Vehicle Description
Chassis No. WDBEA30D5HA542559
Modern AMGs are throaty, fast, sporting cars with powerful engines
with the performance to blow their regular production brethren
away. Walk into any Mercedes dealer, and they will kindly show you
a whole range of exciting AMG models, but this wasn't always the
case. AMG wasn't always part of Mercedes-Benz. Back in the 1980s,
AMG was the Mercedes-Benz tuner, a company staffed by ex-Mercedes
engineers who were able to build the cars of their dreams without
interference from Mercedes management. The 300 hp ECE version of
the 560 SE was the most powerful, out-of-the-box sedan Mercedes
offered at the time. If something additional was desired - and who
doesn't want more? - AMG had an extensive catalog of options to
choose from. Wheels, wood trim, spoilers, and rocker panels were
available all the way up to a fully re-engineered car with a
6.0-liter V8 with custom cylinder heads on offer. In the 1980s, AMG
was nimble enough to create whatever the customer wanted, often
building vehicles costlier than a new Ferrari Testarossa, but more
importantly, it was faster.
Mr. Don Byerly was one such customer who decided the best Mercedes
could offer could use some improvements. Mr. Byerly ordered the car
new directly with Richard Buxbaum, CEO of AMG North America at the
time, as documented in a letter between them, a copy of which
accompanies the car. The build sheet on file confirms the car was
ordered with a "6.0L 32V engine, 2.47:1 gearbox; differential,
sport exhaust - high performance, sport suspension, 17" chrome
plated - painted wheels, interior wood kit, wood shift knob, Hammer
aero body package, the large battery in the trunk, and AMG floor
mats and car cover." AMG aficionados and observers alike will be
amused to see AMG North America itself say "build into a hammer" as
step one!
Beginning as a standard $39,500 1987 W124 chassis 300 E that was
destined for the US market, it was sent to Westmont, Illinois, the
headquarters of AMG North America, for conversion. It was there, in
AMG's hands, where the car was transformed from a stock luxury
sedan to a potent Autobahn stormer for an additional $97,988.29.
All of AMG's work was done by hand, and incredibly copies of the
mechanics' hourly time cards, including Hartmut Feyhl, are on file
and available for review.
Early ownership and any subsequent ownership are unknown after Don
Byerly. The history would pick up in the early 2000s when the car
was acquired by Jonathan Hodgeman of Blue Ridge Mercedes. Jonathan
would remain the custodian until being purchased by the current
owner, who decided the car should be restored and brought back to
life. Who better to revive the car than the man who built it new,
Hartmut Feyhl?
Hartmut Feyhl is not simply a knowledgeable AMG mechanic - he is
the AMG mechanic. His career spanned 12 years at AMG Germany before
serving as the North American division's Technical Director. Prior
to AMG's merger with Mercedes-Benz in 1989, at the request of AMG
Germany, Feyhl branched out on his own to start RENNtech and
service the existing North American AMG customers. As such, it was
only fitting that this Hammer would receive a proper service from
RENNtech.
Today this Hammer shows just over 32,600 miles on the odometer at
the time of cataloging. Recent restorative work completed by
RENNtech and Ai design was completed in December 2022 at 32,586
miles with a total in excess of $79,000. RENNtech would remove the
engine to reseal it, and the transmission would receive the latest
performance upgrades. Following its time at RENNtech, the car would
head to Ai design, where a new stereo system was fitted to the car
while maintaining a period look.
Pre-merger AMGs have risen in value of late, and it is unsurprising
to see several come to market. Of those, however, very few, if any,
have been documented by AMG itself. No questions exist around this
car for those looking for the real thing. With factory
correspondence, original build sheet, and documentation, along with
recent RENNtech service, one would be hard-pressed to find a
better-documented example. In total, it would cost approximately
$1460,000 to build this Hammer when it was new, and as a result of
the extreme amount of work and cost, it is believed to be one of
only thirteen built in North America and one of less than 30
produced worldwide.
