A Klasse Of Its Own - Mercedes-Benz B55

The image that pops into your mind when you hear ‘B-class’ is most likely either that of a class of racing in Forza, or of a typical, rather boring small people carrier. In this case, the latter. Whilst really very unlike any other B-class, this particular vehicle would be easily mistaken for a B200 from any angle besides the rear.

The brief of this one-off was to make a lightning quick car out of a boring mould, but keep it mostly boring looking on the exterior. Most people on the road (even petrolheads such as you and I) would see this next to them and think nothing of it, so Mercedes achieved their goal in that respect, keeping styling changes to a minimum. The only discernible difference between this and the boggo B is the (relative to the size of the body) huge rims, lowered ride height and the huge twin oval exhaust pipes, but there’s a reason for them.

How else would this behemoth of an engine breathe? What you see in front of you is 5 and a half litres of naturally-aspirated V8 goodness. This lump produces 383HP and 8 more lbs/ft, and fits in where the old 2 litre diesel (this prototype was based on a normal B200 CDI) rested, even fitting the standard mounts. The engine is mated with a 7-speed automatic transmission, with paddleshifters should you feel the need to get more involved with how your Jammy Dodger-infested minivan-come-sportscar shifts.

This oomph provides for a more than exciting ride, hurtling the family spaceship to 60MPH in around 5 seconds, which is excellent for a RWD car (the rear axle is knicked from an old E430) weighing in at over 1600KG. The steering has no self-centreing functionality, yet provides smooth, precise changes of direction. In combination with 255-section rear tyres, 235 fronts and a definite lack of any driver aids, this would surely provide for a brown-trousers inducing drive. It can still stop, bear in mind, being fitted with brakes from Mercedes’ own (though a decade old at the time of the B55’s creation) C32 AMG.

Only one B55 was built, and was actually an exercise done by Mercedes trainee mechanics. Being a lowly MPV, there wasn’t a hugely powerful production version, the most powerful being the B200 Turbo. It had a stale 193BHP being shoved through the front tyres, though still hit 60 in the low-7 second range. In a Top Gear test conducted between the B200, the Zafira VXR and the S-Max EcoBoost, this was the quickest car around a lap, with the Zafira coming in second, proving huge power isn’t needed to be competitive. Not that track times will be of importance to 99% of people shopping for a minivan.

Thanks for reading!