W220 AMG Info needed

[rswift]

A little expert help needed.

Can anyone tell me what a 1999 W220, badge S55 & AMG, V5 and DVLA show it as a "MERCEDES S55L AMG" but a 5 litre...(well 4966).

I thought the early AMG W220 were 5.4 litre.

Can anyone enlighten me to early AMG badged cars ?

Thank you

[Rat_Fink_67]

I'd be inclined to say the engine size is an error. All W220 S55 AMGs were the 5.4 M113 variant.

[rswift]

Thats what I was hoping, then I found this other one for sale !

http://trgcars.nl/cars/mercedes-s55l-amg-long-seda...

[Rat_Fink_67]

rswift said:

Thats what I was hoping, then I found this other one for sale !

http://trgcars.nl/cars/mercedes-s55l-amg-long-seda...

The chassis number in the pic doesn't add up, an S55L AMG VIN should be WDB220173 (or 174 for the later supercharged engine). WDB220175 is the number for a long wheelbase S500 instead.

[rswift]

Thanks, the Car I’m looking at also has a similar vin no (I.e. for an S500L)....but if the Vin decoder I used is to be believed the car was ordered in Brunei, but registered in Manchester.....the owner being a well know architect/property developer....but no idea why the circuitous route....but maybe got Re-badged at the original dealer, and then retained the identity when registered in the UK ?.....who knows. Assume the engine number doesn’t help (the build sheet says M113, but I believe that could be either displacement .....

[slk 32]

I would recommend you do your due diligence on that dealer before buying

Google is your friend

[Rat_Fink_67]

The only other explanation I can think of is that maybe the specs of those S Class models listed was so out of the ordinary that they were special orders and were conversions carried out to existing cars by AMG's HWA spin-off company or something. For example all W202 C36 models share their WDB202028 VIN codes with the C280, because they were the base for the conversions. Ditto with the CLK DTM, it shares a VIN with the more humble CLK 200K, because that car was the starting point, they stripped them down to bare shells then started again. It's feasible that the cars were regular S500L models that'd already been built and then used as donor vehicles to cater for such a specific spec.

A Mercedes-Benz parts department could run the VIN and tell you exactly what engine was fitted from the datacard.

[rswift]

Thank you....this is the data card for the car I am looking at...nice spec, but the last item is intriguing......supply of COC & Deletion of registration document, as though it was designed for export ?

1999 MERCEDES-BENZ S500L (220.175)
General Data
FIN
Model
Engine Transmission Order Number Order Location Interior
Paint 1
Delivery Date Approx. Build Date
Code Description
WDB2201752A034228 S500L
113986 60 008645 722633 01 440313
0 8 813 20038
BRUNEI
LEATHER BLACK (231A)
BRILLIANT SILVER METALLIC (744U) 1999-04-21
1999-03
220 PARKTRONIC SYSTEM (PTS)
223 REAR BACK REST ADJUSTMENT AND HEAD RESTRAINTS, ELE 230A LEATHER, NAPPA
247 SEAT ADJUSTMENT ELEC. ALSO OPERABLE FROM REAR
249 INSIDE AND OUTSIDE MIRROR AUTOMATIC DIMMING
275 MEMORY PACKAGE (DRIVER SEAT, STRG. COL., MIRROR)
308 REFRIGERATOR IN REAR
317 TELEPHONE (D2B) HANDY IN CENTRAL CONSOLE
352 COMAND
401 DELUXE FRONT SEATS WITH VENTILATION AND HEATING CO
402 COMFORT REAR SEATS WITH VENTILATION AND SEAT HEATE
404 MULTI-CONTOUR SEAT, FRONT LEFT
405 MULTI-CONTOUR SEAT, FRONT RIGHT
407 FOLDING TABLE,MANL.ADJUSTAB.,IN REAR LEFT
408 FOLDING TABLE,MANL.ADJUSTAB.,IN REAR RIGHT
414 ELECTRIC TILT/SLIDE SUNROOF IN GLASS VERSION
461 INSTRUMENT WITH MILES IND. AND ENGLISH LEGEND
481 UNDERSHIELDS
540 ROLLER BLIND, ELECTRIC, FOR REAR WINDOW
551 ANTI-THEFT/ANTI-BREAK-IN WARNING SYSTEM
582 AIR CONDITIONER IN THE REAR
596 HEAT INSULATING+IR REFLECTG.SAFETY GLASS ALL-ROUND 600 HEADLAMPS - CLEANING EQUIPMENT
617 XENON HEADLAMPS, LEFT-HAND TRAFFIC
673 HIGH-CAPACITY BATTERY
682 FIRE EXTINGUISHER
733 WOOD VERSION CHEST NUT
774 SHELL MODIFICATION FOR AMG-WHEELS
792 AMG-WHEELS 8X18 SQUEEZE-IN DEPTH 31 235/40 (S210)
809
810 SOUND SYSTEM
815 DYNAMIC DESTINATION-FINDING SYSTEM
816 REMOTE CONTROL FOR RADIO /COMMAND (OMS)
819 CD CHANGER
875 HEATED SCREEN WASH SYSTEM
882 INTERIOR SAFEGUARD
883 POWER CLOSING SYSTEM
884 TRUNK LID ADDITIONAL LOCKING MECHANISM (HZS)
984 COC DOC., DELETION OF VEHICLE REGISTRATION DOC.

[rswift]

Just tracked down the original owner....and he says;

"I bought it new as a S55AMG from William Loughnan in Preston - To avoid a long wait when they first came out

In fact I think it was a S500 and they fitted all the kit on it to make it into a S55 AMG"

In fact as far as I can see they put AMG Wheels and badges on.....presume they charged a healthy premium for this, and the guy wasn't too fussed, or didn't know it should have a completely different engine !

I also got an email from MB in Brunei, saying it was ordered and sold by them as an S500, but delivered to the UK.

So know we know.....sometimes the internet is useful !

Anyway all of this MB research has put be on the search for a W221 to replace my 10 year old XJ8 ...

[alabbasi]

The British love their badge engineering. Growing up, anyone owning a 500SEL would de-badge their cars and those badges would end up in the hands of 280SE owners with body kits.