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It's not that easy being green, least of all if you're a builder of exotic, high performance supercars or uberluxury sedans. Recently however, there has been a move towards improving fuel economy and reducing emissions by many of the world's biggest and most well known luxury and performance brands.

Take Ferrari's stop-start equipped California HELE or Mercedes-Benz's SLS AMG E-Cell concept, for instance. And there's more on the horizon, including the plug-in hybrid 918 Spyder from Porsche and BMW's Vision EfficientDynamics, the latter of which allegedly will offer M3 performance with a CO2 emissions rating of just 99 grams per kilometer.

And it's not just these four who are in it for the environmental crowd cred: other makers including Lotus, Audi, Lamborghini, Jaguar and Bentley are also looking to green up their model ranges.

This comes as no surprise to Christoph Stuermer, an analyst at IHS Automotive in Frankfurt:

"These upper-end, high-performance cars have always been examples of the best car technology out here, and being green is now part of being technologically advanced They have to come up with something so as not to be seen as technical dinosaurs."

Enrico Galliera, the commercial and marketing senior VP at Ferrari, agrees that it's definitely something that the company's customers are all for:

"When you consider buying a Ferrari, you're considering it for the performance. At the same time, when we approached customers and said, 'Here's a way you can still have that and be greener,' the reaction was extremely positive."

So there you have it. Now you can have your cake and eat it too, though you'll have to pay for the cake part first. And with prices around €180,000 (US$252,376) for the California HELE and an expected €500,000 (US$682,260) for the 918 Spyder that is one expensive, green frosted cake.

PS: Metaphors aren't my strong point...

By Tristan Hankins

If you're a fan of realistic driving games likes the Gran Turismo, then you're really going to dig this one. Meet Mercedes-Benz's professional driving simulator that comes with a 360o, precise landscape imagery and a twelve-meter long rail for transverse movements. The driving simulator, however, was not made for racing games but to help the German manufacturer to "research the behavior of the driver and vehicle in road traffic even more intensively".

Shaped like a hexapod, the simulator cell contains a real Mercedes model inside and is mounted on six mobile legs. A 360 degree projection screen simulates a realistic traffic scene, with oncoming vehicles, moving pedestrians and urban surroundings.

The vehicle controls are linked to a computer capable of calculating the behavior of the car more than 1,000 times per second, so whatever the test driver does the effects are the same as in real traffic situations. Accelerate hard and the noise of the car rises. Brake hard and it dives.

I'm not sure what happens when you try to drift, but hydraulics and electric motors can move the cell transversely by up to twelve meters – and at a maximum speed of 36 km/h (22 mph) – so at least double lane-changes can be simulated.

Scroll down to watch a video of grown men playing in the name of science.

By Csaba Daradics

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A total of 2,297 diesel-powered Mercedes-Benz models are being recalled in the U.S. to fix a potential problem that could lead to fuel leaks. The recall affects certain diesel versions of the 2011MY E-Class, GL-Class, R-Class and M-Class vehicle range.

Mercedes-Benz told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that the problem lies in the in the o-ring, which may not have been properly lubricated in all cases and could lead to a fuel leakage.

The feds sais that their main worry is that diesel fuel may be spilled on roads making them slippery and thus increasing the potential for a crash.

The German automaker said its U.S. dealers will replace the fuel filters free of charge. The safety recall is expected to begin this month. Owners may contact Mercedes Benz for more information at 1-800-367-6372.

When it comes to German tuners, the name of the game is power. The more the merrier. In its latest take on the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG, Wimmer RS has presented the Level 3 performance kit, which increases the 6.3-liter V8 engine's output to 580-horsepower and 690 Nm (509 lb-ft), up from 457 HP and 600 Nm.

To bestow over 120 HP on top of the already potent naturally aspirated V8, Wimmer RS made a series of upgrades including the addition of a reprogrammed ECU, air filter from K&N, air induction optimization, a new sports catalyst and optimized cat-back all-stainless steel exhaust system.

The tuner also fiddled around with the the electronic speed limiter allowing the C63 AMG to reach a limited top speed of 305 km/h or 190 mph.

As an option, Wimmer RS offers a KW-Club Sport Suspension and high performance Dunlop Sport Maxx GT tires.

The cost of the full performance level 3 kit is set at €9,900 (about US$13,800 at today's rates) including installation.