Mercedes-Benz was founded in 1886 when engineer Milhelm Maybach created the Benz Patent Motorwagen, a stagecoach that was capable of putzing around at 10 mph thanks to a laughable engine producing 0.75 hp. A century later, Mercedes-Benz shook the Earth with their interpretation of Thor’s Hammer. A handful of Mercedes’ bulletproof M117 5.4 liter V8 engines were taken to the German tuning giant AMG, which promptly bored out the engine to 5.6 liters to produce a round performance figure of 360 hp. 12 units in total of the W124-based Mercedes-Benz 300E AMG, a.k.a. “The Hammer,” were built in 1986.
A hot rod that was a black sheep among the company’s lineup, Mercedes-Benz wanted to figure out a way to create another Super-W124 that could deliver just as much refinement as savagery — enter Porsche.
A rare moment of Teutonic partnership, the Mercedes-Benz 500E was handbuilt within the Porsche factory. What’s more, the very special Audi RS2 was another Porsche legend that was assembled alongside the 500E as well.
In a nutshell, the 500E is every bit the “Hammer” as the 300E AMG. However, the 500E would be a golden hammer with a mahogany handle encrusted with diamonds that was wrapped in silk.
Utilizing the M119 5.0 liter V8 engine’s inherently broad powerband, 326 hp propels the 3,909 pound sleeper in a confident surge from 0-to-60 mph in just 5.5 seconds.
Porsche only built 10,000 examples of the 500E. What’s more, only 1,500 made it to the U.S. market.
Remarkably, I was able to catch one fine white-on-white example lurking in New York City’s Financial District, no more than a block away from the WTC site. Enjoy the pictures of the very special Mercedes-Benz/Porsche 500E above!
Source: motoriginal.com






