Mercedes-Benz · 1991–1994

Mercedes-Benz 500E

The Mercedes-Benz 500 E (1991–1993; 1993–1995 sold as E 500; type W124.036) is a high-performance version of the W124 sold by Mercedes-Benz from 1991 to 1995. The 500 E was created in close cooperation with Porsche. With its engineering department being fully occupied with the development of the new W140 S-Class, Mercedes-Benz commissioned Porsche in 1989 to redesign the W124 chassis along with the necessary changes to the suspension system and drivetrain as to accommodate the wider 5-litre M119 V8. A problem was discovered on the W124 assembly line in Sindelfingen: the redesigned front wings were too wide to fit through certain stations along the assembly line. Rather than do the expensive physical changes, Mercedes-Benz organised the new assembly line at Porsche‘s manufacturing plants specifically for 500 E. This arrangement had a strong benefit for Porsche during its financial crisis brought on from the crippling metalworker strikes and costly engineering and development work on 959. The 500 E production was divided into two assembly lines at separate locations. The components for assembling the chassis was shipped to Porsche‘s "Reutter-Bau" plant in Zuffenhausen to be assembled by hand. The completed chassis was shipped to the Sindelfingen plants to be painted; once the painted chassis was inspected and signed off, they were shipped again to Zuffenhausen for the final assembly. The completed 500 E were shipped to Sindelfingen for the final inspection and prepared to be delivered to the customers. This process took full eighteen days. Design began in 1989. Called '500 E' through to model year 1993, for model year 1994 it was face-lifted along with the rest of the range and renamed to 'E 500'. The chassis constructed by Porsche was also used to produce the 400 E (W124.034), that was technically identical to its big brother, save its 4.2L V8 also used in the S-Class and some other minor changes. The 400 E (later renamed 'E 420') was produced in Sindelfingen, since it lacked the widened wings and thus was perfectly understated as it looked like one of its lesser siblings. In Germany, the 500 E customer ordering began in late 1990, making its first appearance in the Mercedes-Benz 1 October 1990 pricelist, with a retail price of DM134,520. Production began in February 1991, with German sales starting in the spring of 1991. 2 January 1993, the price had risen to DM145,590, and would stay at it until the car went off the market in late 1994, it was last available in the 1 August 1994 pricelist. In the United States, the car first became available as a 1992 model with a retail price of $81,800 and was available until May 1994.

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