An engineer down in Texas wants to make his Mercedes-Benz SL 600 clean and green?
His name is Bernie Towns and he has turned this 2007 SL600 Mercedes-Benz roadster into a 5.5 liter twin-turbo V12 CNG-powered speedster he hopes will break the record for the fastest natural gas-fueled car around. That's the Texas part.
Partnering with Chicago tuner Speedriven, this very unique SL 600 now develops around 800 bhp (597 kW / 811 PS) and over 1,000 lb-ft (1354 Nm) of torque and does the quarter-mile (402 meters) in 10 seconds.
But the record for the fastest CNG-powered car is still held by Hohenester Audi A4 tuned to over 700 bhp (522 kW / 710 PS) that was able to hit 364.6 km/h (226.55 mph) in 2009. Speedriven and Towns hope to break that with more horsepower and the help of a Mercedes-supplied aerodynamic kit fitted to this SL 600 that can safely hold speeds of up to 386 km/h (240 mph).
The team at Speedriven is preparing the car for testing next month by fitting a new turbocharger system to the car and completing the natural gas conversion. Towns is set to debut the car at the Texas Mile event in March where he hopes to break the speed record.
"I admit it. I'm a horsepower addict. I love speed, I love power, and I love my Mercedes-Benz," says Towns.
We believe you, Bernie.
