We imagine it’s pretty hard to get Jay Leno giddy when it comes to classic cars, but it looks like all it might take is a $5,000 Mercedes-Benz with 327,000 miles on the odometer. That car just so happens to be a [1972 Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL>http://ift.tt/1H0TMb8] 6.3, which the car-loving funnyman refers to as a “German supercar” as he details the 43-year-old sedan in the latest episode of Jay Leno’s Garage.
Leno says he bought the clapped-out Benz seven years ago as a project with the goal of slapping a drivetrain from an SLS AMG underneath the body. After consulting his followers, he decided instead to keep the car as Mercedes had intended rather than turn it into a Stuttgart restomod.
The heart of the Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.3 was its 300-horsepower, 6.3-liter V-8 that was made possible thanks to the “money-no-object” Mercedes 600. Leno says that the “6.3” badge on the trunk was about as desired to German drivers as the “Hemi” badge was in America. And this car had the performance to back it up, too, with quarter-mile times said to be in the 14-second range. This Mercedes was so powerful and so refined that Leno considers the 2015 Dodge Charger Hellcat as a modern-day equivalent, and he even went as far to say that it is his “favorite Mercedes-Benz to drive."
After watching the video, it’s clear that Leno’s decision to keep the 300 SEL 6.3 intact wasn’t just based on the feedback from his viewers. He has a recognizable fondness for this car and its glorious engine that dates back to a dealership job he had in his 20s, which most car lovers can all trace back similar experiences. Leno spends most of the 20-minute video waxing nostalgic about his Mercedes, while providing plenty of excellent details about the Tri-Star as well.
Click past the jump to read more about the 1972 Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.3.}
Video: Jay Leno Reviews 1972 Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.3 originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 26 January 2015 13:00 EST.
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