Shared by @grunty_diecast (Instagram)
This is the '93 Mercedes-Benz 500 E. Designed by Joseph Gallitzendörfer, Peter Pfeiffer and Bruno Sacco, the 500 E was a high-performance version of the Mercedes-Benz W124 platform, mating the W124 chassis with the 5.0L M119 V8 from the SL. As Mercedes-Benz was too busy engineering the new S-Class, they commissioned Porsche to assist them in the development of the car. Porsche also produced the car as the car was then found to be too wide to be assembled in Mercedes-Benz's Sindelfingen plant; this was a win-win situation, with Mercedes-Benz developing the new S-Class while Porsche's factories getting workload as their factories were being underutilized.
During production, the cars were shuttled back and forth between Porsche and Mercedes-Benz's plants for assembly. Initial assembly took place in Porsche's Zuffenhausen plants, then shipped to Mercedes in Sindelfingen to be painted, then shipped back to Zuffenhausen to add the engine and complete the car, and shipped back to Sindelfingen for final inspection and delivery. This process took 18 days per car. Production began in 1991 and ended in 1994, with the car in its final model year being named the E 500. 10,479 were produced.
Now this casting was designed by Lindsey Lee and introduced in 2021 in the Factory Fresh lineup. The late Ryu Asada may have also had a hand in the design of this casting but I'm not so sure. This is currently the casting's only known release, with a gray one on the horizon.
