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For all my talk of fandom concerning older Mercedes models, there aren’t many that I would actually pony up the dough for. Sure I appreciate the W123 for the road warrior that it is and I’ve often day dreamed about enjoying a summer cruise in a Blue over White Leather W124 convertible but neither would satisfy my craving for speed and handling capability. My love of technical canyon roads and aggressive cornering is probably why I’ve always been more attracted to BMW than Mercedes and my fiscal responsibility is probably why I ended up in the middle with Audi. As much as I love brute power, I’ve grown fond of driving a slow car fast rather than a fast car slow up in the twisties. Bottom line is you can only do so many 80-140 mph pulls before the experience becomes boring or you get yourself locked up for reckless driving. But if ever there was a Mercedes that would pull me away from Quattro and Efficient Dynamics and manual transmissions, it would be the 500E.
To me, the rarity of this car is one of the most attractive things about it, only 1,528 were imported to the U.S. during its run. Equally as attractive is its ultimate Q-Ship status, as far as I’m concerned it is the finest example of a factory produced sleeper. Of course that makes sense given that the car was hand built by two of the world’s most respected automakers. Today it’s hard to fathom Mercedes collaborating with Porsche but back in the early 90’s it made a great deal of sense. Mercedes wanted a car to beat the M5 and V8 Quattro, Porsche wanted to show their engineered prowess could be applied to a four door sedan. Yes, I’m drastically over simplifying the whole project but there are those far more knowledgeable on the subject than I who’ve written about the car at great length. I am more than comfortable saying that this example appears to be an absolute peach.
The 1993 Porsche 928GTS we saw last Friday raised the question of how high is too high in terms of mileage. The popularity of the GTS these days still has people clamoring for the well-used examples, given this Porsche’s rarity. Another rarity to emerge from Zuffenhausen did not have the Porsche crest on its hood. Rather, it had the Three-Pointed Star. The 500E/E500 is one of the most legendary Mercedes-Benzes to emerge over the last three decades. Few were built, but they still made an impact. This 500E for sale in Las Vegas has over 188,000 miles on the clock, but has been in the care of just two owners, having been serviced at a Mercedes dealership all its life.
Time for another wheel roundup, and as I’m just in for winterizing the Audi and swapping the snow wheels onto the Subaru, I’ve got the chunky winter tires on my mind. Just because you’re swapping on the winter duds doesn’t mean you can’t still be in style on a budget, and today I’ve got a few sets that look like a great deal. The Audi B8 wheels are awesome looking – factory wheels aren’t the lightest, but they’re well made, well finished and look great on a number of newer Audis. For only $650, this set with caps looks awesome. The Tiguan wheels are the only non-stock wheels here, being made by Sport Edition. It’s a popular Tire Rack winter brand that looks reasonable and gets the job done. With few miles on that set of tires, it looks like an awesome deal at under $500. The Beetle wheels fit a bunch of the Mk.4/A3/TT models, and the brand new factory wheels and new tires mounted for under $800 seems like money well spent. Then BMW wheels are a bit more pricey but look overall to be in good shape. Then there are the factory 8″ Mercedes wheels, off either a 500SL or 500E. With some chunky looking rubber and no reserve, at the current bid of $250 they’re an absolute steal.
The Mercedes-Benz 500E to me, in many ways, is the ultimate Mercedes-Benz. It embodied everything that made this brand great over the years. Power, unflappable composure and durability in one discreet package. Sure, later AMG badged Benzes eclipsed it in horsepower, but there’s something special about these cars that the new AMG models don’t have. Perhaps it’s the connection with Porsche, the bespoke four-place interior or the flared fenders that captivate the mind. Whatever the attraction may be, this 500E is a rare sight on the roads of my ancestral home in Northern Portugal, in no small part that vehicles with larger engine sizes are taxed at a greater rate.
The Mercedes-Benz 500E is one of those cars that was fairly affordable for a long time, but dwindling supply and greater awareness has raised values considerably. I knew it was a matter of time before this legend started to increase in value. We often see these four-door hot rods with Porsche DNA in black or silver, but this metallic blue example for sale in Florida bucks that trend. This car is closing in on 150,000 miles but has had the same owner for the last 18 years.
