500GE Special Edition

[gerryvz]

Speaking of G500s, the first series of 5-liter G-wages was produced from around 1990 through 1998 or so, and used the M117 V-8 that was used in the W126 S-class and the R107.

MB continued to use that engine well after production of the W126 ended in 1991 and the M119 was introduced in late 1989 for the R129 SLs and in 1991 for the W140 and W124 (.034/.036). MB never officially installed the M119 in the G-wagen, although a few were made by AMG on special request.

Anyway, MB officially made 500 of the M117-based 500GE and G500 (from model year 1994) and most all of them were the same blue/purple color, except if a customer special-requested a different color. There are very few of these early 5-liter Gs in the US.

Today I got to see one up close and personal here in Germany. A friend of a friend stopped by for lunch, en route from Hungary to the Northern German town of Paderborn.

Here are a few photos of his M117-based 500GE. These are a bit interesting because from the factory, they did not have locking FRONT differentials like the four and six-cylinder Gs had. So, there are only two instead of three diff-lock switches on the dashboard.

Enjoy!
Cheers,
Gerry

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[texas993]

Re: For G500 lovers here in Miami

So, what was in the trailer? Pretzels?

 

[gerryvz]

Re: For G500 lovers here in Miami

A 600kg gun safe full of registered hunting rifles.


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[Ascension]

Re: For G500 lovers here in Miami

A 600kg gun safe full of registered hunting rifles.


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Why in the world would some one register hunting rifles do they live in one of the commie leftist states like Californistan or something??
Heck this one is 100% legal and it ain't registered so----??

 

[gerryvz]

For G500 lovers here in Miami

Europeans don't have an option. If you live here, you have to register any and all firearms. Only hunters & sport shooters are allowed to own firearms. Handgun ownership is almost unheard of by civilians.


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[texas993]

Re: For G500 lovers here in Miami

A 600kg gun safe full of registered hunting rifles.


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Holy crap, that was an unexpected response!

 

[Klink]

Re: For G500 lovers here in Miami

Holy crap, that was an unexpected response!

Indeed! Yet somehow so appropriate at the very same time! It would be even better if they were in rendezvous with another party arriving in a "CLS "Shooting Break"...

 

[gerryvz]

Re: For G500 lovers here in Miami

Out of the five hundred of these first-generation 500GEs that MB created, only 300 were destined for the German market, with the other 200 going to non-German markets. So as you can imagine, these G's are EXCEEDINGLY rare.

The owner is a leading G-wagen expert in Germany. Great guy.

He said something over lunch that gave me pause -- he said that Porsche lent MB some engineering assistance in the development of the M119. I didn't openly challenge him on this point, but I honestly don't believe it given the similarity of the M119 to the M117, particularly on the bottom end in many ways.

He was definitely well aware of the 500E and the extent of collab between the two companies on that, though he is not specifically an expert on our cars. He's solely a G expert.

One interesting note (according to him) as to why MB didn't install the M119 in the G-wagen is that the cylinder head design of the M119 was pretty much too large for the engine bay ... and it also required significant relocation of the steering gear, which was not an easy feat to do. From what I am told, AMG did install M119s in a few G-wagens, but only on special request and NOT as any sort of serial production model.

Fabian also clearly said that the M119 was the pinnacle of MB engine engineering and design -- something that many other knowledgeable folks have said and something that is not a surprise to any of us.

He also said another thing ... that (particularly the top end of) the M119 was partially patterned after the Porsche 5-liter V8 as found in the 928 (and vice versa), although the Porsche V8 is considerably more compact on the top end than the M119 is. Evidently Porsche also put some of their V8s into G-wagens that were used as race equipment/aid vehicles.

He mentioned Porsche's use of the 722.3, which we knew of. He's a smart & knowledgeable guy, so I won't totally dismiss what he said, but it opens up some interesting avenues for further research as to the extent of collaboration between the companies.

I am very skeptical that Porsche helped MB engineer the M119 though......

Does anyone with 928 knowledge have any insight as to the layout/design of the Porsche V8 being similar/related to the M119?

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[Klink]

Re: For G500 lovers here in Miami

Out of the five hundred of these first-generation 500GEs that MB created, only 300 were destined for the German market, with the other 200 going to non-German markets. So as you can imagine, these G's are EXCEEDINGLY rare.

The owner is a leading G-wagen expert in Germany. Great guy.

He said something over lunch that gave me pause -- he said that Porsche lent MB some engineering assistance in the development of the M119. I didn't openly challenge him on this point, but I honestly don't believe it given the similarity of the M119 to the M117, particularly on the bottom end in many ways.

He was definitely well aware of the 500E and the extent of collab between the two companies on that, though he is not specifically an expert on our cars. He's solely a G expert.

One interesting note (according to him) as to why MB didn't install the M119 in the G-wagen is that the cylinder head design of the M119 was pretty much too large for the engine bay ... and it also required significant relocation of the steering gear, which was not an easy feat to do. From what I am told, AMG did install M119s in a few G-wagens, but only on special request and NOT as any sort of serial production model.

Fabian also clearly said that the M119 was the pinnacle of MB engine engineering and design -- something that many other knowledgeable folks have said and something that is not a surprise to any of us.

He also said another thing ... that (particularly the top end of) the M119 was partially patterned after the Porsche 5-liter V8 as found in the 928 (and vice versa), although the Porsche V8 is considerably more compact on the top end than the M119 is. Evidently Porsche also put some of their V8s into G-wagens that were used as race equipment/aid vehicles.

He mentioned Porsche's use of the 722.3, which we knew of. He's a smart & knowledgeable guy, so I won't totally dismiss what he said, but it opens up some interesting avenues for further research as to the extent of collaboration between the companies.

I am very skeptical that Porsche helped MB engineer the M119 though......

Does anyone with 928 knowledge have any insight as to the layout/design of the Porsche V8 being similar/related to the M119?

Cheers,
Gerry

This rant's for you, Honch. I hope you like it...

Yep, they used the .3, and the heavy duty three speed .0 before that. I've built a bunch of each for Porsche people over the years.

Starting in the early 80s the 928 motor got four valve heads, and IIRC an early version of LH fuel injection. That motor appears to have no other similarities to the M119 whatsoever. Interestingly enough, it was a strange combination of allegedly money saving open deck cylinder blocks with a supposedly horribly expensive bedplate bottom end, each since its inception in '77. As far as Porsche participating in M119 development, it is unlikely, but definitely not impossible. Until Wendlin Weideking (?) and his hired army of Japanese consultants revolutionized the company to where they actually started making money on their cars, most of their profits were said to come from their design and development consultancy business. Legend has it that this business was huge, and that just about every car, truck, engine, motorcycle, tractor, whatever company in the world employed them at one point or another. But even this could be mostly legend, enhanced by kibbles and bits of half-truths as most things Porsche are. Don't misunderstand me, I love them, too. But sheesh already motoring world, get a grip on yourselves and give the whole Porsche thing a rest for a few minutes...

 

[gerryvz]

Re: For G500 lovers here in Miami

I heard that at its peak, 50% of Porsche revenues (late 1980s) were based on contract engineering projects.