Photography by Josh Mackey.
It is no mystery that as Editors, we often live the high life. Vipers, Vettes, Porsches, Lambos, Ferraris and more can be found in our driveways when we need to review one. We’re often found rolling in cars that aren’t even on sale yet. Imagine the shock the neighbors, when we rolled up in a GT-R or Viper ACR or R8 a few months before their release. People lose their minds, girlies throw us their numbers and we’ve actually had scrubs run after us for blocks just to take a picture. It is definitely reminiscent of the rockstar life, with some [minor] celebrity status attached to it. That aspect of the job coupled with traveling around the world to various shows makes one very jaded. Bottom line, it is hard to impress the staff here. But now we are impressed.
This big body Benz stopped us dead in tracks at SEMA last year. We had never seen this kit before and maybe one or two CLs before this. And this wasn’t just any lip kit but major surgery on a $150,000 automobile, leaving us stunned and curious to know more. After a bit of investigating, we found out this CL600 creation was the work of our old associate Jim Pan. Pan is the proprietor of P-Factor Motorsports and now affiliated with Car Nuts Customs (CNC) out of Seattle, WA. At this point, Seattle is the place to be with plenty of Microsoft millionaires and their wealthy subcontractors running the streets looking to out-do the executive in the lane beside him.
Dubbed the ‘CNC Evolution V12’ this particular build left nothing untouched. We were expecting to find some elements of the car still stock but were totally proven contrary. Pan went to great efforts (and expense) to drop the proverbial hammer on some of the other high end marques at SEMA and did so not being a household name like the rest of them. At the core of the project are some serious Kleeman upgrades on the already potent 6.0L V12 twin turbo mill. The Kleeman package the car has been blessed with ramps up the horsepower to 650 at the crank and a staggering 792lb-ft of pavement-shifting torque. The air is pulled in through CNC Evolution intakes and the resulting spent gases now flow though a less restrictive CNC Evolution dual exhausts. Topping off the Kleeman parts are the requisite LSD and the electronic lowering module to make it dramatically sleeker than stock.
Another high point to the project was the wheel and tire package. The XXX wheels are as expected a one-off custom design specifically for this project. A 2-piece forged construction, the centers are a carbon fiber overlay with a color-matched outer lip – and lots of it. The front lip measures 3.5-inches while the rear is almost 7-inches deep. Up front, these massive wheels are 22x9.5-inches with a rear dimension that would be at equally as home on a drag car at 11.5-inches. Pirelli PZero Nero tires were selected in 265/30R22 and 315/25R22 putting the almost 800lb-ft of twist to the ground. Yet, the big Benz is still able to light up the tires with ease but the Brembos will bring the ride to a full and complete stop if things get outta hand. The front binders are 6-piston monoblocks clamping 405mm (16-inch) 2-piece rotors. To provide a bit of brake balance, rear 380mm rotors with 4-piston Brembos amount to enough brake force to stop a dump truck.
On to the aesthetic treatment where CNC flexed some of their design and fabrication talents on the CL. The CNC Evolution package consists of front and rear bumpers with carbon fiber diffusers and LED light strips. Both front and rear fenders are oversized with active vents for proper cooling. The carbon fiber roof panel accents matches the CF grill insert in addition to some black chrome found on the shell. The tails are smoked and some LED courtesy lighting has been installed on the sills. The entire project was drenched in several coats of Maserati MC12 Bianco Fuji white with matching dish on the wheels. To cap it all off all off the emblems have been shaved and airbrushed on to remove any of its previous identity.
With the windows rolled down on this true pillar-less coupe, one gets a glimpse of the upgrades made to the inside. An already finely hewn interior has made way for something that Mercedes designers would pay respect to. The seating has been reupholstered in a duo-tone leather and Alacantara scheme with contrasting double stitched diamond pattern along with the door panels. The headliner, pillars and visors have been recovered in Alacantara with the same stitching. Both upper and lower dash assemblies have been removed and recovered with the same duo-tone treatment. The dash features several panels replaced with titanium carbon fiber pieces and the ‘Car Nutz Customz’ logo in a conspicuous place. The steering wheel wrap is also off the same titanium carbon fiber around the rim and spokes. The accelerator, brake and dead pedal are all CNC brushed aluminum pieces to match the illuminated scuff panels. A few items round out the interior treatment with color matched deep-pile mats, Recaro Young Sport child seat and ambient LED lighting throughout.
True to Pan’s show car roots, he realizes that no build is complete without a slamming audio install. Pan was heavily involved with putting premier car crew TWC Competition on the map since back in the day. Belting out tracks from the factory system, the signals are amped with the Zapco hardware residing in the trunk. Driving the baseline is a Zapco DC1100.1 mono amp hooked up to a pair of Image Dynamics iDQ v3 10-inch subs. The Zapco DC1100.4 4-channel drives the balance of Image Dynamics CD-2 comp drivers, XS69 mid-bass drivers and the mini horns for the highs. All orchestrated through a Zapco DRC-SL controller mounted in stealth location.
Rolling through the streets of Seattle, scratch that rollin’ anywhere … Pan’s creation gets noticed. There is nothing like it but for the right price, Pan will build it. Or if you have fallen for particular, it is for sale. The Car Nuts Customz motto is “We Build it, we show it, we sell it.” Or you can bring them a project and they have enough suppliers to build really anything, from rods, to resto mods, to concourse or all out crazy exotics like what have here.
ESSENTIALS
Owner: Car Nutz Customz
Location: Bellevue, WA
Vehicle: 2008 Mercedes CL600
Power: 650hp with 792lb-ft
Engine: Mercedes 6.0L V12 Bi-Turbo
ENGINE MODIFICATIONS
- Kleeman 650hp package
- Kleeman LSD
- CNC dual exhaust
- CNC intakes
WHEELS, TIRES, BRAKES
- XXX wheels - 22 x 9.5 (f), 22 x 11.5 (r)
- Pirelli PZero Nero tires - 265/30ZR22 (f), 315/25ZR22 (r)
- Brembo 405mm, 6-piston monoblock color matched caliper (f)
- Brembo 380mm, 4-piston monoblock color matched caliper (r)
SUSPENSION
- Kleeman lowering module
EXTERIOR
- CNC EVOLUTION front bumper with carbon fiber diffuser and integrated LED lighting
- CNC EVOLUTION carbon fiber front grill
- CNC EVOLUTION front fenders with carbon fiber inlay
- CNC EVOLUTION side skirts with integrated LED lighting
- CNC EVOLUTION rear quarter panels
- CNC EVOLUTION rear bumper with carbon fiber diffuser and integrated LED lighting
- CNC EVOLUTION carbon fiber roof
- CNC EVOLUTION stainless steel tail pipes
- Black chrome trim accents
- Smoked tail-lights with clear reverse light lens
- LED courtesy lighting
- Maserati MC12 bianco fuji exterior paint color
- Airbrushed badging/logo
- Black chrome stainless mesh grills
INTERIOR
- Full premium grade hide/alcantara interior
- Dual tone front and rear seats with contrasting double stitched diamond pattern
- Dual tone door panels with contrasting double stitched diamond pattern
- Alcantara headliner with contrasting double stitched diamond pattern
- Alcantara pillars and sun visors
- Dual tone hide/alcantara upper and lower dash with contrasting stitches
- Carbon fiber interior trim panels in titanium finish
- Carbon fiber steering wheel in titanium finish
- CNC brushed aluminum footrest, brake and accelerator pedals
- Color coordinated floor mats
- Valentine One radar concealed display etched into rearview mirror
- Recaro Young Sport child seat in dual tone with double stitched diamond pattern
- Interior LED ambient lighting
AUDIO / MULTIMEDIA
- Image Dynamics iDQ v.3, 10" subwoofers
- Image Dynamics CD-2 comp drivers
- Image Dynamics mini horns hlcd's
- Image Dynamics XS69 mid bass drivers
- Zapco DC1100.1 amplifier
- Zapco DC1000.4 amplifier
- Zapco DRC-SL controller
PHOTO GALLERY
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