The door slams shut with a satisfying thud. That distinctive, heavy Mercedes sound. No tinny clang, no ostentatious noise. Just that brief, muffled click which even back then signalled: no corners were cut here.

There’s a Mercedes-Benz 300 E in front of you. W124. Silver, four-door, with sensible proportions. A car that would have blended into the background in a German car park of the 1980s, somewhere between a Passat saloon and a company car.

Then you open the bonnet.

And suddenly there’s this slight discrepancy. Because the bodywork suggests one thing, whilst the engine vehemently contradicts it. AMG.

Not today’s AMG. No Performance Pack, no model variant from the configurator. AMG from a time when Affalterbach was still a place known only to the initiated. Absolutely brilliant.

It is powered by the hand-assembled AMG M117 V8 with a displacement of 5.6 litres and 32 valves. Back in the 1980s, this was a rather radical answer to the question of just how fast a four-door saloon could actually be. AMG left the exterior of the W124 largely untouched and focused on what really mattered: the engine, the chassis and the driving experience.

Affalterbach before Mercedes

The Hammer was created at a time when AMG was still operating independently of Mercedes-Benz and exceptional cars were actually still handcrafted. Anyone who wanted a Mercedes like this had to know where to look. The result was a saloon that combined comfort and practicality with performance that was exceptional for its time.

It is precisely this contrast that makes the AMG 300 E so fascinating to this day. Understated on the outside, with a large V8 under the bonnet. No grand promises, no flashy show. Just the certainty that this Mercedes is significantly faster than it looks.

The example currently on offer from We Are Curated comes with a remarkable history. The car once belonged to Michele Alboreto, the Italian Formula 1 driver and Ferrari driver who finished as runner-up in the 1985 World Championship. It is no longer possible to recount in full what Alboreto experienced with this Mercedes. However, the mere fact that his name is part of this car’s history is enough to set it apart from the crowd of exceptional W124s.

The car’s more recent history is also noteworthy. In 2024, it underwent extensive servicing in Florida, including work on the KE Jetronic system, the engine and the gearbox. Following its acquisition by Curated, it underwent a comprehensive mechanical overhaul carried out by a specialist in early AMG vehicles. More than 66 hours were spent working on the fuel system, ignition, cooling, intake, vacuum systems and gearbox. The most recent mechanical work totalled more than 24,000 US dollars.

The Schwabe is now roadworthy and has been thoroughly tuned. The work has been documented, and the car has been extensively tested following the overhaul. The AMG conversion certification is currently being pursued in Germany via an official testing procedure.

A hammer with history

The 300 E 5.6 AMG ‘Hammer’ from WeAreCurated thus combines precisely those features that make early AMG cars so sought-after today: the independent Affalterbach era, the legendary 5.6-litre V8, an exceptional history of previous ownership, and extensive recent investment in the car’s technology.

From a distance, it’s still a W124. You just need to know which one.

Click here to view the vehicle: https://www.wearecurated.com/inventory/1985-mercedes-benz-amg-300e-5-6#details

Photos: WE ARE CURATED