For $16,500, Is It Better To Own Or To RENNtech?

While Coors Light may be more famously known as the Silver Bullet, today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe RENNTech E60 RS could rightfully claim that title. And as alcohol and automobiles don’t mix, we’re going to see if this tuner Benz’s price can persuade you into putting down your beer and picking up your checkbook.

Speaking of titles, it seems that being crowned a Bad Ass MoFo must hold some appeal. At least that’s the take away from yesterday’s SBC-sporting 1971 240Z and its 73% Nice Price win. That’s our first win this week, and just goes to show that it pays to be a MoFo.



I don’t even know how you would say Bad Ass MoFo in German, or whether that crude sobriquet is even used in das Vaterland. If however it is, then like yesterday’s Z, this ’97 RENNTech e60 RS would definitely fit the bill.



RENNTech was founded by Hartmut Feyhl in 1989. Feyhl had worked for more than a decade as AMG’s Technical Director for North America prior to starting the Florida-based RENNTech, so you’d guess he knows a thing or two about how to make the Swabian’s products go like stink.



In the case of this W210-based E60 RS, that entailed replacing the stock mill with a 5-litre edition that was then further bored out to fully six litres of displacement, good for a minimum of 418-horses and 440 ft-lbs of torque. And pretty good for shredding tires too, I'd suspect. The gearbox has likewise been modded by RENNTech, as has the lowered suspension and the brakes that have been massive-ized.

Visually, this E60 stands apart from your run of the mill W210 in having its fenders subtly bulged. There’s no other indication on this car’s very clean exterior of what lies beneath, although the black spoked wheels do play peekaboo with the big brakes.



Inside, it’s a completely different story. The entire interior has been given an overhaul in love it or hump it triple-tone red over black over grey. The mods extend to the dashboard which now features a stitched leather cap, and the replacement of the original Benz seats with a pair of luridly upholstered Recaro thrones. Those have their electric adjustments down on the side bolster, making the stock switches on the door awkwardly redundant and probably non-functional. Aside from some crazing on the leather seating surfaces and some hand hold shmutz on the tiller, it all still looks to be in pretty good shape, if you can get by the colors.

The seller claims the car checks off all the appropriate used car boxes - clean title, reasonable miles (125K), and the claim that everything works perfectly. He also notes that these cars once went for as much as a buck-fifty, big money for an E-class, but apparently worth it at the time as RENNTech supposedly sold 30 of the cars back in the day. Right now he’s asking $16,500, which again is a lot of cash for a 16-year old W210, unless of course it’s able to move mountains, as this one is likely able to do.



What do you think, its that a fair price for this RENNTech’d E-Class? Or, would paying $16,500 for a tuner Mercedes be way off key?



You decide!

City of Angels Craigslist (Although the car is actually in Fresno), or go here if the ad disappears.

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via Jalopnik http://jalopnik.com/453697054