Improviz

Not much of a race, more of an education. I was on my way to an appointment in Mexico, cruising at a fair clip in the passing lane, when a slower-moving vehicle whipped in front of me and began going slower, plugging my lane before I could go by instead of waiting a second or two for me to clear.

I hate that *****.

So, after issuing the proper salute, I nudged up closer to his bumper. It was an S55 with a temp tag in the window, but when he switched lanes I saw there were no Kompressor tags on the fenders.

Time for school. Into sport mode we go.

So, he switched lanes to go around some guy (suddenly he's in a hurry? obviously saw the Benz coming up behind, figured he'd show off in his newly-bought AMG...oops, hadn't read the specs on the newer ones! ), I followed, and he gave it some gas; I gave mine just enough to keep up, waiting for an opening and staying with him as he kept going faster. Once an opening presented itself with about a click's worth of open lanes in front, I nailed it and whipped around him.

He nailed it as well, but it wasn't even a contest, buh-bye.

What he paid for the car: unknown. The look on his face as I blew by: priceless. No Mastercard required, except for the gas.

After that, for some reason he lost his enthusiasm and kept well back.

It was fun, probably more for me than for him. Hate to pick on a member of the AMG brethren, but he definitely had it coming.

Jons95c36amg

Those S55s are over 4k lbs. Trap around 102mph. It mustve been ugly for him

kindafast

haha, that's what you get for getting in the way of Improviz!

cahiil55k

I hate that inconsiderate crap when someone pulls into the fastlane forcing you to brake, and worse, they decide not to accelerate. I'm glad you tought him a lesson.

Exotic-metal55

IK would say nice kill but instead will say damn funny story..lol

Deuuuce

Educate me - there was an S55 that was NOT supercharged?

Deuuuce

Supercharged 108-111mph, correct? See my question above.

Jons95c36amg

NA same motor as the Clk55 but about 1k lbs heavier. 03+ S55 are supercharged.

Improviz

Right, as Jon pointed out, the '01 and '02 versions were not supercharged.

Here's a test of one, which ran a 14.0/100 mph 1/4:
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...take_road_test

Chappy

Yup, no LSD either.

ProjectC55

Jon must have just looked it up. Because I know it did not come from the top of his head. Nice kill Impro.

Chappy

rondocap

Yeah, the 2001 and 2002 S55's are not supercharged. I have a 2001. Definitely slower than the supercharged 55 engines like in the CLS, but even the NA is not a slow car. It will keep up with most quick cars - obviously the newer AMG's are really fast in comparison, good thing there aren't that many of them out there!

Anytime I see a faster car, even if I know my car is slower, and if the other person is willing to run a bit, I love to do it. I love to see how my car compares in the real world, regardless if I "win" or not - it's thrilling watching a really fast car beat you, when you are in a fast car yourself.

Improviz

rondocap, I'm the same way; slower or faster, I'll give someone a short run if conditions are very safe. Judging by the look on this guy's face, though, I think he was expecting this one to end up in the "win" column.

Normally I wouldn't gloat over beating a fellow AMGer, it was just the guy behind the wheel that irked me a bit.

Thericker

Good Kill story w/side of

Nice write-up Impro!

rondocap

You had a 01 CLK55 AMG right? How does that compare to the CLS in terms of speed and power delivery? The CLK was the fastest of the 55 NA engines, but the supercharged engines are amazing!

Improviz

Power delivery is very similar in terms of width of powerband (though I think this one breathes a bit better up top), but this one's more brutal in terms of feel, really gives an incredible shove in the back. That big jump in torque is something else, it's still like "Holy *****" to watch that speedo go. Exhaust sound is just unreal...I once heard the phrase "like God's own chariot" to describe it, and it's a pretty apt description.

In terms of speed, this being a bigger, heavier car, the sensation of speed is not quite as immediate as the CLK, but the speedo tells the tale, and this thing just destroys cars that I either ran even with or pulled by a few lengths in the CLK, and I've pulled cars that would've eaten its lunch, so it's definitely much quicker.

But that thing was a hoot, I miss it to this day.

rondocap

Nice - the CLS AMG models are also one of the most beautiful cars aesthetically too. I hear you on the feeling of speed not being as immediate, in the S55 you don't notice it either since the car's ride is so soft unless you look at the speedo. I am thinking of a CLS55 after the S55 - the only thing that I'd be giving up from the S55 is the room in the back (I have some tall brothers!) but otherwise the CLS wins it.

I've never actually seen another 01 or 02 S55 AMG on the road though aside from mine, a few 03+'s. A lot of people may not know that the older S55's only had 2 tailpipes, so they may mistake them for regular S classes with the AMG badge on them.

Here's a question for you - isn't it a bit scary when you accelerate on narrower streets from a stop or very low speeds in that? Even in mine which is much slower (354HP ) I can get a big adrenaline rush in tighter quarters, so I can only imagine that the sensation of motion in that in non-highway streets can get freaky! On the highway, since it's so open, you often do not get a point of reference for how fast you are going or accelerating, but in smaller roads you definitely do since they often have more stuff around.

Improviz

Yeah, I just love that thing, sexiest sedan on the road imo. I hear you on the S Class, those babies are just serene on the highway, really gotta watch the speedo or you'll be losing your license in a hurry!

Room-wise, though, I'll warn you: depending upon how tall your brothers are, they may not like you very much if you have them ride back there. It's definitely a big reduction in terms of headroom from the S...

Well, they'll figure out their mistake pretty quick if they try to run it. I've seen a few around here, but I agree, it's a pretty rare bird.

Yeah, this is a good point...fortunately the streets here are pretty wide, but it just piles on steam so quickly down low that I rarely cut loose in it in those surroundings, out of fear of accidents/tickets/loss of license. When I do it's for a pretty short burst, although occasionally I will do a short run to dispatch the odd G35/37, who for some reason seem to collectively think that they can whip anything on the road.

To be honest, though, in terms of feel it's not all that different from the N/A motor, just a bit more shove in the back and less time to enjoy it before you have to back off.

rondocap

Yeah - you can hear the G35's and G37's from very far away, and they definitely seem to always be in the racing mood, haha. Must be a nice surprise for them to realize that it isn't an old lady driving that Mercedes!

Improviz

Oh, wow, you just woke up some NYE-soaked brain cells with that one and reminded me of this; turns out that even if it is a granny, you'd better be careful:
Don't mess with *this* Granny!