Race-Winning Mercedes-Benz S55 AMG for $1,500? It’s Possible
Cannonball Run World Record Holder, Ed Bolian tells the story of entering a cross-country race with a $1,500 Mercedes S55 AMG.
The idea of purchasing a $1,500 Mercedes S55 AMG from Craigslist is usually a recipe for horror stories. If that doesn’t scare you, buying one that’s sitting broken in a parking lot should. There were even more giant red flags, but Ed Bolian still didn’t walk away. As he explains in this video, the fact this Mercedes is a 12-owner car wasn’t even the worst of it.
But Bolian had plans. His team entered a budget-based, Cannonball-style race called The 2904. The race started at the Red Ball Garage in New York City, and finished at the Portofino Hotel in Redondo Beach, California.
Bolian and his team made it first, and in just 32 hours and five minutes.
He already holds the record for the fastest time completing the route. He pulled that off in 28 hours and 50 minutes driving a Mercedes Benz CL55 AMG. And now with this car, he holds the fastest time completed during a competitive event. We’re starting to see a pattern here.
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If you want a fast, comfortable ride across the United States, take a Mercedes with an AMG badge and an Active Body Control suspension. That suspension system is a big reason why Bolian likes these cars. Adding a large fuel tank brings a lot of weight from the extra fuel. The Active Body Control levels the car, then adjusts itself as the fuel tank empties.
It took a budget of around $16,000, including entry into the event, to go the distance. First, the car needed restoring. Then it needed a large-capacity fuel cell and all the electrical equipment necessary to avoid law enforcement interactions. After all, being arrested can really impact the results of a timed race.
