Powerball
Wheels Magazine 
April, 2003
Three hundred. It was once the magic number for truly fast four-doors, the power output that separated the big boys from the try-hards. Car makers crept tentatively towards the 300kW mark as though it was some impenetrable barrier of social acceptability, edging ever closer for half a decade, but never breaking through. Now Mercedes-Benz, true to form, has comprehensively blown away that established yardstick.
Its new AMG-tweaked E55 changes the rules of engagement forever, not just exceeding the limit by a small margin, but blazing through it and upping the ante to a massive 350 kilowatts. Without pause, Benz is already raising the possibility of 400.
Launched in Europe in December 1997, and here in 1999, the 260kW W210 E55 established itself as one of the world's greatest fast four-doors. But while that car was explosively quick, AMG's recent move to slot a supercharged 5.4-litre V8 beneath the bonnet of a W211 E-class puts it into another realm altogether. With a power-to-weight ratio of 191kW/tonne, the new E55 is almost a match for Porsche's 996 911 Turbo (195kW/tonne) and within cooee of Ferrari's 360 Modena (211kW/tonne).
For all the fanfare, the Benz can't claim a unique place as a four-door thriller. BMW's E39 M5 defined the ultimate sports sedan when launched in '99, and it remains a supremely credible benchmark today. It boasts an incredibly smooth, free-revving V8 that produces almost 300kW, a chassis that is sports-car sharp, and enough electronic wizardry to allow even the most ham-fisted driver to experience its thunder.
Jaguar also boasts membership to this exclusive club. The hottest of its S-Type sedans, the R, sports a supercharged 4.2-litre V8, and packs a 298kW punch.
The new E55 is not only the power benchmark of the trio, but the pricing high point, too, coming in at a heady $219,900, versus the M5's $198,500. Next to these two, the Jag is a relative snip at $162,500.
All three travel largely incognito. Each has added body bits, like front spoilers, side skirts and rear airdams, but apart from tiny lip wings mounted to the boots of the BMW and Jaguar, there is nothing that shouts absolute speed. In this league there's no need to be brash about your performance potential; it's a given.
Stand back and look with a knowing eye, and you see the great job of integration all three companies have done in creating imposing sports sedans from otherwise ordinary, albeit handsome, cars. They each sit low-slung and purposeful, bodies hugging wheels that threaten to burst from straining wheel arches.
The Benz's chrome exhaust tips have AMG embossed on them, but the only other indication this E-class has been massaged is the AMG tag on its massive brake calipers - clearly visible through the 18-inch alloys.
BMW loves to make its cars low and mean, and the M5 is the lowest and meanest of them all, with the solid 5 Series body almost shrink-wrapped around its Michelin-shod 18-inchers.
The Benz and BMW have powerful Teutonic proportions and strong shapes, but the Jaguar is all kinky British curves. Its front is rounded, dominated by the large, retro-design Jaguar grille, which comes with body-colour surround on the S-Type R. It seems at odds with the power-packed promise of the German duo. And where the latter reveal an impressive array of exhaust outlets at the rear, the Brit dumps its gas via two rather anonymous pipes.
Slide inside and the E55 sets the standard. There's more leather than you'll find at an Oktoberfest knees-up, but the use of dark wood trim is tasteful and restrained. The instruments are sporty and stylish, with controls for the air-con and sound system arranged logically down the centre console. Power-seat controls are on the door, with supplementary controls under your legs on the front of the seat for lumbar and side supports.
The sound system and trip computer are accessed via steering-wheel-mounted buttons, while at the back of the wheel are buttons for manually shifting the auto transmission. It's all very neat, very German.
The M5's interior is typically BMW - clean and functional - but is looking dated beside the latest from Mercedes-Benz. Still, the instruments are clear and simple to read, and the centrally mounted controls for the air-con and sound system are well placed and easy to operate.
The Jaguar's interior isn't as airy as the other two, the combination of low windscreen header rail and high dash making it a little dark and gloomy by comparison. Liberal use of dark wood grain across the dashboard adds to this impression.
The E55's powerhouse engine almost defies imagination. Was it just 10 years ago that we were hailing 200kW as the ultimate power threshold for a four-door sedan? Ah, progress. The scroll supercharger mounted between its banks boosts intake pressure by up to 0.9 bar, and the 5.4-litre single-cam V8 releases a sensational and unrelenting wave of power and torque.
Peak power comes at 6100rpm when it hits the once incomprehensible 350kW, but it's the torque that is the more incredible. At 1500rpm the E55 is making 560Nm - more than an HSV GTS puts out at its most malevolent. It rises to 650Nm at 2000rpm, and a monstrous 700 from 2650 to 4500rpm. Response is instantaneous.
Step on the throttle and you are pinned in the seat as the 1835kg four-door thunders away with no delay and just a hint of wheelspin. You're still thrust back as it races to 100km/h in an astonishing 4.8secs, 0.5secs quicker than the M5, and a staggering 1.6secs faster than the Jag. There's no let up. The 400-metre mark passes in 12.9secs, when you're doing more than 180km/h. There's barely any respite to the limited maximum speed of 250km/h.
It's hard to comprehend how any car can rival the E55, and the Jaguar quickly falls away when put to the test. The response from the S-Type R's supercharged 4.2-litre quad-cam V8 is urgent by usual standards, but you're not nailed to the seat the way you are in the Benz. You know there's some serious power being unleashed, though.
Weighing 1800kg, and with a peak punch of 298kW, the Jag clearly suffers in the power-to-weight stakes, with a modest (in this company) 166kW per tonne. Its peak of 553Nm at 3500rpm doesn't match the torque available in the Benz just off idle.
Under full pressure, the Jag will reach 100km/h in 6.4 seconds from a standstill. Frustratingly, it won't let you hold first to extract the most out of it from the start line. Instead, it automatically short shifts into second quickly after you leave the line, which must cause a loss of time. The 400 metre mark flashes past in 14.7secs, with the speedo showing 156km/h, and terminal velocity of 230km/h.
The BMW is the odd one out here in that its 5.0-litre quad-cam V8 breathes without a blower. Even so, it boasts an impressive 164kW/tonne and squeezes out 294kW at 6600rpm, which gives a clear indication of its nature. It also boasts a peak of 500Nm at 3800rpm.
Thanks to variable cam timing, it doesn't lack low-down punch, but like most BMW engines it needs to be revved into the upper reaches of its 7000rpm rev range. Not only does it perform better at the top, but it also sounds sweeter. The Benz's punch is awesome, but its engine lacks the seductive roar of the BMW's bent eight.
It is the lowest in terms of outright power, by the barest margin from the Jag, but the M5 is no slouch. With the throttle floored, the 1795kg four-door races to 100km/h in 5.3secs, covers the 400-metre sprint in 13.5 at 172km/h, and runs to an electronically limited top speed of 250km/h.
Back on the open road, you can drive the E55 smoothly and comfortably at normal speeds, despite its ominous performance. The adaptive five-speed Speedshift auto is a key contributor to its supreme cruising comfort. There's a choice of three shift modes, using either the console-mounted shifter, or buttons on the back of the steering wheel. To select the button shifter, punch the switch on the console to swing the computer over to 'Sport Manual' and the shifting is down to you. The buttons - one for up, one for down - bring smooth, precise shifts that almost beg you to go for it.
Rev the engine to just short of its 6000rpm limit, snap the right button, and you're up a gear and thundering on. Snap it again and you're up another gear, the Benz gathering pace with amazing linearity until you're sucking in the horizon at serious speeds.
For such a hell-bent performance car, the ride is impressively smooth and comfortable, unless you select the firmer of the two optional settings on the Airmatic DC semi-active suspension, whereupon it turns hard, then a little harsh. The handling also sharpens, of course, although even on the standard setting the Benz is well balanced and quite precise. It is obviously front biased, but feels as though it should understeer more than it does. All the time there is an awesome array of electronics watching over you, almost imperceptibly adjusting the chassis, brakes, and engine to keep it balanced.
When you switch the electronics off, the edge is a little sharper and the experience that bit more exciting again. But only a little, because you can hit the switch, but the E55 never lets you out alone. If it detects excessive slip, ESP will intervene, smoothly and efficiently, to ensure nothing gets out of hand. The yellow flashing warning light on the dash is about the only evidence the system is helping.
Move over to the M5 and you find a different mindset. While the E55 is an awesome executive express, one you can picture thundering down the German autobahns at V max, the M5 is a more engaging car - one that loves rushing along a twisting country roads at less breathtaking speeds. As you settle into and adjust the leather seat, and the steering wheel, you begin the process of becoming at one with the car.
At first the steering feels light, but it quickly becomes 'right'. Like the Benz, the BMW has an array of electronics to keep a watch over you, adjusting brakes and throttle together to maintain chassis balance and traction. Press on in the M5 and you will feel the intrusion of the electronic brain as it determines when you're pushing the envelope. It's quite soft, but it's there, and while it doesn't slow progress too much, it does make you want to switch it off.
Do so and the rewards are worth it. The M5's chassis is beautifully poised and can be balanced on the throttle with a precision that simply inspires confidence. Press into a corner, squeeze the throttle, and feel the rear squat as it launches out. There's just a hint of a power slide. Flick the wheel the other way to correct it, and the BMW checks into line and surges away.
The engine revs hard, loves to, all the way to 7000rpm. Its thrust away from the start isn't as imposing as that of the Benz, but it comes on strong as the tacho climbs. And it's beautifully smooth, with the lovely sound of a tuned V8 growing as the speed climbs.
BMW has determined that M5 owners only want a manual, so you don't get the choice of driving modes - as with the auto-only Benz and Jaguar. However, the six-speed is as sweet a manual as you'll find, with a smooth and well defined shift. Anyway, it'd be a waste to bolt anything else to the back of this engine.
It's hard to assess the Jaguar in this company. It feels quick, but it's also noticeably less accomplished. It feels flat when pushed, the handling a little ponderous, the ride floaty and under-damped. The S-Type R is like a family four-door that's been pumped up rather than a car that's been designed to be cohesive from the start.
Perhaps it's because Jaguar doesn't have a specialist outfit to develop a super-sports sedan. AMG and M division take care of the Germans' go-fast business, resulting in cars that don't unravel at the performance edges.
There's plenty of urge from the supercharged AJ-V8, and you feel its strength, but when it comes under the clock's scrutiny, it just doesn't cut it.
Like the Benz, the Jag only comes with an auto box - in this case a ZF six-speeder with the option of manual shifting courtesy of Jaguar's J-gate. To employ the manual shift, simply flick the lever across to the slot running alongside the main shift gate. The problem is that the detent for each gear isn't well defined and it's easy to go one gear too many in the heat of the moment. And there's no indication of the gear you've selected on the instrument panel, forcing you to look down at the shifter for confirmation.
In other company, the Jaguar might shine. But in the rarified atmosphere of this test of ultimate sedans, it is overpowered. It just doesn't have the cohesiveness of a package that's been developed as a whole, nor the level of competence of the Germans.
The E55 has clearly redefined the benchmark for high-performance sedans, so much so that you have to wonder what comes next? It is supremely competent, its engine and chassis absolutely marvels. It has surpassed the M5, in almost every measure - although not in the very subjective one of feel, which is so important in cars such as these.
The M5's engine is a delight, even though it now seems a little breathless against the Benz's blown V8, and the BMW's chassis is a driver's delight compared to the Benz's which, while being awesomely competent, lacks for those last few degrees of engagement.
Yes, the new E55 Benz has to come out on top, if only for the fact that days after our test, I'm still shaking my head after experiencing its effortless sub-13secs run. But the M5 is still worth a long, hard look, particularly if you want a car that's more involving to drive.
BMW's response to the new E55 AMG will be incredible, no doubt. Rumours abound of a V10 for the new car, due in the next couple of years. No doubt Benz will then counterpunch. How far away is that 400kW?