Test-driving the Mercedes-Benz B55, the ultimate pocket rocket
MercedesThe Mercedes-Benz B55 is the ultimate pocket rocket.
What you should know before anything else is that the B55 is not a regular Mercedes-Benz model. Nor is it being considered for sale--not now and not at any time in the future. That's unfortunate because this wild take on the German carmaker's wholesomely conservative B-class is an absolute riot.
As its name suggests, the superbly constructed one-off prototype is well removed from the standard B-class. Having started life as a humble European-market B200 CDI, it has been liberated from its standard turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder diesel engine. Shoehorned into its place and other extremities of the engine bay is the 5.5-liter V8 unit packing 383 hp and 391 lb-ft of torque.
How the engine fits under the heavily sloping hood within the tight confines of the compact car--using the original mounts and without any modification to the standard steel body structure--remains somewhat of a mystery. But with polished-chrome inlet plumbing and other visual tweaks, it certainly looks the goods.
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