Interesting question Nick. There are many references to "hand built AMG engine" in the reviews of the SRT. I always assumed it was the one man one engine process. Now the question is how many pairs of hands involved in hand built.

 

The following is a nerd answer coming from a guy who is firmly implanted in the auto industry, so if you have ADD, keep scrolling...

The moniker of "hand-built" or "hand assembled" is really taken too seriously by too many. All one has to do is look at the total production numbers for the supercharged 3.2 (we shall call it 32K) and you can quickly see that the number of Daimler-Chrysler vehicles receiving the 32K motor, divided by the handful of technicians whose name graces the plate, is a staggering number. A number that, if taken quite literally, would mean that one man is fully assembling 4-5 engines daily, without fail, on the 32K motor alone. In 2004, the 55K motor was also being produced (for several platforms, mind you). Germans, in general, don't work that hard. They work smarter, not harder.

Likely, the bare engine assembly arrives as a unit, and all accessories (supercharger, charge pipes, etc) are bolted on by the "legendary" technician whose signature lives in infamy. Yes, the 32K motor and the standard M112 have different internals, but there was nothing preventing Daimler-Chrysler from having two production runs for the separate motors. We do it all the time at Nissan, which is the difference between the standard 2.5L Altima motor and the 2.5L Sentra SE-R. Same block, different guts.

Halo models (such as the SLS AMG) are likely built completely by hand... you have such a small volume of annual sales, it's a feasible task. But with the 'standard' AMG motors, the engines should be roughly 60% complete before they ever see human hands. Since the final assembly is "completed" by human hands, it can receive the moniker of "hand-crafted". Same thing with cigars -- if a human hand works the lever on the machine that rolls the smoke, you can put a "hecho de mano" sticker on there. Hardly "hand-made" but it sounds good, and it sells.

The GT-R with Nissan is no different. We have 8 (yes, eight) technicians in Japan that are cleared to build those motors, which are assembled by hand from the stud girdle to the valve covers. But, the GT-R is a halo model and annual sales are relatively low. So, it's doable.

Now, let's talk service parts. Spares must be built... at least 1 in every 20 engines must be "saved" for dealer service parts support. Combine that with the idea that the engine assembly line used to produce the 32K motor is the same one used for the AMG/SRT motors, and you can quickly get a picture of the volume passing through... In 2004, you had these motors going into the SLK32, C32, and the SRT-6. Let's go conservative and say that's 6,000 engines (remember, add 5-10% production run for dealer service parts). I've only seen 8-10 different names on the infamous plaques...

So, 6,600 engine assemblies / 8 techs = 825 32K units per tech, annually.

Divide that by 251 (number of business days in a year) and also remove 15 days annually, per tech, (for vacation) and you come up with ~4 units per day, per tech, on the V6 engines alone.

I've seen the same name-plate go on the V8 55k motors and the 32k motors... so that's a busy guy if he's truly "hand crafting" each engine.

As for the bullsh!t debate about SRT motor being different than the AMG motor, that's simply not true. The icing was changed, but the cake is the same. The power output is identical, the durability is the same, the damn stampings are the same. Besides, the retooling costs to make two different production lines, all for the sake of some AMG elitist to sip his tea without worry, would put a department in the red in a heartbeat. Daimler-Chrysler loved money too much.

I can promise you that the engine builder in Germany had two parts bins to work from in '04, as the 32K motors came down the line: SRT, and AMG. AMG motors get a set of AMG manis and a name plaque, and the engines pointed in the direction of Chrysler got different brand markings. The companies were in bed together, but they weren't one in the same. AMG hid what they could (poorly) and omitted the engine plaque. That's that.

So... yes, Virginia, it's the same motor. It came from the same assembly line. And it was touched by the same builder. Chrysler paid Daimler to pay him. He could give a crap less which American would be butt-hurt about the business arrangement, as long as he gets his Weihenstephaner at the end of the day.

BTW, if you really really want an engine plaque:

000 221 12 01

You will need a VIN, indifference to whose name is on the plaque, and a dealer that only sees dollar signs.

Cheers,

 

Good answer, I could see that the name on the plate was the team leader and he led x number of guys, doing some work himself along the way.

 

This happens a LOT as well. The ancient problem of the "boss" taking credit for the work of many. I take it you have production/industry background... right?

 

He was on the Spitfire assembly line during wwII

 

Good planes, those

 

The boss takes the credit and takes the crap as well, it all balances out in the end. His team mates want his job, so the smart boss does not tell them everything and the smart team member does not tell his boss everything. Hopefully the smart boss knows anyway and if one team member is too smart the boss gets him moved.

 

Great read! Thanks.

 

I've seen this question pop up several times over the years I've been here, and it never really gets addressed... So I figured I'd take a stab. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Certain figures might be fluid, such as the technician headcount at M-B (they might use 11 techs, not 8, for instance) but the logistics and $$$ is the same in any auto industry.

Another snack for thought... very few pieces of any car are manufactured by the auto brand themselves. On average, 80% of the car's components are farmed out and tier-2 suppliers handle the build of the copyrighted parts. In other words, a vast majority of cars, whether it's a Nissan, Mercedes, or a Ferrari, use Visteon for headlamp production... it's just each one uses a different revision. Same for sensors, Bosch is king. Each brand has its preferred vendor (Ferrari prefers Magneti Marelli over Bosch), but the overall effect is the same.

Cheers,

 

This happens in every industry. I see it every day. Foxconn supplying Apple and Microsoft and Google, Flextronics also supply all three, etc.

Most of these big name brand companies are a major marketing force, with product manufacturing as a secondary or sometime tertiary competency. Don't believe me? Ask NIKE. They haven't done anything except marketing for the last twenty years.

 

 

There was a video of the factory on here somewhere...showing one of the engines being assembled...He made it look too easy....so there isn't any doubt in my mind the assembler was doing more than one engine a day.... You could have eaten off the floors in that factory... Someone should search for the video...I believe it was in German, but worth the watch...

 

I have a new original AMG engine plaque enroute to me. I will post pics here when it's in my hot little hands. Only a couple days away.

 

You get a bonus two cylinders here bit what the heck.
Mercedes Benz SLS AMG Engine Building. - YouTube

 

Hey mate, do you have the link where you bought it from?? I am still trying to source one! Thanks Michael

 

Hey mate, do you have the link where you bought it from?? I am still trying to source one! Thanks Michael

 

Anyone know where to get a fancy srt6 plaque for the engine?...Happy easter!

 

Nice read, but you'll have to re-do your math...

If I'm not mistaken the labor laws in Germany mandate that every employee get six (6) weeks Vacation, even if he only has one (1) day on the Job...

Now you know why the Europeans have a debt crisis that boogles the mind...

Although the Germans look like fiscal giants next to the rest of them (take Greece for example).

(All for one, and one for all)...