It is no secret that German car manufacturers are somewhat renowned for their unprecedented levels of efficiency and precise engineering. This reputation has been chiefly earned by the ‘holy trinity’ of the German prestige car industry; Audi, BMW and Mercedes Benz. The international reputation of these brands has triggered something of a rivalry that has manifested itself in what is being hotly referred to as the ‘German BHP Wars.’
There has been a gentleman’s agreement between the three top manufacturers that they will not manufacture a commercially available car that will exceed 150 MPH, but there was no such agreement regarding BHP, so all three of them have gone absolutely crazy on the torque levels.
The last parting shot in this war was fired by Mercedes Benz with their Mercedes Benz CL 600, which houses a frankly ridiculous 517 BHP underneath the bonnet. What makes this number verging on the insane is that it is virtually impossible to get all this potential power down on to the tarmac. What you will find is that you will be wheel-spinning from standing still a lot more than you are used to. In fact there is a high probability that you will be leaving a cloud of smoke and burnt rubber every time you move away from a green light.
I was lucky enough to own a Used Mercedes-Benz not so long ago, that had 382 BHP and even that was too much for a saloon of its size. The CL 600 is lighter than that car and has nearly 150 more BHP, so you can imagine the problems the CL 600 will face. This will be the perfect car for you if you don’t mind shredding your tires and having to get new ones fitted every week. If on the other hand this sounds a bit irritating, then you may want to think again.
