AMG's legendary 'Red Pig'
Arguably AMG’s most iconic vehicle, the Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL ‘Red Pig’ jump-started the small company’s rise to fame, leading to Mercedes-Benz’s eventual takeover of the tuning house roughly twenty years ago.
Modified at a customer’s request, AMG started with a damaged 300 SEL and turned it into an all-out racing machine. Boring the engine out to 6.8 litres, which produced 420 bhp, AMG fitted aluminium doors, widened the track, fitted larger tyres, and flared the wheel arches. Due to its ungainly proportions and red paintwork, the car was quickly nicknamed the ‘Red Pig’, but soon enough the car proved itself in the crucible of motorsport. At the 1971 24 Hours of Spa, the car won its class and finished 2nd overall, having started 5th on the grid.
While the original ‘Red Pig’ was eventually used in aircraft testing leading to its destruction, a handful of faithful replicas have been built, including one by Mercedes-Benz. This example started as an accident-free, 1969 model year 300 SEL 6.3 and was restored to a ‘Red Pig’ replica by the Mercedes-Benz specialists at Arthur Bechtel Classic Motors in Böblingen, Germany.
RM Sotheby's will be offering this 1969 Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.3 'Red Pig' Replica at their upcoming Paris auction held between on the 5th February. For more information on this and other vehicles at the sale, click on the link below.
Photos ©2019 Courtesy of RM Sotheby's