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Mercedes Goes Wild, Creates B55, a V8 B-Klasse

Mercedes B55Mercedes B55Mercedes B55Mercedes B55Mercedes B55
What if we told you that one of the world’s hottest hatches comes from Mercedes? A team of Mercedes-Benz apprentices from Germany created a project that is a little more special that what we’re used to, as autocar reports. We’ll start by telling you that we are talking about a vehicle that mixes the B-Class with a V8 engine.

The trainees took a B200 CDI, threw away the oil-burner under the hood and replaced it with a 5.5 liter V8 powerplant. Unfortunately we are not talking about AMG’s new turbocharged 5.5 liter V8, but about the naturally aspirated M273 unit - However, we’re not complaining, as the engine delivers 383 hp and a maximum torque of 530 Nm.

Ok, so the B got a badass heart, but now the rest of the vehicle has to be adapted in order to cope with the EXTRA power. Of course, the engine needed a transmission, so a seven-speed G-Tronic was added.

All that power and torque would’ve been too much for the front wheels (some tuners might disagree with this), so the vehicle a received rear-wheel drive system that uses an axle for an old E430 Estate.

And the list of performance parts belonging to out-of production Mercs continues with a braking system form a C32 AMG, which means that the V8 B-Klasse uses 345 mm rotors at the front and 300mm rotors at the back. The car rides on 18-inch rims that use 235/40 (front) and 255/35 (rear) tires.

And we haven’t even gotten to the fun part yet: the vehicle, which only needs between 5 and 6 seconds to hit 62 mph, doesn’t come with an electronic nanny (yes, no traction control or stability program).

As you can imagine, this is only a prototype, so you can’t buy one. But who knows, maybe you’ll convince Merc to let you drive it.
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About the author: Andrei Tutu
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In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist.
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