I thought this question had been answered in this forum, but at Monterey over the weekend I was talking to another 500E owner who said that AMG in San Francisco told him that the late model 5-speed automatic would indeed be a possibility, and that they had done two of them (4-speed to 5-speed conversions). Is this B.S., or real? (BTW, for those who've wondered about the GS-400 vs the 500E--don't...)

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'93 500E
'88 Tyrrell/Cosworth DFZ 017
'95 Ducati 916
'00 Ducati MH900e

Cannot be done. The 722.6xx 5-speed autos are too large (too wide I think) for the 500E's tunnel. Not to mention the engine management would have to be totally redone to work with the (electronically controlled) 5-speed auto. The stock LH system has no real parameters for electronic transmission control/interface.

The two options are upgraded 4-speed autos or 6-speed manuals. (for about $20K)

Hope this helps...Lee

OK, that's veryhelpful; I didn't think that was possible, but I wasn't absolutely sure. Having said that--what exactly do you mean by "upgraded 4-speed"??

Jim,
When I said upgraded 4-speed I meant that the various tuners can fortify and tweak the 4-speed automatic. 1st gear start valve body, increased torque handling ability, etc... They are still the same basic 722.3xx hydraulic four speed transmission though.

Hope this helps....Lee