CAR News

Carlsson broke another world record. The automobile manufacturer from Merzig/Saarland developed the lightest 21-inch-wheel in the world. The 1/5 Evo Ultra Light weighs an astonishing 40 percent less than any cast 21-inch wheel. Additionally, Carlsson once again confirms that technically top-engineered products can also be top of the league as far as their appearance is concerned.

The automobile manufacturer Carlsson who is specialised on Mercedes Benz models achieved the enormously light weight of only 10.8 kg by applying forged technology. Thereby, the material is densified so strongly that not even traces of air or pores remain in the aluminium. At the same weight load, this allows a smaller wall thickness compared to customary rims. The result is a wheel with 40 per cent less unsprung masses than a cast 21-inch wheel. This advantage can be felt in terms of driving pleasure and car handling. The wheels show a better reaction, there is not even the slightest bounce even when you drive more dynamically and overall they look more agile and render more driving pleasure.

The high-quality production is reflected in the 1/5 Evo UL design. Based on the Evo wheel family, five fine double spokes stretch from the centre of the wheel to the rim bead. Normally, ultra-light wheels need a lot more spokes in order to perfectly distribute the upcoming powers. But the engineers and the Carlsson head designer Rolf Schepp achieved the same wheel load values with the only five-spoke 1/5 Evo UL and were even able to maintain the slim character of the struts. This beautiful design especially underlines the gloss-turned surface with the highly transparent clear varnish. The brushed sides of the spokes form a discreet contrast and emphasise the brilliance of the surface. 20 bolt heads between the spokes give the wheel a dynamic multi-part look.

Carlsson offers the weight-optimised wheel 1/5 Evo UL in the dimensions 9.0×21 and 10.5×21 inches for the Mercedes S-class (W221), CL-class (C216) and GLK-class (X204) from 1,665 euros including VAT. Of course, all wheels are approved by the Technical Control Board.

Exclusive automobile manufacturer Carlsson Autotechnik GmbH, and the luxury leather brand Etienne Aigner AG are proud to present the third model to emerge from their co-operative venture.

The Carlsson Aigner® CK55 RS Rascasse, based on the Mercedes-Benz GL 500, makes its world premiere at the Geneva Auto Salon. The Rascasse will be an exclusive limited edition of 20 cars.

Distinguished Exterior Design

The star qualities of this car are obvious at a glance. The striking two-tone paintwork, a hallmark of the Carlsson Aigner® range, confirms that the Carlsson Aigner® CK55 RS Rascasse is no ordinary luxury car.

Several coats of perfectly smooth, hand-rubbed wine-red metallic paint have been applied to just below the window line. Above this, rich black paint takes over with a thin, black coachline softening the transition between two shades. The visual marraige of these two contrasting yet complementary colours imparts a regal air to the Rascasse.

Adding to that presence is the Carlsson Aigner body styling kit consisting of wider wheel arches visually linked by side skirts. The front wings carry illuminated Aigner logos. The door rubbing strips are colour-coded in black, which visually lengthens the car.

The nose of the Rascasse has been made more imposing with a new bonnet carrying larger power domes. Under this, a new larger front grill and sub-grilles feature chromed wire mesh.

Additional driving and fog lights are set into the bumpers and LED daytime running lights are integrated into lower edge of the deeper front apron extension. All these elements give the Rascasse a much stronger face, reinforcing its already commanding presence.

The rear valence incorporates cut-outs for the four chromed exit pipes of the freer-flowing sports exhaust system. This is optimised for both lower backpressure and a throaty V8 soundtrack.

Apart from enhancing the look of the car, the front spoiler, side skirts and rear valence extensions are designed to help reduce aerodynamic drag and lift. All these parts are made from PU-RIM, the flexible material used by OE manufactures like Mercedes-Benz for their production bumpers.

PU is much more expensive than glass-fibre in small runs, but is lighter and has good low speed bump resilience. It also requires a much larger tooling investment, demonstrating Carlsson’s commitment to OE quality levels.

The 5,461cc, 48-valve, DOHC V8 motor has 388hp (285 kW) and 530Nm of torque in standard form. Carlsson’s proven conversion for this engine uses a free-flow exhaust system with metal catalytic converters, gas-flowed cylinder-heads, high-lift camshafts and a remapped ECU to boost output to 456 hp (335 kW) with 640Nm of torque.

Thus endowed, the Carlsson Aigner® CK55 RS Rascasse is the most powerful normally-aspirated GL in the world, accelerating from 0-100km/h hundred in just 5.9 seconds. This compares to 6.5 sec for the standard GL500.

To help transmit this extra power and torque to the road, Carlsson use their three-piece 3/11 UL forged alloy wheels with highly polished outer rims in 11J x 23-inch size with 305/30ZR23 tyres.

The forging process creates a very light but exceptionally strong alloy wheel that helps to counter the increased unsprung weight of the larger diameter wheels and tyres.

The Carlsson electronic lowering kit, C-Tronic® Suspension, drops the ride height of the Airmatic suspension by 40mm. In combination with the wider wheels and tyres, this delivers superior handling and roadholding characteristics.

An abundance of precious materials

Colour matching is one of the keystones of the fashion industry. Where Carlsson elevates the mechanicals to new heights, Aigner demonstrates the art of haute couture with the plush interior of the Rascasse.

Picking up the dark red shade from the bodywork, Aigner uses the finest hides and Alcantara in this colour to cover the seats, dashtop, door panels and centre console. The headlining is Alcantara, stitched in a bespoke pattern.

Total comfort for rear compartment passengers means sumptuous seats and plenty of space in all directions. For that reason, Carlsson and Aigner decided that the seven-seater configuration should be ditched in favour of just two individual rear seats.

Supporting this hedonistic concept is an integrated fridge in a compartment between the rear seats. Drinks can be served in bespoke hand-blown Carlsson-Aigner glasses also stored in this compartment.

The comprehensive Rear Entertainment System is centred around the eight-inch screens integrated into the headrests of the front seats. A surround sound audio system provides the soundtrack as well as just music if you just want to relax on a journey.

Rascasse – A Sting in the Tail

Carlsson, manufacturer of special cars based on Mercedes Benz models, and high fashion leather goods manufacturer, Aigner, are proud to present their third unique limited edition model in the short space of one and a half years.

In September 2007, this dynamic duo introduced the Carlsson Aigner® CK65 “Eau Rouge“, based on the CL-Coupé. This was followed in July 2008 by the Carlsson Aigner® CK65 RS “Blanchimont“, a car to fill the obvious void between the S-Class and the Maybach.

The Carlsson Aigner® CK55 RS “Rascasse“ completes the family, and is offered at a basic price of 228,500 euros.

As with the first two automobiles designed by the Carlsson and Aigner team, the new model is also named after a legendary racetrack bend. But unlike the Eau Rouge and the Blanchimont, the Rascasse name does not origin from the racetrack Spa-Francorchamps. Rascasse is the second last bend of the Monaco Grand Prix Circuit as well as a famous street café located by the track.

In fact, the Rascasse name originally comes from the French red rascasse, a member of the Scorpion fish family that is an essential ingredient in Bouillabaisse, the most famous French gourmet soup. A perfect blend of performance, speed and breeding, the Carlsson Aigner Rascasse is also red, tasty, sporting, and carries a sting in its tail.

Carlsson Mercedes SL 63 AMG performance of the 6.3 litre V8 from 525 hp (386 kW) at 6,800 r.p.m up to 600 hp/411 kW. The torque significantly increases from 630 to 705 Nm and therefore the car only needs 4.1 seconds to accelerate from 0-100 km/h instead of the serial 4.5 seconds. Once more, the Carlsson engineers are able to prove their expertise gained in motor sports.

All kits include a special motor electronics adaption, a maximum speed increase up to 325 km/h (202 mph)(electronically limited), a sport air filter and a noble three-part Carlsson motor cover made of real carbon as well as the obligatory Carlsson nameplate in chrome. Carlsson gently limits the never-ending thrust at 325 km/h for all models with an electronic device. The Carlsson sport rear muffler from the 600 hp strong CK63 S-Kit not only renders an enormous sound but also 10 extra hp (7 kW).

Coil-over kit and limited slip differential

The perfectly set-up Carlsson RS coil-over kit which has been co-developed by Ellen Lohr offers a step-less height adjustment and renders a driving dynamics which has never been experienced before. With the individually adjustable damping characteristics, the driver can regulate the setup according to his preference. With this new technical development by Carlsson, the driver does not have to make any compromise. He can enjoy the comfort of the roadworthy suspension system or race for top speeds on a racetrack. To ensure that the extra performance which has been imbued to the C-Class by Carlsson does not go up in smoke on the asphalt, Carlsson recommends fitting its torque-sensitive multi-plate limited slip differential with mechanically variable lock-up (produced with lock-up values according to customer requirements). This increases the traction and driving stability, especially when accelerating in bends.

Powerful-dynamic Carlsson aerodynamics

The elaborate premium Carlsson aerodynamics consists of a front spoiler, the front spoiler lip RS and a Carlsson rear spoiler (with an imprinted Carlsson logo) which renders stability at higher speeds. All accessories are made of high-quality PUR or optionally real carbon.

High Tech forged wheels 1/16 Ultra Light

When developing the Carlsson light alloy wheels 1/16 UL, the engineers and designers most of all focused on a perfect weight optimization. All force effects on the wheel are led into the wheel spider by the regular distribution of spokes. This avoids an over-dimensioned wall thickness and leads to a low wheel weight. The latest forging technology leads to a weight reduction of 38% compared to ordinary wheels with a similar wheel load and dimension! Thanks to the metal compression, the induced forces are forwarded in a far more homogenous way than with a cast wheel. Therefore, the unsprung masses are held as low as possible at the wheel suspensions and that leads to a noticeable driving comfort improvement by the Carlsson forged wheels compared to customary light alloy wheels. The forged Carlsson wheel 1/16 Ultra Light is available in the sizes 8,5×19 (FA+RA) and 10×19 (only RA) for the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG.