Article and Photography by Ling Ly

By now, if you've been around the block a few times and in the car scene long enough, you'll probably concur that the blacked-out themes aren't exactly new. In fact, some may even suggest the said theme is borderline "played out.".

What I've learned through seeing so many of these types is that you will either love it or hate it with no middle ground. Creative placement and near-perfect execution of the blacked-out components are extremely critical in producing an intimidating, yet attractive, result. When done incorrectly -- well, let's put it this way -- ruining the look of any $100,000 automobile isn't exactly an accomplishment any Enthusiast should be proud of.

Honestly, even I had my own doubts when Dieter-Heinz Kijora, general manager of Heinz Gietz Autohaus and founder of HG Motorsports in La Jolla, California, described the completed modifications and remaining plans for their Flint Grey 2006 Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG a few weeks prior to this photoshoot.

What can one possibly do with this theme, or to this car for that matter, that hasn't already been done?

The E55 AMG is already a beast in stock form with an astounding 469 horsepower and 516 ft-lbs of torque under the hood. The exterior of the car, however, wasn't exactly indicative of the menacing ferociousness this beast would unleash on its unsuspecting prey in daily stoplight encounters or on the track.

There are numerous routes Dieter could have taken in modifying the appearance of the car. The simple theme of "clean and classy" would be the choice of many but that didn't exactly fit the profile of this particular E55 as the intended use of the car wasn't for show purposes or looking pretty. In case you're not familiar with HG Motorsports, the reigning NASA Time Trials TTR champions in 2005 and runner-up -- by 1 ONE point -- in 2007, their cars are built with a sole purpose -- domination on the track.

With the track pedigree in mind, Dieter started by installing a Renntech electronic lowering module (ELM) to lower the 4,200 pound beast's center of gravity. The result is an E55 that looks menacingly aggressive on 19x9 and 19x10 HRE M40 Monoblock wheels. The HRE wheels have been finished in a custom Matte Black and are wrapped with 255/35/19 and 285/30/19 Pirelli P-Zero tires.

Peeking out from behind the wheels are lightweight two-piece floating brake rotors from Evosport (front and rear) which have made the biggest impact thus far with an unsprung weight savings at all four corners totaling 35 lbs! Next up was alignment. With access to state of the art equipment at Heinz Gietz Autohaus -- the only remaining family-owned Mercedes-Benz authorized service center in the US -- the alignment of the E55 was dialed in with their preferred track specifications.

On the exterior, Dieter kept the factory Flint Grey paint and accented it with emblems and carefully placed OEM components painted Matte Black by West Coast Specialties in San Diego, CA. The factory grille was painted Matte Black around its borders while the slats were color matched with the factory Flint Grey paint. While the front grille was getting painted, the emblems were also painted a Matte Black to match the blacked-out theme on the vehicle. An E63 rear lip spoiler and OEM Satellite Radio antenna painted Mercedes "040 Black" was mounted on the rear trunk lid. To complete the look of the rear end, the tail lights were "smoked" to knock down the brightness of the factory red housings. The turn signals on the side mirrors were also smoked to compliment the look. The finishing touch on the exterior was the use of Black Mercedes ML lug nuts to match the black finish of the HRE's. Now that's attention to detail!

Inside the cabin, the only obvious modification at first glance are the patches of suede on the steering wheel. The standard issue E55 steering wheel was swapped out in favor of the updated E63 wheel with paddle shifters. With additional time in the driver's seat, one will eventually notice the Valentine One radar detector mounted slightly above the rear view mirror which is almost considered standard equipment in this car that is capable of reaching 100 mph in less than 9.5 seconds.

After spending a few hours with this unique creation -- I'll have to admit -- my initial doubts and skepticism regarding this project have been silenced by the remarkable quality of work and perfect execution of the blacked-out theme.