Description
This lot will be auctioned via Iconic Auctioneers, The Iconic Sale at the BRDC Classic 2026 - Collectors' Cars on Saturday the 25th of July, The Wing, Silverstone Circuit, NN12 8TN. Few names resonate within Mercedes-Benz collecting circles quite like AMG's legendary Hammer. Built during a period when Affalterbach remained fiercely independent, these hand-finished creations established AMG's reputation as the world's foremost Mercedes-Benz tuner. While V8-powered Hammers have become established collector icons, commanding just below $1 million, cars such as this remarkably rare W124 300E 3. 4 AMG offer perhaps the purest insight into AMG's formative years.
Offered here is an exceptionally significant example, one of only 133 W124 300E 3. 4 AMGs believed to have been produced and one of just 30 specified with the highly desirable five-speed manual Getrag gearbox. More importantly, it belongs to the most coveted category of all pre-merger AMGs, cars bought in Germany, independently commissioned by their owners, and converted by AMG in Affalterbach before the company's formal cooperation with Mercedes-Benz fundamentally changed the nature of its business.
To appreciate the significance of this car, it is important to understand the evolution of AMG itself. Following the cooperation agreement signed between AMG and Daimler-Benz at the end of 1990, and ultimately Mercedes-Benz' full acquisition of AMG in 1999, the company's products became increasingly integrated into the factory production process.
Cars built from 1991, carrying the #990 and #957 codes (indicating Mercedes-Benz's involvement with AMG in the cars production), remain sought after, however, it's the earlier cars, built in small numbers, to individual customer specifications and with limited surviving records, that are undoubtedly the most desirable and collectable examples of AMG's independent era.
This car represents precisely that period. Originally supplied in Germany during 1990, it was subsequently entrusted to AMG for conversion at Affalterbach, where the standard W124 300E underwent a comprehensive transformation. The M104 3. 0-litre straight-six was extensively re-engineered, enlarged to 3. 4-litres through a combination of internal modifications and AMG's renowned engine development expertise. The result was a substantial increase in performance, producing 268bhp and 243lb/ ft of torque, delivered through the coveted dogleg-pattern five-speed manual transmission. It also has the AMG upgraded suspension/ shocks, exhaust, AMG Tachometer, and the all important Gen 1 body kit including authentic AMG monoblocks, making it indistinguishable from a Hammer when parked.
This example has been extensively cosmetically restored by a world renowned German pre-merger specialist and is supplied with its AMG Conversion Confirmation Certificate confirming its authenticity and pleasingly signed by Erhard Melcher, the co-founder and 'M' in AMG.
