1999 Mercedes E55 AMG Does the Twist

From the March 1999 issue of Car and Driver.

German engineers mining for torque deposits near Affalterbach must have hit a mother lode. At least, that’s what it feels like from behind the AMG-monogrammed steering wheel of this E55. Somewhere between here and the three­-pointed gun sight at the leading edge of the hood is housed 391 pound-feet of torque, available from 3000 rpm onward.

This is the kind of urge that prompts you to adjust your head­rest—and those of the passengers—because a careless thrust at the throttle pedal will, in most circumstances, produce a lunge that snaps back heads faster than a space-shuttle launch.

Press the ESP button located on the console, disabling the stability-control system (lighting a prominent yellow tri­angle in the dash), and you can expect wheelspin if you mash the throttle from rest. That’s with the five-speed automatic transmission that is standard equipment, folks. Brake-torque the E55 for a second before you go, and you’ll light up the 35-series rear tires in a serious fashion.

But if you balance your launch in a mature manner, you can expect propul­sion of a decidedly quick nature: 0 to 60 mph in 4.9 seconds and a quarter-mile sprint in 13.5 seconds at 105 mph. To get that sort of thrust from a big luxury car like this, did AMG turn the E55 into a hot rod of the brutal, kidney-crushing variety?

Well, yes and no. Fast it is. Rude it ain’t. In fact, so suave is this E-class muscle car that its real potential will not be recog­nized by many passengers. You could pick up your boss at the airline terminal and transport them to their hotel at quarter-throttle, and they’d swear it was a luxury ride under them. That’s because the quiet 5.4-liter V-8 wuffles along with hydraulic smoothness and slurs gearshifts in a seamless sequence. Even at low revs, there’s enough torque to waft up hills without losing speed or digging for another gear.

And only if the roads are bad will your VIP sense the ten­sioned suspension (35 percent higher-rate springs, Bilstein shocks, beefier stabilizer bars) and high-pressure, low-profile doughnuts under them. As for the drivers around you, they’ll just recognize another E-class Benz with the Sport package they’re accustomed to seeing on E430s. Unless they close up tight on the car’s tail, that is, and read the chrome letters that proclaim the car to be an E55 by AMG.

Yes, the latest “Hammer” from Mercedes and its in-house speed wizards is a Q-ship. According to Mike Jackson, the recently appointed boss of Mercedes-­Benz of North America, the Germans are currently into inconspicuous consump­tion, and they want their cars—particu­larly the tuner-prepped rocket ships—to be unobtrusive. But that’s not what Jackson wanted for his mid-size giant killer in our market, and the E55 you see here is the resulting compromise. It uses an existing AMG-derived Sport package, but it’s allowed a subdued boast from its tail-mounted insignia, along with subtle AMG badging on the steering wheel and gauge cluster.

It’s not a car that needs superfluous decoration, that’s for sure. At a suggested price of $71,717 (cheaper by 15 or so grand than its predecessor, the Porsche-­assembled E500), every one of the 2000 examples earmarked for the U.S. over the next four years will be snapped up. Heck, most of the first shipment will likely be absorbed by dealer principals before the public even gets a shot.

Which is a pity, because this is an extraordinary vehicle, versatile beyond our wildest expectations, and as rewarding as the best drivers’ cars around. To have achieved this at a lower price than that of the preceding E500 is commendable, accomplished by keeping as much of the original E-class car intact. Unlike the E500, the E55 is essentially a fully assembled and trimmed vehicle off Mercedes-Benz’s Sindelfingen line before it is sent off to the AMG skunk­works in Affalterbach for its stroked and breathed-upon engine, its heavy-duty V-12-derived transmission, its uprated suspension and brakes, and its big wheels and tires. Because of that, the essence of the E-class car has been pre­served, but with dynamic parameters that have been extended in every way. The primary differences are manifested as a more jiggly ride with much tauter roll control, a throttle that gets into the power without the Benz-signature long and pro­gressive pedal travel, and acceleration—anytime—that is in another league. Oh, yeah, and an engine note that changes from a polite V-8 burble to a hard-edged snarl when the pedal’s down and the tach is reaching for six grand.

Surprisingly, the steering-assist mech­anism is identical to that of the E430, and it remains light at most speeds. So light that the mechanism in a BMW 328i feels leaden in comparison. But it directs the E55 with such accuracy and fluency that more weight at the rim doesn’t seem nec­essary. In fact, when you add the car’s tenacious grip (0.88 g on the skidpad) and tightly tied-down body motions to the razor-sharp helm, the E55 can take on almost anything in the corners. But be warned, the driver will likely need some recalibration; the car’s abundantly stiff structure and good isolation lead one to underestimate corner entry speeds. On the introductory ride-and-drive in Napa, California, a couple of drivers from other publications went off the road, and we suspect that those incidents were partly due to the decep­tive ease with which this car gathers speed.

What shouldn’t go unno­ticed in the E55 (and this is particularly seductive) is the push in the back you get when you pin the throttle. The torque is so prodigious (41 pound­-feet more than a Corvette’s), and the torque curve so flat, that the E55 pulls hard all the way through each gear, pro­ducing a concerted thrust like that of a 757 on a takeoff run. It just keeps on coming.

Aerodynamic drag beyond triple-digit speeds does little to blunt its charge, and our E55 was still accelerating when it hit an electronic limiter at 158 mph. Hard enough to suggest a real top speed somewhere around 180 mph. Still, 158 ought to be enough for most people, and at that speed the E55 tracks as straight as a die.

At more reasonable rates of travel, the E55 assumes its more civilized persona, providing a smooth, quiet ride that will take its occupants on interstate travel with little discomfort. This is perhaps the car’s most noteworthy aspect. When not being flogged hard, it behaves more like a limo than a supercar. In fact, the transmission’s computer reads driver inputs and adjusts its activities accordingly.

The compromises you accept for this broad operating bandwidth are few. A sus­pension designed for high speeds and mas­sive cornering potential can’t be expected to traverse broken surfaces without trans­mitting some impact shock and movement into the car. On the other end of the scale, the factory-issue seats (available in all­-black leather or in two-tone combinations of black and blue and black and silver) are firm and supportive enough for a cross­-continent tour, but they lack the wrap­around support of dedicated sport seats. We also found the leather-wrapped wheel (also available in solid or two-tone hues) to have a rather obstructive arrangement of spokes and thumb pads, leaving too little rim available for those of us with large hands. Understand, please, that this is deliberate picking of the smallest nits.

For most people’s needs, the mix of sporting and luxury attributes is right on the money. As the two companies involved in the E55’s genesis have drawn closer (AMG is being acquired by Daimler-­Chrysler), so the levels of sophistication have increased. Thus, the E55 retains all the elaborate technical aspects of the V-8-powered E-class cars: the stability- and traction-control systems; the twin-plug cylinder heads; the variable-volume intake tract; the oil-quality monitor-in short, all the assets of a factory-backed product.

Indeed, this close integration of a leading-edge manufacturer and its spe­cialist engineering consulting service is really what defines the new E55 and its nearly perfect blend of pedigree and power. Remember, 1998 saw Mercedes and AMG bring home two world-champi­onship motorsports trophies as well as launch the E55. It looks like a winning streak to us.

Counterpoints

Five minutes behind the wheel, and sud­denly I have a new favorite Mercedes. Floor the accelerator on most automatic Mercedes models, and the transmission responds, “You sure you want me to downshift? Positive? Right now? Okay.” Floor the E55, and it says, “Faster? Yesss!” The muted V-8 burble, the taut suspension that still gives an excellent ride, the ultra-low-profile Michelins, the supple leather bucket seats that are as comfy as anything in your living room—the E55 may well be the ulti­mate in understated executive transport. At least until the new BMW M5 migrates to America. —Steven Cole Smith

Isn’t it interesting that Mercedes has always subscribed to the American big-engine approach when creating its sports sedans? To create the legendary 300SEL 6.3 back in 1968, Mercedes employed the 6.3-liter V-8 from the 600 limousine. With the new E55, Mercedes has followed the same path by shoehorning its largest V-8 into the mid-size E-class sedan. With about 70 percent more displacement than the base E-class 3.2-liter V-6 has, the E55 is a rocket, flattening you in your seat all the way to its 158-mph governor. And it produces this thrust with effortless refinement, proving once again that there is indeed no substitute for cubic inches. —Csaba Csere