The Mercedes AMG that can already be considered classics have become increasingly difficult to find models. However, this rarity is not the feature that makes this Mercedes E55 AMG a perfect unicorn: that something so special is not in plain sight. Can you imagine what it could be?
It was the year 1996 when W210 generation The Mercedes E-Class landed on the market to break with the design language of the W124. With this sedan we said goodbye to the straight lines and boxy shapes of its predecessor and welcomed a more curved and rounded silhouette. The Mercedes E55 AMG added to the equation the presence of the most performance division, but, aesthetically speaking, it did so in a very subtle way.
Although, as we said before, it is difficult to find AMG with classic overtones, this Mercedes E55 AMG is being auctioned at Cars&Bids. From its exterior, tinted in silver gray, stand out 18-inch monoblock wheels. The interior has the aesthetic elements of the time such as the wooden moldings, which share spotlights with heated seats or a navigation system.
The key inside
It is in the passenger compartment where we find the feature that makes this Mercedes E55 AMG the perfect unicorn: on the center console there is a gear lever… manual. Quite an eccentricity since the most performance version of the German saloon left the factory (like all AMGs) with an automatic transmission, in this case five speeds.
Replace it with a manual it was about as doable as finding the gearbox of a Chrysler Crossfire: It is precisely the one that rides. When the Mercedes E-Class came on the market, the German marque was still associated with the American one, and their vehicles obviously had a lot in common.
Chrysler Crossfire shared platform with the Mercedes SLK from then and taking into account that this model was available with many of the engines that were also equipped in the sedan, its six-speed manual transmission was quite well matched to the 5.4-liter V8 engine (349 hp and 530 Nm) of the Mercedes E55 AMG and to the rear wheel drive system. The model that stars in the auction also includes a new clutch kit and a ‘Quaife Engineering’ limited slip differential.
Although the ECU and TCU now have new programming, in principle, It did not need many changes due to the basic electronics of the Mercedes E-Class W210. Later models with the updated ECU could even let the vehicle know it was manual without displaying any errors. Something that became quite an advantage taking into account, above all, inspections and revisions.
