It is rather well known that Hans-Werner Aufrecht (A) and his partner Erhard Melcher (M) founded AMG in 1967 at Aufrecht's birthplace of Grossaspach (G); hence the name, "AMG." What is not as well known is their early history and the humble beginnings of AMG.

Back in the mid-1960s, there were two guys with a small garage in an old mill that were building engines for fast cars, really fast cars. When these two guys acted on their urge they spawned one of today's largest suppliers of exclusive high-performance cars. The two guys were Hans-Werner Aufrecht and Erhard Melcher, the founders of AMG Motorenbau und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (AMG Engine Production and Development, Ltd.). Thankfully, the company name was later shortened to AMG.

Aufrecht and Melcher started in 1965 by preparing a racing engine for Manfred Schiek's 300SE. Two years later, the owners officially founded the company and began their humble beginnings in the "Old Mill" in Burgstall, Germany.

According to historical information provided by Mercedes-AMG, the first private customer of the new company was a Mercedes owner from Kiel. With a humble beginning there is always a good story. Here's the gist of the story going around today, which is said to be Friedrick Aufrecht's story. Friedrick is the brother of AMG co-founder, Hans-Werner. Continue reading » »

Bernd Schneider is retiring from motor racing. At the age of 44, he will compete in his last DTM race at Hockenheimring on Sunday, October 26.

Schneider won a total of 43 races for Mercedes-Benz out of the 226 races in which he competed in the DTM series and the ITC, which became a DTM offshoot in 1995 and was held as the succeeding series in 1996. He started from pole position 25 times and achieved 59 fastest lap times. No DTM driver has been more successful.

Schneider won five DTM championship titles in 1995, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2006, as well as the ITC Championship in 1995. In 1997 he won the title in the FIA GT Championship.

Bernd Schneider is now embarking on a second career at Mercedes-AMG. In future the record-holding DTM champion will be active for the high-performance brand within Mercedes-Benz Cars as a brand ambassador, instructor and test driver.

Bernd Schneider is the only driver in the current DTM line-up who has competed in both the earlier (1984 to 1996) and the new Continue reading » »

For those interested, our fellow AMG enthusiasts over at CarAdvice.com.au have some nice photos of the 2010 AMG E63 taken during a performance testing run on the Nurburgring. The non-AMG E-Class is scheduled to make an official debut at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor show; expect the AMG version later next year. Visit CarAdvice.com.au here to view the AMG E63 photographs.

Whether it is a car club event, performance racing school, auto cross weekend or similar venue, many of us enjoy testing our skills as well as our vehicle's performance on the racetrack. But, does our insurance cover us during these events? In the past you may have been covered under certain circumstances, but today more and more of the insurance companies are changing their policies due to the average cost of claims associated with track events.

According to a recent article published in the New York Times:

It’s no secret that insurance companies don’t like the people they cover to drive fast. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that the industry has been removing a policy loophole that insured drivers on racetracks. Continue reading » »

Reuters and other news organizations are reporting that Jay Leno is being sued over a 1931 Duesenberg. It's a Duesy of a story. Here's an excerpt from Reuters:

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The estate of a Macy's department store heir has sued U.S. comedian and car collector Jay Leno, saying a Manhattan garage stole the heir's 1931 Model J Duesenberg and illegally sold it to Leno in 2005.

Two antique cars owned by John Strauss — the Duesenberg and a 1930 Rolls Royce — were kept in Manhattan's Windsor Garage for 50 years until 2005, when the garage put them up for auction without Strauss's knowledge, according to the lawsuit filed on Tuesday in New York State Supreme Court.

The garage said it took possession of the cars because Strauss owed $29,000 in parking fees, the lawsuit says.<< Full Reuters story here >>

Jay Leno owns a half dozen or so Duesenbergs. They include a bare Model J chassis that he's fitted with a seat so he can drive it legally on the street. "I love Duesenbergs," Leno says. "They were the first American cars to beat the Europeans at their own game. Fine cars of that era were mostly lumbering limousines with slow-revving engines. Duesenbergs had high-revving, double-overhead-cam, four-valve straight-8s. They were the fastest American cars until the Chrysler 300 letter series in the mid-1950s."Leno continues, "My favorite is my supercharged Murphy SJ disappearing-top roadster. The McLaren F1 of its day, it was stylish, sophisticated and very fast. And it still is." (Reference and a pic of Leno with one of his un-restored Duesenbergs).