In the 1998 movie Taxi, the Porsche-built Mercedes W124 500E manifested its performance and durability capabilities.
Dream cars vary from muscle cars to pickup trucks depending on a person’s preference. However, an elegant sleeper car would not miss on an enthusiast’s dream cars bucket list.
Luc Besson’s French action comedy, Taxi featured a car chase between a modified 1997 Peugeot 406 and two 1992 Mercedes-Benz W124 500Es. Daniel Morales, behind the wheel of the Peugeot 406, is a talented driver who quits his pizza delivery job to become a taxi driver. The two W124.036 are getaway cars, a skilled gang known for their efficient driving skills. Daniel successfully taunts the gang into a second race to help his friend Emilien, a cop, arrest them.
Despite the W124 Mercedes 500E being stock, its performance is outstanding, not to mention its tough body. They manage to maneuver through the traffic and hit any vehicles that are on their way.
Read on to discover why the iconic car chase elucidated the Mercedes W124 500E as a dream car.
Peugeot 406 Vs Two Mercedes W124 500Es: The Scene
The 1998 movie has two magnificent car races. The first race occurs in a racetrack where Daniel traces the German gang. The second race, the highlight of the Mercedes 500E’s performance, is a car chase on the highway. The car chase occurs in Marseille, a city in France, one of the cities with light traffic to reduce the movie production’s interference.
Noting the gang has driven from a robbery, Daniel provokes them into a race by bragging about his skills and irritating them. After throwing ten franks in the ring leader’s car, he flees for them to tail him.
The car chase commences on a busy road, and they must maneuver through the traffic. It creates a beautiful scenery that highlights the power of both vehicles as they race through the streets onto the freeway. The chase is gritty and brutal as the gang tries their best to win the race.
The two stock 500Es are theatrically fast compared to the modified Peugeot 406. Despite hitting cars that block them, they uphold high speeds. At one point, one of the Mercs hits a car, folds its right side of the hood and right fender, and loses its right headlight.
On the freeway, the German gang ring leader boasts of the 500Es power urging the others to beat the Peugeot 406, presumably packing a V6. Daniel speeds towards a bridge under construction, and as the Germans want to crash his car, he slams on the brake, leaving their cars to jump to an incomplete bridge section.
The Mercedes-Benz 500E Love Explained
Mercedes-Benz debuted the 500E in 1990 and was in production until 1994. Mercedes-Benz partnered with Porsche to redesign the 500E’s chassis to fit it with the powerful V8 from the 500 SL roadster.
The top-of-the-range model in the W124 model series exudes glamour in its appearance and performance. It is powered by the legendary M119 5.0-liter naturally aspirated V8 engine that transudes 322 horsepower and 354 lb-ft of torque. The virtually hand-made car accelerates from 0-60 mph in 6.1 seconds, making it one of the fastest executive sedans from the 90s with an electronically limited top speed of 155 mph. The engine was mated to a 4-speed automatic transmission to drive its rear wheels turned by an R126 axle.
Porsche equipped the Mercedes 500E with Bilstein shocks to achieve a lowered setup. The hydropneumatic suspension is extremely capable, enabling the 500E to corner at high speeds and deliver razor-sharp handling. After redesigning, the new 500E chassis was about 1 inch lower and 2.2 inches wider.
The Mercedes-Benz 500E has 12.6 ventilated front and rear brakes and 225/55 R16 tire size. Its shorter axle ratio of 1:2.82 is beneficial to its acceleration.
Mercedes 500E: The Ultimate 90s Dream Sleeper Car
The 500E’s classy and tame appearance makes it the ultimate dream old-school sleeper car. The top-of-the-range W124 has earned the name “wolf in sheep’s clothing” from the press for its high performance coupled with mundane looks. Performance car enthusiasts often prefer streamlined sports cars.
Luc Besson’s movie served as a reminder to enthusiasts about the extraordinary power the 500E exudes. Despite its subtly muscular and modest appearance, the movie depicted the 500E as a performance car.
The Stuttgart auto manufacturer built 10,479 units, including the E60 AMG launched in 1994, making it a rare and desirable gem. Considering the slim chances of getting a clean Mercedes 500e W124, it became a dream car to many after being featured in the iconic car chase in Taxi.
All in all, the Mercedes-Benz 500E is the epitome of exemplary engineering due to its illustrious partnership with Porsche. It features the prima facie of a Mercedes-Benz and the performance of a Porsche, making it an eminent luxury executive sedan with daunting performance.
Sources: SegaDreamcast5 Via YouTube, Mercedes-Benz Museum
