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Following on to the AMG E-class estate goodness we just saw earlier today, here’s a very nice example of one of the last of those famous Mercedes-Benz/Porsche collaborations, the E500. We’ve waxed poetic about this car many times, but a variation some might not be aware of was that a Limited model appeared towards the end of the E500s lifecycle. These E500 Limited models included different trim, inclusive of some rather avant garde upholstery and Evo II wheels. As if this performance special wasn’t limited enough, feast your eyes on this silver beauty for sale in the United Kingdom at 4Star Classics.
The Mercedes-Benz W124 500E/E500 is one of those cars that we hadn’t quite seen from Mercedes-Benz and probably won’t see ever again. A product of cooperation between Porsche and Mercedes-Benz before AMG was absorbed as an in-house tuning arm, this sedan packed a powerful V8, suspension enhancements and subtle styling tweaks to be one of the most potent four-doors of its day. Now that AMG is responsible for all go fast Mercedes-Benzes, I look back on this outlier, what some consider the first true four-door Porsche. This final year E500 for sale in Atlanta is one of only seven 1994 E500s painted in Polar White. Given this is such a popular hue these days, this one is bound to catch some attention, as pedestrian as it might seem on the surface.
Here’s a V8 that can haul. Literally. For a short while, Mercedes-Benz offered the W211 E-Class estate in V8 form. Sure, with this generation E-class you could opt to have your E-class estate AMG tuned, but for those who simply wanted a V8 cruiser, the E500 estate was an option. This 2006 example for sale in Illinois has under 70,000 miles on the clock and comes equipped with 4Matic all-wheel drive, making this five-door not only a sleeper, but practical when the foul weather arrives. With V8 all-wheel drive estates like these, who needs the ubiquitous SUV?
What can I say about the W124 500 that hasn’t already been said? I doubt I could honestly come up with anything original. Sure, I could throw around the typical laurels – super sedan, Q-Ship, sleeper, muscle car, velvet hammer. I could talk about the interesting relationship in construction with Porsche through which reportedly each of these cars took 18 days to complete as they traveled between factories. Of course, it was long from the first time that Porsche and Mercedes-Benz had worked together, since Ferdinand had been employed by the company pre-World War II as a designer. You could argue that Mercedes-Benz out-M5’d the M5 with the “monster” M119 pushing over 320 horsepower to the rear wheels – a full hundred horsepower more than some of its rivals. Interesting stuff, for sure, over a pint of your favorite beer. But what interests me about this particular example is not the obscure facts, the stupendous for their day power levels, the legendary build quality or even the luxurious yet Spartan interior of the W124. No, in this case, it’s the color – Arctic White:
Mercedes Benz and aggression don’t always go hand-in-hand. Nor should they. However, those familiar with the marque are well aware that we should never take that to mean they don’t produce performance machines. The big luxury performance sedan has its province in the German automotive industry in general and the model we see here was born through the collaboration of two of its heavyweights. Built at Porsche’s Zuffenhausen factory the Mercedes-Benz 500E (later dubbed the E500) remains one of the best super sleepers of the automotive world. Unlike many of its brethren, and especially the larger Mercs, the 500E did come with a fair bit of aggressive styling though always within the refined confines of the Mercedes design. The particular example we see here from near the end of the model run, a 1994 Mercedes-Benz E500, has enhanced that aggressive stance through the addition of a set of AMG wheels, which look fantastic. At just under 100K miles, this one has pretty reasonable mileage to boot.
