Brute in a Tailored Suit

This unique beast is a rare 1993 500E built by Porsche for Mercedes-Benz,  upgraded with custom paint and RENNtech components, and later modified by independent tuner Blue Ridge MB

Article Gary Anderson

Images Denis L. Tanney

The 5-liter V-8-powered W124 500E sports sedan was designed and engineered by Mercedes-Benz and then built in small numbers on the Porsche 959 assembly line. Dubbed the “Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing” at the time, the rare 500E is now regarded as one of the most storied automobiles in Mercedes-Benz history.

The one-off 500E seen here dials what was already a great car up two more notches. Ordered for personal use by Bob Snodgrass, owner of Brumos Porsche in Jacksonville, Florida, this 500E underwent a concours-quality paint job by Glasurit for display at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. The Brumos shop also added nearly every available RENNtech upgrade to push the car’s performance far beyond the already-potent original factory car. 

Fifteen years later – a decade of that in storage – Jonathan Hodgman acquired the 500E. The owner of Blue Ridge MB in Lilburn, Georgia, Hodgman restored the car’s suspension and wiring and swapped in a powerful RENNtech-modified 6-liter Mercedes-Benz V-8 engine, putting this special 500E on a performance pedestal all its own.

Porsche-Mercedes

We can only guess as to why Mercedes-Benz chose the method it did to produce a sports sedan using the W124 500E. Certainly, the experience of contracting with Cosworth in 1984 to engineer a 16-valve head for the 190E 2.3 had positive results. Then too, by 1986, the company was seeing the success that independent tuner AMG was enjoying after dropping DOHC M117 engines into W, C and S124s to produce the cars that the automotive press had nicknamed the “Hammers.”

Mercedes-Benz had the ingredients of a contender in its four-door W124 sedan, with its good, if not stellar performance, and the V-8 engine and sports suspension from the R129 500SL roadster. However, the firm had neither the background nor the production capacity to build a limited-run high-performance sedan.

In contrast, Porsche, the company’s Stuttgart neighbor, had just manufactured a limited number of the ultra-expensive 959 racecar homologation special. But the Zuffenhausen firm had fallen on hard times and the remaining run of 959s had been canceled, leaving an empty production line. Utilizing Porsche’s expertise and production facilities to build a high-performance variant of the W124 made good sense to Mercedes-Benz. An agreement was reached, and development of the 500E began in 1989.

The 500E would use the naturally aspirated dual-camshaft 32-valve 4,973cc V-8 engine derived from the 500SL. The stock engine was rated at 322 horsepower and 354 pound-feet of torque. Braking was via sturdy R129 components, with front 300mm discs wearing 4-piston Brembo calipers from the 500E and 277mm rear discs from the 500SL.

The changes needed to house the M119 power train and R129 suspension would create a very aggressive looking 500E, separating it visually from more benign W124s. The track was widened 1.5 inches, the machine sat 0.9 inches lower, flared fenders contained wider tires, and a front air dam and side skirts aided aerodynamics – all modifications derived from the wide-bodied AMG vehicles.

Production entailed transporting a chassis from Sindelfingen to Porsche’s Reutter-Bau plant in nearby Zuffenhausen, where it was modified to accept the V-8 engine and fitted with R129 suspension parts, then ferried back to Mercedes-Benz for installation of interior components. The rolling chassis was then transferred back to Reutter-Bau for power train marriage before – at last – being returned to Sindelfingen for finishing work, final testing and shipment. The total process, from assignment of a production number until a completed vehicle left the plant, lasted 18 days.

The companies built 10,479 units 1992-1995. Of those units, 1,505 were exported to the United States where the 500E arrived fully loaded, with the only options being a dealer-installed CD changer and an integrated telephone. The 500E was built only as a four-seater; Recaro supplied leather seats and the fronts were heated.

Along with the rest of the new E-Class, all but the last year of cars produced were badged 500E. Examples built in the final year, when the entire line was facelifted, were badged E500. Given the logistical challenges, it’s likely safe to assume that every vehicle was built at a loss, but the experience paved the way for Mercedes-Benz to enter the high-performance market through cooperation with AMG.

Period performance tests of the “Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing” were impressive: 0-62 mph times of 5.5 to 6.0 seconds and acceleration through the quarter-mile in 14.1 seconds at 101 mph. The top speed was electronically limited at 6,000 rpm to 155 mph. Fuel efficiency was rated at 14 mpg in the city and 17 mpg on the highway.

The 500E/E500 underwent few major changes during its three-year production run. Models from 1992 and 1993 are virtually identical; the most notable difference was a slightly less powerful engine in the 1993 American-market model. The 1994 E500 is easily recognized because of the updated headlights, grille and trunk lid common to all E-Class cars that year. The engine, however, remained unchanged from the 1993 500E.

After only three years, the niche filled by the 500E would be taken by the E60 AMG with a 6-liter M119 400-horsepower AMG-built V-8 engine inserted during production or, often, by sending an E500 to AMG’s Affalterbach workshops to be retrofitted with the AMG 6-liter engine.

Brumos, Glasurit, RENNtech

As president and CEO of the Porsche dealership in Jacksonville and president of Brumos Racing, Snodgrass was an early customer for the partially Porsche-built 500E, ordering a Brilliant Silver example in 1993 for his own use. He enjoyed driving the 500E for a few years. With the car’s paint starting to exhibit the fading to which the distinctive color was prone, the 500E was pushed into storage.

By 1999, German paint manufacturer Glasurit was eyeing the American luxury automotive market. The firm wanted an example of Glasurit paint quality as the centerpiece of its display at the esteemed Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance in Florida. Because the rare 500E – with its Porsche lineage – possessed a mythic allure, Snodgrass and Glasurit’s U.S. representative struck a deal: Glasurit would completely repaint Snodgrass’s 500E in return for the right to display the car at U.S. auto shows for a set time period. 

The Brumos service team removed the 500E’s running gear, as well as the interior, glass and chrome, and then shipped the body to Glasurit to be prepped and sprayed in a limited-release Glasurit color aptly named Silver Arrow Silver.

When the beautifully repainted car returned to Brumos, Snodgrass arranged a second deal with his fellow-Floridian firm, RENNtech. The 500E would be upgraded with much of that company’s catalog of performance components: A full RENNtech suspension with shocks, springs and rear links, a Quaife limited-slip differential, full RENNtech exhaust from the manifolds back, and handsome RENNtech Monolite forged wheels were fitted to this very special vehicle.

Inside, the headliner and pillars were recovered in faux-suede Alcantara, the door cards were redone with Mercedes-Benz factory leather, all wood trim was removed and refinished in matte silver and a custom Brumos Racing gauge cluster was installed. To top off the upgrades, the audio system got the full Alpine treatment with new drivers, amplifiers, head unit and XM radio tuner; the antenna was hidden in the third brake light.

Blue Ridge MB

After the 500E returned from its tour of the celebrity car-show circuit, Snodgrass may have enjoyed it from time to time despite the fact that his health was beginning to fail. In 2004, he put the car up for sale. As owner of the independent performance-tuner Blue Ridge MB near Atlanta – and passionate for rare high-performance Mercedes-Benz cars – Hodgman was interested, but wasn’t positioned to make an offer. The 500E went to another buyer. Snodgrass died in 2007.

Hodgman lost track of the 500E until 2014, when a friend mentioned that it was for sale again. The current owner, he was told, bought the car because of its striking looks and many custom options, but had found its performance very disappointing. Thinking the car would need a lot of work, he set the 500E aside for nearly a decade.

Being familiar with all the nuisance issues associated with the 500E, including easily rectified sensor problems, and wiring-harness faults stemming from the original biodegradable wiring harnesses that soon decayed, Hodgman was able to buy the car for well below its intrinsic value; he recalls thinking he got a real bargain while driving the 500E home.

Because 14 years had passed since the 500E’s upgrade with new suspension parts – work that had probably been done in a hurry to meet the show deadline – Hodgman not only replaced the wiring harness, but also the shock absorbers, springs, suspension bushings and more.

With the engine removed to redo the wiring harness, Hodgman had an idea. Another car he had acquired – an otherwise lost cause – had an even better 6-liter RENNtech-rebuilt Mercedes-Benz engine that was roughly the same size as the 5-liter lump he had just removed.

Thus, this 500E does indeed have a full-on RENNtech-built engine, just one size bigger, as well as all the other lovely custom parts. Hodgman hasn’t measured the car’s horsepower with a dynometer, but he knows that with the current tires – big for the period but not really wide enough for the power the car now can put down – the 500E is a very serious tire-shredder if run near its potential.

The stunning 500E fits nicely in Hodgman’s stable, which readers of this magazine will remember includes the one-and-only AMG Hammer station wagon displayed at StarTech® 2010 and in the Mercedes-Benz lounge at Pebble Beach in 2017. And this unique 500E certainly looked and sounded terrific in its thrice-tailored custom suit when photographed in Atlanta last fall.

Jonathan Hodgeman’s one-of-a-kind 500E combines an aggressive stance, sports suspension and massive horsepower with custom interior details and typical Mercedes-Benz luxury.

Jonathan Hodgman levered a 6-liter RENNtech-rebuilt Mercedes-Benz engine under the hood of the silver 500E; its siren song is piped through a full-length RENNtech exhaust.

The 500E’s RENNtech forged Monolite wheels boldly carry a body repainted in glowing Glasurit Silver Arrow Silver, a custom color enlivened by the stark interplay of light and shade.

SPECIFICATIONS: 1993 Mercedes-Benz 500E (W124)

With RENNTech upgraded AMG engine

TYPE: Four-door, four-passenger sedan

ENGINE (AS PURCHASED): M119 4,973cc dual-camshaft 32-valve V-8

HORSEPOWER: 326 at 6,050 rpm (SAE)

TORQUE: 351 lb-ft at 4,200 rpm

ENGINE (CURRENT): RENNtech-built 6-liter M119,  5,956cc dual-camshaft 32-valve V-8

HORSEPOWER: 420 (est.)

TORQUE: 430 lb-ft (est.)

TRANSMISSION: 4-speed automatic, center console selector

LENGTH: 187.2 in

CURB WEIGHT: 3,856 lb

FUEL EFFICIENCY: 15-17 mpg

PERFORMANCE: Zero-60 mph 5.8 sec

TOP SPEED: 155 mph