DUSSELDORF, Germany — As we wait for Mercedes to launch its $30,000 CLA250 this fall, there’s a commodity Benz that has been on sale in North America for five years. The Sprinter came to the States first as a 2003 Dodge, then shortly after as a Freightliner, and finally as a 2009 Mercedes (the Dodge version is gone, of course).

Photo Gallery: 2014 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Driven – Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2014 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Driven – Automobile Magazine

HAMBURG, Germany – Mercedes-Benz gave its über-sedan, the 2014 W222 S-class, the unveiling it deserves here Wednesday, one befitting its decades-old headliner. Fending off upstarts from Munich and Ingolstadt, Tokyo and Seoul, and a likely volley from a resurgent Detroit, the S-class is the sedan that defines Mercedes-Benz, no matter what commodity cars and CUVs it launches to capture the aspiring classes.

Photo Gallery: 2014 Mercedes-Benz S-Class First Look – Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2014 Mercedes-Benz S-Class First Look – Automobile Magazine

Leipzig, Germany. It is raining cats and dogs from the pewter skies that brush Porsche’s test track adjoining the marque’s second assembly site. Tension, excitement, uncertainty, and suspense describe the atmosphere in the pit lane. A squadron of Porsche engineers, test drivers, and helpers is mingling with eighteen journalists who gather around two cars: one battered series-one mule and one almost production-ready prototype — a hand-built, matte-black Weissach edition model priced at 3 million euros (the equivalent of almost $3.9 million). Towering above the crowd is the lanky posture of Walter Röhrl, an icon in his own right. “Anyone ready for a ride?” he asks. Sure. Walter’s race taxi is a white Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0 fitted with a roll cage and semi-slicks. The hoarse and hairy howler hates wet weather: power oversteer, lift-off oversteer, aquaplaning-induced no-more-steer. After only one lap, we’re back in the paddock. First, they close the bus stop chicane (inspired by Spa), and then the Corkscrew (inspired by Laguna Seca) is coned off. Go or no go? Just before lunch, the chiefs give us the thumbs up. At last, the countdown is running.

Photo Gallery: Porsche 918 Spyder First Drive – Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: Porsche 918 Spyder First Drive – Automobile Magazine

The BMW Alpina B7 is exactly as you’d expect — it’s very fast, very luxurious, and very expensive. The Alpina-fettled V-8 is more than enough to hustle the 5050-pound car down on-ramps at something approaching “ludicrous speed,” and the interior is lavishly appointed with slate gray Alcantara and oyster leather. The steering wheel gets not one but two colors of contrast stitching, and the exterior aerodynamic kit adds flair to an already gorgeous car.

Photo Gallery: 2013 BMW Alpina B7 xDrive LWB – Editors’ Notebook – Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2013 BMW Alpina B7 xDrive LWB – Editors’ Notebook – Automobile Magazine

After a lunch of bruschetta, pizza, and gelato, which is an ironic way to fuel up for testing a German car, Mercedes-Benz product manager Bart Herring gets straight to boasting. “No one is better positioned to bring diesel models to the market,” he says. “Diesel is very well suited to what people want.” Even setting aside Herring’s praise, the new 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK250 BlueTec 4Matic is clearly something unique. Not only is it America’s only diesel compact crossover, it also handily tops its segment in fuel economy.

Photo Gallery: 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK250 BlueTec 4Matic Driven – Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK250 BlueTec 4Matic Driven – Automobile Magazine

Not long into our Four Seasons test of a Luxury Line 328i, I realized that the correct powertrain setup for this car would include the eight-speed automatic, not the six-speed manual. Never mind dispensing with the the vague, spongy action of the manual transmission’s clutch pedal and the long-throw shift linkage. Instead consider that the eight-speed automatic is well matched to the N20 four-cylinder engine. You never find yourself down on power and the shifts are always smooth. The automatic is a better fit for a sport sedan that errs on the side of luxury.

Photo Gallery: 2013 BMW 328i M Sport line – Editors’ Notebook – Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2013 BMW 328i M Sport line – Editors’ Notebook – Automobile Magazine

This year is the 50th anniversary of the Porsche 911, and the 40th anniversary of the iconic Turbo model. So it’s a fitting time for Porsche to introduce all-new versions of the 911 Turbo and the 911 Turbo S, which are based on the latest 991-generation of the 911. The pair of forced-induction coupes goes on sale in the U.S. at the end of this year.

Photo Gallery: 2014 Porsche 911 Turbo First Look – Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2014 Porsche 911 Turbo First Look – Automobile Magazine

BMW’s Z4 is the mostly classically proportioned roadster on the market, with a miles-long hood, a pert rounded tail, and a narrow cabin set just ahead of the rear axle. The latest iteration, which debuted in 2011, saw the designers smooth out the sheetmetal, eliminating the swoops and slashes that marred the first-generation Z4. We thought the Z4-based Zagato Roadster shown at Pebble Beach last summer might have portended a new look for the production car. Instead, BMW has given its drop-top two-seater the mildest of updates for 2014.

Photo Gallery: 2014 BMW Z4 First Drive – Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2014 BMW Z4 First Drive – Automobile Magazine

We have been cruising at exactly 120 kilometers per hour (75 mph) when we finally pass under an electronic overhead sign that displays the readout we’ve been waiting for: a circle with slashes through it. At virtually the same moment, the speed-limit readout on the head-up display also gives the go-ahead, and we floor it. The car gathers speed quickly but with little drama, and we settle in at a comfortable 240 km/h (149 mph), although there is more available. This seems like enough given the presence of slower traffic, and, indeed, every time someone pulls into the far-left lane to pass, we give the big carbon-ceramic discs a workout but then quickly regain our pace. Driving on an unrestricted-speed autobahn is an intense experience for the driver, but the two passengers seem unfazed. This is exactly the situation for which the BMW M6 Gran Coupe was born: high-performance driving while carrying two (or three) passengers in relative comfort.

Photo Gallery: 2014 BMW M6 Gran Coupe First Drive – Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2014 BMW M6 Gran Coupe First Drive – Automobile Magazine

It’s eerie out here. The bayou forest sucks up sounds like a vegetative sponge. Even the Teutonic gnash of a 5.5-liter Mercedes-AMG V-8 sounds small. Trees covered in creeper vines and pale green moss stretch over this thin excuse for a road.

Photo Gallery: 401 Miles in: Back-Bayou Louisiana – Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 401 Miles in: Back-Bayou Louisiana – Automobile Magazine