This four-door coupe has the power and poise to back up its extraordinary tuner looks.

The

extreme

dream

Treating his brand new CLS500 like a blank sheet of paper, this car’s owner has made his automotive

vision an AMG powered reality

Words & Images Reed Hitch cock

When the C219 Mercedes-Benz CLS was introduced to the motoring world, it was like nothing else on the road. It was that sleek, four-door coupe look, coupled with the all telling three-pointed star, that first attracted Brent Khelawan to the CLS. But it is obvious just by looking at this

car’s particularly wholesome form that he has taken it far beyond the everyday

CLS and turned it into something else altogether. This rather dashing three-pointed star started life as an ‘ordinary’ 2006 CLS 500 in Alabaster White with Sunset Red leather – a covetable car in its own right – as ordered by Khelawan from Mercedes-Benz in December 2005. “Even at that point I knew what I wanted the car to be,” Khelawan begins. “I’d ordered the Lorinser bodykit before the car even arrived!” Once it did arrive, Khelawan had it for about three weeks before he sent it off for the next six weeks to undergo the first of many surgeries, leading to what the car has become today: a highly modified masterpiece of engineering and style. Khelawan is no stranger to the world of car modifications, but this Mercedes-Benz coupe would take him into a whole different realm. While he didn’t have all the expertise, he is a master of relationship building and over the course of this project he assembled an impressive team of experts to do some very heavy lifting, coupled with an equally impressive roster of vendors supplying the ingredients to make his dream come to life. It was the fitment of that Lorinser bodykit that really got the ball rolling. Comprised of special front and rear bumpers, side skirts, roof panels and a bootlid spoiler, this kit lends the already sporting CLS body an aggressive posture beyond even what the factory AMG kits fitted to the CLS 55 and CLS 63 achieve. It still looks relatively subtle, though, in the same Alabaster White as the rest of the factory body, with the exception of the carbon fibre bootlid spoiler.

spotlight

Modified CLS

It is a highly modified

masterpiece of engineering

and style

Believe it or not, what you are looking at is the inside of this car’s boot! Ultrasuede, leather and Alcantara adorn the cabin of this one-off CLS. styling kit is high quality, with a distinctly factory look, feel and finish. Outside there are further modifications, carbon fibre featuring in the headlamp inserts, the grille slats and the boot mounted badging that just says ‘55’ – but more on that later. And this carbon fibre is not just a vinyl overlay, it is the real deal, for which Khelawan literally went halfway round the world, sending parts to a vendor in south east Asia for the treatment. Beyond the carbon fibre, he has had the CLS’s roof and drip rails professionally painted in high gloss black, providing a stark contrast to the bright white paint while also giving the illusion of a panoramic roof. Finally, the custom LED foglights are both effective and add a more modern touch to the front end.

the wheel deal

Complementing the body makeover is a set of Straight 5ive custom alloy wheels – 20x9.0J up front and 20x11.0J at the back – finished with a unique carbon fibre face, a white powder coated outer lip and black powder coated inner lip. Wrapping the wheels are Toyo Proxes 4 tyres in 255/30 front and 295/25 rear sizes. Impressive wheels to say the least, although they would probably be overkill on my pedestrian E-Class estate. Or would they? And while the CLS 500 in stock form doesn’t want for stopping power, the big wheels (and some performance upgrades yet to be discussed) meant that Khelawan wanted to beef up in that department. So the logical upgrade was a Brembo front and rear brake kit, painted white with custom red Brembo decals. These brakes not only look great behind the big wheels, they also take braking power to a whole new level. The stylish interior of the standard CLS features headlining and seat inserts surrounded by Sunset Red Alcantara and leather, with a double-diamond pattern continuing on the door panels as well as the subwoofer box.

An impressive audio setup

What we also find inside the car is a glossary of automotive audio and video gear worth more than all of the AV equipment in my house – probably more than my house itself! The in-car entertainment (or ICE, as I was informed) system was brought together by Khelawan, with components from Kicker, and comprises two Kicker subwoofers, four Kicker amplifiers and eight Kicker QS Component speakers and tweeters. I must confess, I like the way the components keep doubling in number! The head unit is an Alpine INA-W 910 coupled with an Alpine Imprint processor. There is also a black Nintendo Wii with a custom red CD gateway, neatly mounted between the rear seats underneath the array of amplifiers with their blue LEDs, all of which collude to make you feel like a passenger in a TIE fighter. However, the boot is the pièce de résistance, audiovisually speaking. On the outside it looks like any other CLS boot (if you ignore the small spoiler), but opening it is like walking through a door into Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. It is perhaps the most detailed boot I’ve ever laid eyes on, holding two Eiger Vision monitors mounted on either side of the illuminated Mercedes star, an infinity mirrored boot floor and acres more of the delectable diamond patterned Ultrasuede throughout. It makes me want to play Wii Sports Bowling standing behind the car, but I dare not ask.

open heart surgery

The car as described and assembled to this level is a testament to Khelawan's efforts. Khelawan located an expert in Mercedes-Benz VIN programming to address all the components that needed to be tweaked to accept the new motor, and after some long hours including Chavez, Khelawan and his garage, a motor hoist and some programming, the E 55 V8 was installed and fired flawlessly. Unfortunately, it would only work in ‘limp home’ mode. That is until Khelawan and company discovered Mercedes’ ‘Dyno’ mode, which effectively defeats all of the electronic nannies that watch over us: traction control, stability control and even ABS. In Dyno mode, the car runs and drives as it should, minus the electronic watchdogs – for better or worse. Judged by the seat of the pants, the car is all Mercedes, from the smell of the leather to the feel of the steering wheel. At idle, the motor breathes more freely and emits a menacing rumble that promises – and delivers – a healthy punch. Thanks to Dyno mode (and the VRP gearbox), you have to take care not to inject too much throttle at the outset for fear of stripping the gears and/or shredding the tyres. But once underway, a punch of throttle now and again releases the car’s inner demons, and the ride remains remarkably compliant thanks to the factory air suspension. Of course, as it requires moderate attention to drive, enjoying the many electronic extras is best done in show grounds or car parks. The grin on Khelawan’s face as he drives the CLS says it all. “I’m pretty much in love with the car,” he effuses – and I don’t doubt it. This Mercedes-Benz was built with a lot of blood, sweat, heart and soul. If anything, I’ll source the proper AMG transmission and install it. Then it would be perfect.