Carlsson is a German car tuning manufacturer specialising in

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...

cars. The Carlsson tuning house was founded by brothers Rolf and Andreas Hartge in 1989. Carlsson's products are available for the entire current range of

models including the R-Classbr>
SL-Classbr>
Mercedes-Benz C-Class, C-Classbr>
and the GL-Classbr>
along with many others. The company is most popular for its range of alloy wheels. Through a new importer Carlsson began a more aggressive push into the US market in 2006 after debuting their newly modified CL500 (Euro-spec) vehicle at the 2006 SEMA Show. In their review, Modified Luxury & Exotics magazine said, "... the CL is starting to resemble something more in line with a Bentley Continental - even if it is a little shy when it comes to horsepower."

History

The brothers, Rolf and Andreas Hartge, started a company in 1989 named Carlsson in honor of the Swedish rally driver,

Ingvar Carlsson Gösta Ingvar Carlsson (born 9 November 1934) is a Swedish politician who twice served as Prime Minister of Sweden, first from 1986 to 1991 and again from 1994 to 1996. He was leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1986 to 1996. He ...

, who raced for the Mercedes Rally Team during the 1980s. Carlsson also made cars based on Citroën, SAAB, Toyota, Lexus, Hyundai, and Genesis models. In 2012, Zhongsheng Group Holdings Limited acquired 70% of the company's stake. In 2015, Sambo Motors Co. Ltd., a Korean company, took over with effect from December 4.

Cars

Carlsson CK35 RS Race Car

Based on a Mercedes SLK350 the CK35 RS race car debuted at the Nürburgring 24 hour race in 2005. The Carlsson Racer produces at 6500 rpm and of torque at 3500 rpm. It can sprint from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.8 seconds and reaches a top speed of 265 km/h (165 mph

Carlsson C25 (82)

Carlsson C25

Carlsson's first supercar, the C25, made its debut at the 2010

Geneva Motor Show The Geneva International Motor Show is an annual auto show held in March in the Swiss city of Geneva. The show is hosted at the Palexpo, a convention centre located next to the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. The Salon is organised by th ...

. With a limited run of 25 units, the C25 is powered by a twin-turbocharged

V12 engine A V12 engine is a twelve-cylinder piston engine where two banks of six cylinders are arranged in a V configuration around a common crankshaft. V12 engines are more common than V10 engines. However, they are less common than V8 engines. The fir ...

that generates and of torque. Estimated acceleration from 0–100 km/h (62 mph) in 3.7 seconds and top speed is 219 mph. (355 km/h)

Carlsson C38

The Carlsson C38 was produced in 1998 in very limited numbers as it was incredibly expensive when new. Based on the 208 CLK320 with the Carlsson CM38 upgraded engine (hand built 3.8V6), strengthened chassis, braking system, exhaust, suspension, 18 inch three piece alloy wheels 9.5 (front) 11.5(rear), wide body and speedometer cluster. The C38 is seldom seen for sale and very sought after by collectors.

Carlsson Coachbuilding

In 2007, Carlsson began a coachbuilding program with fashionhouse Etienne Aigner. The first example of their work together was a coachbuilt Mercedes CL65, titled the Carlsson Aigner CK65 RS "Eau Rouge." The "Eau Rouge" refers to the famous turn at the Belgian race track Spa Francorchamps. Producing from Carlsson's engineers the car has a two-tone paint scheme and features a hand crafted wine-colored interior from Etienne Aigner.''Modified Luxury & Exotics'' Fast Fashion, PP. 46 to 52, By Dustin A. Woods. Photos by Joost Demuynck. May 2008

References

External links

Carlsson Official HomepageCarlsson Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd.
{{Automotive industry in Germany Mercedes-Benz Automotive companies of Germany Automotive motorsports and performance companies Companies based in Saarland