German Cars Editor

Andrew Hanna

Andrew Hanna covers the German makers for MotorGrail: Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Volkswagen and Porsche.

Beat: German cars: Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Volkswagen and Porsche · 199 stories

Mercedes-Benz shows glass LED displays, a holographic windscreen and a cell-level power converter

How the Mercedes F600 Hygenius hydrogen concept fed the 2009 B-Class

Mercedes-Knight history, engines and specifications

Audi TT (8S) history, engines and the RS models

The first Audi A3 8L, from Golf floor to four-wheel-drive S3

Audi A8 D3 history, V8 engines and the aluminium flagship

Why Mercedes-Benz called the first GLA-Class an SAV, not an SUV

Mercedes-Benz W163 history: the first M-Class from Alabama to Graz

How the second-generation Smart Fortwo grew, and why its engines drew criticism

Audi A6 C4 history, engines and the S6 story

Why the Audi Coupe B3 failed to match its predecessor's sales

The Audi 100 C4: the last Audi 100 and the bridge to the A6

How the Audi A8 D2 brought aluminium to Audi's luxury saloon

The NSU 5 tax horsepower family, from 5/10 HP to 5/25 PS

The DKW Schwebeklasse, a streamlined saloon undone by its engine

How the Mercedes-Benz W460 started the G-Class story

How the DKW Sonderklasse fought its way through the thirties

Volkswagen Gol AB9 history, engines and the Mexican Pointer

Audi A6 C6 history, engines and the S6 and RS6 versions

Mercedes-Benz W164 M-Class history, engines and the ML63 AMG

Mercedes-Benz W251 R-Class history, AMG R63 and specifications

How a Swatch idea became the first Smart Fortwo W450 built with Mercedes-Benz

How the Mercedes-Benz W169 turned the A-Class into a roomier, modular people carrier

Audi A6 C5 history from the 1.8 T to the 450 PS RS6

Audi 80 B1 history, engines and specifications

How the Mercedes-Benz W463 turned the G-Class into a luxury car

Horch 8 history, engines and specifications from 1926 to 1935

How the Mercedes-AMG GT C190 went from Porsche 911 rival to Black Series

Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.8 AMG history, from Macau to the Red Pig

How the Volkswagen Multivan grew from a Transporter into a passenger car

Mercedes-Benz E-Class AMG from the W124 Hammer to the W211

Audi R8 42 vs Porsche 911 (997) Compared Across Engines, Variants and Track Work

The Audi Quattro Quartz and the Alfa Romeo design that followed

From the 1979 launch to the 2016 finale, the Golf convertible and its roll bar

How the first VW Touareg paired a Porsche-shared platform with off-road ability

What the Volkswagen eT! concept tried to prove about electric delivery vans

Mercedes-Benz CL 203 history, engines and specifications

Audi A8 D4 engines, electronics and the 2017 emissions recall

What the W223 S-Class changed in the seventh generation

How the R129 SL roadster gained integrated seat belts and a V12

The fourth-generation Audi A3 8Y and its plug-in hybrid family

Why the Audi A7 still matters as a four-door fastback

How the Audi 200 C3 became Audi's flagship and record-breaker

How the Mercedes-Benz W 166 M-Class grew into the GLE

How the Audi 80 B3 became the most exported Audi 80 generation

How the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup became the best-selling race car

Why the Mercedes-Benz B-Class T 245 relied on a sandwich body

How the Audi A4 B5 became one of Audi's best sellers

How the Audi A3 8V carried the compact class through the 2010s

Mercedes-Benz CL-Class history: the S-Class coupe that became a flagship

Mercedes-Benz R107 and C107 history: the SL and SLC from 1971 to 1989

Why the Audi A4 B6 Cabriolet was almost a separate model

How the Volkswagen Golf Mk8 reworked the hatchback with a digital cockpit

How the VW Scirocco I replaced the Karmann-Ghia in 1974

The Audi A1 8X, from Tokyo design study to Sportback and S1

How the Porsche Targa roof evolved from the 911 of 1965 to the 991

The Volkswagen Golf Mk6 was a re-engineered facelift built to cut costs

How the second-generation Audi A3 8P grew into a family of three bodies

How the Porsche 911 Carrera RSR went racing from the Carrera RS

How the Scirocco II started slowly and still ended as a 16-valve sports coupe

The Volkswagen Polo Mk3, 1994 to 2002, and the GTI that arrived late in its run

How the 1978 Audi 80 B2 tried to take on BMW and Mercedes-Benz

How a Golf-based sports coupe kept the Scirocco name alive from 2008 to 2017

How the Volkswagen Polo Mk2 went from breadvan to supercharged G40

How Porsche's four-door Panamera went from V8 saloon to plug-in hybrid

The W222 S-Class learned to read the road ahead

The Mercedes-Benz A-Class W176 from 2012 to 2018, and the A 45 AMG that came with it

What made the Mercedes-Benz CLA C117 a four-door coupe for the compact class

Mercedes-Benz CL-Class C216: the S-Class-based coupe that ended with AMG V12 power

How the Mercedes-Benz E-Class grew out of the Sonderklasse

VW Caddy 2K history, engines and special editions

The Volkswagen Touareg ended production in 2026 after three generations

Mercedes-Benz W221 S-Class history, engines and specifications

How the Volkswagen Caddy went from a Golf-based pickup to a Ford-badged MQB van

How the Mercedes-Benz B-Class W246 offered a taller alternative to the A-Class

The Volkswagen Polo Mk5, from the 2009 Geneva debut to the GTI and Vivo

The Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series set a road-car benchmark at the Nurburgring

How the Audi 100 C1 kept the Audi name alive

How the Volkswagen Jetta A5 was built from the Golf Mk5

The W212 E-Class won back the reputation the nameplate had lost

How the Audi 100 C3 brought quattro to the upper-middle class and the TDI to the Volkswagen Group

How the Audi 100 C2 turned the five-cylinder engine into Audi's own family

How the Volkswagen Tiguan became the Group's best-selling car

Mercedes-Benz W220 S-Class history, V12 engines and specifications

Why Mercedes-Benz delayed the W140 S-Class by eighteen months

How the Audi 80 B4 carried Audi into the premium era

How the Audi A4 B8 spread its engines and gearboxes across the range

Why the Volkswagen Golf Mk3 won European Car of the Year in 1992

How the Audi S4 went from Ur-S4 saloon to turbo V6

The Volkswagen Golf Mk4 was the Golf that moved upmarket

Volkswagen Golf Mk5 history, engines and the GTI that set the pace

How the VW T1 Bulli grew from a Wolfsburg flatbed into 1.8 million vans

Why the Mercedes-Benz W124 earned its reputation for toughness

How the first Mercedes-Benz A-Class (W168) changed the brand, and then the market

The Volkswagen Scirocco ended without a successor after three generations

The Audi A4 B9 from 2015 and what changed in the fifth-generation A4

Why the Mercedes-Benz W126 became the highest-volume S-Class

The Mercedes-Benz W 108 and W 109, the square-edged saloons of the 1960s

Mercedes-Benz SL-Class: every generation from the 300 SL to the AMG SL

How the Mercedes-Benz S-Class became the world's best-selling luxury sedan

Mercedes-Benz opens an enlarged Classic Center in Fellbach for classic car restoration

Mercedes-Benz builds PLM.AI to shorten product development by up to 30%

Sara Gielen becomes Head of Mercedes-Benz Vans Operations on 1 December

DKW F8 and Junior Front-Drive Two-Strokes Built From 1939 to 1965

Mercedes-Benz 770 Grosser Had No Price, Yet the 170 V Restarted Mercedes

Mercedes B-Class, CLA and GLB Share an A-Class Platform, Unlike the R-Class

Mercedes C-Class Generations Run From the 1993 W202 to the 2014 W205

Mercedes-Benz Citan Built by Renault to 2026 and the Spanish MB100 Van

Mercedes-Benz CLK C208 and C209 Coupes and the CLE That Followed in 2023

Mercedes CLS Started the Four-Door Coupe and Added a Fifth Seat in 2018

Mercedes Pagoda SL Is a Fintail Saloon Platform Cut Down by 30 cm

Mercedes GLE Was the M-Class Until 2015 and Sits Between the GLC and GLS

Mercedes M104 and M111 Engines Include a Volkswagen VR6 Labelled M104.900

The Mercedes SLK Roadster Ran Three Generations Before the 2016 SLC Rename

Sauber C9 Won Le Mans in 1989, 37 Years After the Mercedes W194

Mercedes CLK GTR Took 128 Days to Build, the SLS AMG Revived the Gullwing

How the Mercedes-Benz G-Class Outlived Its Own Replacement and Reached 500,000 Cars

Mercedes W123 Sold 2.7 Million and a Stroke Eight 240 D Ran 4.6 Million km

Porsche's Flat-Eight and V8s and Lamborghini's V12 and V10 Side by Side

Porsche Boxster Sparked a Turnaround and the Cayenne Became Its Best Seller