Specialty File
Mercedes has gone horsepower crazy. The German automaker's line of supercharged V-8s generates as "few" as 469 horsepower (in the E55 AMG) and as many as 617 (in the SLR McLaren supercar). Then there are the V-12s, which pony up from 493 horses in the SL600 to 604 in the CL65 AMG.
And Mercedes seems determined to stay atop the heap in these horsepower wars. There are plenty of tuners out there equally infatuated with piling on to that heap. Take Kleemann USA in Colorado Springs, the American face for a Danish tuner that's been specializing in pumping power into Mercedes cars since 1985. Over the past three years, we've tested five of Kleemann's hopped-up cars, including the 427-hp CLK43K [ C/D, December 2001] and the 535-hp G55 AMG [Specialty File, "500-hp Hummer versus 535-hp Geländewagen," C/D, September 2003], and came away each time sufficiently impressed with the quality and speed of the product.
Kleemann's latest Olympian is the 55S8, a supercharged version of the new, 362-hp C55 AMG featured in C/D last month ["Executive Adrenalators"]. Seems Mercedes is doing what it can to help its tuners, in this case by dropping a big V-8 into its compact sedan. In stock form, the C55 scooted from 0 to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds and through the quarter-mile in 13.3 at 108. Those stats reflect quicker times to 60 and the quarter than those put forth by the last BMW M5 we tested ["Deep-Pocket Rockets," C/D, May 2003]. Even the 12-cylinder Bentley Continental GT, which did 4.9 to 60 and 13.4 in the quarter ["Euro Fancy Coupes," C/D, August 2004], couldn't keep up with the $55,920 baby Benz.
We'll be honest. When Kleemann USA's director, Brandon Grantham, delivered his company's pewter-colored 55S8, we figured it might knock a few 10ths off the stocker's already impressive times, possibly putting it in the speedy company of, say, an Aston Martin DB9 or Ferrari 612 Scaglietti. Then we saw the claimed power numbers of 570 horses and 580 pound-feet of torque. Oops.
Starting with the C55's hand-built, naturally aspirated 5.4-liter V-8, Kleemann bolted on an Autorotor Lysholm supercharger with a water-to-air intercooler good for 7.3 psi of boost ($11,000) and its "Super Sound" exhaust system ($7900), which includes larger stainless-steel tubular headers with bigger down pipes, freer-flowing catalysts, and straight-through mufflers and resonators. Sticking with the stock AMG Speedshift five-speed automatic, Kleemann then added a recalibrated engine computer ($1000) to ensure the proper air-to-fuel ratio. The 55S8 was suddenly a supercar-eating beast. No, seriously.
At the test track, the 55S8 thundered to 60 in just 3.8 seconds and through the quarter-mile in only 12.2 at 117. To put the 55S8 in the same league as the DB9 and 612 would be an insult—to which one we're not really sure. The 55S8's numbers devour the Ferrari Challenge Stradale's (4.0, 12.4) and Porsche 911 GT3's (4.0, 12.3). They eat up the Dodge Viper's to 60 (3.9) and the Lamborghini Murciélago's in the quarter (12.6).
Then there's the Kleemann's 5-to-60 street-start time of 3.9, which is lower than all of those cars', not to mention the Saleen S7's (5.1). Heck, it's just 0.2 second behind the 605-hp Porsche Carrera GT's.
Now, in case you're thinking the Kleemann was juiced with nitrous and ran with the grace of a rodeo bull, let us assure you its tank was full of good ol' premium unleaded and its behavior surprisingly subdued. Around our 10Best loop, the Kleemann felt more planted than the stock car, exhibiting milder understeer and fewer up-and-down nausea inducers. Ride quality could best be described as firm, but it never made us think the seatbelt was a boa. Fitted with Kleemann speed-sensitive dampers ($1200) and custom-made TS-6 19-inch wheels ($6508) shod with today's must-have Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 rubber ($1070), the 55S8 held on for 0.90 g on the skidpad, a significant 0.05 improvement over stock.
The Kleemann's braking performance was better than the stocker's as well, halting the 55S8 from 70 to 0 mph in just 160 feet, compared with 165 for the factory C55. Kudos to Kleemann's 370 brake kit ($9800), which includes bigger calipers (six-piston front, four-piston rear) and fully floating, cross-drilled rotors.
Carrying an as-tested price tag of $99,003, the 55S8 is costlier than most other supersedans—the Mercedes E55 AMG, the Jaguar XJR, and the Maserati Quattroporte, to name a few—but none is nearly as fast. We wonder if even the upcoming BMW M5, with its 500-hp V-10, will be able to reach the bar set by the Kleemann.
When he first arrived at our offices on Hogback Road, Brandon Grantham told us, "We took the smallest car and squeezed in the biggest engine. We wanted the biggest giggle factor."
We can hear him chuckling all the way from Colorado.
Kleemann USA, 2845 Ore Mill Road, #7, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80904; 719-473-6441; www.kleemannusa.com.
