It’s been amazing to see the rise of “youngtimers” in the car market, cult classics from the 1980s and ’90s that are seeing huge surges in popularity both on social media and at high-end car shows and auctions. At the upcoming Amelia Island Concours next month, Gooding & Company is auctioning off a host of youngtimers, including what might be the finest Ruf Yellowbird in existence. But my two favorites from the sale are a pair of seemingly unassuming late-’80s Mercedes-Benz E-Classes that, upon closer inspection, are actually monstrous six-liter AMG Hammers — and both have super-rare manual transmissions. If you’ve got about $4 million burning a hole in your pocket, I can’t think of a better way to spend it.
Yes, I said $4 million. Gooding estimates the 1988 300E 6.0 sedan will go for $1,250,000-$1,750,000, while the even rarer 1989 300CE 6.0 coupe will sell for $1,500,000-$2,000,000. Is that pretty nuts? Yes and no. These things used to trade hands in the very low six-figure range, especially for the lowlier 5.6-liter Hammers, but in recent years they’ve jumped up closer to the million-dollar mark. A 1991 300CE 6.0 coupe sold for $885,000 at Amelia Island two years ago, for instance. It’s the manual transmissions and overall provenances and conditions of these two Hammers that have pushed their prices into the stratosphere.
Italian industrialist Raul Gardini commissioned AMG to build the pair of cars with a bespoke five-speed Getrag manual. They are the only two 6.0-liter cars known to feature a manual transmission from the factory, as every other Hammer came from the factory with a four-speed automatic, though some have been converted after the fact through the aftermarket. “Standard” Hammers with the 5.6-liter engine were a $17,000 upgrade over a normal 300E when new, but going for the bored-out 6.0-liter would cost you an additional 40 grand, and you’d need another 14 grand to get the full suspension package and then shell out $18,000 to have the car actually built.
The Blue Black Metallic 300E sedan left the Mercedes factory on October 6, 1986 and was shipped directly to AMG’s headquarters in Affalterbach, where it started to go under the knife. In addition to shoving in the 6.0-liter M117 V8, which put out 370 horsepower and allowed for a top speed of over 190 mph, AMG’s Hammer transformation included a new exhaust, a long-range fuel tank, monoblock wheels, lowered suspension, a body kit, special wood trim, a new steering wheel and Recaro seats covered in Buffalo brown leather.
Gardini took delivery of the sedan in April 1988, but the manual wasn’t put in until 1989. Following Gardini’s suicide in 1993 after he was involved in a political corruption scandal, the Hammer was sold to “infamous” Italian car collector Luigi Compiano, who “registered the Hammer in the name of his Padova-based private security company – a business that went bankrupt in 2013 after he had siphoned corporate funds to amass a personal collection of 450 cars, 80 boats, and thousands of motorcycles.” After Compiano’s collection was seized by the Italian government, his cars were put up for auction in 2016, where the Hammer sedan was then acquired by an American collector who had the car recommissioned by Europa Imports in Winnetka, Illinois and had the engine rebuilt by Blue Ridge MB of Lilburn, Georgia. As it sits, the Hammer sedan has around 34,800 miles on it.
The Anthracite Grey Metallic 300CE coupe doesn’t have quite as interesting of a history, but it’s definitely the cooler car. It left the Mercedes factory in January 1988, also being immediately sent to AMG where it got the extremely awesome widebody kit, three-piece wheels, and all the other Hammer accoutrements before being delivered to Gardini in August 1989. Like the sedan, it was sent back to AMG in 1989 to receive the manual transmission, and it actually didn’t get the 6.0-liter engine put in until October 1992.
After Gardini’s death the coupe was purchased by a Faenza-based Mercedes dealer who quickly sold it to an organization that racing in Italy’s Formula 3 championship. The car was later owned by Elene Faroni 1994 to 2014, after which it was acquired by a German collector and then its current owner, an American collector. Gooding says the Hammer coupe has undergone a concours-level detailing process and has just under 37,000 miles on the odometer.
Both of these Hammers have been “inspected, physically verified and researched” by the AMG Classic team and brand specialists MKB Manufaktur, and both come with certificates confirming all of the build details and part numbers. Each car also has its original owner’s manuals, brochures, first aid kits and other corresponding documents.
For fans of pre-merger AMGs, it’s hard to think of a more desirable pair of vehicles. Gooding is offering the two cars as separate lots, but I kinda hope they’re bought by the same person — these Hammers deserve to be reunited in the same garage once again. The two-day Amelia Island auction kicks off on Thursday, March 6, ending the following day on Friday, March 7.
