What’s the one car Michael Schumacher cannot pass? The official Formula One Safety Car, of course! That’s the riddle Mercedes-Benz’ Dr. Dieter Zetsche asked before introducing the SLS AMG F1 Safety Car at the Geneva Auto Show.

The SLS AMG Safety Car then drove to the stage and its gullwing doors opened up to reveal the driver, Michael Schumacher and his passenger, Grand Prix teammate Nico Rosberg.

The SLS AMG at every round of the 2010 F1 season, ready to deploy whenever accidents or bad weather make it too dangerous to race.

The official safety car needs to be fast enough to lead the F1 grid at a high enough speed to prevent the race cars’ tires and brakes from cooling down or their engines from overheating. With a 6.3L v8 engine claiming 571 hp and 479.4 ft-lb. of torque, the SLS AMG should be up to the task.

As impressive as the standard-production SLS AMG is, the Safety Car receives a number of updates to fit its role. Apart from the F1 logos and integrated television camera, the Safety Car is distinguishable by its carbon-fiber mirrors and a new carbon-fiber hood. The rear aerofoil pops up when the car reaches 93 mph, and together with the rear diffuser, provides added downforce.

Inside, the Safety Car is equipped with monitors and a radio system to help driver Bernd Maylander and co-driver Pete Tibbetts see and hear what’s going on in the race. A second interior mirror is installed so Tibbetts can keep an eye on the F1 cars following the Safety Car. The central display on the instrument cluster and on the glove compartment provide the same marshalling signals the F1 drivers see in their cockpits.

The SLS AMG Safety Car will be joined by another Mercedes-Benz at F1 races. The C63 AMG Estate returns in 2010 as the official F1 Medical Car, ready to respond to race emergencies.

Gallery: Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Formula One Safety Car

It’s certainly not a household name, but Japanese tuner Varis is making headway modifying not only Japanese cars, but European models as well. The company does complete transformations, with everything from aesthetics to performance, with designs that are extreme, but not quite over-the-top.

On display at the Varis booth at the 2010 Tokyo Auto Salon were Japanese-market favorites like the Subaru Impreza WRX STI, Mitsubishi EVO X and Nissan GT-R. Varis also showed off more subtle looks for the E92 BMW M3 and Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG with penty of carbon fiber add-ons.

Take a look through the gallery of Japanese and European Varis-tuned cars below:

GALLERY: Varis Display at the Tokyo Auto Salon

The highly-anticipated E63 AMG Black Series Coupe will be an example of how to build a high-performance vehicle by shedding pounds rather than adding ft-lbs. According to the folks over at AutoCar, who cite their AMG insiders, some power increase is likely but the real performance difference will come as a result of fine-tuning and overall weight reduction rather than upping the output of the 6.2-liter V8. The focus will be more on making a better handling car, rather than one that can blast down a drag-strip a few tenths of a second faster than a standard model.

Considering the current E-Class Coupe weighs around 3,900 lbs, we’d expect the Black Series version to come in at closer to 3,500 lbs.

Interestingly, the E63 Black Series Coupe will be the only AMG version of the C-Class based car. No non-Black Series E63 model will be offered.

Despite being based on the C-Class platform, AMG will not release a Black Series version of the C-Class sedan, as those special limited edition models are reserved only for two-doors.

The next C63 AMG, however, will get a significant power increase, up from the current 457hp to somewhere between 500 and 525hp.

[Source: AutoCar]

Mercedes is bringing its AMG Driving Academy to the U.S. this September, allowing participants to hone their driving skills and experience the thrill that an AMG can deliver.

Launched in Europe in 2007, the AMG Driving Academy lets you get behind the wheel of cars like the E63 AMG, SL63 AMG, C63 AMG, SLK55 AMG and the CLK63 AMG Black Series. And now for 2009, AMG has included the upcoming 2011 SLS supercar. On a racetrack the AMG driving instructors will help you develop your driving skills and get the most out of the amazing AMG machines.

A Stage 1 one day program teaches fundamentals in performance driving and car control and includes a “high speed” track drive. A Stage 2 class is more advanced and involves much more track driving with timed laps and a “competitive performance course competition.”

Priced at $1,895 per person for Stage 1 and $3,495 per person for Stage 2, the AMG Academy will be at Lime Rock Park in Lime Rock, CT from September 9-15; Palm Beach International Raceway in West Palm Beach, FL from September 22-27 and Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, CA from November 7-8 and 17-20th.

The AMG Driving Academy will also offer a special opportunity at Laguna Seca from November 17-20th to drive the upcoming 2011 SLS AMG supercar. The price for this one-day event is $2,295 and includes a one night stay at the InterContinental Hotel in Monterey.

For more information visit:

www.AMGacademy.com

Official release after the jump: