If you've ever wondered what would happen if AMG took a crack at a classic W123 station wagon, you can wonder no more. The answer to that excellent question is heading to auction in a few days, when RM Sotheby's will offer a 1979 Mercedes-Benz 500 TE AMG at its Techno Classic Essen auction.
If you remember AMG at all from the days before it was an in-house tuning arm of Mercedes-Benz, you may recall that one of their earliest party tricks was stuffing 5.0-liter V8 engines into the W123 chassis. The V8s themselves, of course, were shared with W116 sedans, among other models, and the generous dimensions of the W123 body allowed the V8 to move into the engine bay permanently, living almost rent-free except for the frequent gas station visits.
This particular example was discovered relatively recently by Henric Nieminen, an AMG enthusiast based in California. Powered by an early M117 5.0-liter V8 featuring a secondary oil cooler, tubular headers and downpipes, this wagon also boasted a cast aluminium rear suspension, a skid plate, Recaro seats with matching door cards and an AMG body kit. The car contains plenty of other AMG equipment that the tuning house fitted to its early projects.
Curiously enough, there is some doubt regarding whether the work was done by AMG in the U.S., or some other builder using AMG parts.
"The sum of these parts suggests the car was built in period by either AMG in the United States, or by someone who had intimate knowledge of Mercedes-Benz and AMG products at a time when few people would have had such knowledge outside AMG," RM Sotheby's notes. "However, there is no conclusive proof or documentation to support this."
What is not in dispute is that this wagon appeared in a BBC "Top Gear" segment celebrating 50 years of the tuner.
RM Sotheby's estimates this wagon to fetch between 60,000 and 70,000 euros on auction day, which transates to a range of $67,000 to $78,000.
We may have to view this range as rather moderate, given the fact that the best stock examples of the W123 have been trading in the $30,000 to $45,000 range, so the AMG modifications and the work performed here can be viewed as a bit of a bargain if it lands anywhere near the low estimate. Can a really clean W123 wagon be transformed into an identical machine today on a budget of $67,000 minus the price of the wagon itself? That would be a stretch. And finding another AMG-tuned W123 wagon in the States is a tall order, especially if you want a good way to scare other AMG owners on the road.
Visit the auction website for the full list of lots and auction schedule.
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