Mercedes-Benz SL500

Mercedes-Benz produced just 1,596 examples of the 500E in 1993. The 500E, built in close cooperation with Porsche, was produced from 1991 through 1994. Each example was hand-built by Porsche. The chassis were transported back and forth between the Mercedes plant and Porsche's Rossle-Bau plant in Zuffenhausen, German.

Each 500E took 18 days to complete. They were given individual Ricardo seats in the front and rear. The 5-liter, 32 valve, dual overhead cam engine was from the 500SL. With the Bosch LH Jetronic fuel injection system, the car produced 322 horsepower. The 500E came with hydraulic self-leveling suspension, a 2.82:1 differential, ASR, 320mm 4-piston caliper vented front disc brakes from the 500SL, and the SL transmission with the ability to manually start from first gear. Top speed was in the neighborhood of 155 mph and had a redline limit of 6000 RPM. Zero-to-sixty took just 5.5 seconds and they had quarter-mile times of 14.1 seconds at 101 mph.

Other distinguishing features of the 500E was a 1.5 inch wider track, 0.9 inch lower profile, flared fenders, side skirts, front air dam and wide tires

Mercedes-Benz imported roughly one-third of the 500Es to the United States.
By Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2012