Incredibly-rare ’93 E36 AMG Touring Sells at RM Sotheby’s for $32K
When it comes to pre-merger AMG cars from the 1990s, it almost doesn’t get any better, nor rarer, than this W124-based E36 AMG Touring.
An incredibly rare and unique pre-Mercedes-AMG-era 1993 W124 E36 wagon recently crossed the RM Sotheby’s London auction and it shockingly only sold for £25,300, or the equivalent to about $32,421 USD.
When it comes to AMG cars today, they are pretty much a dime a dozen as Mercedes-AMG pretty much churns out a high-performance version of every production model in Mercedes-Benz’s current stable. But when it comes to AMG cars made prior to the company’s full and official merger in 1999, things are quite a bit different since their production numbers were significantly smaller, thus making the cars far rarer than anything today.
As a result, any early AMG car is immediately attributed and categorized as legendary, like this W124-based E36 wagon. In the early 1990s, as a follow-up to the famous W124-based Hammer sedan, coupe and wagon, AMG continued modifying the W124 E-Class platform in all its body styles all the way through the end of its lifespan. Though, they’re not commonly known here in North America because they were never imported.
Unlike the well-known Hammer cars, AMG-modified both the six-cylinder and V8 versions of the W124. This E36 wagon, is one of those cars. It started life as your usual, run-of-the-mill facelifted E320 wagon. Though according to the auction info, this specific wagon was sold to a Japanese customer as is. When it arrived to Japan, AMG’s local division over yonder then applied all of its in-house modifications to create an official E36 AMG.
That means its M104.992 inline-six, the last of Mercedes’ legendary inline-sixes before the company transitioned to V6 engines, was upgraded by hand with an increase in bore and stroke, bumping up the displacement from 3.2 liters to 3.6 liters, essentially making the same motor as the W202 C36 AMG with 272 horsepower and 284 pound-feet of torque on tap. Other modifications included a subtle AMG body kit, incredibly rare multi-function power adjustable sport seats, and a set of six-spoke “Evolution” style wheels from the W201 190E 2.6 Cosworth Evo II and the later special-edition W124 E500.
We’re a bit shocked that the selling price for this rare beast was so modest as we think it’s far more deserving of a greater value.
Photos: RM Sotheby’s
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