RE: Spotted: Mercedes 500E (W124)
Discussion
swilkins999 said:
I wonder how difficult is would be to make a 500E cabrio, using a wheezy E220 cab and a borked 500sl for the motor. I don't know what modifications Porsche had to do but as far as I can tell the main components were standard Merc performance kit. Or perhaps a 500e estate. Having had an RS6 and currently own a 500sl I would say it would make for a very satisfying load lugger come Q car... If only I was more mechanically minded I would love to have a bash at either of those...
From memory Porsche devolved the chassis, it's a totally different car to the normal 300 Series. blartbox said:
For £2K less you could get a fully ramped & stamped R129 with the same engine & half the miles. Not as rare I grant you, but just as quick & you can go roofless. But it's not a four-seater you cry. You can get 4 people in a 129 if they are prepared to suffer; I well recall a lap of Silverstone with 3 six footers on board, driven by my wife (5'2''). I remember thinking that this was what it must have been like being Hitler - riding in the back of a topless Benz. Benzes from the early 1990s were very well made, especially the SL. Now if it was an E500 wagon on offer...
I once had to get in the back of my old r129, it was just a short hop back from the pub, but never again! BeirutTaxi said:
From memory Porsche devolved the chassis, it's a totally different car to the normal 300 Series.
Mine weighed in at 1725 kilos on the weighbridge, no-one in the car and just a quarter tank of fuel though. From memory the R129 is nearly a quarter of a ton heavier and the engine isn't as powerful.It drives in an old fashioned way but covers ground brilliantly.
This is what i'd like mine to end up as....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRcOyyA-ZUM
This is a standard example, not bad for 225 tyres all round and a 4 speed auto.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIpRD6CHTxA
Dave!
Interestingly (well I think it's interesting!), when I tried out a C63 AMG at Brooklands, it reminded me of my old 500E. There was just some innate similarity (beyond that they are both V8 Mercedes mega-saloons) that instantly registered.
Sure, the C63 is much more urgent, has a much more exciting soundtrack and is several generations newer, but I swear there was a similar feel to it, beyond mere "Mercedes-ness". Same beguiling mix of lazy loafing when you're not on it, and bellow off into the next county when you are on it. The newer car just lacks the gun-sight on the end of the bonnet (always my favourite non-mechanical feature of any Merc).
In fact, I'd really, really like a C63 and came within a gnat's chuff of signing on the dotted line at M-B Chelsea. But in the end, even with the excellent finance offers that M-B have for this model, the running costs, urban fuel consumption and rampant depreciation are just too hideous to justify absent a sizeable salary hike or the right lottery ticket!
Sure, the C63 is much more urgent, has a much more exciting soundtrack and is several generations newer, but I swear there was a similar feel to it, beyond mere "Mercedes-ness". Same beguiling mix of lazy loafing when you're not on it, and bellow off into the next county when you are on it. The newer car just lacks the gun-sight on the end of the bonnet (always my favourite non-mechanical feature of any Merc).
In fact, I'd really, really like a C63 and came within a gnat's chuff of signing on the dotted line at M-B Chelsea. But in the end, even with the excellent finance offers that M-B have for this model, the running costs, urban fuel consumption and rampant depreciation are just too hideous to justify absent a sizeable salary hike or the right lottery ticket!
BeirutTaxi said:
swilkins999 said:
I wonder how difficult is would be to make a 500E cabrio, using a wheezy E220 cab and a borked 500sl for the motor. I don't know what modifications Porsche had to do but as far as I can tell the main components were standard Merc performance kit. Or perhaps a 500e estate. Having had an RS6 and currently own a 500sl I would say it would make for a very satisfying load lugger come Q car... If only I was more mechanically minded I would love to have a bash at either of those...
From memory Porsche devolved the chassis, it's a totally different car to the normal 300 Series. yachtie said:
Well spotted.yachtie said:
Given the price differential and the dealer in question, it could still be quite the bargain. Had a private buyer bought that car from Ebay, I wonder how much it would cost them to sort the niggles out. More than £3k?
Hellbound said:
Given the price differential and the dealer in question, it could still be quite the bargain. Had a private buyer bought that car from Ebay, I wonder how much it would cost them to sort the niggles out. More than £3k?
23mpg is wildly optimistic for most of the real world though - 26 was the highest I ever achieved. I think that was over 200 miles at 80km/h with the cruise on.
yachtie said:
Great spot and a good position to start negotiating on the price vee5 said:
Ah a real Q car, lovely. To the best of my knowledge, no manufacturer is able to offer a current model as a pure Q car, unless anyone can correct me on this?
(nb Q car = NO BLING. Virtually indistinguishable from a stocker once the single badge on the rear has been removed)
Very few. Probably only the BMW 550i which you can still get in SE trim and, bar some chunky squared-off exhausts, looks just like a 520d SE, and the new A6 saloon, which you can have in dowdy SE-trim but with the 313bhp 3.0 biturbo diesel and quattro drivetrain. That's a very quick beast but looks just like the boggo 2.0TDi version bar differing tailpipes.(nb Q car = NO BLING. Virtually indistinguishable from a stocker once the single badge on the rear has been removed)
BarringtonBrown said:
Hellbound said:
Given the price differential and the dealer in question, it could still be quite the bargain. Had a private buyer bought that car from Ebay, I wonder how much it would cost them to sort the niggles out. More than £3k?
23mpg is wildly optimistic for most of the real world though - 26 was the highest I ever achieved. I think that was over 200 miles at 80km/h with the cruise on.
Ok, this one's twice the price, but it does possibly twice as nice:
http://www.ccbenz.co.uk/?page_id=1554
Yum.
http://www.ccbenz.co.uk/?page_id=1554
Yum.
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