ES.

Hi guys,

I did pass on the E55 at the dealer. Thanx for all your points of wisdom. In the end I liked the "order exactly what you want" argument + I want my E55 to a a little less testing than the 100 miles on the odometer.

The dealer is now telling me that I'll likely get a April/May build date for a May/June delivery. With that timing, I may decide to wait for an '05 model.

Here's the question. Does anybody on the "inside" know the feature set of the 2005 E55. I've done the search on the board and read the speculation re the 2005, but some confirmation may push me towards the 2005 model.

Thanx again in advance.

FIXEDupW209

you will deffinatly be getting the nano paint clear coat whether it be a 2004 or 2005. As far as differences between my2005 and my 2004 i'd have to guess that they would be minor as they have worked out most of the bugs from the first year.

MBE55AMG

Bugs... I hope they're aware of the belt chirp people seem to be getting and the NAV CD errors...

ThemisN

I think what he was referring to were some of these rumors that emerged over the past year. Personally, is worth the wait if one of the first two become true.

Rumor 1) Over 500 hp to match incoming M5

Rumor 2) LSD will become standard equipment on all E55s

Rumor 3) 7G tranny

Personally..I am waiting for the E55 for other reasons as well (I wont be around in the summer)..but I personally would like to see even just the LSD. or at least the option to be available to us North America customers.

E55AMG99

Rumor 4) Dump the electric brakes?

Oslo

I really don't hope/think that LSD will be standard equipment . But LCD might be what we would see

norb

I think that MB will offer the Flux Capicitor for 2005, but its just a rumor.

amg55

Sorry, norb, but that's not possible.
No way to harness the required 1.21 gigawatts from the current plutonium reactors available for personal transportation units.

Nobs

I don't know the battle history between BMW M and AMG so I am wondering how likely is Mercedes going to increase the HP to match the new M5? Also, how would the price difference be if they do increase the HP and would there be more bargaining room for the AMG when the M5 comes out?

Is now kind of too early to tell? any guesses?

Thanks

E55AMG99

True, but I hear that MB has perfected the oscillation overthruster and has hired Buckaroo Banzai to map the 8th dimension for release in their new Command 3.0 blue laser DVD navigation system.

mbprince

there is also the strong rumor of a new larger, ported and polished 'throckmorton valve'

norb

To thwardt electronic gremlins MB will make all turn signals hydraulicly actuated. Faster than LEDs.

mbprince

yes and they turn signals will be activated by the turn sensing HIDs which will come with ESP and know which way you are turning even before you do!!

the weight will blossom up to around 10,000 pounds which MB says 'will give the car greater ground hugging capability'

eclou

Yes, they will probably do this, by using Microsoft Word or Adobe Premiere to edit out the "469 hp" and make it "520 hp" as we have seen from the dyno's. It will be a shocking technological breakthrough, using word processing to bring BMW to its knees.

amg55

All good questions.
1) there is no question at all that MB will continue to raise horsepower to match/exceed that of the pending M5. The prototype engines already exist.
'eclou' was pointing out that even though current documents state that the E55 has 469hp, the dyno data from the AMG factory shows that the E55, SL55, CL55 and S55 all make the exact same hp (~500). MB watered down the current E55 rating on paper only as a marketing ploy. Mostly to appease owners of the AMG units costing up to $40,000 more than the E55 (on paper MB can make it look like they're getting more for their money).
2) Price will certainly go up with later models and upgrades. Many knowledgable observers feel that the E55 is relatively UNDERpriced given what it currently offers. Particularly compared with the prior (W210) E55, current CLK55, prior M5, etc. As such, MB may have the freedom to raise prices at least $10-15K with the next big upgrade (still ~4-5 years away) and not lose much demand for the AMG E class.
3) Over the next 2 years my guess is that the best you'll find is an E55 for maybe $2000-4000 off MSRP. In calendar year 2004 most will still sell at MSRP, some at $1K off.

Nobs

Excellent point.

But I think the current E55 is already expensive enough to be exclusive. I don't know how much the new M5 will cost (~$75,000?) but E55 should stay at least competitive to the M5 in price, performance, and quality (this is the one I am not worry about). Not that I would buy M5 if it is cheaper but if E55 is too much more expensive then a lot of people would kind of think twice before getting the E.

Well, I hope I can save up enough money for a new 2005 E55.

IMHO

E55AMG99

I STF but can't find the threads. I thought this rumor was proven the other way around? Don't the TUV rules determine how HP is advertised? Isn't his why the original AMG 55 horsepower number was low and then raised to where it is now? Isn't it true that the engines are rated with all requisite accessories, trim, intake and exhaust components? Even though the engines and electronics are the same in all cars, the rest of the packaging could cause the HP drop.

The marketing BS doesn't fly since MB is advertising the E55 as "The Beast". If you were going for such a campaign, wouldn't you want to have as much HP behind your claim as possible?

amg55

If you plug these words into the search box you'll find the power curve photo from Affalterbach which verifies the above info:

"affalterbach AMG march 2003"

I'd post the photo but I can't reduce the file size using this computer.

E55AMG99

Interesting photo but still doesn't explain the why they are now rating the engine in the E55 lower. IMO The marketing story is pure bull.

Thanks for the help on the search

amg55

I'm not sure why you think the marketing "story is pure bull".
The market for AMG cars costing upwards of $75,000 is a quirky area.
Mostly guys with extra $$ to spend on frivolous things, who will pay more to drive a car that's limited production, who want much better performance than you can get from the mainstream.
Ego plays a huge role when it comes to marketing and sales of cars approaching and exceeding $100K.
It is quite clear that all car manufacturers recognize that in order to charge more $$ you have to offer at least the appearance of more power or luxury or exclusivity or gadgetry to sell units.

If I was making the decisions at MB I would want an actual difference in hp between each of the models based on price points, in order validate the price differences. You get what you pay for kind of thing.

Look at the price difference between the E55 and the others with the same engine (SL55, CL55, S55). It's not trivial.

And from a pure engineering standpoint, there simply nothing that would prevent MB and AMG from offering the exact same output in each of the models above.
There is also some dyno data out there floating around corroborating the lack of difference bewteen the SL55 and E55.

Kar don

E55AMG99,
I have been doing a lot of research on the drive-by-wire systems and the SBC brakes and I found that it only costs an additional $150 per vehicle over a conventional braking system.

Arnee

You guys are forgetting the latest option: "Beastronic," where the car turns into a beast when an M5 is within a 1/4 mile radius.

ThemisN

So we now know we have a bunch of techie jokesters on mbworld.

I am taking that to meaning we dont have anyone who knows someone with inside knowledge. Like many of you point out, the output being increased, isnt much a big deal...but I still would very much like to know if the LSD would be available, either standard or optional.

Nobs

Just curious, anyone know how many E55 for the U.S. per year they are making?

Thanks

amg55

North America was reported to have received ~3000 E55's in 2000, ~2500 in 2001, and ~1000 in 2002.
I haven't yet seen a good estimate for 2003.