Unlike BMW which is a very serious company, and it shows with their cars, Mercedes has always been good at fun, and it shows with their cars! Take this one-off prototype, called the B55 which is powered by a massive 5.5 liter V8 developing 383 hp. It’s like engineers were bored looking for a hobby, then somebody said I know! let’s fit a B-Class with a big V8… and they did!

Apparently, AMG had nothing to do with this, as they are busy developing the new A25 AMG hot hatch. So a couple of technicians fitted the 383 hp and 391 lb-ft of torque 5.5 liter V8 you find in Merc’s big saloons under the small bonnet of the B-Class. But that’s not the end of it as they also turned the car into a rear-wheel-drive and hooked up the engine with an MCT 7-speed transmission.

Other modificaitons include a rear axle from the ancient E430 Wagon and brakes from the equally old C32 AMG, plus 18-inch wheels wrapped with some fat tires.

The result of all that is, well, bonkers but very interesting! It does 0 to 100 km/h in slightly over 5 seconds, and it has the potential to reach 300 km/h top speed. Unfortunately there will never be a V8-powered hatchback, specially in this day and age.

via: MBPassion

This article was last updated by Arman Barari on December 18, 2010.

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