In the 1980s, Hartge mounted the in-line six-cylinder BMW M88 engine under the hood of a Mercedes 300E W124. The car is put up for auction in Essen, Germany.
In 1959, Mercedes came very close to buying BMW but Herbert Quandt resisted and saved BMW. Since then, a fierce battle for supremacy in the premium segment has taken place between the two luxury carmakers. Therefore, no one would conceive of a technology transfer between the two giants. However, we discovered a unique car: Hartge F1 (has nothing to do with Formula 1) which is actually a Mercedes 300E W124 that has an …BMW engine under the hood.
The original Mercedes 300E W124 was powered by a 3-liter naturally aspirated engine with 177 hp and 255 Nm. Hartge mounted in this Mercedes 300E the BMW M88 6-cylinder in-line engine from the BMW M635 CSI (E24). It produces 325 hp and 350 Nm due to the increase in displacement from 3,435 cc to 3,535 cc and the higher compression ratio.
Hartge also replaced the 5-speed Mercedes manual transmission with a 5-speed manual BMW transmission and mounted a Bilstein suspension for a lower roll and better dynamics.
BMW 300E W124 with BMW engine accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in just 6 seconds, being as fast as the famous Mercedes 500E with 5-liter V8 engine that develops the same power, 326 hp, but had a higher torque of 480 nm.
We have not been able to find out how much this Mercedes 300E costs but it is certainly not cheap due to its exclusivity and originality.
But we think it’s worth the price, because it combines the elegance of the interior of a Mercedes with the dynamics of a BMW. And such a thing is unique and exclusive.
