Shed of the Week | Mercedes E320 CDI (W211)

In the event you’re one of many eight folks on the planet who haven’t seen Star Wars, this week’s Shed is Luke Skywalker’s T-65B X-wing Starfighter. Oh all proper then, it’s really a 2006 Mercedes W211 E320 CDI Sport, a charity public sale merchandise for St Helena, which Shed thinks is a hospice in Essex. That tallies with the seller’s location in Manningtree. 

That is the place earthly geography ends as a result of this automotive is from one other dimension, one presumably fuelled by lager. A lot of your favorite characters are right here, together with C-3PO, who regardless of having had his backside half sliced off by an Empire TIE fighter laser cannon shot appears to be like cheerful sufficient on the roof. He shares this space with a binlike R2D2, a Mercedes radio antenna, and a secondary aerial that has sadly entered his steel nut by way of the appropriate earhole. 

Just like the TIE, the X-wing had laser cannons, plus two proton torpedo launchers. Our Shed’s armament consists of a motorhome energy inverter, 4 painted plastic bottles on the wingtips and what appears to be like like a paint curler within the cleft of the X. Lurking within the cabin footwell for show-only deployment is a VAD5R reg plate. To avoid wasting you the hassle of wanting, that quantity hasn’t been allotted to an precise automotive. Nor has VAD55R or, for the actually determined Star Wars followers, VAD555R. Disgrace, both of the primary two would have seemed nice on a black AMG with a 6.2 motor. 

The creators have gone to a good quantity of hassle on the detailing, as much as and together with underfloor lighting and X-wing type battle stains on the bodywork. On the danger of inviting scorn from the Mr Logics on right here, can anyone enlighten Shed as to the place all that filth on X-wing fighters was alleged to have come from? So far as Shed is conscious, which admittedly isn’t very far, there isn’t a filth in area. There’s cosmic mud, however that’s extra like smoke than mud. Even when there was precise mud you’ll be able to’t think about it adhering that nicely within the dryness of area to the floor of an X-wing which, with its fusial thrust engines and hyperdrive motivators (we’re not making that up, someone else did) was able to accelerating at a dust-busting 3,700g. In opposition to that kind of acceleration the X-wing’s claimed high velocity appears surprisingly low at 652mph, however its 0-652mph time will need to have been nicely quick. 

That’s nothing, although. Darth Vader’s TIE fighter made the X-wing look positively puny in each point-and-squirt acceleration (4,240g) and high velocity (776mph). For comparability, a high gas dragster can generate 5g and an F-16 or F-35 fighter jet as much as round 9g. Little doubt somebody will add extra element within the discussion board about what kind of protecting gear allowed anybody to outlive in both of those Star Wars craft. All Shed can say is that Vader will need to have had a hell of a helmet on him. 

For anybody who’s , or certainly nonetheless alive having acquired this far, as you’ll be able to clearly see this can be a facelift automotive. Which means it doesn’t have the pre ’06 automotive’s troublesome Sensotronic Brake Management. It additionally signifies that it does have the new-for-2006 and fewer DIY-friendly 3.0 CDI OM642 V6 diesel with 221hp at 3,800rpm, 376lb ft at 1,600-2,800rpm, a 0-60mph time within the mid-sixes, a restricted high velocity of 155mph and an annual VED tax legal responsibility of £430. In normal trim it averaged 38mpg, however you must maybe knock a bit off that and off the highest velocity too taking into consideration the aerodynamics. You may discover a number of extra inside rattles than regular as nicely, and opening the boot appears to be like like a problem.

Even so it’s certainly price shopping for at £2k or very most likely much less, not just for the enjoyable of driving it and bringing a smile to children’ (and fairly a number of adults’) faces, but in addition for the pleasure of having the ability to take it alongside to your MOT take a look at station subsequent January. The one advisories on this 12 months’s ticket have been for a few barely grotty entrance brake pipes. Vehicles like this are fairly sound by and huge as the folks placing them collectively have a tendency to not be dodgy varieties making an attempt to chop corners to save lots of a bob or two. To be severe for a second Shed has nothing however good phrases to say about hospices, his brother having not too long ago handed away in a single. He thinks that this Star Wars Merc is sensible and hopes a PHer will buy it and put it to good use.