Hmmm...I would like to run my cars against those times listed! I have found that most MB cars are rated conservatively. I think the cars in showrooms now are not rated quite as conservativly as the last generation. As I've said in the past, I have timed repeated (repeatable) 6.4 second 0-60 dashes in the 400E. I have worked it as low as 6.2, but 6.4 is what it does under real world conditions. The 6.2 was 1/4 tank of gas, just me in the car, nothing else in the car, 40 degree F night, etc. Since the 400E is rated at 7.1 seconds (0-100kph or 0-62mph) I'd say their ratings are conservative. Even on other people's cars I can usually get 6.7 or so.

Then there is the 500E.... I have not timed it yet but it is easily in the 5's 0-60 and somewhere around mid 13's-14.0 in the 1/4 by the "butt-dyno". I base this on that on a familiar stretch/distance of road when I drop the hammer with the 400E I will be at about 65-70 mph by a certain marker. I will be at 95-100 mph in the 500E. If you look at Starfest events you see 500E's running in the mid-upper 13's in the 1/4 for stock ones and mid-low 13's for the tweaked variants.

I have also had some fun with a certain individual on this site with a 98 E430. (you know who you are!) We were dead equal to the point where we were nearing the E430's speed limiter. Times rated for the E430 and 400E are rather different. At the time we did that little "test" he had less than 10K on his motor. Perhaps now that it has about 15K it might of picked up a few HP's... Still, the fact that they were so close despite the E430's "rated" advantage...

I have yet to really run the 500E against that un-named E430 owner, or some other friends with high performance cars, but it is as far (or farther) beyond the 400E as the 400E is beyond the 300E (m103). The 400E will run a back-n-forth battle with a 98 Mustang Cobra. The Cobra has me off the line, I catch him around 65mph-70, were equal for awhile, then I pull ahead somewhere around 110-115 and he begins cursing the aerodynamics of dearborn. Of course, if things get twisty, the snake tries to slither into the ditch where the 400E just hangs on but that is a different story... I'm sure the 500E will show him the trunk-star from word go but I have not yet proved this.

Perhaps Benzmac's golden touch has helped my cars, perhaps I have been lucky in the cars I have bought, perhaps I just drive them to get every drop of performance possible....I can't say for sure, but I can say that I can consistently beat the times as rated by MB. Usually the times in some of the magazines as well. I'm sure not complaining!

Lee