I’ve always believed that the more you have of a certain item, the less special each one of them becomes. For instance, over the years, I’ve come to own quite an assortment of shoes. I’m very fortunate to have it, but I don’t think I can tell you which pair is my absolute favorite. However, Jay Leno, gazillionaire automotive connoisseur and former luxury car dealership employee, is able to tell us all which Mercedes-Benz is his favorite to drive: the 300 SEL 6.3.
In the video below, he shares the story of how one of the three-pointed star’s engineers, Erich Waxenberger, ran his own one-man skunkworks project in the ’60s and put the 300-horsepower V8 from the three-ton 600 limo into the engine bay of a smaller, lighter W109 sedan. He ended up creating a sales hit, especially in the US.
He also built one hell of a fast Q-ship. Leno knows first-hand. Not only does he own the leather-and-wood-lined sedan in the clip, but he also got thrown into jail in his early 20s for doing 128 mph in a 6.3. I can just imagine the ticket he’d get these days if he had ended up yanking out his current ‘bahn-burner’s 327,000-mile engine and replacing it with the power plant from an SLS, as he had originally planned.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
