Teams hoping to enter the Mercedes-Benz Challenge Cup are rapidly running out of time, with just four qualifying events remaining.

The popular golf tournament has already picked winners from events at prestigious courses such as The Belfry, Royal Lytham St Annes and Gleneagles.

Golfers still keen on taking part can dust off their clubs for qualifying events at Carton House, Celtic Manor, Golf at Goodwood and Stoke Park, but there are only a few places left and the first of these events takes place on July 2nd.

Playing betterball pairs stableford, teams of four are competing for a place in next year’s final in Dubai, where they will have an opportunity to take home the Mercedes-Benz Challenge Cup.

As title sponsor, Mercedes-Benz is also offering Mercedes-Benz C-Class vehicles for Hole-in-One competitions, adding extra incentive to those who fancy themselves on the par threes.

By making it through to the final, competitors are guaranteed return flights to Dubai, four or five nights’ accommodation in a five-star hotel, three rounds of golf on a top course and a sensational Gala dinner to get the proceedings underway.

Participating teams are asked to pay £850 plus VAT, which covers green fees, a three-course lunch and snacks at each regional event.

For more information click here

With two consecutive wins under his belt, Lewis Hamilton will go into this weekend’s French Grand Prix full of confidence, but team-mate Fernando Alonso claims to be similarly positive about his chances.

The Spaniard, who is ten points behind Hamilton in the drivers’ championship, sees similarities between the Magny Cours racetrack and Monaco, which gives him hope that a third win of the season is on the cards.

"I have always liked racing at this track, when you hear people talk about circuits that are technical, Magny Cours is definitely one of them. It is important to have good speed in the slow corners as they tend to lead onto long straights," he said.

"You have to have good mechanical set-up for the corners and the same with traction for the exits. My favourite sections of the track are the two high speed chicanes at the back of the circuit. We go through them at speeds of up to 200km/h, which is very fast for a chicane; very special to drive through and unique in Formula One."

Hamilton’s memories of Magny Cours are hardly the most positive, having been pushed back to 19th place on the grid after a coming together in the French round of the GP2 championship last year.

"I did make my way up through the field to fifth to score some points, so it is possible to overtake here," he added.

Hamilton and Alonso have both looked good in the early practice sessions and Vodafone McLaren Mercedes will be looking for another one-two finish from its two star drivers this weekend.

Norbert Haug, vice president of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, has recalled some of the brand’s greatest moments in France, using the Mercedes-Benz history as a source of inspiration for the coming race.

"In the brand’s first Formula One race, Mercedes-Benz took a one-two victory with Juan Manuel Fangio and Karl Kling on July 4th, 1954," he said, before urging the entire Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team to remain focused for the remainder of the season.

Take a look at our Motorsport section for more about the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team.

This year’s Monaco Yacht Show will again be supported by Mercedes-Benz, alongside a number of other famous names in the luxury goods market.

Held in Monaco’s Port Hercules between September 19th and 22nd, the exhibition is central to the yachting sector, but it also embraces brands and concepts from related areas of luxury living.

In addition to being a principal sponsor, Mercedes-Benz will this year offer courtesy cars to Multipass badge holders. The cars will allow visitors to commute between Monaco’s opulent hotels and the key site entrances, ensuring the entire experience is as comfortable and straightforward as possible.

The 2007 show will welcome 500 exhibitors from 38 different countries, as well as 24,000 enthusiasts from around the world.

It will also present more than 30 new vessels, for yachting enthusiasts keen on trading up or buying a boat for the first time.

In sync with the luxury theme, the Monaco extravaganza will also feature a watch auction, in which the most prestigious producers of lavish jewellery sell specially-created timepieces. Already, Vacheron Constantin has announced it will sell a Malte Tourbillon Tonneau-shaped watch, with a platinum case, dial, buckle and carriage bridge.

In its role as event sponsor, Mercedes-Benz will this year be joined by Van Cleef & Arpels, the famous Parisian jeweller.

Mercedes-Benz has been listed among the most prestigious ultra-luxury car brands in the world.

The Luxury Institute, which examines retail decisions made by the very wealthiest individuals in America, has found that Mercedes-Benz is perceived as one of the top few carmakers.

Wealthy consumers with a minimum net worth of $5 million (£2.5 million) and annual income of $200,000 (£200,000) rated Mercedes-Benz alongside brands including Aston Martin, Bentley, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Lotus.

Tellingly, DaimlerChrysler-owned Maybach has been named the most prestigious ultra-luxury automobile by the richest consumers in the US.

Maybach continues to have strong links with Mercedes-Benz and in 1997 Mercedes-Benz presented an ultra-luxury concept car known as the Mercedes-Benz Maybach.

"Wealthy consumers are looking to trade up from traditional luxury brands that have moved toward the mainstream," said Milton Pedraza, CEO of the Luxury Institute.

In the UK this year, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class range was voted Fleet News Luxury Car of the Year 2007 - the fifth such honour for the saloon.

Take a look at the UK Maybach website by clicking here.

The Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios will this year focus on the environment, with designers and sponsors alike demonstrating their commitment to eco-friendly developments.

As principle sponsor, Mercedes-Benz will promote BlueTec - its latest breakthrough in clean diesel engines.

BlueTec relies on pioneering technology to reduce pollutant emissions, particularly nitrogen oxide. Mercedes-Benz hopes to offer vehicles equipped with BlueTec in 2008, as part of a general drive towards cleaner cars.

The famous fashion show itself will also be organised with the environment in mind, with IMG Fashion’s Fern Mallis already exploring a range of new initiatives.

"We will encourage the designers who have consistently shown with us to include some garments that promote sustainability and eco-friendly fibres," she said.

Carol Goll, general manager of brand event marketing at Mercedes-Benz USA, added: "Society is increasingly aware about its impact on the environment, from the clothes we wear to the vehicles we drive, and Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios is the ideal time and place to continue driving this discussion forward."

Further information about the environmental focus will be provided in August and September. The show will finally get underway on October 14th and will run until October 18th.

In Europe, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin will take place in front of the Brandenburg Gate between July 12th and July 15th this year.

Fans of Mercedes-Benz and its prestigious history were able to get their hands on a number of outstanding items at the weekend, as part of Bonhams’ £6.1 million sale at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

While the headlines were inevitably stolen by the £441,500 sale of the 1926 Mercedes-Benz Model K Torpedo Transformable, many bidders were more interested in the vast array of memorabilia up for grabs.

One particularly popular lot was the drawing of a number of key figures from the early Mercedes Grand Prix team, including Alfred Neubauer and Rudolf Carracciola.

The sketch, signed by Richard Seaman, Hermann Lang, Neubauer, Carracciola and Manfred Von Brauchitsch, was originally published in the Motor magazine and it sold for £750 plus premium and tax.

A Mercedes-Benz products poster from 1976 was also a popular lot at the weekend. Printed on black and blue, the poster depicted co-drivers Stirling Moss and Denis Jenkinson in the 300SLR at the 1955 Mille Miglia.

Beneath the image was the line ‘50 Years of Classic Sports and Racing Cars 1926 - 1976′, in honour of this golden era of motorsports. The unmounted poster sold for £80 plus premium and tax, representing something of a bargain for the eventual winner.

Also sold were two Mercedes-Benz dinner menus signed by Juan Manuel Fangio, as well as a Mercedes-Benz 1930 range catalogue, dated November 1929.

Take a look at our Motorsport section for information about the current Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula One team.

Hunter Mahan, the 25-year-old Californian, has secured a place in next year’s Mercedes-Benz Championship after claiming a play-off victory for his very first PGA Tour title.

As the season opener, the Mercedes-Benz Championship is one of the most prestigious events on the Tour and Mahan is now in possession of an invite.

His performance at the Travelers Championship in Connecticut also earned him a cheque for $1,080,000 (£541,000), which will come as a huge boost to the talented young golfer.

It was a tense affair in Connecticut, with Mahan first sinking a birdie at the last hole of regulation and then firing to within a couple of feet of the pin on the first play-off hole.

Playing partner Jay Williamson missed his seven-foot effort, leaving Mahan to soak up the generous applause from an enthralled gallery.

He afterwards reflected: "Knowing that you can win and actually winning are two different things. To win the way I did is just amazing to me. To have to birdie in a playoff, especially after he hit that shot in there, is mind-boggling."

Held at Kapalua Resort’s Plantation Course in Hawaii since 1999, the Mercedes-Benz Championship is only open to golfers who have won an event on the Tour in the previous season. It takes place in the first weekend in January and it was last year won by Fijian Vijay Singh.

Those already qualified for the 2008 Mercedes-Benz Championship include Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, as well as Swede Henrik Stenson and Australian Adam Scott.

An ambitious conference on automotive safety is to be held in Stuttgart in spring 2009, when Mercedes-Benz will bring together experts in this increasingly pertinent field.

The Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV) has been conceived in collaboration with Germany’s Federal Highway Research Institute, and it is hoped it will function as a catalyst for the industry as a whole.

A major player in the world of automotive safety, the ESV Conference traditionally attracts engineers, politicians and representatives from a number of official bodies.

Integrated vehicle safety was the focus of this year’s conference in Lyon, which allowed Mercedes-Benz to demonstrate some of the technologies that have made it an industry leader for many years.

The anticipatory occupant protection system, PRE-SAFE, is an example of the progress Mercedes-Benz has made in this area and it also points the way for other manufacturers hoping to improve safety.

The conference in 2009 will be the 21st such event and Mercedes-Benz will use the opportunity to stress its long tradition and trendsetting role in the field of vehicle safety. Particularly significant in 2009 is the 70th anniversary of the Mercedes-Benz safety department, which was formed by Bela Barenyi.

Dr Thomas Weber, member of the DaimlerChrysler Board of Management for Research and Development, observed: "The purpose of this major conference is to underline the importance of Stuttgart and Sindelfingen as automotive industry locations with a rich tradition, where systematic car safety development commenced under Bela Barenyi in 1939, and which have brought forth many trailblazing technologies for safer driving."

Innovations in the intervening years have included the crumple zone, the airbag, the belt tensioner and the windowbag, all of which have had a huge impact upon the safety of vehicles. Mercedes-Benz has also been responsible for ESP and Brake Assist, which were developed thanks to ground-breaking safety research.

The hugely popular Mercedes-Benz Play of the Month competition is beginning to heat up, with superlative efforts from three of the most entertaining talents in the game.

Honouring the most impressive and compelling shots from the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), the Mercedes-Benz Play of the Month award has become as popular with the players as it is with the fans.

Competition is invariably intense and this month’s contest is no exception. The three plays already entered in June include moments of true genius from Tomas Berdych, Juan Ignacio Chela and Nicolas Mahut. One more name will be added to the list before the month comes to an end and fans will then be asked to vote for their favourite moment.

With Wimbledon now underway, we can expect to see some rapid-fire points entered into the competition in the next couple of weeks, with Roger Federer already looking in ominous form.

Other names to look out for include second seed Nadal and third seed Roddick, neither of whom will expect many difficulties in the early rounds of the tournament.

Igor Andreev, who picked up the award for the Mercedes-Benz Play of the Month in May, faces a tough first round against America’s James Blake, as March’s winner Juan Monaco takes on Belgian player Kristof Vliegen.

When June’s contest has been decided, those who voted for the winning play will be entered into a random draw for the chance to win a stunning 27-speed Mercedes-Benz Mountain Bike.

Find out more about the free competition by clicking here.

An exceptionally rare 1926 Mercedes-Benz Model K Torpedo Transformable sold for £441,500 at the Festival of Speed at the weekend.

Liveried in white and furnished with brown leather upholstery, the magnificent car had been with its previous owner since the 1970s and it featured on the front cover of Antique Automobile in 1983.

It enjoyed a major engine overhaul and a number of other alterations in 1986 but buyers were warned that "careful recommissioning in all areas is advised". At the time of cataloguing, however, this stunning vehicle "made all the noises that would have excited Dr Ferdinand Porsche".

The grand tourer came equipped with a complete set of Stephen Grebel lamps, a four-piece opening windscreen, wood-rimmed steering wheel and a stylish water temperature gauge. Experts predicted a high level of interest and the eventual selling price confirmed that antique Mercedes-Benz cars are still among the most desirable in the world.

Also sold as part of the Bonhams sale was the 1961 Mercedes-Benz 190SL Roadster, which fetched an eventual selling price of £23,000 plus premium and tax.

Some 25,881 were produced before production came to an end in 1963 and this particular right-hand-drive version received total restoration in the mid-1990s. With new chromework, glass, blue Connolly hide interior trim and a genuine Mohair hood, the 190SL also benefited from a rebuilt transmission and serviced electrics.

The Bonhams auction was the fourth most valuable ever held in the UK, bringing in bids totalling an astonishing £6,158,731.