The Mercedes-Benz Specialist Keeping The Manual Tradition Alive
Nothing beats the aural and visceral pleasure of an internal combustion engine being pushed to the limit, while the driver is fully immersed in the driving experience with three pedals and a manual shifter to play with. However, this is becoming an increasingly rare combination.
Fortunately, Mercedes-Benz specialists are manual-swapping cars that were either only available in limited numbers in manual form, or produced exclusively with automatic/semi-automatic transmissions. This provides an intriguing and welcome route to keeping the rapidly fading manual tradition alive.
Enthusiasts Demand Engagement
Internal combustion engines are far from dead, but the modern car world is dominated by rapid-fire dual-clutch transmissions and silky-smooth automatics – the ideal package for the everyday commute, but miles away from providing the level of interaction and engagement that enthusiasts crave.
There are only a handful of driver-oriented cars still available new in the US with a stick-shift option, and it’s becoming an increasingly rare breed with many of these cars coming to the end of their life cycles, possibly never to be offered again.
Specialists Taking Matters Into Their Own Hands
Recognizing the continued demand for manual transmissions, various aftermarket specialists are literally taking matters into their own hands. There are companies that will now manual-swap Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Aston Martins and BMW M cars by installing kits for 6-speed manual transmissions that totally transform these machines – at a hefty fee, of course.
In some instances, the cars were originally offered in manual form in extremely limited numbers. Others only came out of the factory with paddle shifters, as was the case with Ferrari’s track-focused 360 Challenge Stradale, F430 Scuderia and 458 Speciale, for example. But that can now be addressed with virtually any enthusiast car, and a healthy bank balance.
Manual-Swapping The Merc Of Your Dreams
If you think of any high-performance Mercedes-Benz or AMG model, you’re likely to imagine muscular V8 and V12 naturally aspirated or force-fed engines combined with an old-school automatic gearbox. The German manufacturer effectively abandoned manual transmissions decades ago, and has relied primarily on traditional torque-converter automatics, its MCT (Multi-Clutch Transmission) or a dual clutch transmission (DCT) on selected models such as the A45 AMG and transaxle AMG GT.
Manual-equipped AMGs have been a pipe dream for decades, but now DC MotorWerks in Alpharetta, Georgia, has taken the initiative to develop and install manual gearboxes on any Mercedes-Benz or AMG model you desire.
As an enthusiast-focused automotive servicing and repair shop that specializes in Mercedes-Benz and AMG, along with exotic cars, its stated goal is simple: “Create the manual-transmission Mercedes that could have come from the factory”.
By Enthusiasts, For Enthusiasts
DC MotorWerks is headed by lifelong Mercedes-Benz enthusiasts and technicians, Cameron Davis and Andy Sumner. They have always had a love for the brand, and as enthusiasts that like to row their own gears, being able to provide this experience in vehicles that never provided this option makes it all worth it, as does the resulting resurgence of interest in these cars.
With an emphasis on delivering true factory-level fit and finish, almost every component DC MotorWerks uses carries a Mercedes-Benz part number. This includes original Mercedes-Benz “716” six-speed manual gearboxes, most of which are sourced from US-based C-Class and SLK six-cylinder models, and from the European W212 E-Class. Priority is given to the later direct-shift six-speed manual box found on cars from 2005 onwards due to the more precise shift action and feel.
Tailored Solutions
Besides the obvious challenge of fitting a completely different gearbox and adding a clutch pedal, the flywheel and clutch are tailored to each car and powertrain, and the customer’s preferences. The normally aspirated cars are typically equipped with a single-mass flywheel and single-disc clutch, sourced, respectively, from The Kangaroos Team in Eastern Europe and UniClutch in Australia.
On the more complicated and powerful supercharged and turbocharged engines, DC MotorWerks fits a dual-mass flywheel and twin-disc clutch to smooth out the engagement and power delivery. The exception is on the Black Series cars, such as the iconic CLK63 AMG Black Series, where a single-mass flywheel and single-disc clutch match the uncompromising performance character of this track-biased car.
OEM+ Integration And Quality
The DC MotorWerks team fully integrates the new transmission into the vehicle’s original systems and coding, ensuring that all the car’s standard features work just as they did when the car came out of the factory, with no warning lights showing — a common issue with modified cars.
To date, DC MotorWerks has done more than 25 manual swaps (now averaging 2–3 per month) on everything from the W204 C63 AMG to the E55 AMG and E63 AMG sedan and the ultra-rare wagons (W211/212 generations), R129 SL600, R230 SL65 AMG, and the revered limited production C209 CLK63 AMG Black Series.
The C216 CL63 AMG has been one of its most challenging manual swaps thus far. As the car wasn’t fitted with a floor shifter, the team had to redesign the whole center console to integrate the manual gear lever. The final product looks like it was designed and engineered by Mercedes-Benz, such is the commitment to OEM+ quality and craftsmanship.
Shifting Into The Future
The company also offers extensive tunability to suit the customer’s requirements, from tailoring the throttle mapping and fitting long-tube headers and high-flow catalytic converters to any other performance upgrades the customer desires. Obviously, pricing is entirely dependent on the car, the modifications and the customer’s unique requirements.
It’s thanks to the dedication and ingenuity of enthusiasts like DC MotorWerks and other specialists that the three-pedal experience refuses to die. Better still, their work lets us row through the gears ourselves in some seriously potent machinery, unlocking the level of driver involvement these performance cars were always capable of delivering. And in doing so, they’re not just keeping the manual gearbox alive – they’re giving some of these modern performance icons an even more compelling reason to be coveted for generations to come.
Credits: DC MotorWerks
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