1999 Mercedes E55 AMG Does the Twist

From the March 1999 subject of Automobile and Driver.

German engineers mining for torque deposits close to Affalterbach will need to have hit a mom lode. Not less than, that is what it looks like from behind the AMG-monogrammed steering wheel of this E55. Someplace between right here and the three­-pointed gun sight at the forefront of the hood is housed 391 pound-feet of torque, accessible from 3000 rpm onward.

That is the form of urge that prompts you to regulate your head­relaxation—and people of the passengers—as a result of a careless thrust on the throttle pedal will, in most circumstances, produce a lunge that snaps again heads sooner than a space-shuttle launch.

Press the ESP button situated on the console, disabling the stability-control system (lighting a outstanding yellow tri­angle within the sprint), and you’ll anticipate wheelspin should you mash the throttle from relaxation. That is with the five-speed automated transmission that’s customary gear, people. Brake-torque the E55 for a second earlier than you go, and you will gentle up the 35-series rear tires in a severe vogue.

However should you stability your launch in a mature method, you may anticipate propul­sion of a decidedly fast nature: 0 to 60 mph in 4.9 seconds and a quarter-mile dash in 13.5 seconds at 105 mph. To get that type of thrust from an enormous luxurious automobile like this, did AMG flip the E55 right into a sizzling rod of the brutal, kidney-crushing selection?

Effectively, sure and no. Quick it’s. Impolite it ain’t. In actual fact, so suave is that this E-class muscle automobile that its actual potential is not going to be recog­nized by many passengers. You might decide up your boss on the airline terminal and transport them to their lodge at quarter-throttle, and so they’d swear it was a luxurious journey beneath them. That is as a result of the quiet 5.4-liter V-8 wuffles together with hydraulic smoothness and slurs gearshifts in a seamless sequence. Even at low revs, there’s sufficient torque to waft up hills with out shedding pace or digging for one more gear.

And provided that the roads are unhealthy will your VIP sense the ten­sioned suspension (35 % higher-rate springs, Bilstein shocks, beefier stabilizer bars) and high-pressure, low-profile doughnuts beneath them. As for the drivers round you, they’re going to simply acknowledge one other E-class Benz with the Sport bundle they’re accustomed to seeing on E430s. Except they shut up tight on the automobile’s tail, that’s, and browse the chrome letters that proclaim the automobile to be an E55 by AMG.

Sure, the newest “Hammer” from Mercedes and its in-house pace wizards is a Q-ship. In accordance with Mike Jackson, the just lately appointed boss of Mercedes-­Benz of North America, the Germans are at present into inconspicuous consump­tion, and so they need their automobiles—particu­larly the tuner-prepped rocket ships—to be unobtrusive. However that is not what Jackson wished for his mid-size large killer in our market, and the E55 you see right here is the ensuing compromise. It makes use of an current AMG-derived Sport bundle, but it surely’s allowed a subdued boast from its tail-mounted insignia, together with delicate AMG badging on the steering wheel and gauge cluster.

It isn’t a automobile that wants superfluous ornament, that is for certain. At a prompt worth of $71,717 (cheaper by 15 or so grand than its predecessor, the Porsche-­assembled E500), each one of many 2000 examples earmarked for the U.S. over the subsequent 4 years will likely be snapped up. Heck, many of the first cargo will seemingly be absorbed by supplier principals earlier than the general public even will get a shot.

Which is a pity, as a result of that is a unprecedented car, versatile past our wildest expectations, and as rewarding as the most effective drivers’ automobiles round. To have achieved this at a lower cost than that of the previous E500 is commendable, completed by protecting as a lot of the unique E-class automobile intact. Not like the E500, the E55 is actually a completely assembled and trimmed car off Mercedes-Benz’s Sindelfingen line earlier than it’s despatched off to the AMG skunk­works in Affalterbach for its stroked and breathed-upon engine, its heavy-duty V-12-derived transmission, its uprated suspension and brakes, and its huge wheels and tires. Due to that, the essence of the E-class automobile has been pre­served, however with dynamic parameters which were prolonged in each approach. The first variations are manifested as a extra jiggly journey with a lot tauter roll management, a throttle that will get into the ability with out the Benz-signature lengthy and professional­gressive pedal journey, and acceleration—anytime—that’s in one other league. Oh, yeah, and an engine observe that adjustments from a well mannered V-8 burble to a hard-edged snarl when the pedal’s down and the tach is reaching for six grand.

Surprisingly, the steering-assist mech­anism is similar to that of the E430, and it stays gentle at most speeds. So gentle that the mechanism in a BMW 328i feels leaden compared. But it surely directs the E55 with such accuracy and fluency that extra weight on the rim would not appear nec­essary. In actual fact, if you add the automobile’s tenacious grip (0.88 g on the skidpad) and tightly tied-down physique motions to the razor-sharp helm, the E55 can tackle nearly something within the corners. However be warned, the motive force will seemingly want some recalibration; the automobile’s abundantly stiff construction and good isolation lead one to underestimate nook entry speeds. On the introductory ride-and-drive in Napa, California, a few drivers from different publications went off the highway, and we suspect that these incidents had been partly as a result of decep­tive ease with which this automobile gathers pace.

What should not go unno­ticed within the E55 (and that is significantly seductive) is the push within the again you get if you pin the throttle. The torque is so prodigious (41 pound­-feet greater than a Corvette’s), and the torque curve so flat, that the E55 pulls exhausting right through every gear, professional­ducing a concerted thrust like that of a 757 on a takeoff run. It simply retains on coming.

Aerodynamic drag past triple-digit speeds does little to blunt its cost, and our E55 was nonetheless accelerating when it hit an digital limiter at 158 mph. Exhausting sufficient to counsel an actual prime pace someplace round 180 mph. Nonetheless, 158 should be sufficient for most individuals, and at that pace the E55 tracks as straight as a die.

At extra affordable charges of journey, the E55 assumes its extra civilized persona, offering a easy, quiet journey that may take its occupants on interstate journey with little discomfort. That is maybe the automobile’s most noteworthy facet. When not being flogged exhausting, it behaves extra like a limo than a supercar. In actual fact, the transmission’s laptop reads driver inputs and adjusts its actions accordingly.

The compromises you settle for for this broad working bandwidth are few. A sus­pension designed for prime speeds and mas­sive cornering potential cannot be anticipated to traverse damaged surfaces with out trans­mitting some affect shock and motion into the automobile. On the opposite finish of the size, the factory-issue seats (accessible in all­-black leather-based or in two-tone mixtures of black and blue and black and silver) are agency and supportive sufficient for a cross­-continent tour, however they lack the wrap­round assist of devoted sport seats. We additionally discovered the leather-wrapped wheel (additionally accessible in strong or two-tone hues) to have a somewhat obstructive association of spokes and thumb pads, leaving too little rim accessible for these of us with giant arms. Perceive, please, that that is deliberate selecting of the smallest nits.

For most individuals’s wants, the combo of sporting and luxurious attributes is correct on the cash. As the 2 firms concerned within the E55’s genesis have drawn nearer (AMG is being acquired by Daimler-­Chrysler), so the degrees of sophistication have elevated. Thus, the E55 retains all the flowery technical elements of the V-8-powered E-class automobiles: the stability- and traction-control techniques; the twin-plug cylinder heads; the variable-volume consumption tract; the oil-quality monitor-in quick, all of the belongings of a factory-backed product.

Certainly, this shut integration of a modern producer and its spe­cialist engineering consulting service is actually what defines the brand new E55 and its almost excellent mix of pedigree and energy. Bear in mind, 1998 noticed Mercedes and AMG convey residence two world-champi­onship motorsports trophies in addition to launch the E55. It seems to be like a profitable streak to us.

Counterpoints

5 minutes behind the wheel, and sud­denly I’ve a brand new favourite Mercedes. Ground the accelerator on most automated Mercedes fashions, and the transmission responds, “You certain you need me to downshift? Optimistic? Proper now? Okay.” Ground the E55, and it says, “Sooner? Yesss!” The muted V-8 burble, the taut suspension that also offers a superb journey, the ultra-low-profile Michelins, the supple leather-based bucket seats which are as comfortable as something in your front room—the E55 might be the ulti­mate in understated govt transport. Not less than till the brand new BMW M5 migrates to America. —Steven Cole Smith

Is not it attention-grabbing that Mercedes has all the time subscribed to the American big-engine method when creating its sports activities sedans? To create the legendary 300SEL 6.3 again in 1968, Mercedes employed the 6.3-liter V-8 from the 600 limousine. With the brand new E55, Mercedes has adopted the identical path by shoehorning its largest V-8 into the mid-size E-class sedan. With about 70 % extra displacement than the bottom E-class 3.2-liter V-6 has, the E55 is a rocket, flattening you in your seat all the way in which to its 158-mph governor. And it produces this thrust with easy refinement, proving as soon as once more that there’s certainly no substitute for cubic inches. —Csaba Csere