At this moment in time, The Mercedes-Benz S55 AMG can probably claim the
crown as king of the full-size sports sedans. With new brakes, a revised
transmission and a new engine that develops nearly 500 horsepower and a base price of $106,500, not counting the gas-guzzler tax and delivery charge, the biggest and baddest Mercedes is not for everybody, but we think we know
who¹s the target for this very bad boy.

Yes, we say bad boy because we see the S55 as essentially a guy thing.
Consider these numbers: Mercedes claims that the new S55 will zip to 60
miles per hour from a dead stop in 4.5 seconds. Only a very few sports cars
can stay in the race with that kind of performance. Top speed is limited to
155 miles per hour in the US. And there¹s a visual clue for the
cognoscenti four, fat tailpipes sticking out the rear. Now, we¹re not saying
that women don¹t want to drive big, powerful cars, but the S55 is just so
macho that it¹s hard to see a female executive buying one.

The S55 seems destined to fill a slot in the automotive collection of an
entrepreneur or professional who needs to maintain a certain air of
decorum‹hence the attraction of the distinguished Mercedes sedan‹but is a
real closet risk taker beneath the dignified exterior. The S55 is the
definitive velvet hammer, able to perform extraordinary feats, yet with a
subtle, refined attitude.

Mercedes has made considerable adjustments to the V-8 engine for 2003. The
supercharger develops considerable boost to push cooled air through the
engine. To withstand the additional pressure, the engine was fitted with new
pistons, connecting rods, throttle, valves and valve springs. The result is
an amazingly lusty engine that whips the large S55 into a frenzy of activity
at the nudge of the accelerator pedal. Mercedes has designed a transmission
that shifts 35 percent quicker. The driver can manually control the
five-speed transmission by either flicking the gearshift lever to the right
or to the left, or by pressing either of two steering wheel mounted buttons.
The brakes are also beefed up to ensure that the heavy car stops quickly.
There is no white-knuckle experience making a quick stop from a very fast
speed. 

The S55 is equipped with active suspension, which adapts not only to the
road surface, but also to a variety of vehicle dynamics, such as braking and
cornering. The suspension technology employs 13 sensors that monitor body
movement and the level of the S55 to provide data to the central computer
every 10 milliseconds. The system virtually eliminates the tendency of most
vehicles to nose-dive under hard braking and to sway from side to side
during aggressive cornering. While the system provides amazing vehicle
stability, if the driver selects the comfort mode, the S55 provides a
butter-smooth ride. In fact, in this mode, you¹d never know you were driving
a killer sports machine. Ant that¹s some accomplishment. But the bottom line
is that the S55 maintains and enhances or reinforces the reputation of the
Mercedes S-Class as the ultimate autobahn cruiser. The S-Class just feels
more solid at ultra high speeds than any other vehicle on the planet. This
is where size, weight and engineering that optimize the platform for speeds
in excess of 100 miles per hour comes into play.

At its asking price, you¹d expect a lot of luxury content in the S55.
Looking at its long list of standard features and the included options in
the test vehicle, I¹m hard pressed to think of any real luxury features
missing. To get any more luxury, you¹d have to pay a hundred grand more and move up to a Bentley, DaimlerChrysler¹s new Maybach, or a Rolls-Royce.

Among the features that I enjoyed were the excellent seats. Not only are
they adjustable to meet the comfort needs of most body types but also
feature an interior fan to draw moist air away from the body and through the
perforated seat leather as well as an electronically controlled seat back
device that offers a kind of gentle slow-motion massage.

Another feature that I liked is the Distronic Cruise Control. With the
assistance of radar, the system automatically maintains a set distance
between the S55 and the car or truck in front. Distronic not only modulates
the throttle, but can also apply partial braking to maintain a safe margin.

Complaints about the S55 are few. As in all Mercedes-Benz products, the
center console that controls a myriad of functions is not especially user
friendly. We also discovered one problem at highway speed exhaust noise. The engine breathes through large exhaust pipes that emit a steady rumble, not
unlike the purring of a very large cat. But after an hour or so, this
constant low-frequency noise got tiring.

 

Vehicle: Mercedes-Benz S55 AMG

Price as tested: $114,440

Engine:

         Type: Supercharged 5.5-liter V-8

         Horsepower: 493 @ 6,100 rpm

         Torque: 516-ft. lbs. @ 2,750 rpm

Fuel economy, automatic transmission

         City - 14 mpg

         Highway - 22 mpg

Curb Weight: 4,300 lbs.