Grant V
Member
- Messages
- 242
The QP went in to get the suspension bushes replaced and I've been using my 500E for the last two days. I don't drive it that often, but every time I do I'm amazed at what an over all brilliant car it is.
This W124-series car is ultra rare in SA, one of only four and it's likely to remain that way as left hookers have been banned from import for the past 15 years. There were only about 10 500 built worldwide, so even on a global scale they were built in small numbers. Apparently Porsche only built them at a rate of 12 a day - yes, Porsche.
When the 959 production came to an end, Porsche's Rossel Bau production facility lay vacant. Mercedes was looking for an answer to BMW's M5, but didn't have the capacity to built such a specialized car, so a deal was brokered where the bodies were hand built at Porsche, shipped across to MB for painting and then ferried back to Porsche for assembly.
The plan was to take the engine and drive train out of the R129 500SL and shove it into the W124 series sedan. This required some special bodywork to accommodate the wider track of the front and rear suspension as well as the wider wheels, resulting in the 500E's flared wheel arches. Apart from numerous bespoke body pressings, the engine block is also unique to this car, needing to be shortened to fit under the bonnet. The suspension was stiffened and lowered by 20mm and the 16" wheels were borrowed from the 500SL over the standard 15" wheels on the 300E. Apart from the wider wheel arches as a visual clue, the 500E also got deeper front and rear bumpers, with the front bumpers featuring integrated fog lights, similar to the SL, and deeper side skirts. The changes are quite subtle and at a glance the car doesn't look any different from a 200D, but there's something there you can't put your finger on. When it stands next to another cooking W124, the changes are marked. It's strictly a four-seater with a wood cubby mounted between to two rear seats below the armrest.
This has to be one of the world's greatest Q cars and I read that the 500E was de-tuned so at not to usurp the SL as the MB flagship of the time. Apparently the 500E would do 0-100km/h in 5.1 seconds, but was slowed down to 5.9 to match the 500SL. That's quick even by today's standards....for a 20 year old car. It's utterly effortless and you can tootle around town like a gentleman, or unleash the horses and drive it like a cowboy, which is mostly where I'm at. It's firm, but comfortable, maybe even soft compared to today's ueber autos.
I first saw a 500E when I was bumming around Germany as a 21 year old. We were on our way to the Oktoberfest in Munich in a rattling Fiat Uno when this black missile came flying past us. It had only been a few months since the car had been launched and although it didn't have a badge on the boot lid, the wider arches gave it away. I told myself that one day I was going to have one and picked up a brochure from a MB dealer a few days later which I've kept ever since.
Eight years ago I got my chance when the 500E came up for sale on the MB Club SA forum. I couldn't believe that the guys were humming and hahing and kicking the tyres about this car. One guy even said that he was put off by the left hooker and wanted a RHD spec. Problem for him was that they were only made as lefties. I didn't know where I would get the money from, but I phoned the owner in a panic and made him an offer, which he accepted - lucky me!
This is without a doubt one of the best cars I am privileged to own, and probably the last to go. If any of you ever get the opportunity to drive one, grab it and you'll see what I mean.
Towards the end of the 500E/ E500 production, Porsche started to build the Audi RS2 Avant - another superb love child from Audi and Porsche.
This is a period pic taken at Porsche with the 500E mixing it up with the rest of the Porsche range:
This W124-series car is ultra rare in SA, one of only four and it's likely to remain that way as left hookers have been banned from import for the past 15 years. There were only about 10 500 built worldwide, so even on a global scale they were built in small numbers. Apparently Porsche only built them at a rate of 12 a day - yes, Porsche.
When the 959 production came to an end, Porsche's Rossel Bau production facility lay vacant. Mercedes was looking for an answer to BMW's M5, but didn't have the capacity to built such a specialized car, so a deal was brokered where the bodies were hand built at Porsche, shipped across to MB for painting and then ferried back to Porsche for assembly.
The plan was to take the engine and drive train out of the R129 500SL and shove it into the W124 series sedan. This required some special bodywork to accommodate the wider track of the front and rear suspension as well as the wider wheels, resulting in the 500E's flared wheel arches. Apart from numerous bespoke body pressings, the engine block is also unique to this car, needing to be shortened to fit under the bonnet. The suspension was stiffened and lowered by 20mm and the 16" wheels were borrowed from the 500SL over the standard 15" wheels on the 300E. Apart from the wider wheel arches as a visual clue, the 500E also got deeper front and rear bumpers, with the front bumpers featuring integrated fog lights, similar to the SL, and deeper side skirts. The changes are quite subtle and at a glance the car doesn't look any different from a 200D, but there's something there you can't put your finger on. When it stands next to another cooking W124, the changes are marked. It's strictly a four-seater with a wood cubby mounted between to two rear seats below the armrest.
This has to be one of the world's greatest Q cars and I read that the 500E was de-tuned so at not to usurp the SL as the MB flagship of the time. Apparently the 500E would do 0-100km/h in 5.1 seconds, but was slowed down to 5.9 to match the 500SL. That's quick even by today's standards....for a 20 year old car. It's utterly effortless and you can tootle around town like a gentleman, or unleash the horses and drive it like a cowboy, which is mostly where I'm at. It's firm, but comfortable, maybe even soft compared to today's ueber autos.
I first saw a 500E when I was bumming around Germany as a 21 year old. We were on our way to the Oktoberfest in Munich in a rattling Fiat Uno when this black missile came flying past us. It had only been a few months since the car had been launched and although it didn't have a badge on the boot lid, the wider arches gave it away. I told myself that one day I was going to have one and picked up a brochure from a MB dealer a few days later which I've kept ever since.
Eight years ago I got my chance when the 500E came up for sale on the MB Club SA forum. I couldn't believe that the guys were humming and hahing and kicking the tyres about this car. One guy even said that he was put off by the left hooker and wanted a RHD spec. Problem for him was that they were only made as lefties. I didn't know where I would get the money from, but I phoned the owner in a panic and made him an offer, which he accepted - lucky me!
This is without a doubt one of the best cars I am privileged to own, and probably the last to go. If any of you ever get the opportunity to drive one, grab it and you'll see what I mean.
Towards the end of the 500E/ E500 production, Porsche started to build the Audi RS2 Avant - another superb love child from Audi and Porsche.
This is a period pic taken at Porsche with the 500E mixing it up with the rest of the Porsche range:
