AMG Hammer
I still remember the moment clearly--I was an 11-year-old flipping through the new copy of Road & Track in a branch of the Austin Public Library. That issue featured a top-speed shootout between several hot-rodded exotics. I believe there was a tweaked Ferrari Testarossa, a turbocharged Ferrari GTO, a gorgeous Ruf Porsche, a few hot-rodded Corvettes, and other various exotics. It was a pretty interesting story, filled with beautiful cars running at top speed, with R&T's typical story-telling goodness.
And then it happened--I noticed that one of the competitors appeared to be an ordinary mid-sized Mercedes-Benz 300E sedan. Of course, it was actually an AMG Hammer.
The sole criteria for inclusion in the test was flat-out, throttle-to-the-floor speed. The other competitors were hot, cramped, noisy, impractical, unreliable, and expensive highly modified exotics. And even within this context, a thoroughly comfortable and civilized Mercedes-Benz four-door sedan was a formidable competitor.
Seeing the Hammer in that context forever changed the way I think about performance cars. Before that moment, I had thought of performance cars only in terms of exotics or sports cars--the Corvettes, Porsches, Ferraris, and Lamborghinis of the world. The Hammer taught me that with the right engineering, earth-shattering performance could be had without sacrificing comfort and practicality, and without obnoxious macho posturing.
Some of the other cars required intense care to even complete the tests; the Hammer started easily, idled peacefully, and blew through the traps at 186 mph. I believe Paul Frere wrote that he was listening to opera on the Hammer's exquisite stereo on his top-speed run.
It's a lesson that the rest of the industry has learned; in particular, the premium luxury marques have taken the lesson to heart. Mercedes later acquired AMG and put it to work modifying its entire line. BMW brought its M-series to the United States, and Audi created its S-line of sports sedans.
So, enough of the history lesson--exactly what was the AMG Hammer?
The Hammer was a meek, mild-mannered 300E sedan, transformed into a superhero with the addition of a smooth 32-valve, 5.6-liter V-8 and an AMG-tweaked suspension package. The Hammer retained the 300E's sweet, livable disposition but added the kind of performance that could smoke any Ferrari or Porsche of the day. The result was a subtle speedster with no compromises (with the exception of price, anyway)--5.5 seconds to 60 and 186-mph top speed, with the ability to carry four adults around in comfort in rush-hour traffic.
Those are still great numbers today; but what's not immediately apparent 20 years later is just how mind-bending the Hammer was to my 11-year-old self back in 1987. The Hammer's elegance and subtlety, combined with bone-crushing performance, made it the ultimate Autobahn predator.
To paraphrase the old saying, when you drive a Hammer, all other cars begin to look like nails.
--Chris H.
Damian P. on February 26, 2008 at 06:33 PM
I remember that very issue - I was 13 at the time, and it was one of the first car magazines I ever bought.
The Ferrari GTO is the one that caught my eye, but I remember being pretty impressed by the Hammer, too. And then there was the largely (and unjustly) forgotten Isdera Imperator, which hit 186mph:
http://thespeedbarrier.blogspot.com/2007/11/isdera-history.html
Steve on February 27, 2008 at 07:02 AM
One one hand the AMG Hammers are mechanically cool cars. On the other hand their looks can only be described as "bling bling."
Chris Hafner on February 27, 2008 at 09:43 AM
Steve: "One one hand the AMG Hammers are mechanically cool cars. On the other hand their looks can only be described as "bling bling."
Well, like anything else, I think the Hammer needs to be judged by the context of its time. At the time, the lowered monochrome body kit look hadn't yet become a cliche - in fact that look became popular *because* of AMGs. In fact, I remember the Pontiac Grand Am - one of the first monochrome imitators - was popularly described as having the "AMG look."
Besides, the Hammer didn't look that way just to look cool (though I'm sure that didn't hurt). It was lower and wore an aerodynamic kit because those things helped it go faster.
JEM on February 29, 2008 at 01:42 PM
For me the magazine-lust sedan was a few years earlier - the BMW E12-chassis Alpina B7 circa 1980. If you find one today they're something of a nightmare to try to sort out all the odd gubbins that went into the fuel injection, etc.
For real-world-usable big-motor sedans with character there's the W124-chassis E500/500E, the E34 and E39 M5s, etc. though for some reason I've got an itch for an old late '60s Benz 300SEL 6.3.
Chris Hafner on February 29, 2008 at 03:43 PM
JEM: "For me the magazine-lust sedan was a few years earlier - the BMW E12-chassis Alpina B7 circa 1980."
Certainly - those are gorgeous. I've always loved that generation of 5-series, and the Alpina version just as that extra bit of specialness.
JEM: "For real-world-usable big-motor sedans with character there's the W124-chassis E500/500E, the E34 and E39 M5s, etc. though for some reason I've got an itch for an old late '60s Benz 300SEL 6.3. "
We are completely on the same page.
My ode to the original M5:
http://www.carlustblog.com/2007/10/1988-bmw-m5.html
I would also add to your list the 450SEL 6.9.
http://www.carlustblog.com/2007/09/mercedes-benz-4.html
Mark Porthouse on December 15, 2008 at 12:19 PM
I'm in the UK and I have that Road & Track issue (or perhaps a one with a very similar test) in my loft somewhere. I haven't read the article for perhaps 20 years (I must have been perhaps 15/16 when I bought it new at the local news shop), but here are a couple of recollections:
The AMG was absolutely awesome. I currently own an '88 300TE (not so fast!) that runs on propane - I believe they did coupe and estate Hammers.
There was only one Corvette (a C4 Callaway), but there was a 9 litre mid eighties Camaro.
The Ferrari wasn't actually a 288GTO, but rather a GTO replica - it had started life as a 308GTB and had had a big American V8 stuck in the back longitudinally and had had the body modified to give it a GTO look.
I seem to recall that the Camaro and the Ferrari both broke down during the test.
Steve on January 17, 2009 at 07:58 PM
I own the first Hammer built in the US. Its signal red with tan interior.There where only 13 real Hammers built.Rbuilding the engine as we speak,cant wait to drive it.
carsinpedia.com on May 16, 2009 at 10:47 AM
I remember that R&T and fell in love with the Hammer.
A few years ago I had the chance to purchase a 92 500E; incredible car.
Not quite the Hammer but a close second.
http://carsinpedia.com/car_week_archive_details.php?id=4
A great site for the 500e is www.500e.com