Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG

Mercedes has finally revealed the new 2009 Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG Black Series. Based on the recently revised Benz SL65 AMG, the newly blackened version will now be Mercedes most powerful production car ever. With the finely tuned and double-turbocharged 6.0-liter V12 under the hood, power is up to an astonishing 661 HP with torque remaining at the already staggering 738 lb-ft. Expected to be priced in the range of $320,000, the SL65 AMG Black Series hits the Benz lineup as an indirect replacement for the McLaren-built SLR coupe. Want one? They won’t be easy to find.

The world’s newest hypercar, the Mercedes-Benz SL 65 AMG Black Series, is not only a guaranteed money loser for Mercedes, but a guaranteed success in terms of marketing and branding. From the local pub to the office water cooler, conversations about how great or how terrible it is will perpetuate for many years to come. So, it’s just as fitting that Mercedes launch a flashy (no pun intended) microsite in honor of the 661 hp monster.

2009 Ferrari F149

The worst-kept secret of the year is that Ferrari will be introducing a new car - one that the company insists will not be called the Dino, after the firm's legendary GT - at this fall's Paris auto show. The best-kept secret of the year is what, exactly, that new Ferrari will be.

Thanks to our spy-photographer friends, however, we do know a few things about it. Like, for example, that Ferrari's newest sports car, which is known internally as the F149, has a normally aspirated (although probably direct-injected) V-8 engine in its nose. "If you think the F430's acceleration numbers are impressive," said one Ferrari insider, "just wait."

There's been a lot of speculation that the F149 will be a hardtop convertible, but close inspection of spy photographs leads us to believe otherwise. The F149's A-pillars appear too thin for open-topped rollover protection, and the convex rear glass looks too large to store in the trunk. Rumors also abound that the F149 will be a scaled-down version of the soon-to-be-discontinued 612 Scaglietti two-plus-two, but judging by the looks of the sloping roofline, the rear seats would hold little more than your wallet. (Uh, it's a Ferrari: make that your amply padded wallet.)

Ferrari continues to maintain - as it always has, even in times of woe - that the brand will never abandon its exclusivity in favor of higher volumes. Logically, then, the easiest way to put the brakes on the company's rapidly rising sales is to make its hugely desirable sports cars even more expensive. Thus, the rumors you've heard about the F149 being the "entry-level Ferrari" are true - but such a thing won't happen right away.

VERY CLEVER, THOSE ITALIANS: The front-engine F149 will likely be priced higher than the current mid-engine F430, which for now is the entry-level Ferrari. However, due to the use of more costly lightweight materials, the F430's replacement will be significantly more expensive than the current car. This leaves the F149 to take over the entry-level role. That's a neat sleight of hand - by making the price of entry into the Ferrari club even higher and keeping sales numbers suitably low, the cars from Maranello become even more desirable.

2009 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class

Over the ensuing 53 years of its life, however, the SL designation has come to mean Sport-Luxury rather than Sport-Light, as more technology and creature comforts were crammed between the rails-to be fair to the original concept, mostly in response to a pampered American buyer who's gobbled up the lion's share of SL production. Engineering has fought a good battle against the resulting weight gains, but the SL came to be seen more often in a country club's parking lot than on a challenging back road...but that's not to demean the car's success. Its reputation as a luxurious boulevard cruiser is golden, but about the only time you'll read SL and sports car in the same sentence is in a company brochure or a biography of Stirling Moss.

The process of sporting up the SL began with a revised exterior that trades the soft lines of the outgoing model for a crisply creased, more masculine presence. The front section is completely new, its pronounced V-shaped nose and larger radiator grille accentuating forward thrust and wide stance, arguably the most dynamic visual elements of a sports car. The single-bar grille, side air outlets, and power domes in the hood link the new look to past SLs, but the steeply sloping front end and new bi-Xenon headlamp clusters, as well as larger side mirrors and new taillamps, help bring the SL into line with Mercedes's current design idiom. It's a big step beyond the understated, almost Q-ship approach of the recent past, but, important when dealing with a company treasure, the 2009 avoids any radical break from the SL's evolutionary path.