Jay Leno bought this 1972 Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.3 for just $5,000 seven years ago. His original goal was to remove the original 6.3L SOHC V8 and replace it with the fire-breathing drivetrain of a modern Mercedes SLS AMG. The car had over 500,000 kilometers on it when he bought it and he thought an engine failure was imminent but the big V8 just keeps running mile after mile.
Jay asked the viewers what to do with the car and the resounding answer was that he should keep the car stock. The 300 SEL 6.3 was dubbed “the greatest sedan in the world” by Road & Track and its 300-horsepower V8 made it the fastest sedan of the day. In fact, when jay was 22, he was arrested in Virginia for driving one of these 128 mph! He doesn’t go nearly that fast in the video but the 43-year-old car still manages to impress him.
