Archive for Mercedes Benz
1994 Mercedes Benz SL74 Renntech
Today hearing of a Mercedes pushing 500 horsepower, while not really yawn factor, is certainly not surprising. AMG has done an amazing job generating massive power and torque numbers for Mercedes that you can now buy of the regular dealer showroom floor. While big engine big power Benzs have been a hallmark of the company for years they were scarcer in years past.
This big fellow could scare off just about everything else on the road when it was new back in 1994. The SL74 was a Renntech package that took the already potent Mercedes 6 liter V-12 and pushed it out to 7.4 liters. With about 600 horsepower and 600 lb. ft. of torque after the conversion all coming out of a lagless normally aspirated engine one could easily spin the z rated tires down to the rims.
It isn’t clear if this car was converted by Renntech just after the purchase or if the conversion took place later in the car’s life. With only 15,000 miles it doesn’t really matter.
This car has similar specs to the Renntech SL74 I posted early this summer:
http://germancarsforsaleblog.com/1997-mercedes-sl74-renntech-monster
Giant brakes (seriously look inside the wheels at those things), exhaust, limited slip diff, upgraded transmission all are necessary additions. The sort of things you would associate with a handbuilt rocketship. What sets this one apart, ironically, is at first glance it is so subdued. You could easily mistake this for just another R129 series Benz. The wheels are nothing too exciting, though closer inspection reveals them to be light magnesium wheels. Nothing seems too fancy about the bodykit, some flares and vents, not even a badge on the back, then you realize it is all carbon fiber, hood, fenders, rockers. This saves, according to the seller 600 lbs in weight.
A peak inside and you can see that this SL is not for prowling a Florida retirement community, though grandpa would probably like the feel of those Recaro ortho sport seats, grandma likely would not want to fumble with the four point race harness.
I believe you can still get this conversion done by Renntech if you have the cash. The original cost was $325,000, that included $110,000 for the stock SL600. Take the depreciation and buy this two owner sneak attack machine for $65,000. Geniuses drive green cars after all right? Hard top and stand included. Just be careful the seller has no feedback.
It is worth noting that the Renntech 7.4 should not be confused with the similar era Mercedes AMG SL73, which was a factory produced vehicle available in very limited numbers. The 7.3 liter AMG engine is the engine that went on to more recent fame as the power plant for the Pagani Zonda producing similar power figures as this Renntech.
~Evan
2001 Mercedes-Benz CL600 for Sale
Ben’s Q-Ship post the other day got me thinking about these biggest of Benz coupes. There’s something to be said about the pure indulgence intrinsic in massive luxury coupes. Ben’s 65 puts the “rocket ship” in Q-ship, but the “pedestrian,” non-AMG’d CL600 was no slouch either. It only made 60% of the CL65′s power (367 vs. 612), but it was still a burly V12 able to excite while cruising in a massive, B-pillarless yacht of a coupe.
2001 Mercedes-Benz CL600 for sale
It’s a shame it’s not two years older, when the 600 gained twin turbos. But really, an engine that needs its torque electronically limited is an exercise in absurdity; the 600 and V12 badges will impress just as much when you’re cruising. It’s just over 100k miles, usually a nice amount but with a German V12, any miles are bad miles in terms of maintenance cost. But if a Benz CL is what you want, you’d have class and cash left over with a reduced price around $16k. Not bad to get into this lineage.
-NR
Don’t Miss No Reserve Mercedes 1992 500E
This is the last of my last minute Easter posts. Here is a tastefully modified 500E with 153,000 mile. It is up for sale at $9100 no reserve. Even with the mileage that is a very tempting price for a 500E.
The car comes with a blacked out grill and a brand new $9000 paint job. The nice deep dish three piece AMG wheels the seller is keeping, which is unfortunate because they look really good and are contemporary with the car.
There is something funky going on with the headlamp wipers, but that should be an easy fix.
The seller gives a list of recently serviced items including:
WATER PUMP
MOTOR MOUNTS
ARI CONDITIONING
BRAKES
ALIGNMENT
OIL
COOLANT
SHOCK
VALVE COVER GASKETS
REAR SHADE SERVICE
BATTERY
ALPINE AM, FM, SIRIUS, BLUETOOTH PHONE INTERFACE, USB AND IPOD FEATURE
This looks like a solid car for under $10k. Even though the auction ends really soon a PPI would be advised with those miles.
~Evan
1991 Mercedes 560SEC Euro
Number 2 in my last minute Easter Sunday posts is this Euro grey market 560SEC with only 62,000 miles. Sold by the same fellow who is selling the nice 500E that ends today. Perhaps if you buy both this and the matching charcoal black 500E you could get a deal.
Like the 500E this looks to be a very well maintained example. The Euro spec model has the nicer headlights and bumpers, as well as a Euro spec engine.
These are great cars and this is low mileage for the engine. The car is just old enough to avoid many of the electronic gizmos that can cause problems, but new enough that it has plenty of convience features modern Mercedes are known for.
Another fine unmolested example.
~Evan
Last Minute Lazy Sunday Deals Mercedes 500E
It is Easter and there are a number of auctions ending today on eBay that may get missed as folks are traveling or spending time with family.
I thought I would post a few up to get them some attention before they disappeared. So this will be post #1 of 3 quick ones.
1994 Mercedes 500E with 68,000 miles, which is fairly low for the Porsche engineered engine. Buy it now is $25,000.
I’m not sure if this one has appeared on the site before, I don’t think so, but I am almost positive I have seen it for sale before. It is clearly one of the nicer 500Es out there. This one looks really well maintained and original. The pictures back up the seller’s statements about the condition. Perhaps one of the nicest original driver 500Es left on the road.
~Evan
1991 Isdera Imperator 108i Mercedes Gullwing
I’m still keeping up with this unique Mercedes gullwing theme I’ve had going on. If you thought the Styling Garage SGS or the Sbarro were scarce finds, this ups the ante once more. This fantastically rare find comes from reader Victor, awesome catch.
Isdera’s are one of the rarest cars in the world and you hardly ever have the opportunity to see one come up for public sale. For one reason or another this one has popped up on the Japanese Yahoo Auction site. These cars go beyond the standard supercars you people dreamed about. Isdera falls in with brands like Vector and the Cizeta in terms of early 90s exclusivity.
The 108i was built from 1984-1993, according to the auction this one has a date of 1991. The Imperators had their origins as a Mercedes concept car before being turned over to the Isdera company to develop privately. The name means commander in Latin stemming from Roman times. The seller states that this is one of two that was imported to Japan. With such a long, but limited production run, apx 30 cars, several different Mercedes power plants were used. The seller states that this one has a Mercedes 5.0. The engine cover looks like this is the 32 valve version found in the 500SL of the day. With Isdera modifications, 400 horsepower could be lurking in there. These cars were known as potent performers.
The seller is looking for 58,000,000 Yen which is about $650,000, half of the initial cost of 120,000,000 Yen. That makes the cost of that $90,000 Sbarro look pretty good.
1991 Isdera Imperator 108i for sale on Yahoo Auctions Japan.
Check out this site to learn some more about other Isdera 108i models: http://www.autozine.org/Classiccar/html/Isdera/108i.html.
Here are a couple of videos showing similar vehicles, you can see there is some variation. Note the roof mounted “periscope” mirror for backup driving on both these cars. Note that both videos show the car wearing the same license plate badge, with letters bb and CW311. CW311 was the name of the initial Mercedes prototype styling study, b+b is one of the German Mercedes tuning firms. Also pay attention how in one video the car is wearing all 3 pointed Mercedes star badges, but in the other these have been replaced with Isdera flying eagle badges.
First is an advertisement from Isdera for the 108i.
Second here is one out on the street. This one appears to have an earlier 5.6 Mercedes engine, it sure sounds fine.
~Evan
1983 Mercedes 500SEC Gullwing Styling Garage
Keeping with the flavor of my last post on the Gullwing Sbarro I thought this similar aged take on the classic Benz Gullwing take was nice.
Nowadays you see everything from Dodge Neons to Honda Civics running around with cheap poor quality Lambo style door kits.
The gullwing setup on this Merc is a much more involved project since it involves cutting the roof. When you cut this much metal out of the car you have to add significant reinforcement to maintain a safe body.
Styling Garage, SGS, the company that made the modifications, was well known in the 80s for making dramatic visual upgrades to Mercedes cars.
Many SGS tuned cars were given SGS badges out front and custom body work instead of the three pointed star. This one has some AMG body parts, but looks mostly stock. Inside there is some custom guages and nice wood steering wheel.
Original price on the conversion was the same as the price of the car itself.
This specimen has 40,000 miles, and a seller looking for $15,000. It has new paint, but as you can tell from the wood planks holding the doors up there is some work to be done. Lots of depreciation here for a really unique car.
You can read more about the SEC gullwings over at 1000SEL.com
~Evan
1986 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16 with 63,000 miles
Clean, low mileage Mercedes 190E sedans are getting harder to find these days. Even more rare are well looked after examples of the hot version, the 190E 2.3-16 with an engine developed jointly with Cosworth and an available 5 speed manual transmission with dog leg first gear. Before AMG became the in-house tuning arm of Mercedes-Benz, there were several performance sedans to emerge from the manufacturer, most notably the W109 300SEL 6.3, W116 450SEL 6.9 and the legendary Porsche assembled W124 500E/E500. The 190E 2.3-16 and 2.5-16 were part of this high performance history.
This is the holy grail of 190E 2.3-16V cars; all original paint and body panels, no accidents or paintwork EVER. Only 63K documented original miles. Fantastic original cosmetic condition inside and out. Flawless mechanically with everything working including the VDO computer. A 5-speed manual with a smooth and perfect clutch and transmission. She runs strong, looks great, and is in SUCH great shape cosmetically and mechanically; this car needs NOTHING but a new owner.
The 190E 2.3-16 has begun to garner recognition amongst collectors and values have crept up as of late. Still, no matter how clean, $17,900 seems optimistic, given that mint C43 AMG models with a V8 can be had for similar, if not less money. True, the C43 is a different animal, but when NADA is listing a high retail shy of $12,000 for this car, one would think this kind of vehicle would maybe pull $14-15k max. Still, there is no denying that this is an exceptional example of an important piece of Mercedes-Benz history.
-Paul
Theme Week: Winter Olympics of SUVs
Since our first theme week was such a success and fun. We are doing another round. This week we are thinking about the Winter Olympics. Heavy snow, cold temperatures, rugged terrain, all things you would associate with the Winter Olympics. Lastly, of course, you have your highly tuned, trained, athletes at the top of their game, ready to tackle tough conditions.
We think that this can be a pretty easy comparison to the top dogs (St. Bernards perhaps?) of the luxury, performance SUV, category.
So be on the lookout this week for Teutonic trucks.
To start things off here is a silly video of a pair of Mercedes G55s pulling a C63 through some snow. Something is slightly off with this video, be it lack of snow tires, lack of driving skill, lack of something.
~Evan
1995 Mercedes-Benz E320 Coupe
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With the reintroduction of the Mercedes-Benz E Class Coupe for 2010, let’s take a moment and pour over its direct forebear. Here is a clean, relatively low mileage 1995 E320 coupe, which represents the final year of production for the W124 chassis. According to The Standard Catalog of Mercedes-Benz, only 1,798 Coupes were produced for 1995, which was amazingly higher than production was in 1994. While there were less W124 Convertibles produced during the same time frame, open top versions seem easier to find in mint condition and appear to change hands rather frequently, given the short supply. Powered by the ubiquitous M104 3.2 liter inline six, this coupe is capable of providing many more miles of effortless, reliable transport.
1995 Mercedes-Benz E320 Coupe in Hemmings
The seller states:
1995 Mercedes-Benz E320 Coupe, 88K, Black/ grey leather. Never smoked in, southern car, always garaged, no rust, mint condition. Clean CarFax. Cost new $63K.
Upon seeing this ad, I had a suspicion that $14,500 seemed high for an asking price, but I had not looked up the value of W124 coupes lately. Sure enough, after consulting three pricing sources, Edmunds, Kelley Blue Book and NADA, my suspicions were correct. High retail value from these three pricing services was $5,086, $7,150 and $8,912 respectively. Granted, the ad is not very descriptive and there is no telling whether the car is fully documented or if it is an original owner vehicle. If this were the case, I could see the value of this creeping more towards the $10,000 mark, given the mileage and the fact that you don’t see these on the market every day. All of this aside, it is nice to see a well preserved, late model W124 coupe out there, as these cars are simply timeless.
-Paul
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