You Won’t Believe How this $200 Mercedes AMG C42 Performs on a Dyno!
Out of the factory, the 1999 C43 had 306 horsepower and 302 pound-feet of torque from its 4.3-liter V8 engine. Normal degradation might see this engine lose a relatively small percentage of performance over time. Alex enlisted the help of a couple experts who told him, with everything wrong with the vehicle, they would probably get about somewhere around 200-210 horsepower. Ouch.
Of course, this is all hypothetical. The real test would tell everyone a true number. Shockingly, after three separate tests on the dyno, the 1999 C43 scored a respectable 231 horsepower and 225 pound-feet of torque. Not too shabby at all.
This is specifically surprising because the factories give their initial performance estimates based on the readings from the flywheel. The dynamometer measures from the wheels. Normally, you can expect a 15% difference in horsepower when you measure from the wheels. That turns the 306 horsepower into 260 horsepower. So, that 231 horsepower number looks even more incredible.
As Alex points out at the end of the video, he paid less than $1 per horsepower. That’s unbelievable. As he says, that’s the true definition of “bang for your buck.” Too bad the C43 looks like an embarrassment to the Mercedes and AMG names.