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He was... Ferdinand Piech, the enigmatic figure who spearheaded Porsche’s rise to global sporting dominance, has died in Bavaria at the age of 82. Piech was the grandson of Ferdinand Porsche and arrived at the family firm as a hot-headed youngster in the mid-1960s. In later life, a more measured if no less ruthless Piech would reshape Volkswagen into the most influential automotive group in the world, but for the Porsche community he is best remembered as the passionate and ingenious engineer who took on the established racing royalty of Ferrari, Alfa Romeo and Ford, and won. A messianic figure with a devoted following, feared and revered in equal measure, Piech was as uncompromising as he was inspired, creating the 917 with a minimal team and within a tiny development window. The huge financial investment this required left Porsche dangerously exposed in 1969, but by the end of the year Zuffenhausen had a world beater on its hands and never looked back. Piech moved to...

Stuttgart.  The new GLE Coupé from Mercedes-Benz and Mercedes-AMG blends the sportiness and elegance of a coupé with the engineering of the new large premium-SUV model series from Mercedes-Benz. At the launch, powerful six-cylinder diesel engines in the form of the 350 d and 400 d (combined fuel consumption 8.0-7.5 l/100 km, combined CO2 emissions 212-197 g/km)[1] are initially available. Together with the new 4MATIC with torque on demand and the wheelbase 60 mm shorter than on the GLE SUV they ensure a pleasurably dynamic driving experience. The petrol version available at market launch is the Mercedes-AMG GLE 53 4MATIC+ Coupé (combined fuel consumption 9.3 l/100 km, combined CO2 emissions 212 g/km)1. Preparations are under way for a plug-in-hybrid version with a practical, locally emission-free range as for the GLE SUV. The new GLE Coupés from Mercedes-Benz and Mercedes-AMG are being presented to the public for the first time at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt (1...