1992 Mercedes-Benz 500E

Mercedes-Benz sold a high-performance version of the W124 from 1990 to 1995, called the 500E. They were built in close co-operation with Porsche with each example being hand-built by Porsche. The cars were transported back and forth between the Mercedes-Benz plant and Porsche's Rossle-Bau plant in Zuffenhausen, Germany, during assembly. Each car took 18 days to complete.

The newly launched M119 V8 engine was intended to be installed in the compact W124 chassis. Since the frame rails were too close together, it did not fit. Porsche Engineering Consultants were enlisted to assist in creating designs to widen the frame and revise the suspension. When the 500E became too wide to fit down the regular W124 production line (2.2 inches too wide), Mercedes once again turned to Porsche for assistance with the car's production. A body was sent to Porsche to have the frame modified to accept the larger V8 before being sent back to Mercedes, where it would receive its paintwork. A crate of parts and the painted body were then sent to another Porsche factory for hand assembly. Upon completition, Porsche returned the car back to Mercedes for final inspection before shipping it to the customer.

The Mercedes-Benz 500 E was first shown in October of 1990 at the Paris Motor Show.

Just 554 examples (some sources say 633) of the limited-production Mercedes-Benz 500E were built in 1992. Power was from a 4,973cc (5.0 liter), 32-valve, quad-cam, short-stroke, all-aluminum engine offering 322 horsepower and 332 ft-lbs of torque. It was derived from the 500SL (R129) engine and braking performance was also sourced from SL components. It came with a four-speed automatic transmission, power recirculating-ball steering, and four-wheel disc brakes. The uprated suspension and brakes required 56 millimeters of additional wheel arch width.

The body styling was aggressive, with a 1.5-inch wider track, lower profile, flared wheel arches, side skirts, wider tires, and front air dam.

The 500E was a four-seat saloon in left-hand drive configuration only. Recaro supplied the leather seats with the front being electrically operated and heated. The performance was impressive, taking just 5.5 seconds to go from zero-to-sixty mph. Top speed was achieved at 161.5 mph with the engine speed limited to 6000 RPM.

by Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2019