OK, so the AMG Hammer is cool. We’re not arguing that much. A basically bespoke reworking of a bulletproof Mercedes 300CE coupe, that just happens to have a 385bhp, 6.0-litre V8 under the bonnet and packs more 1980s-spec intimidation than a street full of skinheads? Yeah, you’ve won us over. And that’s before you mention it’s an AMG Hammer.

Because we’re talking about the days when AMG was an independent tuner and not the nexus of all things Mercedes and motorsport, by the way. A time when you could count on your fingers and toes how many examples of a certain model would be made, and count on one hand how many would be the same. A time when the only corporate mission statement was ‘wedge more menace and engine into every Mercedes that rolls through these doors’.

So yes, this particular AMG Hammer is... particularly rare, not least because it’s only covered 19,500 miles since 1988. Honestly, we think we’ve probably walked that many miles since then.

But even knowing how rare, special, menacing or indeed mint this AMG Hammer is, are we really talking about a bidding war that basically crashed the site it was listed on, squeezing out potential bidders? And that after the dust had settled, the auctioneers offered a “best and final offer opportunity” to the highest bidder and those who were unable to bid, resulting in a R12.7 million sale price – and a new highest bidder? Well, if nothing else, at least we can put a dollar value of just how cool the AMG Hammer really is.  

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