CLASSIC DRIVE: Mercedes-Benz 300CE-24 AMG 3.4 Cabriolet

Based on a 300CE-24 Cabriolet and built to special order by AMG, this rare drophead boasts a 3.4-litre straight-six developing 200 kW, plus Affalterbach’s period styling and suspension modifications. This is the only example of its kind believed to be in SA.

Words: Wilhelm Lutjeharms

Images: Kian Eriksen

Sometimes in life you have an encounter with a rare car and then you think you are unlikely to cross paths with it ever again. But recently I walked into motoring specialists Crossley & Webb’s showroom only to see the very rare A124 Mercedes-Benz 300CE-24 AMG 3.2 Cabriolet. This is a car I briefly drove eight years ago in the Free State. At the time I thought I’d never see it again, but here it was parked and needless to say it soon found a new owner. Let’s rewind the clock to that warm Free State morning.

History

Whether it’s because AMG has grown from strength-to-strength over the past decade, or that its earlier cars are deemed particularly – and positively – anti-establishment, buyers and specialist car sellers will tell you that the company’s oldest creations have become even more appealing in recent years, their character maturing like a fine wine, complete with added kick. 

Take this 300CE-24 AMG 3.4 Cabriolet, for example, displaying the sort of period tuner touches that can take many minutes to spot before they are fully appreciated. Between 1993 and 1996, just 68 E36 AMG Cabriolets left Affalterbach, and those well documented cars based on the facelifted E320 model.

However, the drophead pictured is actually based on a pre-facelift 300CE-24 and equipped with a 3.4-litre M104 six-cylinder engine. As we understand it, AMG created 25 “300CE-24 3.4” coupés between 1988 to 1993, but the cabriolet version was a special order model built on an even smaller scale. 

Pull the car into daylight, it reveals a very dark grey and blue tint to the metallic paintwork, this contrasting with the clear lens headlamps and fog lights, orange indicators and, at the time a Free State province numberplate decorated with the picture of a cheetah mid stride. From a distance, it’s easy to mistake this car for a coupé, such is the way the dark fabric hood blends with the bodywork, the profile shared between these two Mercedes being no accident. 

AMG was notoriously poor at keeping records of its work in the early days, and there are plenty of would-be AMG 124s on the market today, further blurring the boundary between genuine and not-so-genuine cars, but this cabriolet is the real deal. How do we know? Because Mercedes-Benz Classic in Germany confirmed it using the car’s VIN, Affalterbach perhaps not so bad at doing paperwork after all. It certainly makes our job far easier... 

• Find a classic Mercedes-Benz for yourself here.

The list of upgrades reads as follows: an AMG Technik Paket (Technology Package), AMG sports suspension “without levelling”, and stunning AMG split rim alloy wheels in size 8.5Jx17 with 235/45ZR17 Michelin rubber. Other modifications include a dechromed grille and an AMG front bumper – the latter feature squaring the jaw of this otherwise pretty droptop and meaning you certainly won’t mistake this car for a standard 300CE-24 Cabriolet.

Although Mercedes’ records suggest AMG also gave this car a new ‘rear skin’ specific to the A124 (this the internal designation for the 124-series cabriolet), the tail end of this example appears standard, excepting an AMG badge on the bootlid. 

Behind the wheel

Inspired by a walk around this car, images of AMG’s iconic Hammer V8 saloon pop into my head. But this is no 5-litre V8. Turning to the official list of upgrades once more, this 300CE-24 Cabriolet had its engine removed by AMG engineers and the three-litre M104 motor was subsequently enlarged to 3 406 cm3, which increased power from 162 kW at 6 400 rpm to 200 kW at 6 500 rpm. Torque also climbed from 264 Nm at 4 600 rpm to 315 Nm at 4 500 rpm. Without a 0-100 km/h time and top speed to hand, we must use the 3.4 Coupé version’s figures as a guide; the benchmark sprint is over in 7.3 seconds, and the top speed is 250 km/h. 

Before we set off, I decide to lower the roof by releasing two metal levers located at the top of the windscreen, and then press a red button situated on top of the transmission tunnel. If you are not aware of the hazard lights switch below the central air vents, you can easily mistake this red button for that function. With fabric roof swiftly and automatically stowed in the boot, the bootlid closes again and resumes its flat and square profile, but the whole car looks slightly longer now. 

The roads are quiet enough to get into a rhythm with the 3.4. Despite the considerable work carried out by AMG, this 124 cabriolet is still a brilliant car for cruising at relaxed speeds. The engine is happy to potter around in the first third of its rev range, while the five-speed automatic gearbox carefully rows from one gear to the next. And the huge, four-spoke steering wheel makes manoeuvring easy, the high level of power assistance reducing the effort needed to turn it. 

Compared to its fixed roof sibling, there is more scuttle shake, but that doesn’t affect the relaxing driving environment. But after a while, it becomes impossible to resist pressing the throttle to its stop. After all, this uprated 3.4-litre engine was built to be used. I move the gearlever to the manual setting to make sure the transmission doesn’t select a higher gear too soon, and put my foot down. 

Low down engine response is somewhat languid, but by 3 000 rpm the motor is coming alive and the rev needle quickly swings round to 6 000 rpm, during which the cabin is infiltrated by the in-line six’s distinctive sound. The big 7 000 rpm mark is finally reached and the gearbox calls time, automatically slotting home the next cog. Given the car’s age, it is a mighty performance. 

I move the gearlever back into ‘D’ and smile – the lever’s click-click sound between steps very similar to that of levers in Mercedes of the 2000s.

This car has been cared for throughout its life, and that’s obvious inside and out. The interior hides its three decade and 85 000 km of use remarkably well, with no cracks, splits or tears anywhere, and it is quite clear that the car hasn’t been parked in the sun with the roof down, every surface still richly coloured. 

Unlike today’s engines, which are usually covered by moulded plastic, open the bonnet of this 1993 Mercedes and you’re greeted by a longitudinally positioned six-cylinder engine exposed in all its glory. Look more closely and you’ll notice the rear part of the engine is hiding at the very back of the bay, this position aiding weight distribution and, subsequently, handling. 

I must admit that I’ve never driven a standard 124-series cabriolet, and testing an AMG model first is probably not the best way to become acquainted with the range, but I can see why some buyers, enthusiasts and indeed collectors prefer these modified examples to the standard cars. For some Mercedes-Benz connoisseurs they might not be as classy, but these early AMGs have a mischievous edge to their drive which standard 124s bar the E36 and 500E/E500 lack. 

After my drive, I went home and searched online for 124-series AMG models, but didn’t find a single one of these 3.4-litre cabriolets for sale. They were among the first AMG fettled cabriolets, and introduced Affalterbach to a lucrative area of the market.

Specifications:

1993 Mercedes-Benz 300CE-24 AMG 3.4 Cabriolet

Engine: 3.4-litre, six cylinder, petrol

Power: 200 kW at 6 500 rpm

Torque: 315 Nm at 4 500 rpm 

Transmission: 5-speed automatic, RWD

Weight: N/A

0-100 km/h: 7.3 seconds

Top speed: 250 km/h