The product of a Porsche-Mercedes collaboration built on the W124 platform E-class, the 500E is a 90s super sedan that tends to fly under the radar (or did, until recently, when the collector market began to take an interest). The flared fenders and squat stance are the only external cues that set these cars apart from your average Stuttgart taxi. But beneath the surface lies a wider track, beefier brakes and a 5.0 liter V8 engine developing about 326 hp. That lump is sufficient to propel the 500E to 60 in just under 6 seconds. While that’s not super impressive by today’s standards, it was quick for the time. And the chief virtue of the 500E was never really its acceleration from a standstill (torquey and quick, though it was). It was its ability to cruise the autobahn at 160 mph all day, every day, while four passengers sat in dignified comfort in the cabin.
Tag: M119
The W124 platform E500 - the product of a joint venture between Mercedes and Porsche – has established itself as a firm favorite among enthusiasts lusting after brawny, fast German steel. Hewing close to the late 80s/early 90s super-sedan recipe - big engine, understated exterior, room for four to travel in comfort with effortless rapidity - these brutes have been rising in value of late, with asking prices on mint, low-mileage examples reaching into the $30k plus territory. Over the summer, Paul and I saw a couple of 500Es hanging out at Katie’s Cars and Coffee, the same place, in fact, where a week later a 380SL would rather infamously collide with a Ferrari 458 Speciale. I hadn’t seen a 500E in the flesh for a while, and I was struck by just how muscled and hunkered-down they look. At the time, Paul said to me that “hunkered-down” is exactly how they feel to drive too. I have to take him at his word; sadly I haven’t had the pleasure.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1994 Mercedes-Benz E500 on eBay
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The E60 AMG is an ultra rare, high-performance version of the W124 E-class dating from the pre-merger era, i.e. before AMG was officially folded into the Mercedes-Benz family. The E60, of which only around 126 were ever built, began life as a 500E, already a rather special car and the product of a Porsche-Mercedes collaboration. Should a buyer select option code 957, their 500E would be sent to the tuners at Affalterbach for further upgrades and come back rebadged as an E60. These upgrades included tweaks to the suspension and a larger, 6.0 liter version of the M119 V8 engine, the same motor as in the famed AMG “Hammer,” pushing power to 376 hp (edit: see the note from Glenn in the comments section re: Hammer).
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1991 Mercedes-Benz E60 AMG on Classic Driver
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The 500E is the pumped up, M5-fighting, super-sedan version of the W124 platform E-class. The product of a Porsche-Mercedes collaboration between 1990 and 1994, these cars were 322 hp monsters capable of 155 MPH on the autobahn. Powered by the 5.0 liter V8 M119 engine, the 500E was externally differentiated from ordinary W124s only by flared fenders, a slightly lowered stance and an innocuous-looking badge at the rear. The 500E was the very definition of a wolf in sheep’s clothing: practical, supremely fast and understated (a cliche, to be sure, but an apt one). I used to scour Craigslist for these cars, in the vain hope that I would come across one being sold for cheap by somebody who didn’t know what they had. Sounds far fetched, I know. But Doug Demuro once found one for half price price at a dealer who mistook it for just another old Benz. Sadly, I think those days are over. The used market has since woken up to these cars and now they’re usually priced anywhere between $10k and $40k depending on condition and miles.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1993 Mercedes-Benz 500E on eBay
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After I wrote up a nice looking W124 the other week, a few of our enterprising readers did some further digging and uncovered a number of discrepancies in the car’s history, suggesting it wasn’t such a great deal after all. To try to make up for it I’ve found three more examples of the venerable old E-class for consideration this week. What these cars have in common is that they all present nicely in the ads, appear to have been well cared for by their previous owners and are all priced very competitively. Hopefully at least one of these is a winner. First up is this white 400E.