At the height of the arms race between America and the USSR, the two countries combined had enough firepower to devastate the entire solar system, turning each planet into dust and the dust into atoms. It was complete and utter overkill, like swatting flies with a sledgehammer, but it was vitally important to be first.
Now, according to economists, corporations have taken the place of nations, and the same power struggle exists. In the German car industry there has been a war raging for some time over who can produce the most ludicrously overpowered super sedan. The AMG-tuned E55 Mercedes, with 476 bhp and 516 lb-ft of torque from its 5.5-liter engine, is right up there with the best of them.
But there's another war raging within Germany, between tuners desperate to produce the most eye-poppingly powerful cars possible. Carlsson's warrior is a 560-bhp version of the E55 AMG, producing 575 lb-ft (780Nm) of torque. That's just short of a major earthquake.
The Ferrari Enzo manages to pump out 485 lb-ft (657Nm) of torque, while Lamborghini's Murcilago comes in 7 short of that figure. These are the flagship supercars of the moment, and neither can come close to the sheer pulling power of Carlsson's E-Class conversion.
There are no real outward signs of the brutality under the hood. Aerodynamically, the W211 M-B is a housebrick. The shape is not tuned to the 200-mph top speed, this is all about a colossal engine propelling a luxury car to stupendous speeds. It's a modern-day Trojan horse, with Carlsson adding just a front-lip spoiler and trunk spoiler to the sober Mercedes shape.
On the inside there is the trademark brown leather interior and a smattering of extra touches, including a new speedo, but Rolf Hartge-boss of Carlsson-is a man who prefers substance over style.
"You can steer this car on the throttle. You don't even need a steering wheel sometimes," said Hartge, before proving his point in dramatic style at the secluded airfield test track just outside of Metz. The concrete surface and a pair of previously burned tires made this a dream combination for any would-be hooligan driver.
It took just a few wayward attempts to master booting this car sideways against an armful of opposite lock as acrid-smelling smoke filled the air. It was easy: the sheer force of 575 lb-ft of torque at just 2600 rpm overcame any mechanical grip on offer from the front 8.5x19-in. and rear 10x19-in. wheels.
This Benz could unleash about 590 lb-ft (800Nm) of twisting power, but Carlsson removed a little to save the transmission. Still, just over an hour of running reduced the Dunlop SP 9000s to shredded canvas: it was that much fun.
Of course that makes defining this car a thankless task. It's been called a supercar in a sedan's body, but this doesn't really come close as the 3,900-lb leviathan is hardly lithe in corners. In truth it is the proverbial fly-swatting sledgehammer of a car that works well in just two places: at speed on the autobahn or anywhere big enough to turn off Mercedes' impeccable electronics and engage in some lurid slides.
It's an expensive, football-hooligan's car, with all the finesse of a freight train. But it's just as much fun to drive as any supercar, thanks to the sheer accessibility of that tail-sliding action. It also doubles as a family car, providing you've got the restraint to keep the traction control turned on when the kids are with you.
The CK55 RS was also made for piling on speed at a phenomenal pace. The straight at the short test circuit offered about 200m worth of acceleration, but the big bruiser still managed to exceed 130 mph.
The 0-to-60-mph time is 4.5 sec., a match for most things on the road, and the effort required to reach the 200-mph top speed is non-existent. This car just acquires speed, with the changes on the box barely interrupting the relentless progress. There is another genuine surge towards the top end at the old car's electronically limited 155 mph. In a straightline, this car will defy physics and provide supercar performance with hotel-room refinement.
The extra 84 bhp over the "standard" E55 AMG comes from sport camshafts, a new air filter, a remapped ECU and two sport silencers. It's all fairly simple stuff, expounding on the basic bulletproof V8 that has always had the potential for so much more. It never feels stressed on the open road and produces a deep rumble that will never leave the minds of those lucky enough to own one.
Normally, an auto box on a track is a frustrating combination, as the car conspires to change down on the exit of bends and ruin smooth progress. This time, though, that was the intention: speed coming a very lowly second to Neanderthal thrills and spills. Switch off all the intrusive electronics, go in slow and boot the throttle out of anything approaching a bend and the back end will step out. Wind on the opposite lock, or caress the pedal, and this giant will carve out the most graceful arc before the next bend, belching out great globs of gaseous rubber in the process.
The Benz does have a semi-automatic paddle-shift system, too, allowing experienced drivers the chance to exploit the five gears and attempt to harness all the power. The additional engine braking on offer makes this the only way to truly hustle the heavy car through tight corners, though, as even the AMG brakes struggle to keep this car in check.
Rolf warned me not to brake too hard on every corner-the discs would overheat like an ice cube in a sauna. Carlsson left the AMG brakes alone, but it's a heavy car and the ABS inevitably worked overtime at the end of anything approaching a long straight. It's not the most confidence-inspiring moment, hearing the juddering start shortly before the apex of a hairpin bend, but it's an inevitable side effect of boosting big cars and then putting them on a fiddly race circuit.
Despite having its air suspension lowered by 30mm the CK55 RS still took off like a speedboat: the front raising up while the rear squatted on scrabbling tires. It's not the most efficient way forward, but with this number of horses under the hood, the CK55 RS can afford to waste a little forward motion, and the grand "take-off" is all part of the experience.