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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 hope you like yellow. I always seem to go hot and cold on the color, and honestly that is because it entirely depends on what car it is. Last week we saw a very rare 1999 Mercedes-Benz SL500 sell for a bunch of money and I’m certain if that car was black, it wouldn’t have sold for that price. However, whenever Designo gets involved, they seem to turn the dial up a few notches. That was the case with this 1998 SLK 320 Kompressor up for sale in Italy. Hold on.
Just one time I’d love to get the full story on how these crazy low-production cars actually ended up getting built. Did the board member in charge of production planning buzz off to St. Moritz for three weeks and the guys on the production line throw together some leftover parts until he got back? Then again, these are the Germans here. Nothing is done without a meeting, another meeting, a planning session, a meeting about the planning session, and then a very precise schedule about production but not before having a safety meeting. There is a method to this madness, and madness is what we got with today’s car.
This is 1998 Mercedes-Benz C55 AMG. Reportedly there were 59 of these cars produced, which were the then-W202 C-Class AMG but with the 5.4-liter M113 from the E55. Why only 59? Who knows. Although this one has something different about it that you can see through the windshield. It is in fact one of the very few right-hand-drive examples for the UK.
If you are feeling déjà vu, you are on to something. Last month I checked out a 1998 Mercedes-Benz S600 7.0 AMG and now a month later, we have the brother 1998 CL600 7.0 AMG. It is probably safe to assume these both came out of the same collection, and believe it or not, this one checks in with over 100,000 kilometers on the odometer. Long live the M120!
When it comes to the old rule of Mercedes-Benz wagons are worth significantly more than their sedan counterparts, the AMG models are no exception. It is basically having your cake and eating it too, only this cake is really rare and extremely hard to find given they didn’t make many at all. Today’s car is a currently forbidden fruit as it isn’t 25-years-old yet, but the clock is ticking fast and it will be legal in no time. Say hello 1998 Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG Wagon.
