Jay Leno was planning to put the engine of an SLS AMG into this 1972 Mercedes 300 SEL, but when he asked fans for their opinion most of them voted for the car to be restored to its original condition.
That is exactly what the renowned auto collector did, and now that the car is ready it is starring in the latest episode of Jay Leno’s Garage. The 300 SEL 6.3 has an interesting story, as we owe its existence to a Mercedes-Benz engineer who believed the company should fit the 300hp 6.3-liter V8 engine from the flagship 600 limousine to a smaller, lighter model.
He was obviously right and he mounted the engine himself to the 300 SEL as a home project. After Mercedes-Benz bosses saw how fast the car was, they gave it the green light for production. The rest is history, as they say, and if you’re a fan of Jay Leno’s videos, you know you’ll find out a lot of interesting things about the 300 SEL 6.3’s past in this latest installment of his web series.