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Italy’s Twin Supercar Soul Takes Over Paris

At Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, where Rétromobile celebrates its 50th birthday in a haze of carburetors and nostalgia, a very different kind of history is being written. Ultimate Supercar Garage—the show-within-a-show dedicated to modern excess—has handed the spotlight to something new, something unapologetically Italian, and something wildly ambitious.

It’s called BOTTEGAFUORISERIE, and it’s what happens when Alfa Romeo and Maserati decide that regular supercars simply aren’t enough anymore.

For the first time ever, the two legendary brands are sharing a motor-show stage, and they didn’t come quietly. Four machines—each rarer and more intense than the last—stand under the same roof:
Alfa Romeo’s New 33 Stradale and Giulia Quadrifoglio Luna Rossa, alongside Maserati’s MCXtrema and GT2 Stradale. This isn’t a lineup. It’s a statement.

Bottega, Not Factory

The name BOTTEGAFUORISERIE isn’t marketing fluff. “Bottega” means workshop, and the whole idea is to treat each car less like a product and more like a commissioned piece of mechanical art. Think Savile Row tailoring, but with carbon fiber, V6s, and downforce instead of wool.

This philosophy is already paying off. Maserati says 80 percent of GT2 Stradale buyers are choosing Fuoriserie customization, proving that in the modern supercar world, individuality is the ultimate luxury.

And nowhere is that more obvious than in Paris.

Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio Luna Rossa: The Sailboat Slayer

Let’s start with the most exclusive four-door you’ll probably never see: the Giulia Quadrifoglio Luna Rossa. Just ten examples exist, and every single one is already spoken for.

Born from Alfa Romeo’s partnership with the Luna Rossa America’s Cup team, this is the most aerodynamically aggressive Giulia ever built. A carbon-fiber aero kit—front canards, underbody vanes, side skirts, and a towering rear wing—creates five times more downforce than a normal Quadrifoglio. At 300 km/h, it presses itself into the pavement with 140 kg of aerodynamic grip.

That’s not a styling package. That’s physics.

Inside, the racing-boat theme continues, with Sparco seats inspired by the team’s flotation gear and dashboard trim made from actual Luna Rossa sail material. It’s weird, wonderful, and very Italian.

Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale: A Legend, Reborn

If the Giulia is extreme, the New 33 Stradale is emotional. This modern resurrection of Alfa’s 1960s icon is limited to just 33 cars, all sold before most people even knew it existed.

Under the skin is a 630-hp twin-turbo V6, enough to launch this sculpted two-seat coupe to 100 km/h in under three seconds and on to 333 km/h. But numbers aren’t the point here. This car exists because Alfa Romeo still believes beauty and performance should be inseparable.

The Paris show car wears a deep green livery inspired by classics like the GTA and the outrageous Bertone Carabo, reminding us that for Alfa, color isn’t decoration—it’s identity.

Maserati MCXtrema: A Track Weapon With a Tailor

Then there’s the MCXtrema, a car that barely acknowledges the concept of public roads. Built in only 62 examples, it’s the most powerful track-only Maserati ever, with 740 hp from a Nettuno-based twin-turbo V6.

The version in Paris is a perfect example of what Bottegafuoriserie is about. Its blue-and-white matte livery references the iconic MC12, while the number 77 on the door honors its owner’s lucky digit. Inside, it’s all business—telemetry, rear-view camera, and a cockpit that feels more Le Mans than Monte Carlo.

It’s a racing car for collectors who want something no one else has—even in a world of extreme supercars.

Maserati GT2 Stradale: Race Car, But Make It Livable

Finally, there’s the GT2 Stradale, the road-legal evolution of Maserati’s GT2 race car. With 640 hp, a 2.7-second sprint to 100 km/h, and a top speed over 320 km/h, it’s the fastest and most powerful internal-combustion Maserati ever built for the street.

It’s also 60 kg lighter than the MC20 it’s based on, sharper in every response, and still elegant enough to wear a trident on its nose without irony. This is Maserati proving it can still build a proper driver’s car in an era increasingly obsessed with software.

A New Italian Power Duo

Underneath all the carbon fiber and couture paint, BOTTEGAFUORISERIE represents something bigger. Alfa Romeo and Maserati aren’t just sharing a booth—they’re sharing a future.

In a supercar world dominated by tech giants and billion-dollar hypercars, these two Italian brands are betting on something more human: craftsmanship, heritage, and emotional design, blended with modern performance.

And judging by the crowd around their stand in Paris, that gamble is paying off.

If this is what happens when Alfa and Maserati join forces, the rest of the supercar world should be very, very nervous.

Source: Stellantis

NEW CARS

Mercedes-AMG Tests a Secret New Performance Coupe in Subzero Sweden

Even under full winter camo and the weak, bluish light of a Scandinavian January, some cars can’t hide what they are. And whatever Mercedes-AMG is currently hammering through the snowbanks near the Arctic Circle is not just another cold-weather mule—it’s a statement. Wide, low, and aggressively planted, this unnamed prototype looks less like a development car and more like a warning shot.

Mercedes-AMG has brought its next big idea north to Sweden, where temperatures plunge far below zero and roads alternate between polished ice and powdery snow. It’s here, in one of the harshest environments on Earth, that engineers validate everything from throttle response to drivetrain durability. Batteries, gearboxes, suspension bushings, electronics—if it survives here, it’ll survive anywhere. But this isn’t just about testing. This is about proving a point.

At first glance, the silhouette hints at the new CLE coupe, Mercedes’ slick replacement for the old C- and E-Class two-doors. But look closer and the relationship becomes more philosophical than literal. The track looks wider. The stance looks meaner. And the whole car radiates the kind of intent normally reserved for AMG’s most extreme products. This isn’t a CLE with a sport package. This is a CLE that’s been through AMG’s fight camp.

The reason for all this drama? This car will be the second entry in Mercedes-Benz’s new Mythos series—a lineup designed not for mass production but for collectors, connoisseurs, and anyone who thinks “limited edition” should actually mean something. These are halo cars, meant to push design, performance, and desirability beyond what even AMG’s already wild regular lineup offers.

The first Mythos model, the Mercedes-AMG PureSpeed, set the tone. With no roof, no windshield, and a design that looked like a modern Le Mans car escaped into traffic, it was a bold, borderline unhinged take on what a Mercedes performance car could be. This second Mythos entry, while more conventional in shape, appears to be no less extreme in ambition.

Mercedes is keeping the technical details locked down tighter than a Nürburgring lap time, but the brand has already confirmed what the visuals suggest: a powertrain worthy of the Mythos badge. Expect something very loud, very fast, and very much engineered to sit above the CLE AMG models in both performance and prestige. This won’t be a numbers-chasing special. It will be a character car—something designed to feel as dramatic as it looks.

And that’s why it’s being frozen, slid, and stress-tested in the Arctic. A Mythos car can’t just be powerful; it has to be unflappable. Whether blasting across an autobahn at 180 mph or carving through a frozen Swedish test track, it needs to deliver the kind of confidence that justifies its exclusivity.

In a world where high-performance cars are becoming increasingly digital, electric, and restrained, Mercedes-AMG’s snow-covered prototype looks refreshingly analog in spirit. Big presence. Big ambition. Big attitude.

Whatever AMG is about to reveal, one thing is already certain: when the camo finally comes off, it won’t be subtle—and that’s exactly the point.

Source: Mercedes-AMG

NEW CARS

Mercedes-Benz S-Class: The World’s Best Luxury Sedan Gets Even Smarter, Quieter, and Faster

If you thought the current Mercedes-Benz S-Class had already reached the top of the luxury-sedan mountain, Stuttgart would like a word. For 2026, Mercedes has quietly—very quietly—reengineered its flagship, sharpening the drivetrain, polishing the ride, and turning the headlights into something that feels more like sci-fi than sheetmetal. The result isn’t a reinvention. It’s something more impressive: a refinement of excellence.

This is still the benchmark car every luxury sedan is measured against. It just got harder to beat.

Powertrains: Smooth, Silent, and Seriously Strong

The headline act remains the S 580 4MATIC’s updated twin-turbo V-8. Now branded M177 Evo, it cranks out 537 horsepower and 553 lb-ft of torque, and thanks to a reworked turbo system, revised camshaft, and a flat-plane crank, it spins up faster and pulls harder than before. Mercedes has also layered in a 48-volt mild-hybrid system that adds instant torque off the line and makes stop-start virtually undetectable.

What does that mean on the road? Less waiting, more gliding. You get V-8 muscle without the traditional noise or vibration, which feels exactly right for a car that treats silence as a feature.

The inline-six gasoline models (S 450 and S 500) are better, too. With up to 472 lb-ft of torque available through overboost, they deliver a kind of effortless shove that makes highway passing feel like a gentle nudge rather than a maneuver.

Diesel fans aren’t left out. The updated OM656 Evo six-cylinder diesel brings cleaner emissions, better efficiency, and stronger low-rpm response, helped by an electrically heated catalytic converter that gets the emissions system working immediately—even on cold starts.

And then there’s the plug-in hybrid. The S 580e and S 450e now deliver up to 577 horsepower and 553 lb-ft, combining six-cylinder power with serious electric assistance. It’s the S-Class for people who want limousine luxury and EV-like efficiency.

Ride Quality That Feels Like the Future

Mercedes didn’t just tweak the suspension. It connected it to the cloud.

Every S-Class now comes standard with rear-wheel steering, which tightens the turning circle in parking lots and improves stability at high speed. But the real party trick is the AIRMATIC suspension with cloud-based damper control.

When another Mercedes hits a speed bump, that information gets uploaded. When your S-Class approaches the same obstacle later, it already knows it’s coming and adjusts the suspension in advance. Yes, your car literally learns from other cars.

Add the optional E-ACTIVE BODY CONTROL, and the S-Class can also lean into corners, cancel out body roll, and even lift itself in a side-impact crash to better protect passengers. It’s luxury, but with a physics degree.

Lighting That Thinks for You

Mercedes’ DIGITAL LIGHT system is no longer just clever—it’s borderline theatrical. Using micro-LED technology, the headlights are 40 percent brighter, more precise, and more energy-efficient than before.

The high beams now swivel dynamically, tracking the road rather than blasting light straight ahead. The system can even project warnings onto the pavement—like a snowflake when it’s icy or visual cues when lanes narrow.

This is lighting as a safety system, not just illumination.

Safety, Mercedes-Style: Overkill in the Best Way

The S-Class now offers up to 15 airbags, including rear airbags and inflatable seat belts that spread crash forces across a wider area of the chest. Mercedes’ PRE-SAFE Impulse Side system can even move occupants into a better position before a side impact occurs.

In short, if there’s a safer way to ride in a sedan, Mercedes hasn’t found it yet.

The new S-Class doesn’t shout about its upgrades—and that’s exactly the point. This car doesn’t need to. It simply gets quieter, smoother, faster, and smarter, while everyone else tries to catch up.

In a world rushing toward electrification and automation, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class remains the one luxury sedan that feels completely in control of both the present and the future.

And somehow, it still rides better than anything else on the road.

Source: Mercedes-Benz

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