Back in the day, if you were a wealthy enough individual with a penchant for cushy Autobahn crushers, you'd give the folks at AMG a ring on the phone. They started life as a Mercedes-Benz tuning company before being fully absorbed by the mothership in 2005. In the late 1980', you could buy a powerful Mercedes and then have AMG kit it out with a massive V-8 engine and other go-fast goodies. Most often this was done to sedan. Occasionally, it was done to a coupe. In very rare instances, some wonderful mad genius opted to outfit their wagon.
The car in the Petrolicious video above is a 1987 Mercedes-Benz AMG Hammer. That's one of the greatest names in motoring, as it signifies what you feel when you press down on the throttle. Under the hood is a 6.0-liter V-8 engine with 32 valves and twin camshafts that all spin and vibrate together to produce around 375 horsepower and a healthy bit more than 400 pound-feet of torque.
As the current owner Jonathan Hodgman notes, the engine makes its best power in the 4,000-6,000 rev range, and the engine lets him know that it likes to live there.
This particular wagon started life as a standard diesel family hauler. The original Canadian owner bought it as a gift for his wife, and had it shipped off to AMG right away.
AMG proceeded to install that 6.0-liter V-8, as well as upgrade the transmission, add a stiffer rear subframe to handle the S-Class limited-slip differential, add stiffer springs and shocks, install bigger wheels and brakes, add a body kit, and make a few tweaks to the interior, including a Nakamichi stereo. There's no doubt the conversion took many dollars, but the ends justify the means here. This is an ultra-rare longroof that hides a potent performer under its hood.
This car represents the best of both worlds, and it is a perfect example of the sort of wagon for which longroof lovers long.
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