xraymd

Spoke with Rob Allen at the AMG Challenge yesterday in Wisconsin. I'll try to post some pics soon. The sound of the SLR ripping around the track was AWESOME!

1. Expect the E63 and CLS 63 late next year.
2. The supercharger is dead. New European laws want a certain amount of space between the hood and the highest hardpoint of the engine. Not enough room for the supercharger.
3. What about a turbo? - No comment, but he had a big smile. Would a turbo fit? - Yes.
4. Smaller cars (C, CLK, SLK) probably won't get the 6.3.
5. Forget about the CLS 65. Not enough room to get the motor in there and still pass frontal crash tests.

Jakpro1

YEAH BABY!! I was praying it was coming.....

Thanks for the great info!!

MBE55AMG

Excellent info, xray. Thanks for giving us the heads up, sir.

MBZFAN55

W O N D E R F U L N E W S ! .......Thanks !

xraymd

I forgot to add that he seemed ambivalent about changing to the 7-speed transmission. "Too many shifts hurts performance."

oldgixxer

Guess they forgot to tell the SLK 55 that....

xraymd

Good point. I have an E, so I didn't think of that to ask him. Now that the blood is returning to my head, I'm remembering some more. On the open laps, the CLS55 definitely had a better sound than the E55 (which seemed muted). He said they've tuned the CLS exhaust close to a "magic" 75 decibel level, while the E is more like 71-72. He then noted that while the engine and drivetrain are the same, they're getting 409hp at the wheels when they dyno the CLS55 but more like 380hp with the E. He didn't know why.

The rumor was more drivers preferred the E to the CLS on the track, at least in part due to the visibility. They had one CLS, one S, and 6 E's and I did an E both times. I highly recommend the challenge. I was amazed what these cars can do and how much abuse they can take.

One last thing. All the cars were on PS2's!

Lady Wolf

Gee, I wonder what Wolf is going to HAVE top have next year? I wonder if this means I'll get MY E back and get to keep the SLK too :v

BoBcanada

Give us the TWIN TURBINOSSSSSSSSSSs!

rdk

Did he say when the ML 63 would be available in the US?

Beowulf

What group were you in? My son & I were in the red group - sorry we missed you.

Surprised at Rob's comment about the dyno results - Rob was present when both Schiznick & I dynoed our '05 E55's (my sedan, his wife's wagon) at the Atlanta AMG gathering and they were virtually identical @ 415/414 rwhp (corrected DynoJet), respectively. Schiz also dynoed his CLS55 at the same time and it dynoed about 10-12 rwhp more, IIRC. The CLS definitely has a better (more throaty) exhaust note and I wouldn't be surprised if the exhaust were less restrictive, explaining the slight power advantage, comparing stock to stock.

Funny - I have to admit I shied away from the CLS on the track over worries about the visibilty issue and did E's both times, as well. In retrospect, should have gone for the CLS55 on one session, since the instructors were acting as spotters.

BTW, I noticed at least one CLK55 with Conti's in back and PS2's in front - must've been a skidpad car! LOL

The event was a hoot and the instruction was excellent. Lots of great info and seat time and well worth the price. Icing on the cake was riding w/Tommy Kendall driving the SLR on the auto-x course!

BTW, note to Chappy: rather than an RC car, top autocross time won a $7700 IWC AMG Ingenieur Titanium watch - pretty cool! The guy that won was wearing a Packers T-shirt and I figured him for a local - turns out he was from out of state, his airline lost his baggage and he picked up a change of clothes at a local Wal-Mart!

xraymd

Hey Beowulf, I was in the green group with the guy that won the watch. He doesn't own an AMG! I drove with him on the slaloms and he gave me some pointers. I drove the number 8 E55 the first time because I wanted to see what the E could do. I liked the instructor, I think his name was AJ or something, a lot so I went out in number 8 for the afternoon session as well. Then for the hot laps, I went with our team leader Roger Soo in good 'ol number 8 one more time just to see how much faster it could go.

MBZFAN55

At a prior AMG Challenge I attended a few years ago, both Michelin and Motorola had displays for the group. I think the PS2's are part of the program, so to speak.

xraymd

Michelin was a sponsor and their guys were busy doing a lot of tire changes during the program. And when I got home, there were a few pieces of Michelin propaganda in my goody bag. So they're definitely "part of the program." More interestingly, there were a few questions about Michelin on the end of program evaluation. One of the questions asked attitudes about tires in general, asking everything from "a. all tire are about the same" to "d. there is one single best brand of tire." They also asked how likely you were to buy Michelins for your next tire and what your impressions of the tire were after the program. Just interesting as they are not the OEM for the E55. I don't know about the others in the AMG line.

Vetluver

Contis stink. PS2s are superior in handling and feel. I have asked the question of why they don't come standard on E55s when most of the cheaper models come with them. No one seems to have the answer.

I have come to my conclusions.

1)Michelin PS2 don't ride as softly and luxuriously as Contis. (I know this is debatable)

2)They have half the treadlife that the Michelins do.

3)Because of the relative low cost of the E55 they were trying to cut costs of the vehicle to increase profitability. Because Continental is a German company I figured they got a real deal (maybe even a gift to DC) just to be able to say that Conti Sports come standard on E55.

BTW Sirius, Michelin, Mobile 1, Hugo Boss are major sponsers of the Challenge.

absent

BTW,according to Rob the first AMG in States will be S65(May).
All of you should've come back today for the Graduate Course,much more track time ,higher speeds and timed laps.
And this time I got the watch.............

adx

If and when the E63 comes out next year, will there be any noticeable body change? I guess I better hold-off on any mods for my E55 in case I decide to trade it for the E63 next year. However, still going through with the CLS55 purchase so that way I will have one of the last supercharged AMGs to come out.

mez456

Gratz on the watch. Pictures of the watch please!!

Mez

Chappy

Ahhhh....he woulda kicked my butt anyway Sounds like you all had a great time!

xraymd

Absent - was the watch for autocross or for the timed laps?

vraa

LOL too many shifts hurt performance.

Too many SLOW shifts hurt performance. How about Mercedes holds back with the hp, and starts to develop a powerful, crisp and insanely quick transmission to compete with the SMGIII?

CynCarvin32

what the heck???

I got a dumb jacket for having the fastest time in the auto-x at the LA Challenge. Jacket for 50 bucks vs. a 7700 bucks watch? that is a joke! I feel shortchanged here!!!

shucks

and we had no SLR at our event either!

about the CLS vs. E debate... all the drivers at the even said the E was the better car and the CLS had to be pushed far harder to keep up with the E. This caught me off guard until I drove them back to back and I had to agree. In the hot lap session, my driver had a CLS for the first run and an E for the second and the E blew past the the CLS after half a lap. Cant explain it but the CLS was not as dialed in...

Beowulf

It was a blast! BTW, Road America is the longest track (4 miles!) of any of the AMG Challenge venues and we ran the full course:

http://www.roadamerica.com/2005/map_track.htm

Beowulf

I hear ya! A lot of folks were surprised about the watch - no one knew it was the top prize until the awards at the end of the day. I heard more than one "If I had only known . . .".

I knew the SLR(s) would be there, but I was pleasantly surprised that they were more than just a static display. One of the McLaren managers was there. actively promoting the SLR, saying that the SLR is still very much in production and available to interested buyers.

I'll be honest, the SLR I've seen in pictures and in static displays at dealers didn't make me foam at the mouth (like the CLK-DTM does), but hearing the SLR at full wail (and riding shotgun with Tommy Kendall behind the wheel), I came away pretty damn impressed!

C43AMG

PLEASE post pics of the watch !