(Motorsport-Total.com/Motor1) – There are automobiles that exert a very special charm because, at first glance, they swim almost invisibly in traffic, but hide the fascination of fine engineering under the sheet metal. The W 124 with the thick eight-cylinder is exactly such a candidate.
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Anyone who currently enters the halls of the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart can now admire a very special piece of this Swabian contemporary history as part of the “Youngtimer” special exhibition. A Mercedes E 500 (1995) is in the spotlight there, which is not only visually a flawless time capsule. It is the absolute last representative of this series ever built to leave the factory halls.
Looking at the analog instrument cluster, this special Limited special model is also likely to be one with the lowest mileage on the clock. Just 422 kilometers driven can be read there. The V8 wolf in sheep’s clothing apparently moved directly into the historical collection after production ended in the spring of 1995 and waited there for things to come.
Shuttle traffic between Sindelfingen and Zuffenhausen
The history of the creation of this potent sedan still reads quite unconventionally today. In the early 1990s, Mercedes-Benz was heavily occupied with the development of the new S-Class, but wanted to quickly provide the market with a sporty top model for the upper middle class.
The solution lay just a few kilometers away at Porsche. Fortunately, the Zuffenhausen-based company had free development and production capacities at that time. Thus, the sports car manufacturers adapted the powerful 5.0-liter V8 from the 500 SL roadster for use in the modest sedan.
Photo gallery: Mercedes-Benz E 500 Limited (1995)
But the installation of the large engine and the correspondingly wider track brought a logistical problem. The W 124 body had to be fitted with subtle but more voluminous fenders, which meant the vehicle simply no longer fit through the existing production facilities in Sindelfingen.
The consequence was an elaborate dance of the bodies. The parts were delivered to the Porsche plant for “Reutter construction” and assembled there largely by hand. Then the body shells went back to Sindelfingen to the paint shop, only to turn up again at Porsche for final assembly including the engine marriage. This process took up to 18 days for a single vehicle.
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Sovereign performance in a limited tailored suit
Initially marketed as the 500 E, the tables were simply turned for the 1993 facelift as part of the new nomenclature. The 500 E became the E 500. Initially launched with 326 hp and 480 Newton meters of torque, it was later corrected to 320 hp and 470 Newton meters.
To properly celebrate the approaching farewell of the power W 124, Mercedes-Benz launched the exclusive E 500 Limited special model in 1994. Exactly 500 examples of the Stuttgart high-performance sedan rolled off the assembly line in this special configuration before production was finally discontinued in 1995. As we now know, apparently not all 500 were delivered to customers.
Details mark this special vehicle as a Limited. Externally, the special model could only be ordered in the special paint finishes Sapphire Black or Brilliant Silver. The Swabian stood on alloy wheels that picked up the design of the legendary 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution II.
In the interior, customers could look forward to color-individualized leather seats with inserts in gray, green, or red. The noble cockpit was rounded off by exclusive wood applications, where one could choose between dark burl walnut and deep black bird’s eye maple.
Anyone who wants to put a 500 E or E 500 in their garage today will have to budget at least 40,000 euros upwards. A Benz from the Limited series aims more towards 60,000 euros. You will probably not find another one with 422 kilometers on the clock.
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