I have aspirations of retiring early from the workforce. I'd take the new Benz to the tennis court and, on most weekends, to exclusive golf resorts. But if that Benz was this evosport CLK 430, I'd trade in some of those golf rounds for a few roundy-rounds at Willow Springs.
evosport took an already fast 2001-model CLK 430 and made it into a roaring beast that would undoubtedly shock senior members of the club. evosport started off with a Kleemann positive-displacement blower, which added an extra 110 wheel hp. To improve exhaust flow, evosport worked closely with JP Performance in fabricating a system that includes custom headers flowing through stock catalytic converters and branching out to quad tips. The V8 exhaled through this tubing so violently, it became as much feeling as noise. In its final configuration, this CLK's dyno sheets (tested at evosport's tech facility) revealed over 360 wheel hp and nearly 350 lb-ft of torque. That's about 15 more hp than your average BMW E39 M5.
The instant torque rarely makes it necessary to manually keep the car in first gear to out accelerate most sports cars off the line, unless you're really trying to blast from 0 to 60 mph in less than 5 sec. The sequential Touchshift lever keeps the fun factor swinging as hard as Tiger Woods on a par 5. The motor rushes the car forward, sort of like full throttle in a stock CLK...on a downhill road with a 15% grade.
Bringing this pacemaker-destroying acceleration to a halt are massive 14-in. Brembo four-pot calipers and two-piece cross-drilled floating rotors up front,. The rears remain stock but with Brembo cross-drilled rotors; they do the job.
This car is also flat-out gorgeous. It's red, really red. It sticks out like a sore, bloody thumb and draws attention in even the trendiest parts of town. An entire Expression body kit--comprised of front and rear DTM bumper covers, side skirts and a "CL-style" fiberglass hood--was fitted and, according to evosport, is the first Benz so clothed on these shores. A Lorinser rear lip spoiler and roof wing top off the aesthetics, which also aid in high-speed stability.
Thanks to the H&R springs, the car's ride quality on the street is as smooth as the 18th green at Augusta National. The car sits a little lower but doesn't bounce over inconsistent surfaces--it's still as comfortable as you'd expect from a Benz. To eliminate some of the car's lean under hard cornering, a set of Eibach anti-roll bars were installed front and rear.
Ride quality and overall performance further benefit from evosport's choice of wheels and tires: T1-S Proxes Toyos, 245/35-19, front, and 275/30-19, rear, wrapped around 8.5x19 and 9.5x19 three-piece Speedline America Corp.. (SAC) RG5-3 forged modular wheels, respectively. The result is plenty of grip to match the performance. However, being the racing-inspired company it is, evosport had to visit the racetrack with the CLK. At the CEC EuroTunerfest event at Willow Springs Raceway last fall, the CLK did surprisingly well in the GT time trials, turning respectable laps in the 1:37s. The only tweak of street trim was a set of R-compound tires. This is very impressive for a car that will also get you the front valet spot at the club.