TBT: Chris Harris Shows Why AMG’s Hammer > Thor’s Hammer

By Tony Markovich - January 21, 2016

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Chris Harris has driven a monumental amount of cars and burned an abnormally large amount of rubber during his time on this planet. So for him to put a car is in his Top 10 and say the car’s nickname is “the most evocative, best-sounding name for a car ever,” it’s quite a big bleeping deal. But as you can see in the video below, those are his exact words while introducing the Mercedes-Benz W124 E-Class AMG, aka THE HAMMER.

“It’s utterly outrageous!” Again, his words, not mine.

After taking a tour of the Mercedes-Benz factory in Affalterbach, which helps explain why AMGs are so special, Harris tests the V8, four-speed automatic pairing on wet roads. If you can take your attention off of that hearty wide body and the deep plate wheels, you’ll hear him explain some of the things you might know are less than great about these older M-Bs: namely the gearbox and the pedal feel. Then Harris follows up by gushing about the steering, the “grotto”-like interior, and the understated look. “Heaven,” he calls it, actually.