Meet a Mercedes 190SL with more power than it’s letting on. A creation of CMH Luxury Carrosserie, it’s been unveiled at the 2013 Top Marques show in Monaco.
It’s an original 1956 190SL shell that’s been through quite some transformation, with a set of beefy Carlsson alloy wheels and smaller doors to accommodate eye-catching side exhausts. At its heart is a 5.5-litre AMG V8 engine, with around 400bhp driving its rear wheels. Fitting the engine was a real ask, with 2000 hours of work and lots of handmade parts required to shoehorn so much engine into so little bay.

Subscribe to evo magazine
With this 190SL weighing around 1100kg, it possesses a 369bhp/ton power-to-weight ratio – equivalent to a Ferrari 458 Spider – and will complete 0-62 in under 4.5sec on its way to a 177mph top speed. That puts it on par with the current Mercedes SL63 AMG in a straight line, though the new car only has a 155mph limited top speed.
The CMH 190SL currently rides on its original suspension, though to no surprise it will be replaced with a new, adjustable setup before sale. And if the project excites you, better act quickly: it’s a total one-off and is up for sale for around £1million. It won’t have a chance in hell of keeping up with a Bugatti Veyron, but to many eyes, it’ll be a whole lot cooler.