Mercedes-Benz E-Class 300E-24 W124

THE BEST OR NOTHING.

That was the credo Mercedes-Benz did not print in a glossy brochure during the '80s and '90s, but cast in steel. And if there is one car that lived up to that motto down to the very last bolt, it is the W124. Back then, the engineers in Sindelfingen were still simply told to build the best, not the cheapest. The result was a mid-size saloon that was overengineered to an almost bizarre degree: doors that close with the precision of a vault, a pillarless door construction that had the competition green with envy, and a body that defies earthly time as though rust were nothing but a local legend.

The W124 was presented in late 1984 as the successor to the W123, and that was no small task. The W123 already had a reputation for being indestructible. Yet somehow Mercedes managed to go one better. More aerodynamic, more modern, and available in just about any flavour you could imagine: from the diesel-chugging taxi to the outrageous 500E they cobbled together together with Porsche. Somewhere within that range sat this one: the 300E. And not just any 300E.

Because this is the 300E-24. The 24-valve. The DOHC version of the famous 3.0 straight-six, good for 220 bhp, with an engine that is just as happy spinning up to the redline as it is gliding sedately through town. Where the ordinary 300E takes it easy, the 24-valve secretly wants to play sports car. An angry bee hidden inside the body of a diplomat. And, listen closely, this one is a manual. In a W124-24V. That is rarer than a sincere smile at the tax office.

Right, back to the car in question. This 1991 300E-24 is finished in Cornaline, a warm, reddish metallic shade you can barely find anymore these days, one that gives this Mercedes a surprisingly elegant, almost chestnut-brown appearance. On a grey day it changes colour like a good glass of Bordeaux held up to the light.

And then there is the history. This car was first registered in Switzerland on 9 April 1991, and it spent decades there with the same owner up in the mountains. La Chaux-de-Fonds, to be precise, at Garage P. Ruckstuhl. I have looked through the service book and it reads like a book of prayer: delivery inspection in May '91, running-in service at 1,111 km, and then every service dutifully carried out at the same Mercedes garage.

Even the oil was the same brand every single time. Emissions tests kept up neatly, year after year. This is the kind of documentation that turns the knees of enthusiasts of this type of car to jelly.

The Swiss and their cars, that is a love story all of its own. Where we here sacrifice our cars to salt and rain, they tuck their Mercedes under a blanket in heated garages. This W124 is the living proof of that. Recently serviced before it came to us, so you will not need to reach for the toolbox straight away.

So what makes this car so special? It is the combination. The rare 24-valve with a manual gearbox. The impeccable single-owner Swiss history. The unusual Cornaline colour. And all of it wrapped up in the most solid car Mercedes ever built. The best part comes the moment you climb in: the robust, timeless W124 interior, where nothing rattles, nothing squeaks, and everything still works exactly as intended. Real driving as it was meant to be, with a car you can still understand without a software update.

These days the W124 is busy claiming its rightful place in the classic car world, and the three-pedal 300E-24 is right at the front of that queue. Notary, collector, retired dentist from the Cotswolds who as a boy was only ever allowed a Mercedes by his father: anyone who knows what they are looking at will see something special standing here.

This one will still be running thirty years from now. You perhaps not, but it certainly will.

Special features:

• Rare 300E-24 (DOHC 24-valve), 220 bhp straight-six
• Manual gearbox, exceptionally rare in this specification
• Special Cornaline metallic colour
• First owner Switzerland
• Extensive and consistent service book from the same Mercedes garage
• Emissions tests and services neatly documented from delivery onwards
• Recent servicing carried out
• Iconic, overengineered W124 build quality
• VAT-margin car

With a torn-open Toblerone and a map of Switzerland

Nick Slinger

Copywriter · HooG Selections