W124 Mercedes-Benz 500E: an industrial stepping stone

Up there somewhere in sedan heaven, the W124 Mercedes 500E resides as a deity, elevated to that status by none other than its own merits and heritage that is nothing short of legendary. Here’s how two Stuttgart neighbours – Mercedes and Porsche, built a one of a kind machine, whose revered status is now set in stone.For those unfamiliar with Mercedes nomenclature (I don’t blame you), ‘W124’ refers to the automaker’s lineup of mid-sized/compact sedans that would now constitute the E Class, which the W124 was appropriately renamed to later on. Along with the W201, which was the sub-compact, the W124 was born as a result of the then-contemporary fuel crisis. Facing daunting U.S regulations, Mercedes decided to invest all of their manpower into the two twins, which gave rise to, among many others, a whole new lineup of fuel-efficient engines, 4Matic (first introduced in 1987 in the W124) and perhaps more importantly, era-defining design.