| BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : APRIL 26, 1999 ISSUE | ||||||||
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| PERSONAL BUSINESS
Tigers under the Skin Warp speed is not just a science-fiction fantasy. I experienced it myself. It happened on my commute home from work. I was at the wheel of a sleek, black Mercedes-Benz E55, which looks menacing enough to be Darth Vader's ride. I slammed the accelerator to the floor. Suddenly, I was flying at 90 miles per hour. I thrust forward in space and time so rapidly that my brain couldn't keep up. I found myself farther down the road, with no memory of how I got there. Frightened, I hit the brakes and returned to earth. To the uninitiated, these cars appear to be your average Mercedes E-class sedan, BMW 3-series coupe, or Audi A4 sedan. But underneath their sedate skin is enough power to light up the night sky. The Mercedes E55, along with its smaller sibling, the C43, are members of the auto maker's AMG line of high-performance sedans. BMW offers the more well-known M brand of souped-up cars, which includes the M3 convertible, M Coupe, and coming this fall, an M version of the 5-series sedan. Audi is getting into the act by bringing its S4, a superpowered version of the A4 small sedan, to the U.S. this fall. These thoroughbreds are priced from $40,000 to more than $70,000--$6,000 to $30,000 more than the standard-issue models from Beemer, Benz, and Audi. But for those who misspent their youth under the hood of a muscle car, the Teutonic trio represents the world's fastest and finest luxury sedans. If you have the bucks for this bang, you will be driving high-performance automobiles that are souped up by the elite engineers who create race cars for Mercedes (DCX), BMW, and Audi. Finding them might be as difficult as affording them. To protect the cachet of the E55, Mercedes is selling only 500 a year in the U.S., with a starting price of $69,100. BMW says it already has hundreds of orders for its limited supply of M5s, which will have a sticker of $69,400 when they arrive in September. Audi officials hint they'll price the S4 below BMW's popular $40,270 M3 Coupe, but they expect demand will far outpace the stingy supply they are squeezing out of Germany. The limited availability is part of the appeal. Buyers want to feel like they're gaining access to an exclusive club. When they happen upon each other on the road, the drivers wave or give each other a thumbs up as they hurtle past. ''These are people who have lived and breathed sports cars their whole life,'' says BMW M brand manager Scott Doniger. In return for such devotion, the Mercedes, BMW, and Audi brands are elevated to an even higher level. Owners of these high-octane models cast a halo over their chosen brand when friends turn to them for car-buying advice. And that, the auto makers say, translates into more sales throughout the product line. After driving these luxury hot rods, it's easy to see what all the excitement is about. Mercedes wraps its thrill ride in opulent luxury. The $71,290 E55 I drove was outfitted with sumptuous black leather and accented with black bird's-eye maple trim. Its magnificent Bose sound system included a $1,595 trunk-mounted multiple CD changer--the only option on this extravagantly appointed machine. Overhead is a power sunroof. For safety's sake, airbags abound--in the dash, steering wheel, and front doors. Above the doors is a new head-protecting ''curtain'' that drops down in a side-impact crash. Such protective measures make sense in a car that can lift off from zero to 60 in 5.4 seconds. A 5.5-liter V-8 engine that kicks out 349 hp makes the awesome acceleration possible. And Mercedes' AMG engineers have geared the E55's five-speed automatic transmission to have so much thrust in first and second gear that my body sank deeply into the seat upon launch. SOUPED-UP. BMW aims to overtake the E55 when it unleashes the M5 with a 400-hp V-8. ''It will be the fastest sedan in America,'' claims Doniger. But for now, BMW loyalists in the U.S. will have to settle for the 3.2-liter inline six-cylinder engine that powers the M Coupe I drove. While that 240-hp engine is no match for the E55's brute strength, the M Coupe's tight five-speed manual gear box made the little sportster more fun to drive. Transmissions provide a critical distinction: BMW Ms are equipped with stick shifts, while all Mercedes AMGs are automatics. The M Coupe, with its love-it-or-hate-it bulldog looks, turned more heads than any other model in this group. The two-seater is made at BMW's factory in Spartanburg, S.C., and is descended from the Z3 roadster made famous four years ago by the James Bond movie GoldenEye. It has a vintage feel and look reminiscent of British MG sports cars of the 1960s. In fact, its outrageous styling combined with its retro red-and-black leather interior and riveted chrome-framed gauges make it the perfect ride for another British spy--Austin Powers. While driving the BMW is a giddy experience, it's not a smooth and quiet one. The M is a car that requires you to attack the road. No relaxing is allowed. Don't try, as I did, to drink coffee and eat a breakfast bar on the way to work. It's not safe. Audi's approach to souping-up its cars combines Mercedes' comfortable power and BMW's wild ride. The six-speed manual transmission S4 I drove was powered by a formidable twin-turbo, 2.7-liter V-6. But Audi's engineers unfortunately don't allow enough of that 250-hp engine's throaty growl to enter the cabin, which is smartly dressed in a cobalt blue-and-black leather outfit. To appeal to all kinds of enthusiasts, the S4 will offer the six-speed manual or a five-speed automatic with a special feature that allows for clutchless shifting. The S4 stands out when you throw it hard into a curve. To test its all-wheel-drive, I spun through a highway cloverleaf at speeds I would not attempt with the family sedan. The car never faltered. All three of these road rockets do more than combine the best of both worlds--luxury and power. They transform a mundane commute into a transcendent experience. And that makes them out of this world. By Keith Naughton _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP |
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