Carlsson was a German car tuning manufacturer specialising in

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to simply as Mercedes and occasionally as Benz, is a German automotive brand that was founded in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a subsidiary of the Mercedes-Benz Group, established in 2019) is based in Stuttgart, ...

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

models including the R-Class,

SL-Class The Mercedes-Benz SL-Class (marketed as Mercedes-AMG SL since 2022) is a grand touring sports car manufactured by Mercedes-Benz since 1954. The designation "''SL"'' derives from the German term "''Sport-Leicht",'' which translates to "Sport Lig ...

, C-Class and the GL-Class 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 Modified may refer to: * ''Modified'' (album), the second full-length album by Save Ferris *Modified racing, or "Modifieds", an American automobile racing genre See also * Modification (disambiguation) * Modifier (disambiguation) Modifier may re ...

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

The C25, based on the Mercedes-Benz SL-Class (R231)#SL 65 AMG (2012–2018), Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG, made its debut at the 2010

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

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

V12 engine A V12 engine is a twelve-Cylinder (engine), cylinder Internal combustion engine#Reciprocating engines, piston engine where two banks of six cylinders are arranged in a V engine, V configuration around a common crankshaft. V12 engines are more c ...

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

Carlsson Coachbuilding

In 2007, Carlsson began a coachbuilding program with fashion house

Etienne Aigner Étienne Aigner (November 8, 1904 – November 5, 2000) was the founder of Etienne Aigner US and Etienne Aigner AG, two presently separate high fashion houses, based respectively in New York City and Munich, Germany. Both companies produce luxury ...

. 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 The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), informally referred to as Spa, is a motor-racing circuit located in Francorchamps, Stavelot, Wallonia, Belgium, about southeast of Spa. It is the current venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, hos ...

. 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