Mercedes-Benz CL500 ‘Carlsson CM60’ – Into the Wild

Carlsson is one of the big names when it comes to ‘refining’ Mercedes-Benz products. The originally German company deals exclusively with Mercedes cars and usually presents its own variant shortly after the introduction of a new Mercedes.

In 2001, the highlight in the Mercedes field was without a doubt the CL, or the coupé counterpart of the S-class. The second generation of that model was presented in 1999 and still impresses today with its highly advanced technology, amazing luxury and big engines. However, for some it is never enough, and so there was the Carlsson M60. Funnily enough, this car is based on ‘base model’ CL500. So no V12, but a V8. As standard it has a cylinder capacity of 5 liters – those numbers in the type designation still meant something at the time – but at Carlsson they worked old-fashioned mechanically. The block was therefore enlarged to a capacity of 6 litres, 0.2 liters more than the V12 in the CL600. As a result of that intervention, the Carlsson had 405 hp, about 100 more than an original CL500 and even more than that V12 variant.

The fact that Carlsson did not stick to subcutaneous surgery is clearly shown in today’s specimen. The white car is equipped with a painted grille, a thick ‘lip kit’ all around, four exhaust tailpipes, large wheels and unique logos. It has also been significantly lowered, but the question is to what extent this was intended. Rational people try to avoid this type of CL worldwide, because the car is equipped with ‘Active Body Control’ as standard. This extremely complex, hydraulic undercarriage requires so much attention that there is Entire companies are named after them. To lower things, Carlsson had to work with a special ‘control unit’, but we suspect that this copy has now passed the preset level. Judging by the amount of dirt, the car has been standing still for a while, although it looks good apart from that dirt. Keep it anyway, as far as we’re concerned, because this ‘original non-original’ only makes it more fun.

Photos: Willem Verstraten