Jen_Kenne

First we had the 300SEL 6.3, then the 450SEL 6.9, then the early 1990s Porsche engineered 500E -- all considered the fastest production sedan -- at least at Mercedes. The W211 E500/E550 outperforms all of these, yet it no longer seems to be considered a performance sedan with the introduction of the C & E55, and the C & E 63. In the E55/E63 threads, a few have posted quarter-mile times and speeds. Have any of you taken your E500 (or E550) to the track, and if so, what were the results?

220S

http://www.dragtimes.com/Mercedes-Benz-Times.html

Looks like low to mid 13s for the E550

Jen_Kenne

Thanks. Great resource, 220S.

Jen_Kenne

In summary,

• The E55s are on the top of the list, with the unmodified cars in the low 11s and about 120 mph.
• Next are the E63s, at low 12s and about 115 mph.
• Then the 500Es, E500s, E550s in the low to mid 13s and about 105 mph
• There is an E50 AMG listed just beind the third group.

Horsepower generally drive the trap speed, so the claimed 386 of the E550 versus the 302 of the E500 does not seem consistent.

DrDrilZ

stock e55's do NOT run low 11's. lol

Jen_Kenne

I'm sure you're right, and have the figures that are better than http://www.dragtimes.com/Mercedes-Benz-Times.html

Over 100 E55 runs, with the lowest 10.745 and the slowest a 13.30. The 10.745 was not a stock car.

There is one run by an E350. 14.710 and 96.230 mph. I had one of these as a loaner, and it's no slouch.

220S

Just remember that in dragtimes.com stock cars are denoted with #. Stock E55s run in the high 11s. Slips are scanned in order to be on dragtimes.com.

Jen_Kenne

It's an interesting site, and provides a little bit of comparative information.

Just found a modified 300D turbodiesel that ran 11.468 and 121.10. Woo Hoo!

Benz-O-Rama

As far as I know, I own the quickest naturally aspirated E500 on record, with a 13.49@102.5

She's actually a few ticks faster than that now but haven't gotten to the track to prove gains. Now that I have my new V12 twin turbo toy, I doubt the E500 will ever see the track again.

There's just not a whole lot of cost beneficial performance mods you can do to do these things. If you knew how much it cost me to get to that number, you'd throw up in your mouth a little bit.

Jen_Kenne

Words of wisdom, my friend. Mercedes engineers and builds wonderful cars, but they do not lend themselves to financially sound hot rodding. Exotics are even worse. That's why Bob Norwood put a twin-turbo big-block Chevy in his Ferrari 288 GTO to run at Bonneville - and ran 267 mph.

Dr_jitsu

If you want a car that is mod friendly and can be made fast for a reasonable price, get a 996TT.

Jen_Kenne

The Corvette is a better choice. More speed equipment is available at better prices, and it has a greater power potential.

Benz-O-Rama

Don't forget the mustang cobras. You get those things in the 10's for like 20 bucks.

Dr_jitsu

Not meaning to beat a dead horse, but the Z06 cames insanely fast out of the box...(although I put 6 lengths on one "in Mexico" the other day). However for 10K in mods I can build a 996TT that is faster without the crap plastic interior. Admitedly, 7K into a Z06 will producea mid 6 second 60-130.

However I do not have the requisite mullet to drive one

Jen_Kenne

Of course, you are right. There is so much speed equipment for domestic V-8s that you can't go wrong - Chevy, Ford, or Mopar. The Jegs, Summit, and other catalogs are huge, filled with all of the go-fast stuff to one's heart's content.

Jen_Kenne

Road & Track just ran a history on the 901 and derivatives - how long has it been? 80 years? I'd deliver the Porsche to someone like Norwood, and have a nice 1,000 bhp Chevy dropped into the back. I've seen a few VW beetles like that - rather quick.

Benz-O-Rama

Funny you should mention the beetles. My father was one of the pioneers and innovators of the VW Bug racing scene on the East Coast in the 50s and 60s. He owned a vw speed shop named Wagenwerks here in Maryland.

Jen_Kenne

When I was in college, I had a 36 hp beetle. It remains as a car I remember with great affection.

Benz-O-Rama

He was running just a tad more HP than that. Most of his bugs would pull the front wheels off the ground in first 3 gears. Hell, one of his tube chassis that he built in the early 70's is still in use today as a VW Funny car. I believe Pete Peek drives it and it's named Billy the Kid.

Jen_Kenne

Well, it was a healthy 36 horses.

One of my friends in H.S. took his beetle surfing. That took all four wheels of the ground! It had a bad effect upon the long-term structural integrity of the floorplan. The 'events' leading to surfing the bug were perhaps more interesting.

gaazmon

So the E550's aren't faster than the E500's? How is that possible? It has like almost 80 hp more and almost 60 more torque. Or maybe they are just faster from 0 - 60???

Jen_Kenne

One of the Car Rags wrote something similar about the W212 E550 coupe. Perhaps these are advertising horses? However, you would expect the 10% increase in displacement to be matched by an equal increase in power - other things being equal - which they never are. When there are more on the road, we'll find out.

i_am_amused

the 10% increase in displacement brought a 25% increase in power, from 302 hp up to 382.

Jen_Kenne

The Road & Track article on the W212 claims 388 bhp. It appears that the 10% increase in displacement actually brought a 0% in power.

i_am_amused

do you mean a 0% increase in performance? otherwise, MB is telling a big fib all over the planet.