Mercedes students create B55 using big V8 and little B-Class

– December 22, 2010Posted in: Car Valuations

Filed under: Concept Cars, Etc., Europe, Hatchback, Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz B55 – Click above for high-res image gallery

After the nuclear apocalypse wipes out all of civilization, there will still be cockroaches wedging huge engines into tiny cars. You just can’t kill the oldest recipe in hot rodding history, and for good reason. As a handful of trainees at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Rastatt just found out, the big engine, small car combo is the easiest way to mint cheap speed. Plant manager Peter Wesp got the idea to squeeze a 5.5-liter 385 horsepower V8 from the likes of the big E550 into the Silver Arrow’s trim B-Class.

After finding a B200 CDI that had been sacrificed to training, Wesp and his team set about the mechanical contortions necessary to pull off the swap. Surprisingly enough, the workers were able to use the original engine mounts, and with a little parts-bin raiding, everything was sitting pretty under the hood. The team snugged in a rear axle from a W 2010 E-Class, front brakes lifted from a C32 AMG and bolted on snazzy 18-inch wheels from AMG as well. How’s that for perfection? Hit the jump for the full press blast.

Gallery: Mercedes-Benz B55