{"id":474437,"date":"2026-02-17T20:06:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T20:06:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/474437\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T20:06:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T20:06:16","slug":"mercedes-secretly-modernized-the-original-amg-super-sedan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/474437\/","title":{"rendered":"Mercedes Secretly Modernized The Original AMG Super Sedan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ex-Mercedes design boss Gorden Wagner unearths a ‘Red Pig’ reboot.
\nThe original AMG sedan took second place at the 1971 Spa 24 Hours.
\nThe spectacular tribute is likely to remain a one-off effort.<\/p>\n

Mercedes bought a controlling stake in AMG in 1999 before turning it into a wholly owned subsidiary six years later. However, the company had been around since 1967, when Hans Werner Aufrecht and Erhard Melcher set up shop near Stuttgart.<\/p>\n

The two engineers, who had been working on the 300 SE\u2019s race engine, left Mercedes to establish (deep breath): Aufrecht Melcher Gro\u00dfaspach Ingenieurb\u00fcro, Konstruktion und Versuch zur Entwicklung von Rennmotoren (Aufrecht Melcher Gro\u00dfaspach engineering firm for the design and testing of racing engines).<\/p>\n

As with every great car story, AMG\u2019s origins trace back to racing. Its first notable success came just four years later, when an AMG Mercedes 300 SEL 6.8 not only won its class at the 1971 Spa 24 Hours but also finished second overall. More than half a century later, the super sedan nicknamed \u201cRed Pig\u201d is back, albeit virtually. The former Mercedes design supremo<\/a> has unearthed a secret modernized take on the V8-powered monster.<\/p>\n

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Photo by: Instagram \/ Gorden Wagener<\/p>\n

Gorden Wagener, who left the company at the end of last month after spending 29 years at Mercedes, has revealed his vision of a modern Red Pig in a series of images released on Instagram<\/a>. In keeping with recent models, he couldn\u2019t resist adding three-pointed stars to the headlights. LED rings have replaced the race car\u2019s auxiliary lights, while the five-spoke wheels pay tribute to the original.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s worth noting that the actual Red Pig no longer exists. Built on a damaged W109 S-Class, the 422-horsepower race car with its massive 6.8-liter engine was later acquired by Matra, a long-defunct French industrial conglomerate, which used it to test aircraft landing gear.<\/p>\n

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\"Gorden<\/p>\n

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\n Source: Gorden Wagener \/ Instagram <\/p>\n

That made sense, considering the 300 SEL was the fastest German production car at the time and one of the quickest four-door vehicles in the world. As you can imagine, the car was destroyed during its second life as a test rig for aircraft tires.<\/p>\n

Mercedes<\/a> eventually obtained the original blueprints and built a faithful replica in the mid-2000s. A couple of decades later, Gorden Wagener has revived the spirit of the Red Pig for his Iconic Design book, which also features previously unpublished images of his work.<\/p>\n

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\"AMG<\/p>\n

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Motor1’s Take:\u00a0Reviving the car that laid the foundation for AMG is no easy task, but Gorden Wagener dared to reinterpret such an iconic vehicle for the 21st century. Although a production version will never exist, AMG loyalists will appreciate this \u201cwhat if\u201d exercise, imagining the Red Pig more than half a century after it made history at Spa-Francorchamps.<\/p>\n

Wagener has undoubtedly left his mark on Mercedes design over the past two decades and has earned the right to revisit one of AMG\u2019s earliest icons. A return to that imposing grille is on the horizon, as last year\u2019s Vision Iconic concept<\/a> previewed a new design language that pays homage to the past.<\/p>\n

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