(VIDEO) This is a classic Mercedes 280 SE with an AMG V8 engine from the 2000s under the hood

Having a car with the design and comfort of the 70s, but with the engines of the 2000s under the hood — how fascinating that sounds! Well, this is a Mercedes 280 SE W108, from 1970, beautifully restored by an American, and under its hood was mounted a V8 AMG engine from the 2000s, taken from an S-Class S 55 AMG from the W220 generation!

The owner of the car also connected a manual gearbox, from a Chrysler Crossfire, an American model that was also built on a Mercedes platform. So, in the end, the engineering remained one of Mercedes, only that it incorporated several eras in a single car.

And the owner of this car did not want to make too substantial changes to the suspension, brakes or interior. The car only looks well-kept, not restored to perfection, and from the outside you would never suspect that it hides so much power under the hood!

But, the car runs exceptionally well, because the original suspension and body had so much overengineering implanted on it, that it feels balanced even at 400 HP! That meant designing a car with huge engineering reserves back then.

And the owner was so fascinated by the result that he created another classic Mercedes with a modern AMG V8 engine, only this time he put a mechanically supercharged version of the same engine.

See in the video below, filmed by Top Gear in the USA, the whole history of this owner who is passionate about classic Mercedes with a modernized substrate and his cars.