Description
Early 2000 Mercedes-Benz S55 AMG V8 – 129k Miles – Exceptional Specification – Huge History
Here we have my Mercedes-Benz S55 AMG, showing 129, 000 miles and presented in a specification you really don't come across very often.
I'll get the colour story out of the way first, because it's worth explaining properly. The car originally left the factory in black, but a previous owner decided to have it professionally changed to this stunning blue. This wasn't simply an exterior blow-over — the car was properly stripped and painted throughout, including the door shuts, inner areas and all the places you'd normally still see the original colour. The result is a finish that looks as though the car left Mercedes in blue.
And personally, I think it completely transforms it.
The condition throughout is extremely impressive for a car of this age and mileage. The interior in particular has survived beautifully and still has that wonderful old-school S-Class feeling — leather, Alcantara, wood and an almost ridiculous amount of equipment.
And when I say fully loaded, this one genuinely isn't far off.
The specification includes:
Factory Xenon headlights
Automatic headlights including washers
Factory tinted glass, including tinted windscreen
Double-glazed windows
Electric glass sunroof
Full black leather interior
Fully electric front seats with memory
Heated and cooled/ ventilated front seats
Electrically adjustable rear seats
Heated and cooled/ ventilated rear seats
Electric lumbar adjustment to both front and rear seating
Electrically adjustable headrests
Full Alcantara headlining
Alcantara-trimmed pillars
Roof grab handles with wood inserts
Vanity mirrors
Electric rear windscreen blind
Electric steering column
Dual-zone climate control
BOSE sound system
Factory satellite navigation — fully working
Original Nokia 6310i telephone — and it still works
Airmatic suspension
Soft-close doors and boot
Genuine AMG alloy wheels
Original carpets
Original first-aid kit
Plus all the usual S-Class and AMG equipment
There are so many options on this car that I've probably still forgotten something.
Mechanically, it drives beautifully. The V8 is silky smooth when you're cruising but has that effortless surge of power that makes these big AMGs so addictive. It doesn't need to make a fuss about what it can do — squeeze the accelerator and the performance is simply there.
That's what makes these older AMG cars so appealing. It's a proper luxury limousine one minute and something entirely different when you ask a little more from it.
The car has also recently benefited from a brand-new battery and a new soft-close pump, and it has been fully serviced.
It comes with two keys, all the original booklets and a comprehensive service-history file.
Even the little details have survived — the original carpets, first-aid kit and even the period-correct Nokia phone. For me, those things add a lot to a car like this.
At 129, 000 miles, I'm not going to pretend it's a low-mileage museum piece. What I will say is that the condition simply doesn't reflect the number on the odometer. It has clearly been cared for, and it drives every bit as well as it looks.
There will naturally be the odd age-related mark or imperfection if you go looking closely — it's an older performance Mercedes — but overall it is an exceptionally clean and beautifully presented example.
And then there's the specification.
Heated and cooled electric seats front AND rear, memory seats, Alcantara everywhere, double glazing, BOSE, Airmatic, soft-close, electric rear blind, working factory navigation, electric sunroof and even the original working Nokia 6310i.
They really did throw everything at these cars.
This was Mercedes and AMG from an era when the S-Class was genuinely built to showcase what the company could do, and sitting inside one today still feels like an occasion.
It's certainly not the most sensible car in the world.
But sensible cars don't have a V8, electrically adjustable heated and cooled rear seats and their original Nokia phone.
A seriously well-equipped, beautifully presented and increasingly rare piece of old-school AMG.
If you know these cars, you'll know how unusual it is to find one with this level of specification, history and condition.
First serious person to view and drive it will understand just how nice it is.
