In the early 2000s, Mercedes-Benz was a study in contrasts. The automaker was going all-in on AMG performance models, stuffing big naturally-aspirated V8s anywhere they would fit. But it was also continuing to move downmarket with small front-wheel-drive hatchbacks. One incredible build brought these two worlds together. In 2009, trainees at Mercedes’ assembly plant in Rastatt, Germany, turned a B-Class hatch into a snarling V8 monster using the engine and drivetrain from the contemporary AMG parts bin. As recounted in an Instagram post from the Mercedes-Benz Museum, the car, dubbed B55 by its builders, could go burnout-for-burnout with the factory AMG stuff of the day. Mercedes-Benz Introduced in 2005, the…
One Time, Mercedes-Benz Mechanics Built a Snarling V8 Hatchback
