Back in 1971, a luxury sedan weighing 4,409 pounds shocked the paddock at Spa Francorchamps, when it finished second overall at the 24 Hours of Spa and won its class. That car was the Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.8 AMG, which earned the nickname Rote Sau or ‘Red Pig’. German engineers, Hans Werner Aufrecht and Erhard Melcher, working out of the town of Burgstall near Großaspach, had effectively created the first-ever AMG (Aufrecht, Melcher, Großaspach).
They reduced weight, enlarged the M100 V8 from 6.3 to 6.8 liters, added high-precision camshafts, reinforced rocker arms, lighter connecting rods, larger intake valves, redesigned combustion chambers, and a freer-flowing exhaust, and output climbed from roughly 250 horsepower to about 428 horsepower.
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Now, over fifty years later, industry veteran Gorden Wagener, who served as the design chief of Mercedes-Benz for 17 years, has revisited that moment with a modern design study. The project appears in the 2025 book Iconic Design, edited by Wagener with Thomas Ammann and Marc Stefan Andres. It is described as a show car, with no disclosed platform, drivetrain, or performance figures.
Visually, the concept retains much of the original W109-based sedan's upright, classic proportions. Up front, a tall Ponton-inspired grille dominates the fascia, with Vertical lighting elements flanking it, joined by illuminated three-pointed star graphics integrated into the lights. Additional LED rings sit lower in the front bumper. At the rear, a thin, continuous light bar stretches across the trunk, with secondary lighting units set low in the diffuser area.
Softer in form when viewed from the side, the overall stance appears to be more planted than the 1971 original. Wider fenders wrap around large five-spoke wheels, while a subtle front splitter hints at track intent. The design aesthetic is closer to recent Mercedes concept studies like the Mercedes Vision Iconic, another Wagener project unveiled in October last year, before his departure. The Vision Iconic made its first public appearance last month at the Mercedes-Benz Places Binghatti City launch event in Dubai.
The original 300 SEL 6.8 AMG was born long before AMG became a corporate subsidiary of the three-pointed star. AMG operated independently until Mercedes acquired a majority stake in 1999 and completed full integration in 2005. After its racing career, the Spa car reportedly went to Matra in France as a test vehicle.
While Wagener’s design study doesn’t hint at production, it reconnects Mercedes’ latest design language with the car that started it all for AMG. As for recreations, in 2006, specialists built an accurate replica using period documentation. More recently, California-based S-Klub LA built a restomod that pairs a classic 300 body with the chassis and 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 from a W205 C63 S, resulting in a modern-day Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL.
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Images: @gordon.wagener, Mercedes-Benz
