Well, 2.5 years after I first bought this car with a broken engine I have finally completed my AMG Hammer and as it was such a beautiful day today, I thought I would go out and burn some rubber and take some pics.
For those not familiar with this car, the AMG Hammer was developed by AMG back in the mid 80's, before they were owned by Mercedes.
AMG wanted to develop a car that would become a signature car for them and would demonstrate to the world what lengths they could go to if a customer requested it....the result was the AMG Hammer.
The idea was actually suggested to AMG by Ron Stratton the UK Agent for AMG at the time. He had converted and sold a handfull of W126 saloons and SEC Coupes, which used AMG's own Quad Cam 5.0 V8....these engines used AMG's own design of cylinder head (48 valve, twin cam heads) which they then fitted to a standard Mercedes 5.0 M117 V8 engine block, albeit with AMG pistons and Crankshaft etc etc. As a result of the conversion power was lifted to 340-355bhp....every engine produced slightly differing power levels as they were handbuilt. Interestingly second hand engine blocks were always used as they were "seasoned", ie all of the stresses and strains of a new engine block had settled down.....this is commonly used when building race engines.
Ron Stratton suggested to AMG that they convert the newly introduced W124and fit the Quad Cam engine, which they duly did and it became their most heavily modified car, right up and to the time they were taken over by Mercedes in the mid 90's.
The modification resulted in a base W124 2.0 (3.0 in the US) being completely stripped and all of the mechanicals being thrown away. The engine bay was then heavily modified to take the much larger and wider Quad Cam engine. An S Class Automatic Gearbox with AMG valve bodies was then fitted. The rear axle carrier was modified and strengthend to cope with the extra power and a Gleason limited slip diff was also fitted. Brakes from the SL were also fitted and AMG's own suspension was fitted.
An AMG free flow exhaust system and manifolds was also fitted and lastly a customer could then request further changes to the interior and could also choose what bodykit they wanted fitting, along with Alloy Wheels.
Having tracked back the history on my car, it turns out that it was the original AMG press car and used to carry the registration/licence plate "1 AMG". Interestingly it turns out to be the first ever W124 Hammer conversion, having been built in Autumn 1985 at the AMG factory in Germany as the prototype. Its also a very very early right hand drive W124 in its own right, as it was registered in October 1985...the same month that right hand drive W124's went on sale in the UK.
Only 29 AMG Hammers were made, of which only 2 were right hand drive....the other right hand drive Hammer was a later car that was owned by Jeff Lynne, the lead singer in ELO.....he subsequently wrote that car off.
Of the 29 cars built, 5 were saloons and the rest were Coupe's. Two Thirds of the production was sold to the US, where the cars were converted by the AMG North American agents.
Of the 29 that were built only a handful are left with the original Quad Cam engines.....its reckoned that 6-8 original cars are left.
The reason why so few cars were made was down to price....my car cost
£65K in 1985 and the last Hammer sold in 1990, was sold for $160,000, that particular car being a 6.0 Quad Cam CE Coupe.
In its day these were seriously quick motors.....infact it had the title of being the quickest four door saloon in the world.....The Vauxhaull Lotus Carlton had the title of quickest production 4 door saloon with a top speed of 175mph...the Hammer, not being a production car had a top speed of 186mph, which was achieved at the Nardo test track in Italy.
Performance through the gears was pretty spectacular with the 50-70 increment being faster than a Ferrari Testarossa, Lamborgini Countach and a Porsche Turbo.....not bad for a 4 door automatic.
Even now, its still a very very fast car and is a blast to drive as other drivers in much newer machinery can't understand why an old 1985 W124 is out accelerating them......its also very understressed with 100mph equating to just under 3000rpm and 125mph equating to 3500rpm.
Sound wise, the car does give the game away, for if you blip the accelerator it sounds like a full on Nascar V8.....sounds nothing like a Mercedes!
Anyway here's some pics, showing the finished car!....if you do a search under AMG Hammer you will find some old photos of what the car looked like 2.5 years ago.
ps.....car is as shown on dials, 45,000 miles from new and full service history.
pps....car will be coming up for sale in due course...needs must....
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1986 300E 81,000 Miles
2002 A190 26,000 Miles (the wifes)
1985 AMG Hammer W124 5.0 V8 with AMG Quad cam heads
Previous Mercs
1995 C280 Elegance 42,000 miles, Black
1993 E280 91,000 miles, Black (accident)
2001 E220 CDi Advantgarde
1998 C230K Sport
1997 C200 Sport
Offhand you'll have to bear with me with the these statements that follow. I hate to "rain on your parade" but there are some questions that are bothering me. BTW, thank you for the lesson.
I understand that the Hammer is rare. But other than that, what other satisfaction will it give me that say a 500E W124 will not give?
Speaking of the 500E: Power wise, with a little modification, you're right around the 350HP mark. The 500E's 119 engine is a very good one. Price wise, it should be cheaper than the Hammer. Reliability wise, it should be more reliable with its better parts availability and more techs who will know how to work on it. Ride wise, I am not able to say considering that I haven't driven a Hammer. But the 500E has a pretty good ride with its Porsche/Mercedes suspension. Also, the 500E has more of those modern creature "conveniences" that a Hammer may not have being six years older (at least).
Bottom line, other than bragging rights, why will one pay $160K for a Hammer when you can get a better car in the 500E for $16K (or probably less)?
I think that the answer to the Hammer vs 500E question comes down to the fact that the Hammer was made from 85-90, before the 500E [91-95]. The 500E is for all intents and purposes the "factory" version of the Hammer.
Hammer has a bit more power but also a bit more weight. Also, Hammer utilizes brakes/suspension components from the R107 SL while the 500E utilizes the pieces from the R129 SL500/600.
We didn't get the AMG exhaust system on the 500E or the aero package but then again the Hammer is a “narrow body”. Having seen a well put together AMG car from the era with the 6L there are distinct desirables to the AMG package.
In today’s buying market the 500E is a better buy with good examples in the $12,000-$30,000 range. The AMG is going to not have a defined range. It might go for real big dollars or it might, based on your assessment of “convenience” not bring much more to the table. My guess is there will be several folks in line to pick it up. It is a shame it is on the other side of the Atlantic, the $$$ it would bring here would be much higher, just due to the bidding pool.
Bottom line, other than bragging rights, why will one pay $160K for a Hammer when you can get a better car in the 500E for $16K (or probably less)?
...sooooo.... I guess you've never heard of a collector's car?
Let's say the very first ever made "horseless carriage" were up for auction and it sold for $10 million. Would you go up to the buyer and call him an idiot for buying such a slow and un-luxurious car when he could easily buy a car that's 10 times as fast, has a roof and windows and an A/C? Say, a honda civic, or hell even a 500E?
I get the impression that you weren't trying to be rude, but your post is just silly.
Now if you're asking why somebody would've bought a new hammer versus a new 500E back in the day, then I see your point. And Mcbear answered that question- they were not offered at the same time.
But the way you wrote that (why buy a $160k car when you could get a 500E for $16k), implies that you mean to ask why would somebody would buy that hammer here in year 2007 when they could get a well-depreciated 500e for less money.
The answer is, the Hammer is far more of a collector's car.
Congratulations on getting the Hammer back on the road - it looks great in the pictures.
I don't understand where the negative commets regarding it's value came from or why, though this car should be viewed as a highly significant catalyst in AMG's evolution. Remember that this car was produced in 1985 & shamed the supercars of the day.
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