Carlsson C25: Class of one

Imagine, just for a moment, owninga Bugatti Veyron. You'd be the man, the lord of all you survey, and nothing would stand in your way. Until you get to a real big money event and there are three of them sat in the car park in front of you. Suddenly your aura of invincibility would deflate like a popped balloon. You might even park it round the back.

Such a scenario is hardly inconceivable in modern-day Dubai, in fact it's a near cert. So for those looking for absolute boutique motoring, Bugatti might not have the answer, but Mercedes tuner Carlsson does with the C25.

If it can find the buyers, Carlsson will make no more than 25 and just one will go to each country. That means there is no chance, zero possibility, of running into another C25 coming the other way.

For something truly unique, a car that the neighbour simply cannot buy, this thin sliver of society will drop $550,000 plus local taxes as if it were pocket change.

If this sounds ludicrous, just remember that boutique clothes manufacturers have been doing it for centuries. And that's just the start, as the options list is simply insane and includes a $60,000 Smart car in matching colours for city commuting. No, really, it does, and keep going down the list and there's a $200,000 complete 24-carat-gold exterior, which might betoo much…

The German tuner has moved consistently towards the high-powered, stratospheric light of the super exclusive, limited production run creations in recent years. The Carlsson Aigner range tapped into a new kind of buyer and convinced CEO Markus Schuster that the time was rightto press ahead with his next plan.

Now it stands before me at Hockenheim in all its glory, and it's hard not to just stand and stare. Carlsson has labelled its first official entry into the manufacturing world as a "Super GT", and it's a novel concept. Under the skin is a heavily breathed-on SL 65 AMG that can be driven every day and serviced at any main dealer. But on the surface it's a bona fide monster. At the front there's the vaguest hint of SL, if you look closely, but the sharp cuts, gaping vents and vertical daytime running lights all combine to create a shape that could frighten a Ferrari from its path.

The wide body front wings taper neatly into the doors and flare out again into that magnificent rear end that owes more than a little to the Aston Martin DB9. But even at the rear, Carlsson has gone further with those vicious, squared-off exhaust pipe exits that house another, squarer exhaust exit. It's a visual feast or just pure madness, whichever way you look at it, but there is no doubting the impact.

All of the bodywork is crafted in carbon-fibre, which goes a long way towards justifying the cost. The new bodywork together with a fixed roof instead of the folding metal peacock's tail that comes with the standard AMG, saves morethan 100kg high up in the frame. It's still heavy at 1,950kg, but it's a big saving over the base car.

Combined with Carlsson's raciest suspension yet, it transforms the handling of the standard SL. It isn't quite in Black Series territory, the C25 is more subtle than that, but the C25 was always intended to be a balancing act rather than an out-and-out racer. Pitching the car into direct competition with the cheaper Black Series makes little sense anyway, it couldn't win a war with its own base manufacturer and Carlsson has a history of refined, elegant cars to live up to.

Carlsson's C-Tronic suspension system is hunkered down low to the exclusive 9.5x20in front and 12x20in rear wheels that are also 40 per cent lighter than standard AMG wheels as we sweep onto the Hockenheim race track and the car, even in this, its first real test drive, offers no pitch or roll. On rougher tracks, though, the kind that we drive on every day, Carlsson's famous C-Tronic suspension can raise the ride height upto 30mm and squash the harshest bumps and ruts in the road. And combined with 405mm front and 380mm rear brake discs from Brembo, together with uprated callipers, this slightly softer set-up works wonders on the track and the street.

I just wish it was louder, because at tick over the car is disappointingly quiet. The 6.0-litre V12 biturbo is idling, but it's almost a strain to hear it.

Apparently, Carlsson has battled to create a baritone, booming exhaust note in its most powerful ever engine. But the Mercedes engine is what it is and they simply cannot make it gargle fuel and sound like thunder until it's heading towards the redline.

Don't think for a second that it is slow, however, as Carlsson has unleashed 753bhp with the help of a new ECU programme, intake and exhaust system and has had to limit the 1,349Nm of torque on tap to just 1,152Nm for the sake of the transmission. That means it will roar through the 100kph mark in 3.7 seconds and head on all the way to an epic 352kph.

There are few cars in this world thatwill match it for pace and fewer stillthat could claim to offer the same effortless performance.

The C25 is still Mercedes-simple to drive though. With the auto 'box set in full slush mode, it simply skips through the gears without a second thought and with ample braking and all of Mercedes' arsenal of electronics, it's almost impossible to upset, let alone crash.

That is the key to the C25, it simply piles on speed at a relentless, merciless rate when it's required and tickles along with a barely audible whisper under the bonnet in normal driving conditions. Thisis where 99 per cent of us spend 99 per cent of our driving time, in traffic, in the city, on the motorway.

And it's a wondrous place to spend a day, too, thanks to lavish splashes of carbon-fibre amongst the real buffalo hide and ultra-suede finish.

The car is 100 per cent tailored to the individual and, though the marriage ofred and orange sits a little uncomfortably in the show car for my liking, the first buyer wanted the car delivered as it is:he likes it.

This man knows his car will be unique, the only one of its kind in the territory, and that was enough to sway him away from the Black Series, the Bentley Continental Supersports and even the Rolls-Royce Phantom he could have had for less money.

Carlsson needs just 24 more like-minded individuals, and it has already found a few of them, so the C25 will be a rip-roaring success and the start of a new trend.

Logically speaking, the C25 doesn't really stack up, but for the target market it will be worth each and every dirham.

Because there will never be another coming the other way and that comes with an aura of invincibility that can never, ever be popped.

1,950kgIt's portly but 753bhp peak output means it's ferociously fast

Model Carlsson C25
Engine 6.0-litre biturbo V12
Transmission Five-speed auto, RWD
Max power 753bhp @ 5,000rpm
Max torque 1,152Nm @ 3,750rpm
Top speed 352kph
0-100kph 3.7sec

Plus Super rare, super fast

Minus Lacks the aural drama of a supercar

Specs & rating