The drunken, knife wielding grandfather of the S 65.
Being hurtled towards anything in its way last week in the S 65 AMG Merc, I began to think about when exactly Hans-Werner, Erhard and their troubled friends started to loosen their grip on reality. When exactly was a Mercedes purr turned into a gurgling lunatic howl? Growing up I just had to accept that Mercedes-Benz would always be scoffed at for their overly large steering wheels and wallowy Church going suspension systems.
A part of me wished that there was a Mercedes that would just show up looking all Merc like and smash the idiotic grins off BMW fans and their “ultimate driving machines”. Do some damage to their kidney’s grills with 100 Proof automotive moonshine. Something cooked up and cooked out illegally. Apparently Hans-Werner Aufrecht and Erhard Melcher had that exact same idea. Way back in the 70s, when slipping in and out of reality was part of the daily grind. Perhaps we have Erich Waxenberger to thank initially for squeezing a 6.3l (from the Merc 600 Limousine) engine into the S-Class of the time; the 300SEL. The result was mind-bendingly fast for a luxury saloon and upped the stakes in a class Mercedes would never relinquish. Enter AMG who thought it would be prudent to paint it red and go racing. The result was what was (affectionately, for Germans I guess) nicknamed the “Red Sow”. Apparently it finished second at the Spa 24 hours in 1971 because it had to keep stopping for fuel and tyres. Just look at the thing. I absolutely love it even down to the Camel Filters sponsorship around the race number on the door. It’s the only Merc I’ve ever liked in red as well.
Today AMG is officially the racing and tuning division of Mercedes-Benz. Where I’m from a “tuning division” is a group of Lebs outside News Cafe just before last rounds are called. More on the stupendously awesome S 65 later on this week.
-Gavin Williams
Tags: 1971, amg, lunatic, moonshine, red sow, S 65, spa-Francorchamps
