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We have 15 years of archives. Links older than a year may have been updated to point to similar cars available to bid on eBay.
This is the end of the road for the Mercedes-Benz S-Class coupe. Following the 2020 model year, Mercedes made a huge decision on pulling the plug for the S-Class Coupe and Cabriolet model, which have been around in one way or another since the W142 chassis that debuted in 1937. The reason given was to cut down the massive line-up of cars to make it a little easier on dealers as well as shift focus to electric offerings. Crazy how we can go from twin-turbocharged V12s making 620 horsepower to all-electric cars basically overnight. Mercedes is telling its customers to go buy the new R232 SL if they want a grand tourer coupe, but that is clearly not the same as the king of the hill S-Class. What will all that mean? I think the current C217 and A217 are going to be very collectible.
The year is 2023 and I’m still discovering vehicles that I always thought existed, but could never prove because I had never actually seen one. That changes today with the 1998 Mercedes-Benz G43 AMG. Yes, G43. This is a W463 with the AMG-tuned 4.3-liter M113 that is most known for being in the C43 AMG. The selling dealer claims this was built for the Japanese market and resided there until imported back to Germany in 2019. Stated production was just 10, and I am inclined to believe that given I’ve never actually seen one before. I love it.
I know looking at the Mercedes-AMG GT lineup is a little confusing, because what isn’t clear about having eight different trim levels of the same car, but considering Porsche currently has 26 (!) different 911 variants, I think we can sort this out. The base AMG GT, if you want to call it that, was launched back in 2014 and offered a nice package. In the same way the base Porsche 911 is a nice package. But once you start comparing it to the higher trim levels, it doesn’t seem like a great value when you can have more for just a small amount of money. It’s the same way the large-size french fry is only .30 cents more than the medium. You’d be crazy not to buy the large, but the medium exists and people do buy them. However, there isn’t a market for 5-year-old french fries the way there is for 5-year-old cars. So why for basically the same money would you get the lesser trim when the next level is literally right there? People still buy those medium fries.
A look back at the top 10 posts on our blog from the past year. What German enthusiast autos are you looking for in 2023?…
It often pays to be first. There certainly is true in the car industry as well. Especially when it comes to rare limited-production models that everyone wants but not a lot of people can get. The Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series is turning out to be a perfect example of how much difference a year makes when it comes to pricing. Let’s take a closer look.
