Tuning Company Puts a 2010 Mercedes-AMG C63 Chassis Inside A Mid-80s 190E Body

HotCars

By Sean Murray

Published Sep 26, 2018

A Virginia tuning company was commissioned to install a Mercedes-AMG C63 inside the body of a 190E. And no one stopped to ask why.

via Piper Motorsport on Facebook

A Virginia-based tuning company put a 2010 Mercedes-AMG C63 chassis inside the hollowed-out body of a Mercedes 190E.

We’ll never understand why someone went to Piper Motorsports and asked them to shove a Mercedes-AMG C63 into the body of a Mercedes 190E--a car that was quite a bit smaller than the C63. We do know that it took the engineers at Piper over 5 years to complete the project and that it can indeed drive, but the true impetus of the project will forever elude us.

We also know how Piper did it, which can be summarized with long hours of painstaking work. The engine, transmission, driveline, suspension, brakes, firewall, dash, electronics, and floor layout all came from the C63. The only thing that was donated by the 190E was its typical ‘80s Merc body.

To remove the 190E’s skin, Piper built a custom metal jig to carefully pop the body off. Then they went about doing the same to the C63, which was a much more difficult process. The C63 is a unibody design, which means the chassis and the body aren’t separate things. This meant that Piper workers had to carefully peel back and modify body components until the 190E body could be dropped on top of the C63 chassis.

However, also owing to the unibody design of the C63, many structural components of the chassis had to be cut to accommodate the new body. Worst still, the 190E had a shorter wheelbase than the C63, so custom fenders had to be made to make it work.

Tuning Company Puts a 2010 Mercedes-AMG C63 Chassis Inside A Mid-80s 190E Body — via Piper Motorsports

Luckily, the dashboard fit easily, and a custom center console was made to fit the new 7-speed automatic transmission. That left the engine, which was a hassle. The C63 has a 6.2-L V8 that’s easily twice the size of the 190E’s old inline 4-cylinder. Shoving that monster inside required the relocation of the brake master cylinder, A/C condenser, and several oil coolers.

Finally, the commissioner wanted his Franken-Merc to look like a Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 Evolution II, which was a sportier Mercedes made in the 90’s to take on the dominant BMW M5. A custom body kit and rear spoiler were made to complete the job.

The whole thing is documented on the Piper Motorsports Facebook page. There’s no telling what kind of horror would be inflicted on the occupants if this monstrosity ever got into an accident, but here’s hoping this remains a track-day toy. Or maybe even a museum piece.

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