ENARANG

Who would win the race?

JasonC32amg

The e55...the 911 would have to make two trips to the grocery store.

dgussin1

It depends on the driver of the 911. It has the potential to win, but chances are the driver can't bang gears properly. Then again it could be a tip. It's 50/50

BoBcanada

I't depends on many factors is the race From a stand still or not, Until what speed your are racing, ETC, coz really from stand still with four wheel drive they more likely to have a better start.

dgussin1

not true. Turbo's are hard to launch. Ask any P turbo driver.

BoBcanada

Maybe, I never driven one, and speaking just of the top of my head.

sporters78

Owning both i can say that the porsche turbo is faster

vrus

Yup.. The 911 (993 or 996) turbo is generally faster. On the low end they definitely have the advantage. But, I was pacing a 996 turbo on the highway and he couldnt shake me when he tried to accelerate away from me. I would say on the top end, they are pretty evenly matched.

JasonC32amg

A standard 911 TT has about the same times as the e55 from what I've seen...once you go x50 or mose especially gt2 they favor the TT.

MBH

Well if it's a 996TT the E55 would win the drag race.

I am on the wait list at my dealer for the new 997 Turbo (I am #4 on the list and put down a $2,000 deposit). The all new 997 Turbo will have well over 500HP and should be able to eat the E55 for lunch.

Best Wishes,
MBH
2005 E55 Silver/Charcoal/Charcoal

04E55 AMG

The fact that we are including the E55 in the same company as the legendary 911 TURBO puts many on my face

At the end of the day it is a family 4DR sedan.

HighRev

it really isn´t hard to launch a turbocharged engine. first of all the 996TT has got 2 little turbos, so the turbo-lag is nearly gone. and if you want to launch really fast, rev it to abour 4000rpm an put your left foot away from the clutch as fast as you can. the first feet will be the porsches! the turbo is lighter an has a better traction, so the first few feet shouldn´t be a problem. after the launch the porsche has the problem of less power and ther merc has the problem of more weight. doing top-speed the merc will have the aerodynamic problem. so after the wheelspin of the E55 is gone, both will be very close.
but try all this in the wet :p

Vetluver

IMHO it is driver dependant. The Porsche is faster with the right driver. Any idiot (me) can make an E55 perform fairly well. My buddy with the 996 TT X50 tells me I need to quit spreading lies about beating his car 3 times to 85 mph, but....it's true. He was amazed how quick the E55 is. Having had my way to 85 I'm sure he would have smoked me above that.

I'm amazed that any manufacturer can produce a 4 door luxury car that can even be mentioned in the same breath as the fastest quickest production vehicle ever tested.

MBH

I drove my friends 2002 996TT and for some reason my 2005 E55 feels faster. Maybe it's the torque I let him drive the E55 and he thought the same as me.

MBH
2005 E55 Silver/Charcoal/Charcoal

Marcus Frost

Raced a friends 425rwhp 996TT on the highway, from 100mph on he could not edge an inch on me.

amg55

If the question is "which car is faster", there is zero debate about the answer. The 996TT is 0.2-0.5 faster to 60 mph (check the weight differences).
If the question is "CAN an E55 beat or stay with a 996TT on the street", the answer is, "most definitely", depending on the drivers involved.

ntguru

Really launching a 996TT is not hard it just takes *****. Just dump the clutch at about 5000 RPMs and be ready 'cause 1st is VERY short on the turbo and it's easy to bang up against the rev limiter. I can't imagine an E55 with its RWD and skinny tires not getting beat pretty bad off the line. After that, I can't comment since I haven't run the two side by side. Certainly if you throw in a curve (say, freeway onramp) or rain, it's no contest. Also, the 996's arent's vmax limited so unless the E55 is chipped or delimited the race is over at 155.

Both are awesome cars with different purposes.

Marcus Frost

I can cut 1.8 second 60' times all day in my E55... the stereotypical "spin spin spin" for high torque RWD cars does not apply to the 55.

I raced my friend's 996 from 80-155... from 80-100 he pulled and after that it was even until the 155. Racing above 155 is a bit dangerous on public roads anyways, even without traffic.

-m

ENARANG

Marcus that is because your car is limited to 155 m.p.h meanwhile your buddies Porsche can get to around 190ish

ntguru

Marcus, that 1.8 is very good--is that on street tires? Is that with traction control on or off? Did you say if your buddy's TT was a manual or tip? How long are your rear tires looking to last?

I haven't taken a E55 up past maybe 120 but IMHO the TT feels more solid and planted at 170 than the E55 did at 120. Granted I never owned an E55 but I think driving one all the time wouldn't have changed my mind that much.

Most of the freeways around here are dead in the 3am-4am times during the week...I had 198 showing on the digital speedo on TT, which I think had to be optimistic.

I still may end up with an E55 when the C32 lease is over but I wish MB would offer a sportier "CSL" style E55! I'm not surprised your E55 kept up at higher speeds where weight is almost a non-factor.

jkrutch

I have both and finally have the answer. The ONLY caveat here is my 996 only has 1,800 miles and isn't up to full potential yet. This is my 3rd 996TT and at around 3-4k miles there is a noticeable difference in how hard it pulls.

My wife and I are side by side from a roll at around 25 MPH. She's in the E55...we go on the count of 3. She immediately pulled me. I was in 2nd and in lower revs, but the Porsche revs quickly. Even once I had full RPM and boost the E55 still pulled ever slightly. I banged my 2-3 shift and it didn't matter. From a dead stop I would have had a jump. 1st gear in the Porsche is lightning quick, but the E55 is a faster car once at speed. I have always suspected this and my wife helped prove it. She loved winning!

W210

Thanks for the informative post, cool wife you have!

BoBcanada

thats what i thoght, that the porsche would win from the stop until e55 catches up...

MBAMGPWR

Pretty cool...

A 4-door sedan hanging with (and beating) a Turbo P-car...

ENARANG

I have raced my friend who has a 996TT and he has consistently beaten me. Every single time we have raced I would have to say I have never won.

I used my buddies '05 E55 it was stock and I raced a stock 996TT. I guess my friend is good at racing cause I got beat off the line and still got beat even after we were goin up past 100.