sspeed
MB Enthusiast
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2009
- Messages
- 1,018
- Car
- 2006 CLK320 CDi
The Road Ahead.
I know I haven't owned "The Beast" for very long but she is my 9th Merc (Yes Really) and so I am assuming its ok to give a short term report.
My Brother used to own what was once the worlds fastest Motorcycle. A Kawasaki ZZR1100. I used to borrow it many a time when he worked nights and slept days.
I always used to describe that Bike as a "Gentle Giant". By that I meant it was a very civilized and tractable motor that would happily pootle about at 40mph.
BUT when the wrist was flexed more than it ought to then the acceleration from any speed in any gear was unbelievable!
I had it in 6th gear on the motorway at allegedly 80mph with engine revs well below its power band. I thought "It will be tame at this speed so I will whop it one"..
I tell you it nearly leapt from between my legs..
The Car.. What a car.. The word Car doesn't really cut it.
It is by far the fastest car I have ever driven. Its abilities WAAAY exceed mine and I don't pretend otherwise.
Like the Kawasaki this is also a gentle giant. The motor is beautifully tractable from a mere 1700rpm in say 4th it will respond instantly.. The build up and increase in acceleration is exponential as the revs rise. Its quite strange in that it sounds like its revving higher than it actually is.
I suppose I have got very used to Diesels that redline at 4,500rpm.. "The Beast" goes on to 7,000rpm !!
John (Developer) told me that at 5,000rpm all hell brakes lose and it flies.
I hadn't had chance of revving to those heights . . . .
Until today!
Long rolling dual carriageway (somewhere in the Lakes).. Audi TT wanting to play..(I could see his passenger lowering his head to cop a view in his wing mirror).. We were legal limit sort of speed (ish)
I thought "I will have a play with the paddles"..
I have done medium acceleration bursts several times now, though usually to just 4,000 rpm..
However I was in for a hell of a shock/surprise when I paddled down to 4th and instead of stamping on the pedal I did a sort of progressive and increasing squirt on the throttle (if you can visualize)..
This time she pulled 4,000 - 4,500 - 5,000rpm and there was the most spine tingling wail/howl.. Seriously the hairs on my arms stood on end!
I will not say on here about the speed it errrrr bolted to but it was truly a mixed emotion.... Shock/excitement /FEAR/ shaking with the adrenaline rush afterwards.
I only did this for maybe 5 - 10 seconds (who knows)...
I can tell you the acceleration is nothing short of VIOLENT!
This pretty looking CLK with what I have described as feminine looks, turned into a Jekyll & Hyde Monster.
Yes on paper its a big engine in a light (ish) body..
477bhp pulling around 1750kgs
To give a comparison my SL500 was 2300kgs and in my case it was 308bhp if I remember correctly. (I know the later SL's are much more powerful than that).
The problem I have noticed looming even at this early stage is tyre wear.
Because I have been demonstrating it to some close friends the rear tyres are not doing too well.
The were NOT new by any means but they had noticeably more tread than they have now.
Once the novelty wears off and I calm down I am confident they will fair much better.
Just got in from showing a friend of Mums The Beast. I took him to a locally well known place called Glasson Dock. To get there you have many, many sweeping bends that go up and down hill. Its a route I know VERY well indeed and I have used it as a test run many times over the years. There and back its around 22 miles.
My friend commented that it wasn't like his mates M3 in that its very quiet inside. So I suggested he stands behind on a quiet lane whilst I errr progress swiftly away from him.
He said God its much louder than expected and "It didn't half shift" etc, etc.
Ironically because I am aware of my tyres being eaten alive I didn't give it full welly.. More like 70%
To sum up..
I have used it for work every day since I bought it. That includes Rush hour conditions.. Under those conditions I am getting around 17mpg.
This morning (Saturday) I went on a bloody good run around the Lakes.
She ran impeccably. Absolutely loved the sweeping/tightening bends which she handled with ease. Very sure footed with bags of power from any speed in any gear.
One thing I have been doing just for the hell of it when driving from work is to put the gearbox in manual. Why?
Because in manual even though I am not going fast I can hold on the gears to the magic 3,000rpm when she makes the most delicious wail that really does turn heads.. I wind down both windows (front and rear in order to hear her speak).
OK I can only do this in the first 2 gears but its very addictive the way people turn round. ((And I am not even an extrovert!).
When I had the Diesel and I kept talking about fuel consumption John (Developer) and Daveenty said get an AMG and you wont give 2 figs about fuel consumption.
I remember thinking Yeh, Yeh, Yeh............
They were right and I was wrong !
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