"M otornoe" superiority of the Munich fifth series sedans (E34) until 1989 was not so obvious. Yes, BMWs were traditionally a little faster and sharper in reactions, but the three-liter Mercedes engine of the M130 family developed practically the same 180-190 hp as the in-line Bavarian "six" М30В30 with the same displacement. But in January 1989, in Munich, production of the "five" with the designation M5 began, the 3.6-liter engine of which developed an impressive 315 "horses", thanks to which the "emka" in the back of the E34 with mechanical transmission gained a hundred in just 6.3 seconds, and the maximum speed of the top version was artificially limited at around 250 km / h.
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Mercedes had nothing to answer such a "request" from its main competitor, because even after a slight restyling in the fall of 1989, the 300E-24 modification became the most powerful "yeshka". Under the hood of the "300th" with "foliage" along the perimeter of the body, as a result of modernization, the newest three-liter M104 engine with four valves per cylinder appeared, which was previously installed on the SL roadster with the factory designation W129. Yes, he developed over two hundred forces - 220, to be precise, but this figure could not be compared with the parameters of the "emka".
Therefore, the Mercedes acted quite outside the box. In cooperation with fellow countrymen - the Porsche company - the summit was developed lineup E-class in the back of W124, which received the 500E index (later - E500 in accordance with the new model designation in the series of the brand). The cooperation of two large automakers on the production of the "five hundredth" based on the W124 sedan was by no means formal: the bodies on the stocks were welded almost by hand at the Porsche Rossle-Bau plant located in Zuffenhausen (a suburb of Stuttgart), after which they moved to the Mercedes plant in special trucks. Benz in the small town of Sindelfingen (part of the administrative district of Stuttgart) and painted with a standard "Mercedes" palette, then returned to the Porsche for assembly, after which they were returned to Mercedes in finished form, where they were checked before being sent to customers or for export.
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This "multistage" system allowed Mercedes employees to carry out assembly and finishing work at a third-party enterprise while maintaining the standard VIN numbers and markings on the body. In other words, having visited the "alien stable", the most powerful Mercedes E-class did not turn into a Porsche, neither formally nor in essence. Interestingly, after the "spinning top" on the same Porsche assembly line at the Rossle-Bau plant in Zuffenhausen, they assembled ... a 316-horsepower Audi RS2!
In addition to assembly, the task of Porsche specialists was to fine-tune the brakes and suspensions - after all, the Mercedes people understood that a powerful sedan should not only drive fast, but also handle well.
Five liters of confidence
The main (but far from the only!) Difference of the "top" from other versions of the E-class was hidden, of course, under the hood. The powerful V-shaped eight-cylinder heart was once again borrowed from the SL roadster, replacing the KE-Jetronic injection system with a more modern electronic version of the LH-Jetronic. Quite a large power unit also required transfer to the trunk battery, which had a favorable effect on the weight distribution.
The M119 engine developed an impressive 326 hp. - it was, albeit a small, but convincing advantage over the "emka" in terms of maximum power. Thanks to this, even paired with a four-speed automatic, the five-liter "one hundred and twenty-fourth" accelerated to a hundred in 6.1 seconds - that is, even a little faster than the "emka"! In practice, much depended on the qualifications of the drivers, and the maximum speed of sedans was indicated at around 250 km / h, and in any case (both for Mercedes and BMW) it was artificially limited by means of electronics. And without a programmable "collar" Mercedes was able to dial all 270 kilometers per hour ...
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The stove is what you need: under the hood of the fastest "yeshka" - over 300 "horses"
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The multi-liter engine, developing 480 Nm of torque, had an impressive thrust at almost any speed, thanks to which the "top" immediately became the real king of the Autobahn, with which few could argue in the speed range "from 150 and above". Apart from the exotic, it seems, in the early nineties, the "five" BMW was, perhaps, the only car of this class that could go with it on the Autobahn, as they say, neck and neck. Moreover, the V-shaped "eight" under the hood of the Bavarian sedan also appeared, but this happened only in 1992, and in terms of displacement the 540th still yielded to the "five hundredth" a whole liter, giving out 286 hp. maximum power. Only the owners of a real “emka” could fully “hack to death” on the high-speed highway with the “five hundredth”.
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Other differences
Despite the rather strong external similarity of the 500E version with more modest modifications of the "Yeshek", the "top" body was significantly different from the standard one. First, there were widened front and rear wheel arches, which required corresponding changes to the fenders and adjoining panels. Secondly, the body has received other bumpers with a body kit, which are also "fitted" under wider arches. Thirdly, due to the stiffer suspension, the car became slightly lower, and alloy wheels low-profile tires of the dimension 225/55 R16 appeared. Finally, the lamps are near and high beam were carried to the sections of the head optics, and the fog lights were moved to the lower part of the front bumper.
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In comparison with the rest of the "one hundred and twenty-fourth" 500E immediately stood out with a special body fit and massive fenders, which made it possible to unmistakably distinguish the outside of this "beast" from ordinary E-class sedans.
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In addition, the "five hundredth" received more powerful brakes and automatic level control of the rear hydropneumatic suspension. This vehicle comes standard with traction control system ASR. Since the cost of the "top" (135,000 DM) was more than twice the price of the "average" Mercedes-Benz W124, the rich interior equipment provided not only air conditioning and numerous electric drives, but also the Sportline leather interior with Recaro seats. At the same time, the car formally turned into a four-seater due to a wooden console in the center of the rear seat.
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The interior of the early 500E differed from the "base" except that the leather trim and an abundance of buttons
Alien vs. Predator
Due to the aforementioned specifics of the assembly, the complete production cycle of the "top" was stretched for 18 days, and in just five years about 10,000 copies of the "five hundredth" were produced. However, the history of the Mercedes high-speed sedan in this body would be incomplete without mentioning the 300E 5.6 AMG, nicknamed the Hammer. It was he, and not the "top", who was the first "one hundred and twenty-fourth" to receive under the hood, thanks to the AMG specialists, the V-shaped "eight" М117 from the 560 SEC model. This engine was even more powerful (360 hp) and developed 510 Nm of torque, thanks to which the 300 Е 5.6 AMG gained "hundred" from a standstill in just 5.4 seconds and for the first time for sedans of this class officially exceeded the speed threshold of 300 km / h There was also an even more powerful six-liter version of the 300E 6.0, the engine of which produced a mind-boggling 385 hp. It was believed that the creation of specialists from Affalterbach on driving performance was comparable to Ferrari supercars!
The history of the W124 family sedans begins in 1991. A remarkable date, it should be noted, associated with the mass of "interesting" events in Russia. So, it was in that very 91st, the famous German automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz and the equally popular Porsche, decided to cooperate in the creation of a small series of a sedan. The general project involved the birth of a car equipped with a V8 engine. The strong V8 with solid horsepower turned out to be only one of the notable features. Mercedes E500 in the back of W124.
In addition, the design german car received a sports suspension, an upgraded transmission and a reliable reinforced braking system. It is worth noting that the design of the E500 was completely developed by the engineering group of Mercedes-Benz.
Only a partial assembly was carried out by Porsche. The E500's sibling is the E420. These two so-called "tops" have long been remembered by the society of motorists. Even today, cars are positioned no lower than modern models. The 500E version can often be found in the list of competitors of other cars released much later.
How the Mercedes E500 W124 was created in the technological cycle
History of the creation of the model- the process is quite interesting. The transport was created on the basis of an engine taken from the R129 series 500SL model, but underwent significant refinement. As a result of the modernization, Mercedes-Benz engineers managed to get a real monster, with a full cylinder capacity of 5 liters and a useful power of 326 hp. Automotive "nuclear reactor", among other things, equipped:
- automatic transmission with four steps
- ASR system (anti-rotation lock)
- hydropneumatic suspension level adjustment
- doubled catalyst
- fuel injection system "LH-Jetronic" instead of "KE-Jetronic"
The result was not long in coming. One of the German "tops" - Mercedes E500 as W124- got the ability to accelerate to a speed of 250 km / h, and the control speed - 100 km / h, could pick up in just 6 seconds after starting from a standstill.
The participation of Porsche specialists in the creation of Mercedes-Benz vehicles
The German city of Zuffenhausen is famous for the fact that the Porsche plant is located on the territory of this settlement, where part of the E500 assembly process took place. Here, at the first stage, W124 bodies were made, which were then transported for painting to another plant operating in the city of Sindelfingen. company-owned Mercedes-Benz. After painting, everything returned to normal, and the Porsche specialists proceeded to complete set painted body. At the final stage, completely assembled cars were again transported to the possession of "Mercedes", where they underwent pre-sale preparation before selling.
German-made product under the Mercedes-Benz brand
On the shelves of the international market, the car was positioned exclusively as the property of "Mercedes". Actually, the full-fledged traditional symbolism of the famous German brand disposed to this opinion, plus identification numbers had the most direct relation to the noted German company. Distinctive external features model were such details as:
- widened wheel arches
- wheel disks made of light alloys with a figured "chamomile" cut
- oversized low-profile tires
- headlights with independent low and high beam lamps
- fog lights in the lower part of the front bumper
Epilogue for E420 / E500
German artwork in the form of the W124 sedans is arguably the most successful industrial production at Mercedes-Benz. Only in one class of sedans, more than two million cars were produced and sold during ten years of serial production. The guys from AMG once laid eyes on the E420 / E500 sedans, with their hands several dozen cars were modernized, which later received the E60 AMG marking.
Specifications
| Suspension, brakes, tires | |
|---|---|
| Wheelbase | 2 800 mm |
| Ground clearance (clearance) | 160 mm |
| Front track | 1 501 mm |
| Back track | 1,491 mm |
| Front suspension | wishbone, suspension strut, coil spring, lateral stabilizer |
| Rear suspension | multi-link, coil spring, lateral stabilizer |
| Front brakes | ventilated disc |
| Rear brakes | ventilated disc |
| Tire size (wheels) | 225/55 R16 |
Mercedes W124 E500 review: Russian roads are not a problem
The Mercedes concern has proved to the whole world that a car can (and should) be of high quality, comfortable, reliable and stylish. Dozens of families created, and each must have its own star. In the W124 lineup, such a star is the Mercedes E500 W124 "Volchok". The Wolf who received the nickname fully justifies it due to its power and excellent parameters.
The technical characteristics of this model are beyond praise (well, this is understandable - Mercedes always gives the "filling" great attention). The chic eight-cylinder V8 engine of the M119 series allows developing power of 326 "horses". Wolf has a perfect injection system - Bosch LH-Jetronic. Few of the owners know, but this engine was originally installed on. The maximum speed is artificially limited, up to 250 km / h, and the fuel consumption per 100 km is from 11.9 to 16.9 liters, which is quite an optimal indicator for a car of this class. The body type of this beast is a sedan and dimensions promise comfort without hesitation and inconvenience during the trip.
Thinking about buying a Mercedes W124 E500, the price will pleasantly surprise the future owner, it is adequate and corresponds to the quality of the Wolf. The five hundredth Mercedes has an excellent factory complete set. Looking at the photo, you can easily make sure that comfort and reliability are the indisputable advantages of this car, and by visiting car forums and reading the reviews of the happy owners of Volchka, the desire to buy this miracle of the German car industry will increase even more.
Pros of modification:
- The assembly was carried out in Germany, which already speaks of an impeccable workmanship;
- A powerful engine that can cope with any twists and turns and weather conditions;
- Acceptable price;
- Automatic transmission, which certainly makes the driving process easy to control;
- A wide variety of discs with interesting design solutions for every taste;
- No shortage of spare parts and their availability in financial terms;
- Ignition and power control systems generate error codes independently of each other when malfunctions occur;
- If the car does not start (which happens very rarely, even in the most severe frosts), then on the Internet you can always find instructions and tips for troubleshooting.
The spinning top, as many motorists lovingly call it, came to us in the "dashing nineties", resisted, survived, and to this day continues to delight its owners with impeccable German quality.
Mercedes-Benz is a manufacturer that has proven and shown that cars can be incredibly high quality, reliable, beautiful and comfortable.
Over the history of the German brand, many families have already been created. Moreover, each of them has its own leader, a star.
The W124 line is in great demand even 20 years after the end of production. The star of the line is the E500 model, which received the nickname "Wolf" or "Volchok" among the people for the 326 hp engine. and outstanding technical performance.
Handsome Wolf
The name was assigned to the Mercedes-Benz W124 E500 during the "dashing nineties". Interestingly, motorists really liked this name, it is well established and is actively used in our time. But most importantly, the car remains in demand in the same way as when it appeared on the market.
Specifications
Examining a car from a photo is one thing. It is quite another to find out what is hidden under the hood, which engine was proposed by German engineers, what is the body.
We will try to tell you in detail about technical characteristics and parameters.
Dimensions (edit)
- Body type - sedan;
- Quantity seats — 5;
- Number of doors - 4;
- Trunk volume - 520 liters;
- Height - 1408 mm;
- Width - 1796 mm;
- Length - 4750 mm;
- Wheelbase - 2800 mm;
- The ground clearance is 160 millimeters.
Engine and gearbox
Engine Capabilities and Consumption
And what is this 326-horsepower 5-liter engine capable of? - Quite a lot, given the size of the car.
- Acceleration from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour - in 6.1 seconds;
- Maximum speed- 250 kilometers per hour (artificially limited);
- Volume fuel tank- 90 liters;
- Recommended fuel type - AI95, gasoline;
- City consumption - 16.9 liters per 100 kilometers
- Highway consumption - 10.3 liters per 100 kilometers.
History of success
Now let's plunge a little into the past, study the history of the creation of this car. This will allow you to understand why, in addition to the powerful engine, the Mercedes Volchok is so popular.
The story began in 1991, when sedans from the W124 family were born. At the same time, the Company entered into an agreement with the manufacturer Porsche. The goal was to create a special version of the sedan with a V8 engine under the hood. Of course, as a result, the car stood out not only with its powerful engine.
Porsche's task was a partial assembly. The E500 has a sibling, the E420.
except power unit, the engineers worked hard on the following components:
- Sports suspension
- Advanced gearbox
- Reinforced braking system
From an engineering point of view, Mercedes Volchok is deservedly considered a purely creation of Mercedes-Benz, which is destined to compete with BMW products forever.
Technological features
From the point of view of the technical capabilities of the car, its history is quite interesting. The car was based on an engine that the German engineers had borrowed from the 500SL in the R129 series. At the same time, the refinement of the power unit turned out to be significant.
What have you achieved as a result?
- The displacement of the 8-cylinder engine has been increased to 5 liters.
- Engine power reached 326 horsepower.
- In addition to the engine, the car received an automatic four-speed gearbox.
- The car was equipped with an anti-rotation system - ASR.
- The suspension level became possible to adjust due to the hydropneumatic system.
- The catalyst was doubled exactly.
- The old KE Jetronic injection system was replaced with the more advanced LH Jetronic.
What is the result? As a result, the car was able to accelerate to 250 kilometers per hour, which is not a limit, but an artificial limitation. Plus, up to a hundred, the Wolf easily picked up from a place in 6 seconds. And this is despite its weight.
Role of Porsche
Specialists from another equally well-known Porsche Company have put their efforts into creating the car. To be more precise, they helped Mercedes-Benz to produce Volchkov. Porsche made no claims to authorship of the W124 500 project.
How was the production scheme for the powerful version of the W124 carried out?
- The Porsche plant is located in the city of Zuffenhausen, Germany. Partial assembly took place here. This plant provided the construction of the body
- The finished body was sent for painting to the Mercedes-Benz plant in Sindelfingen.
- After painting, the body again returned to the Porsche, where experts assembled the Mercedes E 500 Volchok completely
- After assembly, she again moved to the MB plant, where specialists carried out pre-sale preparation.
External features
Now that the car was fully assembled, it was sent to Mercedes-Benz dealerships, presenting the car as their own author's project. Whether the Porsche camp was offended or not is hard to say.
How could buyers determine that in front of them is not one of the usual W124 sedans (although the language does not dare call them ordinary), but a modernized, powerful version of the E500, relying only on external characteristics? 
Mercedes Volchok stood out against the background of its fellows with several bright elements, which can only be overlooked by a person who is not versed in cars:
- Widened wheel arches
- "Chamomile" curly cutouts adorned the new alloy wheels
- The car was standing on wide low-profile tires
- The front optics received independent high and low beam lamps
- Fog lights are located at the bottom of the front bumper
What's next?
And then came a period of incredible success. The executives of Mercedes-Benz themselves admit that their W124 sedans have been the most successful project for the enterprise in its entire history. And "Volchok" personified the top, a real decoration of the entire line.
Not surprisingly, the 124 body is still in demand today. Sedans of this series for 10 years of production have been sold worldwide in the amount of more than 2 million copies.
Soon specialists from the leading tuning studio - AMG drew attention to the E500. They took Mercedes Volchok into work and made a real ferocious Wolf out of it. These modifications are known all over the world under the E60 AMG designation.
The price of the issue
Another important point is the cost of the car.
During the 1990s, when the car was just beginning to appear on the market, it was almost impossible to purchase it due to the limited edition in Russia and the impressive cost.
But even in those days, there were quite a lot of people who laid out 150 thousand each German marks for its unique, powerful Mercedes Volchok. At the moment it is about 75 thousand euros or 5.5 million rubles.
What cars of this Company can be purchased today for similar money? Modern sports car. A striking example is the SL400 model. Its 3.0 AT version costs about 5.4 million rubles, while the power of this car is only 13 horses higher than the capabilities of the Wolf.
But that was when the 124 Volchok was just appearing on the market. For what money is it really possible to buy it today? Obviously, not for 5 million rubles.
After analyzing the used car market and examining the proposals for the E500, we can draw the following conclusion. For a car in perfect condition age 20 years with a mileage of 100 thousand kilometers, you will have to pay only 1.3 million rubles. This is four times less than the amount it originally cost.
Frankly, not very many are ready to give that kind of money for such a car. Considering the quality, reliability and capabilities of the engine, this is a small price for a car of this level.
There are a couple more points that I would like to draw your attention to.
- Origin of name. It will not be possible to give an exact answer, since the origins of the name "Volchok" do not exist. According to the most common version, the car received such a nickname because of the saying about a wolf in sheep's clothing. Here we are talking about the fact that the car is beautiful, interesting, and incredible power is hidden behind such a presentable shell. Believe in this version or not, decide for yourself.
- Are the E500 and 500E completely different cars? Sometimes the name E500 is found, and in some cases the name is 500E. Is it a typo or two different cars? Not that, and not the other. Indeed, there are two variants of the Wolf - E500 and 500E. How do they differ from each other? Watch video reviews. Couldn't find anything? Not surprising. How are they different? Yes, nothing, except for the turn signals, made in orange. So don't get confused.
As you can see, this is an amazing car ahead of its time. How else to explain the fact that this option remains one of the most desired cars for millions of buyers. They talk about such projects with sadness - "Yes, today such machines are no longer made." And this is the bitter truth.
Undoubtedly, the W124 lineup had a lot of good cars, but the minds of contemporaries are still haunted by the "Volchok" E500 (factory index W124.036) It is about it that my short story will be.
In 1990, Mercedes-Benz, inspired by the success of the 300E in 124 body, signed a contract with Porsche for the production of an exclusive modification of the 500E (since 1993 - E500). With this car, Stuttgart was going to put on the blades of competitors, at the same time once again proving his ability to create sports cars. The idea was simple - to put a 5-liter V8 from the S-class into the body of the W124 and retrofit the car. The project quickly went to pre-production samples.
The familiar look of the 124th was complemented by wide wheel arches, more aggressive bumpers and larger wheels (including the legendary 16-radius daisies that were installed on the R129 and E500), but there were quite a few internal changes in the body structure, not to mention the mechanical stuffing. This did not allow the use for the production of "five hundredth" lines of the Mercedes-Benz factories. A manual assembly was required, which could be provided by the Porsche craftsmen at the Rosse-Blau factory. Due to the complex assembly technology, each 500E took an average of 18 days. For five years, a little more than 7200 "five hundredths" were produced.
Summary table of technical and operational characteristics:
GENERAL INFORMATION
Production status but out of production
Start of release June 1993
End of issue June 1995
BODY
Body type sedan
Number of doors 4
ENGINE
engine's type V8
Pressurization No
Engine displacement, cubic meters cm 4973
Power, hp / rpm 320 / 5600
Torque, Nm / rpm 470 / 3900
Maximum speed, km / h 250
Acceleration to 100 km / h, s 6.1
Average fuel consumption, l per 100 km 13
Valves per cylinder: 4
Supply system injector
Cylinder diameter x piston stroke, m m 96.5 x 85.0
DRIVE UNIT
type of drive rear
TRANSMISSION
Transmission 4 automatic transmission
BRAKES
Front disk
Rear disk
DIMENSIONS
Length, mm 4750
Width, mm 1800
Height, mm 1410
Wheelbase, mm 2800
OTHER
Tire size 225 / 55ZR16
Curb weight, k g 1710
Full mass, kg 1900
Fuel tank volume, l 90
Turning circle, m 11.7
Warranty against corrosion, years 1
Acceleration to hundreds in just 6.1 seconds. Note - with naturally aspirated engine and automatic transmission! A real werewolf. In fact, the power of the M119 engine is 326 hp. at 5700 rpm, torque - 480 N.m at 3900 rpm.
Today these cars are very rare not only in Russia, but also in Germany. Few specimens have survived to this day. Personally, I know only three unshaken Volchkas in Moscow.
Let's not forget about the role of this sports car in the cinema. Everyone remembers "Taxi"?)
With all the efforts of Luc Besson, you can see with the naked eye that the French bucket barely breaks away from the peacefully sleeping E500)))
Peace to all the locals and thank you for your attention!
