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Mercedes 500E
Back in the early 90’s, Mercedes produced a successful but docile W124 E-Class. The elegant sedan was famous for its comfort and refinement rather than performance and speed. The team of crazy German engineers was soon to change that, though. So, in 1991, they presented the mighty 500E model. It was a high-performance version of their main sedan with a different drivetrain, suspension, brakes and engine.
In fact, the 500E was so demanding for production that Mercedes asked Porsche to do the assembly of this car. The main feature of the 500E was the 5.0-liter V8 engine that produced 326 HP. Although not impressive number by today’s standards, it was a crazy figure for the early 90’s, especially in a formal sedan. The 500 E could accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in just six seconds, which was almost as fast as a Ferrari 348.
The best thing was the design because the 500 E looked identical to the regular W124 sedan. If you looked carefully, you could notice bigger wheel arches and brakes, but nothing else revealed there was a monster under the hood. Mercedes offered a badge delete as a no cost option for its customers. And, if you chose a black or silver color, you got a stealth sedan that ate Corvettes for breakfast. Interestingly, you can pick up one of those German muscle sedans for around $20,000 in decent condition.