{"id":1779678,"date":"2026-02-19T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1779678"},"modified":"2026-02-19T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T21:00:00","slug":"this-secret-mercedes-concept-reimagines-the-6-8-litre-300-sel-red-pig","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1779678","title":{"rendered":"This secret Mercedes concept reimagines the 6.8-litre 300 SEL \u2018Red Pig\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Here\u2019s a not-so-little secret. Mercedes-Benz\u2019s long-serving and now former design boss Gorden Wagener<\/a> has revealed a never-before-seen showcar that reimagines one of the brand\u2019s most outlandish racers. It\u2019s the return of the \u2018Red Pig<\/a>\u2019.<\/p>\n

Obviously, it\u2019s a render and unlikely to escape the digital realm, but it\u2019s an interesting idea. Interesting because it softens up the original\u2019s squared-off haunches, adds a bit of modern Merc glitter like starry headlights and a massive, chintzy grille, and slots in unconscionably massive wheels.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Wagener simply noted on his social media feed that this showcar was \u201cinspired by the Mercedes-AMG 300 SEL 6.3 \u2018Rote Sau<\/em>\u2019 from 1971 \u2013 another legendary design from the past into the future\u201d. (Wagener stepped down as MB’s design boss at the end of Jan 2026, FYI.)<\/p>\n

Of course, we all know it wasn\u2019t a 6.3, because AMG founders Aufrecht and Melcher needed something meatier to countenance the 300 SEL\u2019s bulk for its fun day out at Spa.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Where sensible racing teams were fielding sensible racing cars like Ford Capris and BMW E9s and Alfa GTAs, AMG rolled out Merc\u2019s 300 SEL \u2013 the big fun bus that served as predecessor to today\u2019s S-Class.<\/p>\n

The 6.3-litre V8 was embiggened to 6.8-litres and out popped 428bhp and 457lb ft as a result, able to fire the big 1,635kg Benz from 0-62mph in 6.1s. In 1971\u2019s Spa 24hrs \u2013 twenty-four hours racing a Mercedes S-Class! \u2013 the Benz was one of the last cars standing at the finish, coming in a hot second, three laps down on the winning Capri.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Had it been more parsimonious with its fuel and tyres, who knows if it could have actually won. Reckon Merc should make this and have another crack at Spa?<\/p>\n

Images: <\/em>Gorden Wagener Instagram<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here\u2019s a not-so-little secret. Mercedes-Benz\u2019s long-serving and now former design boss Gorden Wagener has revealed a never-before-seen showcar that reimagines one of the brand\u2019s most outlandish racers. It\u2019s the return of the \u2018Red Pig\u2019. Obviously, it\u2019s a render and unlikely to escape the digital realm, but it\u2019s an interesting idea. Interesting because it softens up […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,237],"class_list":["post-1779678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-topgear-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1779678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1779678"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1779678\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1779678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1779678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1779678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}