Alec's W216 CL 4.7 BiTurbo Project

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alecescolme

Active Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2020
Messages
69
Location
Lancashire
Car
Mercedes CL 4.7 & BMW M6
Here is the story my W216 since I bought it 6 months ago

I have always loved the W221 Facelift S Class since I was around 16, I told myself one day I would buy one. Years later, I have owned Jaguars and BMWs, but never a Mercedes- so I decided to follow my dream and buy one.

The 4.7 biturbo engine seemed like the pick of the bunch, much more power than the old 5.5, better economy and slightly cheaper tax. A Stage 1 remap takes the car from 435bhp and 700nm to around 510bhp and 800nm, nearly as much power as the 6.2 v8 and more torque!

I viewed a S500L variant with amazing spec, but sadly my gut feeling told me to walk away, as I found too many issues that could be expensive to get right. I started looking at the Coupe version of the S Class- the CL.

I am glad I waited, as soon as I saw it, it had too be mine. The seller had spent a lot of time making the car just right for sale, it had just been ceramic coated, 2x premium rear tyres, front brake pads, service and 12 months MOT.

The car is on a 61 plate, 84,000 miles and in amazing condition, bar the wheels. A very high specification:
MAGNETITE BLACK - METALLIC FINISH
REAR-VIEW CAMERA
PARKING GUIDANCE
AUTONOMOUS INT. CRUISE CONT. PLUS (DISTRONIC PLUS)
ADAPTIVE REAR INTERIOR LIGHT
ACTIVE BLIND SPOT ASSIST
ACTIVE LANE KEEPING ASSIST
DRIVING PACKAGE
LEATHER STEERING WHEEL WITH TRIM INSERT
UNIVERSAL TELEPHONY PACKAGE
FRONT SEAT CLIMATE CONTROL
AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION 7-SPEED
HEAD RESTRAINTS,REAR, PNEUMAT.FOLDING UP/DOWN
HEATED STEERING WHEEL
EXCLUSIVE LEATHER TRIM
TRAFFIC SIGN RECOGNITION
UNIVERSAL COMMUNICATIONS INTERFACE (UCI)
EXCLUSIVE LEATHER - BLACK/ANTHRACITE
COMAND DVD APS WITH NAVIGATION
DIGITAL RADIO STANDARD DAB (DIGI. AUDIO BROADC.)
ROLLER BLIND, ELECTRIC, FOR REAR WINDOW
AUTOMATIC HIGH BEAM SWITCH (IHC)
HEADLAMP WITH ILS, LEFT-HAND TRAFFIC
ROOF LINER, ALCANTARA GREY
TRIM PIECES - WOOD ASH BLACK
AMG STYLING PACKAGE-FRONT SPOILER, SIDE SKIRT
PREMIUM SOUND SYSTEM
DVD CHANGER
TV-TUNER DIGITAL TO ANALOG
FRONT PASSENGER ENTERTAINMENT
AMG SPORTS PACKAGE
LIGHT PACKAGE
FRONT ENTERTAINMENT PACKAGE

A few photos:










And the best view...


Interior:










 
The car has factory wireless headphones and remote to allow the passenger to watch TV or a DVD while the car is in motion, while the driver is for example using the satnav


Splitscreen is amazing!
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The interior Ambient lighting has 3 colours, I prefer Polar, but sadly not as bright!
Solar:








And Polar:


The LEDs on headlights at night


The OTR price started at £93,320, the the following optional extras fitted:
-20" AMG wheels (£735)
-Driving Assistance Package, including active blind spot assist, active lane-keeping assist & Distronic plus (£2,135)
-Exclusive Passion leather with Designo Alcantara headliner (£4,175)
-Wood and leather steering wheel (£500)
-3 colour Ambient lighting (£290)
-Comfort ventilated front seats (£690)
-Electric roller rear blind (£390)
-Heated steering wheel (£215)
-Reversing camera (£375)
-Front seat entertainment package, including Splitview, Harmon Kardon Logic 7, DAB radio, wireless headphones (£1,510)
-Digital TV tuner (£855)

Total options: £11,870

Total price: £105,190

Which is £129,372 in todays money...

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First change was red brake calipers and disc hubs painted black:
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I sourced and had a set of Genuine Brabus Monoblock S wheels fitted- still on the fence with these, the finish is a bit too dark for me
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Spacers fitted all round - 15mm fronts and 10mm rears, along with new longer bolts. ABC Lowering links fitted to give a nice drop.
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Brabus floor mats
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Fitted a OEM CL63 rear diffuser along with Brabus exhuast tips


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I painted the strange silver part of the front grille black
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Tips & diffuser fitted:
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Changed the door pins from cheap plastic to Brabus metal
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Then the instrument cluster was flashed with Brabus software to increase to 200mph speedometer

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I found the proper 3 piece Brabus spoiler in Bahrain of all places!

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Then came the biggest change I have ever done to a car - big power upgrades!
The original plan was to have a simple Stage 1 tune as it is my daily driver. I saw a chap called Gardievski swapped the turbos from a M157 5.5 AMG onto the M278. I figured it would be rude not to!
A pair of fresly built turbos
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I got Acid from MSL Performace to do the installation & tuning.

The car arrived as stock, bar a backbox removal and K&N filters- produced 480bhp on the dyno (412whp)

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100-200 was 11.6 seconds (downhill slightly)

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Comparison of old and new turbos

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After, resulted in 670bhp and 980nm (568whp)

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As you can see from the power curve, we are having issues top end. We believe this is due to the fuel pumps- so these will be upgraded next

A 100-200 time uphill this time- around 4 seconds quicker!
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Impressive 100-200kph time just a shade over the 2021 E63s of 7.7 seconds.
Well done, and lovely car:thumb:
 
That looks beautiful and so much power!
How did you do the 200mph speedometer? Is it a place that can do that? Would I be able to get that done on my w221 s class? If so how much does it cost?
 
Now that’s what you call an impressive refit. Well done on all counts. The fuel pump definitely needs to be upgraded for your top end issues otherwise it’s a beautifully remastered vehicle. You should be Uber proud of yourself
 
Awesome yet subtle ..... Nice!
 
Very impressed with your attention to detail. Acid is the man. His magic wand turned my CL to 697 bhp + 772 lb/ft.
 
I love the face lift 4.7 CL. and with that power even beter Nice work.
 
Always liked the CL and the 216 is no exception. Your mods are a credit to you Alec, loving the brabus tips, but I have to agree with you on the wheels, they don't do the car justice but the stance is spot on!
Very impressive figures on the performance side of things, for what is an armchair on wheels! ;)
 
Thanks for the kind words!

Sam- I love your S600 project, if I had got the S500 I would have gone down a similar route. Short of going to Brabus and paying £2,000, the solution was suprisingly close to home:
He could have done the AMG cluster for me, but I didn't want that. I do miss out on the extra menu though!

Edward, the fuel pump is proving a challenge. I bought a AMG one, sadly everything is different :(

C43AMG, gorgeous car slighly jealous! Once the pump is sorted it should be stage 2 M157 numbers hopefully

Abb, the finish on the wheels looks amzaing in the sun, but looks like black in dark, which I am not a fan of...

If I had the money, I would have Monoblock F in grey:
6846269062_078b0bb61c_b.jpg
 
Thanks for the kind words!

Sam- I love your S600 project, if I had got the S500 I would have gone down a similar route. Short of going to Brabus and paying £2,000, the solution was suprisingly close to home:
He could have done the AMG cluster for me, but I didn't want that. I do miss out on the extra menu though!

Edward, the fuel pump is proving a challenge. I bought a AMG one, sadly everything is different :(

C43AMG, gorgeous car slighly jealous! Once the pump is sorted it should be stage 2 M157 numbers hopefully

Abb, the finish on the wheels looks amzaing in the sun, but looks like black in dark, which I am not a fan of...

If I had the money, I would have Monoblock F in grey:
6846269062_078b0bb61c_b.jpg
Lovely car. And I agree Monoblock F in grey would be perfect.
 
Good write up as always Alec and even better car than ever, its got a nice fat ass now love the looks
 

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