FOR SALE 1989 300CE AMG 6.0 Widebody M117/9, Anthracite Grey/Black, 57kkm, Gooding & Co.

[alibo70]

In auctions, you never want to offer what is essentially the same car, at the same time, and certainly not in the same sale. This was, rather frankly, an expected result for me as the two cars were competing with each other. I have no clue why Gooding, or the consignor would have done this. IMHO, the two Gardini Hammers are not different enough to warrant inclusion in same sale. BUT, I think they are special enough to warrant additional marketing and narrative storytelling about their specs, and certainly their original owners. Just my two cents for the lovely 500eboard community...

Hell I wouldn't let them, i.e., Broadarrow or Gooding list my lawnmower. Experts my ass.

 

[weide1]

So M120 7.5-7.6 by RENNtech,

Do they still offer the 7.5? This i did not know.
I know they did 15/20 years ago. At least, that is when i read about it on a German forum.

RENNtech did a few 7.6 lately. The V140, a red R129. The latter in LH-Jetronic. And this C140.
And way earlier the silver 7.6.

 

[FD.]

Do they still offer the 7.5? This i did not know.
I know they did 15/20 years ago. At least, that is when i read about it on a German forum.

RENNtech did a few 7.6 lately. The V140, a red R129. The latter in LH-Jetronic. And this C140.
And way earlier the silver 7.6.

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In this recent video from the service area of RENNtech Greg claims
- C140 - to get soon 7.6
- R129 Silver Arrow - already with 7.5
- R129 Black - with 7.6
- W140 with C140 front - to get soon 7.6

 

[FD.]

Hell I wouldn't let them, i.e., Broadarrow or Gooding list my lawnmower. Experts my ass.

Hey, anything but thembmarket!

 

[quantumorbit]

thembmarket broke a record with a hammer 3 years ago that sold for $762k
My take buyer got a hell of a deal, these Hammers check all the boxes for exponential appreciation. They were the pinnacle of performance cars of their era, with better performance and coefficient drag than a Lamborghini Countach or a Ferrari Testarossa that cost half the price of a hammer. This particular one is also a low miles, manual transmission coupe which made it a lot more rare and desired. Agree that selling 2 at the same time was a bad move, but also the venue was not the ideal either. These cars are modern classics sought after by a younger generation that aren't used to these live complicated auctions with high fees. Amelia Island attracts another segment of the market. The changes due to bad weather on Sunday might have had something to do with it too.

 

[benzgarden]

Did it break a record or did it teamloansharks market manipulation play a role in the sales price? The coupe is rumored to have sold for $1.3M just 2 years ago.

Being a manual does make it more rare but not more desirable IMO. If I want a fast manual sedan in the 80’s I’d get an E28 M5.

 

[quantumorbit]

Did it break a record or did it teamloansharks market manipulation play a role in the sales price? The coupe is rumored to have sold for $1.3M just 2 years ago.

Being a manual does make it more rare but not more desirable IMO. If I want a fast manual sedan in the 80’s I’d get an E28 M5.

Not aware of any manipulation, maybe you know something I don't.

Don't share your taste for BMWs but respect it

 

[weide1]

In this recent video from the service area of RENNtech Greg claims
- C140 - to get soon 7.6
- R129 Silver Arrow - already with 7.5
- R129 Black - with 7.6
- W140 with C140 front - to get soon 7.6

Thanks for translating.

 

[alibo70]

thembmarket broke a record with a hammer 3 years ago that sold for $762k
My take buyer got a hell of a deal, these Hammers check all the boxes for exponential appreciation. They were the pinnacle of performance cars of their era, with better performance and coefficient drag than a Lamborghini Countach or a Ferrari Testarossa that cost half the price of a hammer. This particular one is also a low miles, manual transmission coupe which made it a lot more rare and desired. Agree that selling 2 at the same time was a bad move, but also the venue was not the ideal either. These cars are modern classics sought after by a younger generation that aren't used to these live complicated auctions with high fees. Amelia Island attracts another segment of the market. The changes due to bad weather on Sunday might have had something to do with it too.

I think that was a temporary bubble created by Curated, Patina, Garage90X, and Teamloansharks. Agree with you comments about how special and rare they are, but I also remember not so long ago nobody wanted these things. From those days to the extreme, the 2 Hammers last week and the MBMarket 500SEL paint a more accurate picture of the values of present day. Then there is the Bespoke build option also at a price point.

 

[gsxr]

... Then there is the Bespoke build option also at a price point.

If you mean the Bespoke 126 + M156 on BaHaT, yeah, that wasn't a real sale... it was a marketing stunt.

 

[sheward]

I was set to attend but cancelled last minute due to weather.

 

[gsxr]

More M117/9 discussion, related to the Green widebody for sale on BaHaT (thread here).

Seller posted the photo below of the M117/9 engine serial number which matches the datacard for the original M117 block.

I'm suspicious this is a new M119.960 block, with the original M117 engine serial stamped on it by AMG... need the seller to post a photo of the block casting number, not the serial. The serial numbers can be re-stamped, but you can't change the casting numbers!

@Rouven036
@jhodg5ck
@hAMGurger

 

[hAMGurger]

More M117/9 discussion, related to the Green widebody for sale on BaHaT (thread here).

Seller posted the photo below of the M117/9 engine serial number which matches the datacard for the original M117 block.

I'm suspicious this is a new M119.960 block, with the original M117 engine serial stamped on it by AMG... need the seller to post a photo of the block casting number, not the serial. The serial numbers can be re-stamped, but you can't change the casting numbers!

Some of the ~300 photos i took last August.

 

[FD.]

More M117/9 discussion, related to the Green widebody for sale on BaHaT (thread here).

Seller posted the photo below of the M117/9 engine serial number which matches the datacard for the original M117 block.

I'm suspicious this is a new M119.960 block, with the original M117 engine serial stamped on it by AMG... need the seller to post a photo of the block casting number, not the serial. The serial numbers can be re-stamped, but you can't change the casting numbers!

The level of preparation for a $500k+ sale never ceases to amaze…

And this isn’t even the first attempt to test the waters:
1991 Mercedes-Benz 560 SEC 6.0 AMG 'Wide-Body' | Monterey 2025 | RM Sotheby's

What’s equally surprising is that the BaT thread is full of charming nostalgic recollections, yet completely lacks any clear ownership timeline for the car in the US.


p.s. and with that kind of approach, it’s so surprising that people keep talking about pre-merger bubble investors.

 

[weide1]

Seller posted the photo below of the M117/9 engine serial number which matches the datacard for the original M117 block.

I'm suspicious this is a new M119.960 block, with the original M117 engine serial stamped on it by AMG... need the seller to post a photo of the block casting number, not the serial. The serial numbers can be re-stamped, but you can't change the casting numbers!



View attachment 234149

If it would have been re-stamped, would it not have been more obvious?
Like for example this re-stamped number.

 

[gsxr]

If it would have been re-stamped, would it not have been more obvious?
Like for example this re-stamped number.

That's what I'm trying to figure out. However, note there is no visible compression ratio number.

As discussed earlier in this thread, M119 heads do not bolt up to M117 blocks, so I'm 99.9999% certain it's an M119.960 block with 117 engine serial stamped on it. If M119 heads fit M117 blocks, everyone would be upgrading their asthmatic M117's to DOHC.

 

[FD.]

@gsxr

lot 238
from ca. 27:30

 

[weide1]

As discussed earlier in this thread, M119 heads do not bolt up to M117 blocks, so I'm 99.9999% certain it's an M119.960 block with 117 engine serial stamped on it. If M119 heads fit M117 blocks, everyone would be upgrading their asthmatic M117's to DOHC.

Weird. This one also.
Although it doesn't seem stamped either.


And i've seen more 117/9, that have 117968 written on the Japan VIN badge.

 

[FD.]

Weird. This one also.
Although it doesn't seem stamped either.


And i've seen more 117/9, that have 117968 written on the Japan VIN badge.

@weide1 , you’ve been involved in these researchs for many years.

Is it that Mercedes’ corporate policy prevents this kind of insight from coming out of AMG? Or is it simply that there are no longer any veterans from the early ’90s at AMG who could share these details and first-hand experience?

 

[weide1]

@FD. I don't know. I just collect.
Drawing conclusions is a whole different story.

 

[FD.]

550k at RM Sotheby's 2025
535k at Bring a Trailer 2026

At this rate, the front bumper might finally make it into the budget — right after the next cycle does its motivational work...
and perhaps even the Malachite (249) will make a properly lit appearance in the next photoset?!

 

[FD.]

 

[gsxr]

Jono nailed it @ 2:40:

"Really easy to make a Mercedes worse. Very hard to make them better."

Soooo many people attempt the latter and end up with the former.