Hi, guys- this "news" is a few months old, already, but since a quick search of the forum didn't net any results, it might be new to you. Here's the link over at dragtimes ... http://www.dragtimes.com/Mercedes-Be...ag-Racing.html ... and here's our original press release, along with a video.





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RELEASE THE KRAKEN | 1000 HP ALT-FUEL MERCEDES CL600 FROM SPEEDRIVEN

Palatine, IL – At more than sixteen feet long and weighing nearly five-thousand pounds the W215 series Mercedes-Benz CL coupes were always going to have more in common with marine mammals than they were with sporty little two-seaters like the Chevy Corvette or Porsche Turbo. At least, that's how it seemed before 2003, when Mercedes gave the big CL a 493 HP twin-turbocharged V12engine that blasted the two-and-a-half ton land whale from 0-60 in 4.8 seconds on the way to a 13.5 second ¼ mile time … which, you know, is fine.

What if you want more than “fine”, though? What if you want your big, comfortable Mercedes-Benz to run down anything on four wheels? What if you want to have your cake and eat it, too? What if, in other words, you want a car that's less of a marine mammal, and more of a mythological sea monster?

If that's what you're looking for, allow me to introduce you to this menacing leviathan of a car. Built by Speedriven in Palatine, IL, this ethanol-fueled 2003 Mercedes-Benz CL600 is packing more twice the horsepower it came from the factory with, and is ready to blast across the quarter mile line in under eleven seconds- making it more than a match for the very latest Corvette Z06 and Porsche 991 Turbo.

That Porsche, by the way, will set you back well over $150,000 in the real world. The Speedriven Mercedes? Not even close.

“You could go out and replicate this car, just like it is, for sixty, maybe seventy thousand dollars,” says Bobby, the car's owner. “You can buy a clean V12 Mercedes for twenty or twenty-five thousand, figure another thirty-five for the work Speedriven did, and figure a little bit here and there to fix any maintenance issues to make the car 'right' and it's done.”

You read that right. Despite carrying a $150,000 price tag of its own when it debuted, a well-kept example of a 2003-2006 model year Mercedes-Benz CL600 can be had for around $25K, today, and that six-figure depreciation can be a tough pill to swallow.

“Some guys look at this car and they see it for what it is. It's a big V12, it has almost all the features you'd find in a new Lexus or Cadillac, and it's cheap enough now that guys can buy it as a toy,” says Bobby. “Then you have the guys like me that bought it when it was new, or nearly new, and made big payments on it for a lot of years. The car is worth more to me than what I can sell it for, so I'm gonna keep it, and maybe I'm gonna do some work to it to make it feel new to me, you know?”

Doing “some work” to this particular Mercedes CL600 meant sending the car to Speedriven- and that's where SD's experts in massaging more power and performance out of Mercedes' V12 engines, began transforming the CL into the 1000 HP, ethanol-fueled street beast you see here.

The first step was ditching the tiny turbos the V12 was fitted with from the factory in favor of a set of bigger Garrett-based ball-bearing turbos modified with Speedriven-specific housings. Those turbos necessitated an all-new exhaust manifold and freer-flowing turbo-back exhaust system, as well. Feeding the SD turbos are a pair of massive, anaconda-sized cold air intakes pushing air to a set of top-mounted water-to-air intercoolers. Those coolers work to keep intake temperatures low, maximizing the amount of oxygen reaching the cylinders and burning the ethanol fuel.

The Speedriven hardware and ethanol-friendly fuel system are managed by the factory Mercedes ECU running SD's own in-house software. So equipped and with a tank full of fresh Ignite Racing E85, this Mercedes CL600 generates a reliable 1000 horsepower at the crank – more than enough, in other words, to make the car feel like new again.

“These are the true supercars,” says Bobby, looking at the results of his Mercedes' dyno run, which show less of a torque curve and more of a torque mountain. “There's nothing out there like this, right now, at any price.”

 

Some time slips ...

 

Impressive!

 

Awesome!

Just curious what you did with the suspension and what tires are you running? I'm not seeing anything any front end lift on my launches like you are, but my 60' times are low 1.6's (once a 1.59) on 265/40-18 ET Street 2's. I'd really like to get more weight transfer like you are and hopefully be able to launch harder and get some 1.5's consistently.

 

Nothing- suspension is 100% stock, which is why our 60's were so bad! The rims are 16s, and we'll make some modifications to the rear to be able to run proper drag tires soon, as well. This car's owner is doing an engine and trans build now.

 

Very impressive !!

Can you get into the tens with just your ecu tune and cold air intake , or are the bigger turbos needed to get into the tens ?

I could care less about going 10.5 Vs10.9 but it would be nicer to do 10.9 rather than 12.9

 

Price.for the mods to get to this level? I already have your intercoolers, BOVs, Black series injectors, and trunk tank.with dual water pumps as well as custom ECU/TCU tune.

 

I think you'd need both the upgraded turbo PKG (which includes larger turbos, custom manifolds, BOVs added to the ICs, more tuning, etc.) and the built trans. to handle it. Not sure if the BS injectors are up for it, though- send me an email?

 

I think your biggest issue is tires, but yeah- I think you'd have a much easier time getting into the 10s with billets, at least.

 

Impressive 1/8th MPH but looks like you still have some tuning issues. Only 22-24mph on the back half? Those are stock gains. Is it a TCU issue like builds of the past? Also, the lazy 60ft, is that due to turbo lag or trying to avoid breaking parts? If the power is there, like the dyno shows, you just gotta get the TCU to pass it on, the time slip is not showing that. Good luck.

 

Biggest issue is traction. Plain and simple. Thanks for wishing us luck, though- I, too, think the car has a lot more in it, and look forward to defending even more record-setting runs in the spring.

 

LOL, That sounds really sincere, until you run a 10.9.....

 

Exactly! I remember my first sportbike. I was reading the stats (back in the early 90s) thinking "Wow! An 11 second 1/4 mile! I'll never get sick of that!!" A month later I was WOT through school zones shouting "Come on! Come on!!" into my helmet.

 

I already have the bov's on the intercoolers so basically the turbos, trans, and tuning. Give me a round about estimate.

 

Have you got a picture of the cold air intake?

Thanks, Nick

 

Without looking into it I'd say something like $12K. Once you have a Speedriven tune, you don't pay for tuning later when you add more upgrades. That's crazy.

 

It's not something we really want to put out there. Frankly, it's not as good as the scorpion setup, and this car will be going "back" to that configuration as soon as the next round of upgrades in completed. Still, you did ask:

 

Thank you!

Would it have gone faster with the Scorpion intakes?


Nick

 

The car could barely get the power it was making to the ground as it was. More power would hardly help! Maybe would have picked up 1 or 2 more MPH.

 

When dealing with a twin turbo v12, getting power to the ground is almost always a bigger problem than making more power

More power is useless if it just roasts the tires

 

Do you have a limited slip in the car, otherwise its just hit or miss with traction. What size tires?

See above, also for the street if you can put bigger tires on along with the LSD, it makes a huge difference, but will still not eliminate rolling burnouts.

 

It has an LSD, yes.

 

Maybe it's just me but doesn’t the mph seem low given 800+ rwhp? Not much faster than some other cars running stock turbos. Please tell me if I'm looking at this the wrong way.

 

131+ Mph in a CL is making a lot of power.

 

It has a crazy strong 1/8th MPH, proof of the power, but should be doing much more mph in the 1/4. For comparison look at the nitrous cl55 on dragtimes with a 103 1/8th and a 10.5x@130, different motor, but same chassis, similar weight. I think the 600 with more tuning MPH should be over 135 in the 1/4, as long as tranny is willing and able.