving it a single widescreen look.

The driver has a choice of three digital display themes: Classic, Sport and Progressive. In addition, the AMG menu has been expanded.

Among other things, it can display the

engine and transmission oil temperature, lateral and longitudinal acceleration, engine horsepower and torque, boost pressure, tire temperatures and pressures, as well as the current vehicle set-up.

These upgraded models have touch control buttons on the steering wheel that respond to swiping motions, similar to that of a smartphone screen. They enable the driver to control instrument cluster functions and the infotainment system without having to take their hands off the steering wheel. DISTRONIC and cruise control can also be operated using the steering wheel.

The infotainment upgrade brings all S-Class models up to date with the latest-generation system. The upgraded system introduces a new era in digitization and connectivity, where The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

Near Field Communication allows an owner’s smartphone to be used as a digital vehicle key. With standard Smartphone Integration, Apple's smartphone-based CarPlay™ and Google's Android Auto can also be used. If a passenger’s smartphone is connected by USB, the system can be switched to use that second phone’s CarPlay™ or Android Auto interface.

This new headunit also expands telephone options, allowing compatible smartphones to be charged wirelessly. We can finally say goodbye to funky cigarette lighter chargers or dead cellphone batteries at the end of a long trip.

The charging pad is integrated into the storage compartment at the front of the center console.

The driver assistance features have been updated, and the adaptive cruise control’s Active Distance Assist feature and Active Steering Assistance have been improved.

The upgrades include enhanced mapping software that will adjust vehicle speed for curves and roundabouts. Personally, I’m not quite ready to join the ranks of Tesla Autopilot crash test dummies, so I’ll continue paying attention to where I’m going.

In the 2014 S-Class Coupe, the optional MAGIC BODY CONTROL suspension with curve tilting function was a world first in a standard-production car. The body tilts to the inside of the turn by up to 2.65 degrees, reducing the lateral G-forces felt by the passengers. In Page | 24

the new S-Class Coupe, the system's stereo camera has better performance which improves suspension control. Those who don’t opt for Magic Body Control, will have the standard AIRMATIC semi-active air suspension, which features variable dampening control.

The new S560 is powered by a familiar engine that’s smaller, but more powerful and fuel efficient than the outgoing S550’s 4.7-liter biturbo V8. Last year’s 4.7-liter made 449 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque.

The new model comes with a biturbo 4.0-liter V8. The layout is the same as the AMG 4.0-liter, but if the AMG option isn’t checked, the standard engine will not be an AMG powerplant. The new standard engine cranks out 463 horsepower and 516 lb.-ft. of torque. This new engine also has the ability to deactivate half of its cylinders during light driving conditions. This allows it to have much better fuel economy than the previous 4.7-liter 8. The AMG S63 Coupe/Cabrio are also available and those come with a more powerful 4.0-liter biturbo V8. The AMG version makes 603 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque. That’s 26 horses more than last year’s 5.5-liter AMG biturbo V8. Both the 560 and the 63 route their power through 9G-TRONIC nine-speed transmissions and 4MATIC all-wheel-drive systems. This is the first year a nine-speed has been offered for the S63 Coupe and Cabriolet. The AMG transmissions differ from the 560 in that that they’re AMG SPEEDSHIFT equipped MCTs. These have extremely short shift times, light speed responses The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

to shift paddle commands, a double-clutching function, and fast multiple downshifts. At the far end of the spectrum is the S65. The S65 has a 6.0liter V12 and it makes an unbelievable 621 horsepower and 738 lb.-ft. of torque. These engines have too much power for the nine-speeds, so they have seven speed 7G-TRONIC transmissions.

Stylistically, the new S560 Coupe and Cabriolet are instantly recognizable by their new front ends. The S560’s nose differs below the grille, with redesigned air vents. The AMG model has a new Panamericana radiator grille to go with its new lower section. The AMG lower nose piece has a chrome-plated front splitter and voluminous air vents. All models have upgraded side skirts and a

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back end that features standard OLED taillights and chrome four pipe exhausts.

The S63 Coupe and Cabriolet have forged 19-inch light-alloy

wheels, while the S65 has staggered 20s. The forged wheels on the S65 have an unusual design; each of the 16 spokes twists in a way that makes the light-catching contours radiate to the center of the wheel hub. This effect that makes the wheel appear larger.

All the wheels feature an

integrated center wheel cover made of forged aluminum. It looks like a center lock.

The refreshed S-Class Coupe and Cabriolet were at Frankfurt Auto Show this past September and are scheduled to go on sale in the U.S. in the middle of next year.

The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

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The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

n eight-hour sportscar race has never been run at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

That changed in October as the Intercontinental GT challenge brought endurance racing to Monterey.

The vision was to bring together a variety of sportscars that run in other endurance races around the globe for a four-part challenge. Anchor events include the Spa 24 hours and Page | 30

story and photos by Kevin Ehrlich

Bathurst 12 hours.

With the European and Australian continents accounted for, the

California 8 Hours sought to add an American round along with a planned 12-hour race in Sepang, Malaysia.

Eligible entrants include GT sportscars such as Porsche, Audi, McLaren, and others that are commonly found in endurance sportscar racing. Spa and Bathurst have existed as The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

strong stand-alone events, so the idea was to leverage them in a format that allowed manufacturers to get more exposure and invited local private teams to join.

The California 8 hours managed a preliminary entry list of 22 cars, comprised of a mix of European, American and Australian teams and drivers. Factory support generally took the form of partnerships with private teams such as the case of Audi Sport joining with Magnus Racing and Land Motorsport or the full factory-backed RealTime Acura NSX.

In other

cases, factory drivers like Patrick Long, Sven MĂźller and Wolf Henzler were made available to private teams. Several private teams on the grid were very familiar to US spectators

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that follow IMSA and Pirelli World Challenge competition. In fact, the Land Motorsport Audi team that won the GT class at the IMSA Petit LeMans just weeks before was on the entry and put their race-winning and bug splattered Audi R8 on display in the paddock.

Seeking to establish a new event and a new tradition is always difficult. By the time the green flag waved, only 19 cars comprised the starting grid. There were high quality teams, cars and drivers, but still thin. Spectators were likewise sparse and the event had the feeling of a club race where friends were getting together to drive fast cars around a great track for the day. The weather for the weekend was wonderful, if a bit toasty on race day.

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The headline for the weekend was clearly Audi strength. Strong teams, cars and drivers made the trio of Audi entries the teams to beat.

Audis took pole and three of the top four starting spots, recorded the fastest lap of the race and finished 1-2 at the checkers. If not for contact between two of the Audi runners late in the event, it would have been an Audi podium sweep. The K-PAX McLaren 650S and RealTime Acura NSX provided the main competition. The highest overall placing Porsche was the Black Swan 911 GT3 R entry in fifth which was also the winner in the GT ProAm class.

Land Motorsport took the pole position in qualifying and dominated the bulk of the race.

Attrition was light but mechanical issues claimed two strong entries in the form of a RealTime Acura NSX and the Wright Motorsports Porsche 911.

The trio of Land Motorsport drivers maintained the Audi lead past the seventh hour when a sequence of contact and yellow flags tightened the field. Kelvin van der Linde in the Page | 34

Magnus Audi put pressure on Christopher Mies in the Land Audi and made the pass for the lead with only about 20 minutes to go.

Van der Linde and co-drivers Marcus Winkelhok and Pierre Kaffer took the overall win for Audi Sport Team Magnus with a 2.488 second margin at the line. Audi Sport Team Land drivers Christopher Mies, Christopher Haase, and American Connor De Phillippi finished second ahead of the K-PAX McLaren 650 and the RealTime Acura NSX. Is the California 8 Hours destined to become an endurance icon like the Spa 24 hours and Bathurst 12 hours? Time will tell. There are a lot of other venues and places for teams to race. Budgets and logistics will always impact entries and fans have a lot of options for where to spend their time, money and attention. The Sepang 12 hours was cancelled for a lack of sufficient entries, so the concept is clearly struggling to gain a foothold.

Stay tuned for 2018

schedules to see if it returns, but trying an endurance sportscar race at a track that is a favorite of drivers and fans seems like a good place to give it a try

The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

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The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

by Marcus Blair Fitzhugh

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ould you pay $85K for this car? A base Carrera goes for over $91K, so this qualifies as a steal. As a refresher, this is the electric car Porsche has been tempting us with for the past couple of years, and it called the Mission e.

Porsche chairman Oliver Blume told CAR Magazine the Mission e will go on sale by the end of 2019 and it will be "priced like entrylevel Panamera". An entry level Panamera costs $85,000. Yes, that excludes delivery, processing and handling, the dealer’s fee (whatever that means), plus the government’s $11K extortion known as taxes, title, and registration. Fortunately, the feds are still giving $7500 to anyone buying an electric car and the state of California is pitching in another $2500.

Your state may be

showering customers with tax dollars too. San Diego Gas & Electric had some scam going where they were tossing in an additional $10K (bringing the total to $20K), but you had to live in San Diego, show the dealer your electric bill, and your driver’s license had to show you lived at the residence shown on the bill. That expired on September 30th and only applied to Nissan Leafs and BMW i3s. If other utilities lose their minds and start tossing $10K at green car buyers, there may be hope for the electric car industry.

We covered the Mission e some time ago and the highlights are; it has a range of over 300-miles, the ability to charge to 80% capacity in 15 minutes, and it accelerates like a PDK equipped Carrera S. For those who’ve never driven a Carrera S, the Mission e has allwheel drive and can sprint to 60 MPH in less than 3.5 seconds. It can reach 120 MPH in less than twelve seconds and tops out at 150.

Unfortunately, we’ve since learned that Porsche will sell different versions with varying power levels. That could mean faster versions will be available, but it could also point to slower versions. Either way, if the state, feds, and electric company can put up the first $20K, I’m in.

The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

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The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

ast year, Mercedes-Benz unveiled a 46-foot yacht called the Silver Arrow of the Seas. Not to be undone, this past September Porsche introduced the GTT 115 Super Yacht.

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Jay Pill | photos courtesy Porsche AG

Studio F. A. Porsche designed the interior and exterior, and Monaco-based ship builder Dynamiq manufactured the craft. The result is a high-performance yacht built for crossing the Atlantic in Porsche style. If you’re wondering “who is Studio F. A. Porsche?”, the The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

Studio was founded in 1972 by Professor Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, better known as "Butzi". Butzi is the son of Ferry Porsche and grandson of Ferdinand Porsche. Butzi is best known for having designed the 911. Studio F. A. Porsche is where innovations and design ideas for the Porsche Design originate. The Studio primarily offers its creative services to external clients who desire anything from product, transportation, or special design, to the development of complete brand strategies.

Seven ships have been commissioned at the rate of $16.7 million each. The GTT 115 is a long distance, high-speed vessel.

It’s capable of 21 knots

(about 24 mph) and has a range of 3,400 nautical miles.

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“Taking the spirit of high-performance sports car styling to the high seas, the Dynamiq GTT 115 is designed to appeal to car lovers and forward-thinking yacht owners who appreciate the advantages of speed,

style,

and

our

philosophy

of

intelligent performance,” - Roland Heilersaid, Studio F. A. Porsche CEO

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The GTT 115 is an all-aluminum hybrid, whose design features include a round bilge hull structure, hull vanes, and a stabilization system with 4 fins and interceptors. Power comes from a pair of 1,627 horsepower MAN V12 diesel engines, two 20.8 kW electric pod motors, and three variable-speed generators.

The GTT 115 is designed to carry six guests to go along with six crewmembers. Sleeping quarters are all below deck with a choice of three or four cabins available. There are 7-foot-high ceilings with cabins that feature Alcantara, carbon fiber, and Sahara Noir marble. Porsche Design influences can be seen in the Pepita hound’s-tooth deck cushions, which Page | 46

are similar to the design used in the 911 R.

The cabins shown have

chocolate brown and Luxor beige leather Minotti furniture, with Bowers & Wilkins audio components.

The exterior has several coats of Rhodium Silver metallic paint with Carrera White trim. Key features include a vertical prow and a superyacht spa pool on the upper deck, which is situated just forward of the shaded outdoor dining area.

According to Sergei Dobroserdov, CEO of Dynamiq, the goal was to build a collector’s item.

The limited production run coupled with its base price should ensure exclusivity.

The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

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The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

f

ver the past 22 years, Mercedes-Benz has established itself globally as a partner of select fashion events. The brand is currently involved in more than 60 fashion platforms all over the world, including the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Weeks in Sydney, Beijing, Berlin, Istanbul and Milan, as well as the acclaimed International Festival of Fashion and Photography in Hyères. Mercedes-Benz also supports select international fashion events and in recent years has made a name for itself, in particular for promoting talented young designers.

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by Tony Brown

Ten years ago, Mercedes-Benz brought the international fashion world to Berlin for the first time through a title sponsorship.

Although the previous organizer pulled out of

Germany in 2017, Mercedes will continue its Berlin fashion engagement with a revised and expanded form. As the title sponsor and originator of the new Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week (MBFW), Mercedes-Benz will continue offering designers a platform to present their collections. In particular, Mercedes-Benz in partnership with the Fashion Council Germany will use this to continue helping young designers. The events will be held in Berlin, where Mercedes will also be present at concurrent fashion trade fairs as a sponsor.

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The first clear change is Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin has become MBFW. The new show format was developed and implemented by Nowadays creative and production agency. The show will be put on for the first time at the 'E‑Werk' event location in the heart of Berlin in January.

The venue has a raw industrial look and offers optimal

conditions for high-end fashion shows in a central location. MBFW will focus on just a few

shows, with each staged with high visibility. Up to ten designer shows per season will take place over two to three days in January and July 2018. Here, Mercedes-Benz will continue its commitment to promote talented young designers. For the upcoming season, Mercedes-Benz plans to present a show featuring international young designers from German-speaking countries in cooperation with ELLE. In addition, MBFW will adopt a more modern, digital look, catering to the needs of a younger target audience who have an affinity for fashion and technology. A new event website is being constructed, and it will provide visitors with a clearly structured overview of the scheduled shows and important information about the designers.

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Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

Also, as part of the partnership formed with the Fashion Council Germany, a new format is being created that will offer a home to further bilateral exchange programs. MercedesBenz also supports the concurrent Panorama and PREMIUM fashion trade fairs as part of its fashion engagement, making an infrastructure to be used by industry visitors.

Mercedes-Benz expresses its clear commitment to the fashion center in the capital with the evolution of the Berlin fashion format and all other fashion activities.

We are firmly convinced that Germany will play an even more significant role in the international fashion industry in the coming years Like the auto industry, the fashion industry is currently facing major challenges.

Sustainability, individuality, innovative strength, and digitization are also attributes here that consumers expect and demand. Particularly in this regard, talented young designers have great chances with their creativity and their new approaches. And that is precisely what we as a lifestyle-oriented automotive brand want to promote in Berlin.

Jens Thiemer, Vice President Marketing Mercedes-Benz Cars.

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story by Kevin Ehrlich | photos by Kevin Ehrlich and Mary Fischer

hen the stars aligned to permit a visit to Spa Francorchamps in south eastern Belgium for the Formula One race, it was difficult to pass. The echoes of history and the drama of such a natural terrain road course are compelling. A visit to the scenic Ardennes Forest and surrounding areas in August is a lovely way to spend a few days.

Formula One is largely a made for television event with twenty grands prix spread across the globe. Television cameras capture the best views and replays, timing and scoring and driver radio chatter make it easy to feel a part of the action unfolding from the big screen in your home.

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As with any event, however, auto racing is a visceral experience.

Television can’t adequately capture the buzz of the crowd filing in or the excitement as fans of a particular driver, team or nationality wave their flags and sound their air horns as their favorite passes by.

There are areas in the interior of the circuit where nothing is visible but trees and the single path that leads through the forest. Sunlight struggles to breach the canopy of trees. The full racing circus is far out of sight but the wail of unseen land-based missiles echo through the dark and misty forest.

Spa Francorchamps is also a long track (4.3 miles) and a roller coaster of elevation. Television absolutely undersells this element of the circuit. It is much steeper and the elevation much more striking than digital pictures suggest.

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Before going further, a robust caveat is in order.

An average day at the track is still better than many good days spent elsewhere. Getting the chance to see the Formula One circus in person is great fun.

However, if you’re planning to attend a race in person, it pays to do your homework and be realistic about what to expect.

Aside from the action on track, Formula One is good at selling glamour. Beautiful people strolling the grid and sipping on champagne in spiffy hospitality areas with great views taking in the action looks wonderful. It surely is - but unless you’re a celebrity or a wealthy patron, that is not the experience of most visitors. Access is very restricted and very expensive.

Planning to get up close to the Formula One cars and drivers in the garages? There is usually a pit lane walk on Thursday afternoon for 3-day pass holders where you might get a glimpse.

Otherwise, there is realistically no chance to get close. Same goes for the support race paddocks like Formula 2 or Porsche Supercup. By comparison, racing fans in IndyCar and sportscars enjoy incredible access.

To take in the track action, most spectators have two choices – reserved grandstand seating or general admission. A reserved ticket for one adult for 3-day weekend on the start/finish straight opposite the pits cost €580. At current exchange rates, that’s about USD$683. For one ticket.

In a grandstand. With no celebrities. Or champagne.

Let’s say that you would rather move to the other side of the track and watch from the top of the famous Eau Rouge corner. No race start or finish or pit activity, but Spa is all about slicing up Eau Rouge at speeds that test driver and machine, right? A single three-day pass costs €445 or about USD$523.

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Let’s say that you still want a grandstand seat, but want a more modest tariff and you don’t care how far away from the pits or Eau Rouge you are. A mere €385 gets you a seat at the highest elevation of the track at the Bruxelles hairpin corner. That’s USD$453.

It is covered, but

there are no celebrities. Or champagne.

If you’re getting the sense that Formula One isn’t a bargain, you’re right. Most spectators at Spa skip the grandstands completely in favor of general admission tickets. A mere €145 (or USD$171) gets you access to the grounds for three days and then it is up to you to find a spot along the fencing or in the forest. There are no reserved seats. There are no covered grandstands. There are no celebrities or champagne. But there is plenty of atmosphere…

Almost everyone around the track wears some sort of team or driver gear or national colors.

Flags are carried and banners are hung. For the 2017 event, it seemed like the entire population of Holland evacuated to the circuit and bathed in orange to support Red Bull driver Max Verstappen. One estimate suggested 80,000 fans made the trip from Holland alone. They were out in numbers and they were excited.

For most, the general admission ticket is the ticket of choice. Spectators bring folding chairs, blankets, seating cushions or just sit on the ground. Steeper hillsides have been carved to create small ledges to sit or stand. In a few cases, creative fans built temporary tree houses or strung hammocks between trees. As you might imagine, the rain makes some seating Page | 60

(and walking) options more precarious than others.

A little mud can make those visions of

celebrities, champagne and stunning vistas seem like they are miles away. Well, to be fair, given the length of the track, the fancy paddock clubs are actually miles away…

In theory, a general admission ticket ought to be a great way to move around the circuit, taking in the different parts of the track from different vistas. In practice, many spectators plant along the fences, gather around the photo holes cut into the fencing, and do not wander.

The elevation and

track length also have an impact on where fans can or are willing to hike for vistas.

Reserved grandstands

also limit access to areas of the track where they are set up, so your general admission ticket only gives you a vague notion of Eau Rouge or several other corners.

Most spectators treat the event as an opportunity for a picnic.

They

bring chairs, coolers, beverages and their own food. Track food and beer is always nearby with plenty of vendor

trailers

with

frites

and

Heineken as the favorites.

Fancy a souvenir? Common trailers sell t-shirts, hats and other clothing and goodies for all teams and marques in the F1 fan village. Don’t come expecting bargains. €30 (or USD$35) will be required to get a basic t-shirt or hat of your favorite marque or driver. Prices escalate from there.

The Fan Village also includes other displays. This year, Michael Schumacher’s 1994 Benneton F1 car was on display. Schumacher claimed his first Formula One win at Spa 25 years ago and not only was the car brought to the track, but his son took it for a ride around the track before the race on Sunday.

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Of course, spectators need to actually get to the track. Most spectators arrive by car and park in one of three parking areas – at €16 per day (appx USD$19) – a tariff not included in your ticket price. Plan ahead because the track is large. After spectating on one end of the track, allocate about an hour to hike back to the car on the other end of track (ask us how we know). Planning ahead to reserve a parking pass closer to where you intend to be is prudent. The inevitable rain can transform the grassy parking lots into wet and muddy challenges for footing and driving to get out to pavement.

Arrive early and plan on taking some time with traffic on the way out. Hundreds of thousands of people exiting via small country roads where the local police have closed off various streets is a recipe for long waits and exiting in a direction that may be opposite of where you’re trying to go to get back to your lodging for the evening.

Lodging?

Where

do

hundreds

of

thousands of people stay? As marvelous is Spa as a track, it is not in a highly populated pensions

area. can

be

Small

hotels

and

found

across

the

countryside, but most lodging options nearby are booked out well in advance and are often expensive. A drive of 30 or 45 minutes to lodging is not uncommon – and is still a challenge to locate and afford.

Your

Southwest

Star

correspondents opted to stay just across the German border 20+ miles away.

There are campgrounds adjacent to the track, so a good number of visitors take advantage of that option as well.

The big unknown at Spa is always the weather. It is a consistent threat no matter what the forecast says. From the comfort of a warm and dry living room, rain is an entertaining novelty.

Cars throw spray into the air, squirm through corners, and technology advantages give way to driver skill.

Rain is less of a welcome wrinkle for the spectators huddled against the fences Page | 62

trackside. The clouds gathering to the west make no effort to hide their intentions, so the only question is when rather than if.

During the 2017 weekend, rain approached and threatened qualifying but was polite enough to hold off until just after qualifying concluded. Just after the television audience tuned out and Lewis Hamilton begun to take questions from the media regarding his pole position, the heavens opened and torrents of rain drenched the track and everyone without cover. Some spectators fled for their cars. Others retreated into the forest for cover. Others just surrendered to the inevitable soaking.

We’ve

established

that

attending

a

Formula One race at Spa Francorchamps requires advance planning, money, a good pair of walking shoes and an umbrella. So, what’s the upside?

Formula One cars are fast.

Very fast.

Three practice sessions, one qualifying session and the race itself gives fans the opportunity to see cornering speed unlike anything else on four wheels.

By way of

comparison, the fastest lap in the Porsche Supercup support race at Spa on the same weekend was 2.26.287 minutes.

The fastest race lap in the Formula One race was 1:46.577 minutes – almost 40 seconds difference.

A Porsche 911 GT

race car is a quick piece of kit, so a gap of 40 seconds is significant.

Speaking of the Porsche, spectators were treated to a program of support races that included two Porsche Mobil1 Supercup series races.

For open-wheel formula cars, the Formula 2 and GP3 series also joined the weekend calendar.

Not only are these entertaining, but they often give a glimpse of the future of Formula One since many drivers come through the Formula 2 ranks.

The 2017 Formula One race at Spa proved to be a critical inflection point in the season. Ferrari and Mercedes were neck and neck coming into the race, but Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton claimed The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

the honors.

Hamilton took the pole position on Saturday with a quarter second margin over

Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari. Hamilton then converted his pole position into a win on Sunday. Vettel was always close, but just couldn’t find that extra margin of speed to challenge Hamilton.

The massive contingent of Dutch fans were disappointed as their countryman Max Verstappen retired on the 8th lap of the race with engine failure.

There are many places accessible with a general admission ticket, so many fans use Friday and Saturday for reconnaissance in order to scope out a preferred location for the race on Sunday.

Different areas of the track have different pros and cons. The Kemmel Straight, for example, is a long hillside stretch were cars are at top speed after exiting the Eau Rouge complex. Getting to the area is relatively easy and there are plenty of restrooms and food/beverage vendors.

Another favorite is the Bruxelles corner a little further along at the highest elevation section of the track. This is a favorite for photographers because the cars slow to make the tight corner and the spectator hillside areas allow good viewpoints above fencing. A perch high on the hills also allows a great view of the cars as they wind their way down the hill towards the Pouhon corner. Pouhon is a fast downhill section with visibility up and down the track. This area was a favorite for the Dutch fans to gather on the hillside, with their national orange clothing making for a colorful splash trackside.

Some viewing areas are further away from the track and some are closer.

Most areas have a sightline to big screen televisions which are very helpful to keep track of the action and there is a PA system that erratically broadcast commentary in French and English.

Regardless of where you choose to perch, always remember to take ear protection.

The headline? What a great experience to take in a Formula One race at a legendary venue. With some prudent advance planning, you’ll be better prepared to know what to expect and how to make the best of the visit. Formula One puts a polished product on television, but the trackside experience of spectators in the forest is the fuel that keeps fans engaged and makes Formula One more than just a television reality show.

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f you own land and you’d like to build a house on that land, you may have to do an environmental impact study. What’s an environmental impact study?

It’s a study of something that requires changes to the environment. The purpose of the study is to document the possible, probable, and certain effects of the proposed change on the environment. Based on that study, the government will decide whether the project can move forward as is, require changes, or not be done at all Has anyone done an environmental impact study on electric cars? Based on a quote from Ferrari, it doesn’t sound like it.

"I think that if you don't do the full analysis of what the origin of the electrical power is, where it comes from, how you get batteries into these cars, what the cost is in terms of CO2 and the environment, I think the analysis that we are going to save the planet with electric cars is nonsense," Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Ferrari Ferrari doesn’t sell electric cars and they haven’t publicly announced any plans to move in that direction, so some might feel Marchionne is biased. He might be, but possibly for

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by Jay Pill

a different reason. You see, in addition to being the CEO of Ferrari, Sergio Marchionne is also chairman and CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and chairman of Maserati. Fiat sells electric cars, and Marchionne said the company loses as much as $20,000 on each electric Fiat 500. I know I’d be biased against selling products where I lose $20K per unit. In addition, that begs the question – Why are manufacturers building electric cars if they’re losing money on them? It could be local governments are involved.

"If the base of that electrical production is nuclear, then I have zero issue. We'll all be doing the right thing, but you are embracing nuclear power as the solution to your problems.

If you are relying on fossil fuels to produce it, I think the issue is much bigger."

Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Ferrari

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Back in 2012, California adopted it’s Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) regulation. California’s Air Resources Board (CARB) originally estimated it would require over 15 percent of new cars in 2025 to be electric drive vehicles. Since then, CARB has reduced that to 8 percent and several automakers are already well on their way to meeting this target. However, they’re doing it in a way that surprises most people; They’re buying zero emission sales credits.

“How”, you ask? Tesla is a great example. Every time Tesla sells a Zero Emission Vehicle, they receive a credit. The law says they can sell the credit or use the credit. Tesla doesn’t need the credit because they only build Zero Emission Vehicles, so what do you think they do with it?

Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk is quoted as recently telling investors that state regulators “should damn well be ashamed of themselves” for failing to require major automakers to produce more zero-emission vehicles.

So far, 10 states have adopted Zero Emission

Vehicle Mandates. Yes mandates, as in a requirement to produce and sell electric vehicles.

One problem with the mandate is, nationwide, only 1.5% of all vehicle sales are electric.

California leads the nation in electric vehicle sales with a trivial total of 3% per year.

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he first certifiably insane E was The Hammer. The W124 E was introduced in 1985, and AMG introduced the Hammer in 1986. For those that don’t know the history, at the time, the Hammer was the world’s fastest four-door. Nothing else came close. Period. End of discussion. The only thing better was the ultra-limited edition 6liter Hammer. This is how fast the Hammer was – in both the quarter mile and from zero to sixty, it was dead even with the Lamborghini Countach. Car and Driver tested the Hammer and the results were almost identical to that of a Testarossa – zero to sixty in 5.0 seconds, 13.5’s in the quarter-mile, and a 180 MPH top end. With its $180K price tag, there weren’t many Hammers built; about 30 or so. Also, they allegedly weren’t sold in the U.S. Although there was a lot of drug money floating around at the time, so a few did make it stateside.

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by Marcus Blair Fitzhugh

AMG wasn’t owned by Daimler at the time, so Mercedes-Benz stepped up next with the W124 based 500 E. The 500 E was the first V8 powered Mercedes-Benz E-Class, but these hand-built hotrods weren’t regular V8 sedans. They were wider, lower, faster, and much more luxurious. As a consequence, they took six times as long to build. To make a 500 E, Mercedes semi-built and shipped a basic E from the Mercedes Sindelfingen plant to Porsche's Rossle-Bau line at Zuffenhausen. There it received structural mods. The car was then shipped back to Sindelfingen for paint and rustproofing. From there the car was shipped back to Rossle-Bau where the drivetrain, chassis, and interiors were installed.

After 18 days of travel and assembly, the cars were shipped to dealers where people with deep pockets stood in line to buy them. The 500E was produced until 1994, when it was renamed the E500, and given several upgrades.

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Clockwise from top left: W124 Hammer, W124 E500, and the W210 E55

When the W210 E was introduced, an AMG E50 was available in Europe, but an AMG E wasn’t initially offered in the U.S. In the 1999 model year, we got the AMG E55. The W210 based AMG E55 isn’t given the respect it deserves. The E55 ran a 5-second zero to sixty, 13.3s in the quarter, and it had better braking numbers than an M5. Unfortunately, BMW introduced the V8 powered M5 with a six-speed manual transmission for the 2000 model year. The new M5 was one tenth of a second faster to sixty and two-tenths faster in the quarter mile. AMG doesn’t handle second place very well. They went back to work on the next generation E to ensure the “second-best” title was hanging somewhere else.

When the W211 based E55 was introduced, the motoring world lost its collective mind.

From a performance standpoint, the new E55 crushed everything in sight.

Well,

everything that could seat four adults and didn’t have Ferrari 456M stamped on the engine.

Just so we’re clear, the E55 was faster than the 456M, it just didn’t “crush” it.

The E55 was brutal. It ran to sixty in the mid fours and the power never let up. At the end of the quarter mile it was still pegging the G-meter. They were slaying the opposition in the street and leaving their corpses to rot. That’s what drew many owners in – the automotive Game of Thrones style carnage. Even today, fifteen model years later, the E55 is still sought after. It’s probably because they’re luxurious, exclusive, and can be tuned beyond belief. Bone stock, the E55 has an all alloy, supercharged, intercooled, five Page | 72

point four liter V8. It’s got 0.9 bar of boost that comes on instantaneously and the power is unyielding.

When introduced, Mercedes-AMG said the E55, S55, CL55 and SL55 all made the same 469 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque. Later they changed the rating on the S, CL, and SL, claiming a new throttle body and exhaust improvements brought the horsepower level up to 493. Oddly, Mercedes-AMG always rated the E55 at 469. If “oddly” sounds like we’re questioning the horsepower number, we are. If you’re wondering why, it’s because of the BMW E60 M5. When BMW released the E60 M5, it was their answer to the W211 E55. The new M5 had an all-new 500 HP V10 that revved over 8K wedged under the hood, and they mated it to a seven-speed transmission. The press went nuts and immediately took the M5 and E55 out for side-by-side comparisons. Astoundingly, the E55 outran it. Yes, with two fewer gears and over 30 fewer horses, the E55 was faster.

The E55 didn’t simply outrun the M5 from zero to sixty.

The E55 outran it

everywhere. Zero to 30, zero to 100, thirty to seventy, the quarter mile, and the E55 had a higher quarter mile trap speed. That left many of us wondering what happened.

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The quarter mile trap speed completely defies logic. A higher trap speed usually points to more horsepower, but according to Mercedes-AMG, the E55 has less. Some say the E55 is faster because it has a tremendous advantage in torque. It does, the E55 makes 516 pound-feet of torque from 2650 through 4500 RPM. The E60 M5’s peak torque doesn’t arrive until 6100 RPM, and even then, it’s only 384 pound-feet. That explains the launch, but not the trap speed difference. The only way that makes sense is if the M5’s V10 is a peaky engine. We know the M5 made 500 HP, but if it had a narrow power band, that would explain it. Whatever the reason, the E55 was pulling away at the end of the quarter.

Both cars had 155 MPH speed limiters, but BMW claimed if the limiter were removed, the M5 would do 205 MPH. 205 MPH is fast, but the M5 isn’t the only car that can be modified. Our friend Yousuf Shahnawaz has an example of a modified E55. Yousuf has owned seven Mercedes and two of those have been W211 E55’s. Yousuf’s current E55 is allegedly stock. We say allegedly, because E55 guys can’t be trusted. Yousuf is a nice guy, but like many, it took a little prying to get him to talk about his mods. He kept trying to steer us toward the cosmetics, but we knew what was happening. You see, it’s the restrained, humble, “nice guys” you have to watch out for. It’s the nice guys whose cars will leave you at the light like you were parked. Afterwards, when you point out some thermonuclear mod they’ll say, “Oh that? Yeah, I’m not too sure what that is . . . . . . . the guy who changes my oil said it would run better if he swapped something or other. That must be it.” It’s like these guys are in a “boosted mafia”, where no one, under any circumstances, will admit anything.

Although he’s modest, one mod on Yousuf’s E is hard to miss. His E doesn’t quietly slip into the garage. At idle it has a distinct growl, and when he gets on it, even the deaf know it didn’t leave the factory this way. Yousuf says his exhaust work consists of a

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secondary cat delete, resonator delete, an x-pipe and j-pipes.

X-pipes are good for

between 2 and 5 horses, while the j-pipes just ensure the resonator and mufflers weren’t restricting flow. We covered catalytic converter airflow tech a few years back and unless someone is flowing 1000 CFM (500 a side), good AMG cats shouldn’t be a problem. But more on that later. We looked under his hood and saw the original equipment exhaust manifolds, so there’s no long tube headers. In addition to his exhaust work, Yousuf said he has an aftermarket Bosch coolant pump. He’s considering some other mods, but hasn’t pulled the trigger yet. It passes smog, so this is basically a cat back exhaust and a cooling mod.

That makes Yousuf’s E close to stock, so his chassis dyno numbers should be

representative of what a stock E55 puts out. I’ve personally seen Yousuf’s E on a dyno.

The horsepower figure was noticeably higher than 400 and torque was less than 500. And yes, that’s to the wheels.

Some might be wondering how a fifteen-year-old stock 5.4 liter can make that much power. Here’s a simplistic answer: In a way, engines are air pumps. The more air they move, the more power they make, and the E55 is a very efficient air pump.

The other mods Yousuf is considering are all based on increasing airflow. What are those “other mods”? The usual suspects; a bigger heat exchanger, supercharger pully, and a tune. Those familiar with Mercedes Kompressor engines know the coolant pump and heat exchanger are required before the pully, and the tune is required with the pully. The Bosch pump flows more coolant through the air-to-liquid heat exchanger, which provides additional cooling for the intake charge. That’s needed because the pully creates more boost, which compresses more air, creating more intake heat. The increased intake air requires a fuel mod, which is handled by the tune.

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Here’s a formula that may make your head hurt. Take [one atmosphere plus boost] times cubic inches times RPM times volumetric efficiency. Now divide that number by 25,400.

Since two revolutions of the crank are required to fire all cylinders, divide that number by two. That tells us how many cubic feet per minute an engine flows. ([(14.7+boost) * CID * RPM * EV] /25400) divided by 2 If you’re wondering why this formula differs from the more common CFM = CID x RPM x VE ÷ 3456 The common formula doesn’t work on an engine with boost or a rotary.

Here’s an easy way to think about it: A two-liter engine with 1 bar of boost flows like a four-liter. The only catch is; compressing the air heats it, and hot air isn’t as dense as cool air, so something has to be done to cool the air. In the case of Yousuf’s E, using 85% volumetric efficiency and a 6500 RPM redline, his engine can theoretically move over one thousand cubic feet of air. Without the supercharger, the same engine can only move 530 cubic feet of air. And right about now, that “little bit of exhaust work” Yousuf had done is making more sense. The 1000 CFM of intake must have an exit path.

Enough of the hot air, let’s talk about how fast an E55 is. Bone stock it hits 60 MPH in 4.2 seconds, 100 MPH in another 5.2 seconds, and 150 in another 14 seconds.

That’s

assuming the ESP switch is left on. If the switch is off, either the rear tires are going up in smoke, or someone with FIA approved Pumas is going to drop the ETs – and lower ETs are possible in this car. We know that because a rear wheel drive car with a lot of torque can make a 30 to 70 MPH pass in about a half second less than its zero to sixty MPH pass.

That’s because traction isn’t a problem at 30 MPH. The E55 makes the 30 to 70 MPH pass in 0.9 seconds less than it’s zero to 60 time. That’s four tenths of a second faster than the zero to sixty. The four tenths are lost on the zero to sixty because the ESP modulates the brakes, when it detects wheel slip. It does that so the car doesn’t lose traction. If someone with a deft right foot (and slicks) can get some of that four tenths back, we’re talking about sixty MPH in the sub 4s. To some that may sound crazy, but it’s why E55s are known for breaking axles and snapping rear subframe bolts.

Although acceleration is a big selling point when considering an E55, there’s more to it than just the engine. The E55 has huge brakes; 14.2 inches up front and 13’s out back.

The front disks are squeezed by enormous eight-piston calipers and the rears have fourPage | 76

piston units. These are all controlled by a controversial Bosch designed electrohydraulic braking system called SBC. Drive-by-wire systems have been around forever, and this is the braking equivalent.

Simply put, the brake pedal position and the rate it’s applied is electronically read. The system then applies pressure using an electric pump. The system is designed to mimic a conventional system’s pedal feel, but it doesn’t. Mercedes-Benz introduced the system on the 2001 SL and announced they were discontinuing it in December of 2005. There were two recalls and most of the technically savvy public never got behind it.

That’s not to imply it’s a bad system. It has a lot of advantages. For example, it senses when the discs are wet and it dries them. Also, traditional systems apply the same brake pressure on the inside and outside wheels, but in a curve, SBC increases pressure to the outside wheels and restricts it on the inside ones. This reduces the tendency to lock the inside wheels when braking in turns and takes advantage of the vehicle’s weight transfer during cornering, increasing vehicle stability. Front-to-rear brake proportioning is also part of the system’s built-in algorithm. To prevent engaging ABS in the rear wheels, most the braking force is placed on the front wheels during high-speed braking. At low speeds and when braking lightly, SBC places more of the braking pressure on the rear wheels.

This ensures smoother response and more uniform brake pad wear. Also, when ABS is engaged, the SBC brake pedal doesn’t pulse. Lastly, it has a soft stop function that brings the car to a stop smoothly, without jolting. This is a real benefit in Southern California’s endless stop-and-go traffic. SBC was cutting edge at the time and it’s a shame it was discontinued.

Fortunately, every feature SBC offered is currently available in a

conventional Mercedes-Benz braking system.

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In addition to starting and stopping, the E55 handles well. Before you think it, yes, the E60 M5, 911, Ferrari 488 GTB, and several others all handle better. We’re not saying the E55 has the surgical accuracy, linearity, or feel the M5 provides. We’re simply saying it handles well. The E55 has the same suspension design as an E500, but it rides 10 mm lower and has been tuned for better high-speed handling. The dampers, sway bars, and the electronic suspension control system have all been optimized to AMG specifications. and the AIRmatic’s system adaptability acts as a referee in the suspension tuning disagreement between comfort and grip. It does the by adjusting the spring and damping rates in response to driving input and road conditions. Normally, the entire air volume remains active and provides optimal comfort. When cornering at speed or when other handling requirements are high, AIRmatic briefly releases a portion of the air volume, resulting in a “stiffer” spring rate to reduce pitch and roll. The air reservoirs are integrated into the spring struts in front and remotely mounted on the subframe in the rear.

The dampers have three driver-adjustable settings, but even in comfort mode, the ride in an AMG E is firmer than in standard air-sprung E's. Staggered 18-inch AMG alloys with performance rubber are standard, and they deliver good grip. The E55 delivers flat cornering, and excellent body control. It has variable-ratio rack-and-pinion steering with a nicely weighted feel, and has decent road feel when off center.

However, there is a definite dead zone when traveling straight.

The E55 interior is roomy. Even NBA players feel comfortable in an E. In addition to plenty of head, knee, and shoulder room, the E55 has Page | 78

a cavernous trunk. The interior is nicely laid out and uses rich materials. The dash has beautiful translucent, white-faced AMG instruments with orange needles. Yousuf’s E is equipped with the optional dynamic seats that gauge the car's cornering stance, and inflate the side bolsters to compensate. I originally thought they were a gimmick, but have since grown to appreciate them. His interior is also covered in the optional two-tone charcoal gray and The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

burgundy. As seen in the previous photo, Yousuf’s E has an upgraded the steering wheel.

It’s a color matched CLS unit with longer paddle shifters.

The exterior of an E55 is gorgeous. Like the entire Mercedes line, it’s more of a subdued look that rarely goes out of style. It’s when viewed closely that the extras come into view - and Yousuf’s E has several extras. Yousuf has a pre-facelift W211, but it has an OE E63 front bumper with a functional Mercedes Distronic grill. Just below that sits a carbon front lip from XY.

Yousuf’s E has other custom carbon fab work by Aaron Quan of IKON

Motorsports.

The side skirt extensions, taillight tint, and carbon trunk spoiler are all

examples of Aaron’s work.

The standard equipment list on a 211 E55 is lengthy, and thanks to depreciation, $80K is no longer required.

In “rust free SoCal”, E55’s are in the $9K to $20K price range.

Whatever the price, provided something expensive doesn’t go boom, the W211 E55 is worth every penny. It’s got tremendous power, a good chassis, great brakes, and its luxurious appointments make it the best in its class.

Addendum: Before going to press, Yousuf broke out the checkbook and had a few mods done. Anthony Lawshee of RaceIQ provided a UPD clutched 77 mm supercharger pulley and a tune. He also got a belt wrap kit, a Code3 Performance heat exchanger, K&N drop in filters, colder plugs and had Joe from Asperated Motorsport & Dyno in South Gate button it all up.

If you’re unfamiliar with a belt wrap kit, it helps eliminate supercharger belt slip. This is especially helpful with Mercedes-AMG superchargers. The Mercedes-AMG design has a clutch, and when it engages under full throttle, the belt can slip.

Belt slip can cause

anywhere from a .5 to 1.5 psi drop at WOT. Eliminating slip increases belt life, produces less dust, and provides more consistent boost levels. Consistent boost during peak loads allows for a more accurate tune. We don’t know how much power Yousuf’s E currently makes, and being in the boosted mafia, he’s probably not willing to tell us. We can only guess based on how he pulls away from the guy in the next lane.

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The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

Time to Say Farewell The 2017 Season Finale for IndyCar and World Challenge at Sonoma Raceway

he traditional September visit to the rolling hills of Sonoma is always bittersweet.

The scenery is always beautiful and the vineyards beckon with hints of the harvest to come. Drivers love the twists, turns and elevation changes as the track slithers for a little over two miles before returning to the start/finish line. Fans appreciate the great sightlines and friendly Sonoma Raceway staff.

All lovely, but the trip to Sonoma signals the end of the 2017 campaign for the IndyCar series and for the Pirelli World Challenge series. Both kicked off their seasons in midPage | 82

story by Kevin Ehrlich | photos by Kevin Ehrlich and Mary Fischer

March by sharing the bill at St. Petersburg, Florida. After multiple rounds for each at venues across the country, when both arrived at Sonoma, it was time to say farewell.

For the Indycars, the final double points round at Sonoma heralded the arrival of Josef Newgarden to the circle of champions. Newgarden had been in Indycar for several years, but moved to Penske Racing in 2017. He rewarded their faith with a strong run throughout the calendar in clinical Penske fashion. An atypical mistake at Watkins Glen in the previous round kept the championship hunt in contention heading to Sonoma. Once at Sonoma, The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

however, Newgarden formally clinched the title by finishing second to team-mate Simon Pagenaud who won the race.

While Newgarden was in spotlight arrival mode, team-mate Helio Castroneves was likely running his last Indycar race at Sonoma and his last race as a full season Indycar driver.

After 30 wins (including three Indy 500 victories) over a 20-year career, Castroneves is moving to drive with the new Penske Acura sportscar program. He may return for oneoff Indy 500 appearances but as a full time Indycar driver – it was time to say au revoir.

In the Pirelli World Challenge garage, there was considerably more uncertainty whether farewells were in order. Would the factory-backed Acura NSX program in 2017 give way to customer teams with different faces and liveries for 2018? Would the mighty Bentley Continentals be back in 2018 at all after missing Sonoma and Mi-Ohio and struggling in Austin?

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On track, Porsche’s Patrick Long claimed the GT class championship after nearly winning the title in 2016. The victory came as a well-deserved reward for the Californian who remains the only American Porsche factory driver.

Michael Cooper swept the wins for the two races of the weekend in his Cadillac AST-V.R with very strong drives. Team-mate Johnny O’Connell, who won both races in 2016, had a much rougher weekend this time around. He suffered a heavy practice crash on Friday that destroyed his mount. The backup car, which happened to be busy posing for pictures in the Cadillac fan zone display, was pulled in for service. But it was going to be a long night, as the car hadn’t run since mid-2105.

At the last race of the season, rumors and speculation always swirl through the garages, the grand stands and the media center about what the coming year may bring. There is always a sense of excitement and trepidation.

In some cases, plans are known and

announced. In other cases, announcements and news are revealed during the off-season.

Thus, the racing spectator arrives at the track knowing that Sonoma might be the last time they will see a particular driver, team or marque.

While all marveled at the Cadillac team’s performance and efforts get O’Connell back into the fight, those outside the team didn’t know that the plug would be pulled from the World Challenge program only days after Sonoma. After racing in factory-supported form in World Challenge since 2004, racking up dozens of poles, podiums and wins, and carrying The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

some of the best-known road racing drivers, Cadillac announced it was halting World Challenge racing to focus on prototype racing. It was a shocking announcement, but factory racing budgets are not bottomless. There may be a return someday, but for now, it was time to say auf wiedersehen.

Sonoma Raceway always puts on a great show. How many other races can you think of that include an air show courtesy of the Patriots Jet Team?

Not just a fly-by for the

national anthem – this is a full-bore airshow. The Patriots are world-famous, featuring former Navy Blue Angel and Air Force Thunderbird pilots. They flew at the MCAS Miramar Airshow the next week which should give some idea of the quality of the show for the Sonoma Raceway spectators. Did we mention the flag for the national anthem was delivered by a sky diver? What a way to make an entrance.

A weekend garage pass is available, but a standard ticket allows the fan to wander around the entire circuit. Shuttles are on-hand to give a lift from parking areas or to help get around more easily.

The

weekend

schedule

is

packed with many different classes

of

racing

as

well.

Indycar is the headliner, but there is no lack of action.

World Challenge features both GT and GTS classes with a wide range of different sportscars while the Porsche GT3 Cup is a single-marque dogfight.

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With the unparalleled location, Sonoma Raceway is easily accessible to most of California.

San Francisco area residents can easily attend for the day.

Southern California fans can flip a coin whether to fly or drive, with many flights running to San Francisco and Oakland. Even Sacramento is only about 80 miles away, making it viable as well.

Grape vines are visible from the track, so the wineries are always a great option for those that want to visit a few days early or for those groups where some want to spend the day at the track and others want to find new friends of the white and red liquid variety.

After three days of track action across many different series and classes, we tipped our cap to the 2017 champions, the Sonoma Raceway event winners, and to the track staff for their hospitality. Until next year, it was time to say “see you again soon” rather than goodbye.

The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

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The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

o you own a car with a leather interior? Is said interior dried out, cracked, and looks like it was made from leftover Jurassic Park props? Are you torn between springing for a pair of Recaros, or handing $1500 to a discount shop that promises to make your original seats look like new? Personally, I think with some pride of ownership, a little patience, and very little money, many can re-dye their own seats. I have personally redone seats, and when finished, they look very close to new.

Still, I’m hesitant to post anything resembling instructions. That's because within any large group, a certain percentage of people will get confused and things can go very wrong. When they do go wrong, some people feel others should assist them financially in correcting their mishap. Please, pay attention: we have no idea what retail price is on whatever factory seats you own and have no intention of helping anyone purchase or replace one. These are not instructions and should not be used to guide anyone through the process of refinishing leather and/or vinyl. Any information supplied hereunder is based on the writer’s personal experience and is for entertainment value only. Over time, products as well as the instructions for those products change. The information here is not intended to replace or supplant any other instructions. If you are intimidated by the thought of pulling your car apart and working with dangerous power Page | 90

tools like a paint brush, sponges, a bucket, and possibly soap, just stop right now. You are much better off taking your car to a professional upholstery shop where the technician will tell you that for two thousand dollars they'll re-dye your seats. If you decide to move ahead and recolor your seats, you should test the leather you're restoring and follow the instructions supplied with the materials used.

That said, when I re-color leather, I use Surflex colorant and I'm actually re-coloring leather, not re-dyeing it.

Basically, I'm painting it - just like most car manufacturers do.

by Marcus Blair Fitzhugh

Painted finishes protect and

preserve the leather much better than open dyed finishes. If leather has been dyed, any cracks will run through the dye, and go all the way into the leather. Cracks on painted leather surfaces are a type of stress relief in the finish (paint). If the seats have been cared for, the leather beneath usually doesn't have any cracks. Any interior, whether it is made of leather or vinyl, can be refinished. It's not very difficult. Surflex colorant can be applied with a paint brush, which means parts can be done while in the car. Also, this really is "special paint". This isn't Krylon or something used on lawn furniture. If typical paint is used on leather, the leather will be sealed. With the pores sealed, the leather can't be conditioned. With regular paint, if the leather doesn’t immediately look like it’s been ruined, it will in a very short while and the leather will have to be replaced.

The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

Before being re-colored, the leather should be conditioned. Lexol, Connolly Hide Food, Meguiar's, and One Grand are all fine products. At least one of them can be found almost anywhere. Some people swear by Zymol, but if any other conditioner has been used, the seats should be prepped before changing to Zymol conditioner.

To prep a seat for conditioner, I pour some lacquer thinner on a terry cloth towel, and wipe the seat with the towel. Along with the dirt, any old conditioner residue will come off. This won't remove any of the old color on the seat. If it does, someone has worked on the seat in the past.

At this point the seats are ready for conditioner. I’ve used a lot of different products over the years and currently use Eagle One's Leather Crème Conditioner. It's applied liberally and allowed to soak in. After letting it sit for 30 minutes, it's wiped dry. After two days, I reapply the conditioner. That is usually enough conditioning. If the leather has hardened in places, Surflex Leather "Soffener" may prove beneficial.

Two days after the last conditioning, the seats must be cleaned. The seats can be cleaned whether in or out of the car. Removing them will give better accessibility for both the cleaning and the coloring.

I use three buckets, three sponges, and a citrus cleaner. My preference is P21S Total Auto Wash by Smartparts. Wurth Citrus Degreaser is good as well. "Mild soap" is supposed to be good for leather, but since I don't know the definition of "mild soap", I only use these leather products on leather. For the uninformed, products such as Tide, Ivory Liquid, and Castrol Superclean will ruin the seats.

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Three ounces of P21S is placed in a bucket containing about three gallons of warm water. In case you missed that, don't use too much.

P21S is a very strong cleaner and it does a great job of degreasing engines and undercarriages. I use one ounce of P21S for each gallon of water on leather seats.

Bucket number 1 has the cleaner and its own sponge. The seats are wiped clean with the sponge from bucket number 1.

Do not soak the seats. The goal is to wipe them clean. Bucket number 2 has clear water, and some rinsing sponges. The seats are rinsed by wiping them down with the sponges from bucket number 2. Not soaked, wiped clean. Bucket number 3 starts off empty. After rinsing the seats with the sponges from bucket number 2, the water is squeezed out of the sponges and into bucket number 3.

The object is to keep both the wash and rinse water as clean as possible.

The seats must be allowed to dry. During the summer months in a warm garage, this will be done in a day.

Depending on the temperature and how much water the leather

absorbed, it may take longer. The seats should be thoroughly dry before applying the colorant.

After the seats are completely dry, they can be colored. Surflex Leather/Vinyl Flexible Colorant should be used in a well-ventilated area. If the seats are in the car, or if you’re doing door panels, a console, or anything else in the car, you may want to leave the windows down. A single 8-oz container of Surflex colorant is more than enough. A single can is easily enough for two complete interiors. The colorant can be applied with either a soft bristle paintbrush or with spray equipment. If you use a paintbrush, it will have lines when applied, and the lines will disappear as it dries. It dries in about half an hour and it will remain flexible.

If you have small creases, cracks, holes or gashes in your leather, you may be able to repair it with filler. For this, Surflex makes another product for this called Flex-Fill. FlexFill is a moderate, somewhat flexible cosmetic material used as filler. Filling is a skill that takes practice, and the technique varies based on the material being sealed. Filling a hard The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

surface like a cracked dash is different than working with leather or vinyl seats. Depending on the damage, filling flexible materials may involve gluing a patch underneath. This adds strength and a backing for the filler.

On hard surfaces, the approach is more like

bodywork. In both cases, after the patch is dry, it should be lightly sanded to blend it in with the surrounding material. The advantage of using Flex-fil is, it will absorb Surflex Colorant and be less detectable than other fillers.

The Surflex product line is available on the web from several retailers. It’s available in factory colors for Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, as well as BMW, Jaguar, Lexus, and Rolls.

Some retailers also mix custom colors.

This is a learned skill, so you may want to practice on a test piece of leather or vinyl. Any vinyl or leather seat from a wrecking yard or Ebay will do. The worse the condition, the better.

Fixing something that’s in worse condition than your interior, will make your

project much easier to tackle.

Photo courtesy Color Plus of Milford, Pennsylvania

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The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

orsche’s chief financial officer, Lutz Meschke, says they may have to tolerate a “temporary drop in profitability” as Porsche shifts their focus to electric and plugin hybrid vehicles.

Speaking to Automotive News Europe, Meschke said the development costs associated with electric technology are an “enormous burden”.

“Today Porsche packs 8,000 to 10,000 euros in added content

into an electrified vehicle, but those costs cannot be passed on via the price. The customer won’t accept it, just the opposite, in some parts of the world there’s a certain hesitation (to acceptance).”

- Lutz Meschke, Porsche Chief Financial Officer Page | 96

by Kenny Pi

However, Meschke followed that by saying, “But new technologies like this are an investment in the future.”

Despite parent company Volkswagen AG’s deep pockets, there appears to be a monetary line drawn in the sand.

“Our five-year investment plan foresees investments of more than 3 billion euros ($3.5 billion U.S.) alone for EVs and plug-ins. That’s an enormous burden for a company of our size.”

- Lutz Meschke, Porsche Chief Financial Officer Along with their current range of plug-in hybrids, Porsche has tentatively scheduled the Mission E in 2019.

As stated previously in this issue, the Mission E will receive very

favorable pricing.

The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

“The conceptual design of the Mission E once again gives us technically the potential to do more with this platform, and also we think about if the battery electric business will be fast growing and we think that the whole business will change, most probably pretty fast at some trigger point,” - Michael Steiner, Porsche executive board member for research and development The Mission E wasn’t designed as a single body platform, so there may be variants down the road. We haven’t heard any specifics about this platform being used with Volkswagen AG’s other subsidiaries, but that’s a possibility.

Some are saying Porsche is chasing Tesla with their electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle program. This isn’t a knock on Tesla, but that’s not the direction Porsche appears to be headed. Tesla made the news earlier this year when it was announced their market cap of was higher than Ford Motor Company.

It’s true, the shares of Tesla stock held by

investors is worth more than the shares of Ford stock held by investors. The Tesla shares are up 65% over the past 12 months and their market cap is higher than a lot of companies, but there’s more to the story. Ford had a pre-tax profit of $10.4B in 2016.

Tesla has never made a profit. Some may say, “Tesla makes a profit, they just invest more money into R&D than they earn.”

Despite their R&D costs, Porsche posted an

operating profit of $4.1B last year. Based on Meschke’s statement, Porsche’s “temporary drop in profitability” may lower earnings by $700M per year, but Porsche is expected to continually show a profit.

“We are keeping all our options open and will tackle specific product decisions as late as possible. Much depends on the extent to which electro-mobility gains momentum and under what circumstances. Over the course of the next 10 years, we plan to offer optimized combustion engines, plug-in hybrids and fullelectric sports cars in parallel.”

- Lutz Meschke, Porsche Chief Financial Officer

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The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

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By Kenny Pi | photos courtesy of Gemballa

ack in 1981, Uwe Gemballa opened his eponymous tuning shop. Uwe’s story is the type of thing made for movies. He was known for radically modifying Porsches until he disappeared in February of 2010. Uwe eventually turned up in a shallow grave with a plastic bag wrapped around his head in South Africa. At the time of his death, Uwe had money trouble. Based on the way he died, it may have been big money trouble.

Four people were eventually arrested, one confessed, and a fugitive Czech

billionaire was thought to be involved. Although intriguing, we’re going to focus on the car side of the story.

As we flash forward seven years, Steffen Korbach is running

Gemballa and they’ve released an outrageous kit for the previous generation Turbo S. The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

Those who’ve Googled Gemballa may have come across the Avalanche. Thankfully, “this” isn’t “that”.

The kitted GTR 8XX Evo-R BiTurbo doesn’t stand out any more than a

standard 997 Turbo S. The $60K kit consists of engine upgrades. Not brakes, not interior bits, not suspension parts, and thankfully not aero, just engine. And not a whole engine.

Those opting for the kit have to show up with a running 997 based 911 Turbo S. If this sounds expensive, well, it’s a 997 Turbo S. Your financial planner didn’t recommend this car. But let’s toss money aside. Especially since it’s someone else’s money.

What do you get for $60K on top of $100K worth of 997 Turbo S?

823 horsepower and

952 pound-feet of torque. That’s right, eight hundred plus. With traction, that’s zero to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 2.38 seconds, 200 km/h (124 mph) in 7.5 seconds, and 300 km/h (186 mph) in 18.8 seconds, with a 360 km/h (223 mph) top speed.

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In case you’re wondering, a new 911 Turbo S, with all the 991.2 upgrades, starts at $191K, makes 580 horsepower with 553 pound-feet of torque, sprints to 100 km/h in 2.7 seconds, 200 km/h in 9.3 seconds, 300 km/h in 29.6 seconds, and tops out at 335 electronically limited kilometers per hour (208 mph). Not that we’re thinking unspeakable thoughts, but the new Turbo S also comes with a warranty, which may prove handy if something expensive comes apart. Although, those with a $100K car and $60K in mod money laying around probably don’t scare easily.

To boost the performance, Gemballa lowered the compression, ported the heads, installed larger valves, upgraded the connecting rods, modified the turbos, tossed custom headers in front of an all-new exhaust (with legal metal substrate cats), and remapped both the ECU and TCU. If anyone is wondering why Porsche didn’t do that from the beginning, it may have something to do with passing federal smog laws – which are as corporate friendly as a colonoscopy.

Gemballa does offer some optional upgrades, but we’ve seen the Avalanche and stopped reading as soon as we saw “custom bodywork.”

The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

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by Marcus Blair Fitzhugh

he summer of seventeen ended on a high note. Big Sol Cal Euro was on September 3rd, and six days later we had EXKLUSIV. At the end of every summer, Big SoCal Euro rolls into town. This was the sixteenth year of one of the largest European car events on the west coast.

It’s been hosted at Qualcomm Stadium since 2007 because it’s the only spot big enough for that many cars. 2017 was a down year - only 3,000 or so vehicles showed up. There was rain early in the day, and that probably turned away many.

This annual event is on the west side of the parking lot and it’s populated with food trucks, vendors, street legal drag racing, and the best in European car culture. Big SoCal Euro is European by nature, but there’s no rule banning JDM, American, or anything else from The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

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the event. However, if you bring a non-Euro marque, don’t try to park it with cars that are obviously in cliques. Nothing ruins the photo shoot like a Buick in the middle of several period correct Porsches.

Like SEMA, Big SoCal Euro can be looked at as an indicator of current fads. It’s also an opportune time to learn “how” to get something to work. The vendors there are always willing to disclose what their show cars are equipped with. Being vendors, they usually sell the parts needed to copy their work. That makes it a win-win. At least 34 vendors braved the elements and set up shop, so there was no shortage of help. The vendor booths were all pretty busy, which is good, because vendors are one of the reasons this continues to be a free event.

San Diego’s Race Legal once again erected a 1/8-mile dragstrip along the western side of the lot. Organizations like this provide an outlet for those who would otherwise engage in street racing. After it dried out enough, we got to watch people get a formal education in just how fast an AWD 911 Turbo S is in an eighth mile.

Big SoCal is an extremely family friend event and it was a good opening act for the summer’s grand finale: EXKLUSIV. EXKLUSIV was the largest Mercedes centric car event Southern California has ever seen.

It was so big, it filled the entire Mercedes-Benz Vehicle Prep Center parking lot. We asked for a total, but the organizers stopped counting cars at 450. More came, that’s just when they stopped keeping track. Admission was free, there were awards, vendors giveaways, a raffle, and best of all, a tour of the Prep Center.

We’ve covered the Vehicle Prep Center in the past, and tours are rare. Getting in for a tour is like getting Warriors NBA playoff tickets – if you’re not there when they’re announced, you’re not getting in. There’s a reason for that. Whenever Mercedes-Benz opens the doors for a tour of the Vehicle Prep Center, it’s free, and it’s for a limited number of people. At EXKLUSIV, Mercedes-Benz USA capped that number at 120. The people who took the tour registered ahead of time. Registration was required because MB USA will not allow 1500 people in their facility. It’s unfortunate, but it’s not happening. We were contacted by several people who didn’t follow EXKLUSIV on social media and couldn’t The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

get in. Even some of those who followed EXKLUSIV couldn’t get in. That’s because all the tour slots filled up less than two hours after being announced. We can only suggest following EXKLUSIV closely on social media and being ready to request a ticket when they announce it in 2018.

For those who missed the tour, here’s a little background. When a new Mercedes-Benz arrives on the west coast, its first stop is with U.S. Customs. Afterwards, they’re sent to the Vehicle Prep Center in Long Beach, California. The tour gives people a glimpse of what happens before cars can be shipped to dealers, and where the magic happens.

The Vehicle Prep Center building is over a million square feet and sits on over 52 acres.

The facility is close to Long Beach airport and was formerly the historic Douglas Aircraft plant. As big as the Vehicle Prep Center is, the facility has been scaled down from the Douglas Aircraft days. At one time, the Douglas manufacturing plant covered over 142 acres and was made up of 11 buildings.

All that remains of the Vehicle Prep Center

building’s historical significance is the “Fly DC Jets” sign, which has been there for 57 years. In addition to the Vehicle Preparation Center, this facility also houses the Mercedes Benz Western Region Sales Office, the Mercedes-Benz Academy Offices, and the Learning and Performance Center. There are only three Mercedes-Benz Vehicle Preparation Centers in the United States, and the Long Beach facility is the only one east of the Mississippi.

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The tour guides provided an excellent description of the work that takes place in the facility. The Vehicle Prep Center ensures every new Maybach, Mercedes-Benz, MercedesAMG, and Smart vehicle in the western United States is ready for delivery.

They’re

responsible for inventory management, port of entry services, dealership training, vehicle inspection, quality control checks, the installation of certain accessories, detailing, special event vehicles, and vehicles which have not been released to the public. That last item is a big reason why tours must be planned far in advance. Mercedes-Benz does everything they can to ensure their new designs remain under wraps until they are officially unveiled.

As impressive as the tour was, there was much more to EXKLUSIV. The activities included awards, vendors, giveaways, and endless raffle items. The raffle included a set of Concept One wheels, a carbon fiber airbox from Dime Racing, ECU tunes from Eurocharged, $500 gift certificates from RW Carbon, four free service coupons from Benzworks, a vinyl roof wrap from BP Autosound, LEDs from AZN Optics, detailing packages from REV auto, plus giveaways from Aerowerkz, The Tint Pros, and Blackhorse.

We haven’t mentioned the attendee’s cars, but if you turn the next page and can imagine something 100 times as big, you may be close.

A huge “Thank You” to Mercedes-Benz USA, SoCal's Finest, 3 Point Social Club, and mbjunkies for putting this together.

The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

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(Actually, just the rubber cover) ome Mercedes have a GPS antenna with a rubber cap. Given enough time, the cap may eventually dry out, crack and fall off.

The first thought may be to look for a replacement at the dealer.

The dealer can get the cap, but isn't listed as a separate item. The dealer sells the base, rubber cap and the base gasket as a single assembly. The good thing is, if you buy one at the dealer, it’s painted to match the car. On a W208 CLK, it's part number 2108201375nnnn. The 'nnnn' is the paint code, which the parts guy will look up. The bad thing is, the current list price is $436.

Fortunately, some parts distributors carry the rubber cap and base gasket as a kit for $18.

In that case, you simply reuse the perfectly good base. This one of the simpler repairs anyone can perform. It took 15 minutes. Twelve of those minutes were spent taking photos that I didn't use.

The antenna assembly is removed by unscrewing the Allen bolt. The assembly may feel stuck to the roof, but a little shaking should free it.

With the plastic piece lifted, the lower portion of the rubber cap will fall out. That can be thrown away.

Before installing it, I sprayed the new cap with a little lubricant. Afterwards, the new cap can be pushed and pulled through the base. At that point, all that remains is to install the new gasket, position the assembly, insert the bolt, and tighten.

The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

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The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

The Winter Drive 2017 Presented by AutoCon Events + Purist Group Sunday, December 10th

EVENT DETAILS The fifth annual Winter Drive presented by AutoCon Events and Purist Group will be happening on Sunday, December 10th, 2017 at the Industry Hills Expo Center in the City of Industry, CA. Page | 116

Continuing our tradition every year, we are focused in raising generous toy donations to provide aid to the disadvantaged children and familes around the world. The event itself is a toy collection drive which features a massive gathering of hundreds of the most unique cars in the world, live music + entertainment, fun activities, contests/raffles and giveaways.

Last year, collectively as a group, we raised over 20,000+ units of toys to be donated to charities worldwide. This year, we want to continue to spread the love of giving for a better tomorrow. We are committed to making the world a better place by nurturing our children to become powerful leaders of the future.

SUPPORT THE CAUSE. BRING A TOY. *There is no entry fee to participate in the event, but we do ask that you please bring a new, unwrapped toy (minimum $10 in value) in support of the cause.

FOLLOW US @AUTOCONEVENTS @PURISTGROUP #WINTERDRIVE2017

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1201 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90015 Page | 118

SoCal Season Closer

Saturday, December 30th 1 until 6 PM .

The SoCal 2017 car season officially ends at the LA County Fair in Pomona as part of the long New Year’s weekend. This is our first time with unique and beautiful staging as the entire Fairplex has been rented giving us exclusivity for the day. Expect this to be our biggest and best event to date in the SoCal area.

LA COUNTY FAIR 1101 W McKinley Ave Pomona, CA 91768

The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

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The Southwest Star Magazine – your cars & your events

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AutoCon Los Angeles Sunday April 29th Since 2010, AutoCon Events has been recognized as one of the most innovative automotive events in the nation spanning from cities in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Miami and New Jersey/New York. From the exclusive vehicles on display to the one-of-a-kind ‘drive up’ main stage, the goal of AutoCon is to create a positive environment where attendees of the event can converge, learn and share common interests with one another. With its core focus on the automotive industry, AutoCon is a place where extraordinary vehicle builds are debuted, product launches happen, news is announced, and the future is introduced.

Los Angeles Convention Center, 1201 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90015Los Angeles California

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