The design evolved on the basis that the spatial concept of the B-Class was to remain unchanged, with minor indications of the conversion work from an exterior point of view, though the interior was to be upgraded in line with the new vehicle class being aspired to. Most importantly, the vehicle would have to be suitable for day-to-day driving.
The donor car came in the form of a B 200 CDI which had been delegated to the training workshop for learning purposes. As the trainees completely disassembled the car, Wurz went in search of a suitable engine and found what he was looking for, a 5.5 litre V8 with 388 hp and 530 NM of torque. This was transplanted into the B-Class together with a seven-speed automatic transmission and the engine control unit.
Imagine a Mercedes-Benz B-Class with rear-wheel drive and a 388 hp 5.5 litre V8 shoehorned into it. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to get your hands on one – the B 55 is an one-off example built by trainees at Merc’s Rastatt plant as a means of showing what can be done if you set your mind to it.
The car was built by a team of twelve second-year and third-year trainees specialising in production mechanics and automotive mechatronics, led by foremen Andreas Wurz from the technical vocational training department and Matthias Rieger from the electrics/electronics installation section.
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