The centerpiece of the current "Youngtimer" exhibition organized by Mercedes-Benz at its factory museum in Stuttgart is a car rightfully called a "wolf in sheep's clothing." The displayed example, the last produced model of the E 500 from the Mercedes W124 series, has covered only 422 kilometers.
If we overlook the ultra-rare AMG E60, production of the most powerful Mercedes from the famous W124 series lasted from 1991 to the spring of 1995. The unusual story that gave birth to the formidable 500 E (later renamed E 500 due to new nomenclature) began in early 1990, when Stuttgart decided to offer customers a high-performance sedan as an adequate response to the then second-generation BMW M5 (E34).
Porsche stepped in to tackle the M5 challenge, as they had excess time and production capacity at the time. Standard Mercedes sedan bodies were transported to Porsche's factory in Zuffenhausen, where manual modifications were made to the suspension, and the bodies were reinforced. Afterward, they were adorned with subtly widened fenders—necessary due to the increased wheel track.
The reason? In Mercedes' production facilities in Sindelfingen at the time, there simply wasn’t enough physical space on the assembly lines for these modifications. The modified bodies were returned to Mercedes' factory for painting and then "traveled" back to Porsche's facilities for final assembly, which included fitting Mercedes' 5-liter naturally aspirated V8 engine (M119), whose modifications were also overseen by Porsche.
The V8 engine in the Mercedes E 500 from its final production year delivers 320 horsepower and 470 Nm of peak torque, with power distributed to the rear axle via a 4-speed automatic transmission. These figures are enough to achieve a 0–100 km/h acceleration in 6.1 seconds and an electronically limited top speed of 250 km/h.
Due to the complex production and transportation process, completing one car took 18 days. This exotic creation by Mercedes and Porsche was produced in 10,479 units. Today, a well-preserved example requires an investment of around €60,000.