Once an obscure model appreciated primarily by Mercedes-Benz nerds, the 500E has become a mainstream collectible thanks to its association with Porsche. In addition to being constructed by Porsche in the factory where the 959 had previously been built, the 500E was also engineered by Porsche, who gave it the designation Type 2758.
The car is essentially a composite of existing Mercedes-Benz components from two models, the mid-sized W124 chassis 300E sedan, with mechanical underpinnings from the R129 chassis 500SL. Porsche was responsible for integrating these components to create a car which would deliver a level of performance not previously seen in a Mercedes sedan. The 500E was in some sense the heir to the M100 dynasty of the 1960s and 1970s (300 SEL 6.3 and 450 SEL 6.9), but was built on the mid-sized platform rather than that of the S-Class, and added performance-oriented bodyshell, suspension, brake, and interior upgrades as well. This laid the groundwork for the pattern still used by AMG variants of Mercedes today.
At the time, however, the concept was quite unusual, and the execution was performed to the usual high Mercedes standards, which deeply impressed all the media who came in contact with the car. There is a whole raft of excellent magazine article quotes about the 500E, particularly from the April 1992 issue of Automobile. Highlight include:
- “I was going down the autobahn toward Geneva in the 500E, and I was thinking about my friends who are always telling me how great it must be to work at a car magazine and then asking which car is the best I’ve ever driven. And I thought: This is it. This is the best car in the world. This is the reason I work at a car magazine.”
- “The 500E’s ability to deliver speed and comfort with complete safety makes it a standard by which we will measure all automobiles.”
- “It’s expensive, exclusive, and more than a little unreal, but it makes you believe once again in the ability of Mercedes to make the ultimate automobile.”
- “Ah, the speed, the incredible speed. We are utterly intoxicated by the 500E’s speed. We are besotted by it, unmanned, and unwomaned by it.”
- “It is important that prospective 500E drivers have impeccable credentials as adults. The car is so quick, so eager, so agile, that it makes immature people drive like idiots. We all fell into that latter category. Example: Early evening, medium traffic, good visibility. I’m minding my own business in the right-hand lane with the cruise control set at 80 mph. Another idiot blasts past in a 5.0 Mustang, and all self-discipline vanishes. I’m on him like a leopard on a tethered goat. He tries to hold me off, but he hasn’t a prayer. A small hole opens, I give the Mercedes one more squirt, and the Mustang disappears in my mirror, its headlights getting closer together as though I were watching through the wrong end of a telescope. At three in the morning, in bed, staring back at the darkness, I squirm uncomfortably and accuse myself: “Idiot! You know better than that! You could be in jail right now!”
Porsche’s involvement in the car made its manufacture complex. 300E bodyshells built by Mercedes were modified by Porsche to accommodate the V8, then returned to Mercedes across Stuttgart for paint and upholstery, before being returned to Porsche for final assembly. This made the cars quite costly, around $80,000 in the United States when a BMW M5 cost around $65,000. Nevertheless, over 10,000 examples were made, although only 1,528 were imported to the United States, plus another 45 examples for Canada.
US cars were equipped to the same high level, with standard automatic climate control, rear sunshade, heated full leather seats. The only options in the US market were both dealer installed: car phone and CD changer. Most of the cars were some variation of silver, black, or gray, in fact these accounted for 87.3% of US market production. In Europe, there were more variations of configuration, including color. One of the coolest variations compared to the US market options was the availability of plaid fabric inserts on the seats and door panels. The fabric, called Karo, was available in the same colors as the main interior upholstery and was paired with leather rather than cloth on the remainder of the seats as it was on lower trim level Mercedes models.
This particular car is finished in Bornite, an elegant and restrained shade of purple, complemented by black Karo interior, and was one of 37 500Es built in this color combination. The car was sold new to an owner in Chur, Switzerland on the 25th of September 1992, and remained in Switzerland for most of its life, where it was looked after with famously Swiss precision. Its included stamped service book shows that it was almost always serviced just prior to the kilometers at which its maintenance was due per the factory service schedule. The car remained in Chur until at least 2002, and it was serviced in the Zurich area thereafter. The current American owner bought the car from a collector in Gstaad and imported it to the United States in 2023.
Since arriving here, it has been used sparingly and received routine maintenance including new distributor caps, rotors, and coils, battery, neutral safety switch, and shifter bushings. The original radio is included with the car, and a US market Mercedes Becker 1692 radio with retrofitted Bluetooth is currently installed in the car. Also included are the original tools and books set including stamped service book.
