In the 140 era, AMG-tuned S-Klasse were marketed independently from the Mercedes sales system. They were not official Mercedes models and did not even have a warranty from Mercedes. After the merger of AMG and Mercedes-Benz, the 140 was somewhat forgotten. AMG did not have a generous introduction to their 140 products, which makes any history of the AMG 140 difficult to trace. This article will take advantage of a historical joint to summarize which 140 AMGs offered in Japan.
AMG JAPAN
Since AMG was not part of Mercedes-Benz or DaimlerChrysler before 1999, AMG JAPAN certainly wasn’t either. Before mentioning AMG JAPAN, its true parent company YANASE & CO., LTD. has to be introduced. YANASE is a long-established car dealership in Japan, dating back to 1920. From 1952, their affiliated company Western Motor Co., Ltd. began to sell Mercedes-Benz in Japan, and obtained exclusive agency rights in 1954. Since then, YANASE has been the most important dealer of Mercedes-Benz in Japan, sold the most Mercedes in Japan till today. In the 1990s, YANASE mainly retail Mercedes-Benz and GM.
On the other hand, AMG is the West German manufacturer famous for tuning Mercedes-Benz in Japan, so after negotiation, YANASE and AMG established the joint venture company AMG JAPAN CO., LTD (AMGジャパン株式会社) in 1987. The address is exactly the office located in YANASE 〒105 東京都港区芝浦1丁目6-38. The total investment was 60 million yen, of which YANASE contributed 75% and AMG Gmbh contributed 25%. The establishment of the joint venture was due to the cessation of sales by AMG’s previous Japanese agent. From October 1, 1987, AMG products (vehicles and parts) began to be imported and sold in Japan by YANASE.
In terms of sales business, AMG JAPAN is completely affiliated with YANASE. AMG provides cars, which are imported and sold in Japan by AMG JAPAN. In many cases, AMG JAPAN’s cars are maintained by YANASE’s Mercedes dealers in Japan, as AMG JAPAN does not have an independent after-sales shop.
All cars in the following study are processed by AMG JAPAN.
The feasibility of this study
At the IAA Frankfurt Motor Show in September 1991, AMG cars first appeared on the Mercedes-Benz stand, rather than being exhibited independently as before. In 1990, Mercedes-Benz and AMG decided to start cooperation, and actual cooperation began in January 1991. The first new project in the series was the AMG S-Klasse, the AMG 140 program began right after the world premiere. After few months development, a final AMG version was built (A016988), with SA code 990. It has a complete AMG modification including exterior, interior, suspension, exhaust.
But after the European premiere at Genf 1992, AMG S-Klasse did not receive enough response. Mercedes-Benz eventually decided to distribute some selected AMG parts only, as options of the regular S-Klasse in Europe. Which included body kits, shock absorbers and springs, mufflers, and rims. Even though the cooperation between Mercedes and AMG continued to deepen after 1993, Mercedes did not promote complete AMG S-Klasse throughout the production cycle of the 140. However, AMG JAPAN brought A016988 to Tokyo for display, and it attracted some potential buyers. Of course, whether the new AMG 600 SEL was attractive to the Japanese market or not, it was destined to be imported and sold by AMG JAPAN, which never missed a model. So, AMG JAPAN actually took over this model from Mercedes-Benz, and the AMG 140 continued to live on with the sales support of AMG JAPAN.
This resulted in most AMG 140s in Europe being aftermarket modifications, meaning that if a user wanted AMG products outside of the Mercedes price list, they had to order an S-Klasse from Mercedes dealers and send it to AMG after they delivered. Since Mercedes was not involved in the sale and modification of optional parts beyond their price list, they were not aware of most of the cars that were later sent to AMG. Therefore, most AMG cars cannot be found through the information Mercedes has, and AMG has almost never released information about the 140. The identity of AMG 140s must be speculated based on common sense and non-common sense.
Except AMG JAPAN is an exception, which is due to the unique sales organazation. For long, Mercedes sales in Japan were completed by YANASE’s Western Motor Co., Ltd until Mercedes-Benz Japan (MBJSC) was established by Daimler AG in 1985, Daimler started to running Japanese market by their own. In the 140 era, the main retailers were still Japanese dealerships such as YANASE and STERN-SETAGAYA CO., LTD, among which YANASE handled most orders. But all Japan-spec cars were provided by MBJSC. Since all Japan-spec cars were provided by MBJSC, MBJSC supervise all cars processed by YANASE, and AMG JAPAN’s orders were no exception. In short, the special sales organazation of the Japanese market allowed Mercedes-Benz to indirectly monitor the whereabouts of all AMG JAPAN cars. This made it possible to count AMG JAPAN’s orders.
The limitations of this report
While it is possible to determine which cars went through AMG JAPAN through the information provided by Mercedes-Benz, it is impossible to determine the exact model. For example, for 140.057, it is not possible to identify which are S600L 6.0 and which are S600L 7.0 by information that Mercedes accquired. This is because most orders for AMG JAPAN are just regular production tasks for Sindelfingen plant, which are built to Japan-spec with a standard production order and then shipped to AMG to be disassembled and reassembled. Usually Mercedes plant is not responsible for modifications to AMG JAPAN cars, they don’t even install those AMG parts on their price list for AMG JAPAN cars, all modifications are only performed at AMG. Thus Mercedes do not know which car will be reassigned to which engine. It is also impossible to identify them by any SA code, on the data card they are exactly the same as regular Japan-spec cars.
Also displacement cannot be identified by engine number, because a lot of AMG JAPAN cars lost their original engines. Engine tuning is the most time-consuming part when AMG does tuning work, so the engine needs to be prepared in advance to ensure delivery time. At first, cars had to wait for their own engines to be tuned, later AMG started to purchase engines from the Mercedes, or removed engines from previous orders, this will make short the time that engine works take. After a period of time, when an AMG car got a tuned engine, the engine came from the previous car. The engine of the previous car came from an earlier car. In the end, many AMG JAPAN cars that got tuned engines were not number matching. Unless capture photos of the nameplate of each car, can’t identify which car it belongs to even if the engine number is collected.
In the Japanese market, the 140 had a clear model year from the beginning, model year has always been the basis for this school to classify 140s, and the following statistics are also arranged by model year. In any case, AMG production is necessarily delayed, requiring several months to convert and transport, which results in some cars having to go into the next model year. For example, the first five AMG S-Klasse coupés were the 1993 600 SEC produced in May 1993, but the AMG transformation made them miss MY1993.
AMG JAPAN launched them as S600C 6.0 AMG in October 1993, so they passively became MY1994. This statistics must include such adjustments, so it is for reference only.
photo: MotorFan
The more extensive delays occurred after Mercedes stopped devoting into the AMG S-Klasse: the facelift for the AMG 140 arrived almost a year late, more than halfway through the MY1995 run. The facelift was also accompanied by new engines, which meant that the model changed significantly during MY1995. Therefore MY1995 is split here into MY1995 and MY1995 1/2. However, the statistics can only be achieved in the same table, as there is no way to distinguish which MY1995s were pre-facelift and which were facelifted. This is information Mercedes does not have.
Note that AMG JAPAN is just one of the dealers that brings AMG cars to Japan, there are also Euro-spec AMGs that were parallel imported to Japan, such as A016988. Those cars are not included in this study and they cannot be defined as AMG JAPAN cars.
AMG Japan’s 140
The first AMG model of the new S-Klasse, the 600 SEL AMG was exhibited at Genf 1992, but it didn’t get a hot response in Europe. Mercedes-Benz gave up the plans to build the complete AMG S-Klasse in their factory and retail them in their dealerships. However it must be a different story in Asia, where AMG JAPAN under YANASE brought this show car to a showroom in Tokyo for display in October 1991. With AMG’s good reception in Japan built in last 4 years, it received some orders. Subsequent AMG JAPAN S-Klasse will be produced to this spec. By time half of AMG vehicles were imported by AMG JAPAN.
MY1992
In the first model year, AMG Japan only launched the AMG 600SEL, which is consistent with AMG’s sales items in Europe. The specifications of the car basically inherited the AMG version (SA code: 990) abandoned by Mercedes, except for some interior parts. There are no engine performance improvements.
The theme color is 199 Black Pearl Metallic, other colors on the S-Klasse color sheet are also available. The leather interior can also choose all the colors offered by the regular S-Klasse. In general, on the Mercedes side, AMG JAPAN’s S-Klasse are relatively regular, not offering options outside those avaiable on Japan-spec cars, nor colors outside of the color sheet. The cars had to follow the basic specifications of the MBJSC.
The earliest orders began in March 1992, and a total of 36 600 SEL AMGs were built by the end of MY1992 in July 1992. Special instructions were added to the production of all MY1992 AMG JAPAN orders at the Sindelfingen plant.
MY1993
The second model year AMG JAPAN introduced V8 model 500SEL, while continuing to sell the 600SEL. In much the same way as the V12, the AMG 500SEL is a regular 500 SEL with AMG equipment tacked on, minus the powertrain upgrades. MY1993 was not significantly different from MY1992, with all changes coming from underpinnings changes to the Japanese-spec regular S-Klasse.
The first order began production in September 1992 and ended in March 1993, the MY1993 is a short model year for AMG JAPAN. A total of 29 MY1993 were inported by AMG JAPAN, among 8 of which are 500SEL, 21 are 600SEL. Exclude five 600 SEC left Sindelfingen in May 1993 that were tuned to S600C 6.0 AMG for the next model year.
MY1994
In MY1994 model names were updated in sync with Mercedes-Benz, with the wheelbase still noted in the new names. For example, 500SEL became the S500L.
The S500 6.0 was the renamed 500SE 6.0 offered by AMG in Europe from 1993, and the extra displacement in the name was used to distinguish these more powerful cars from the models without the engine tuning. The 6.0-liter V8 was only available on the standard wheelbase, which lead the less costly AMG 500SEL more entry-level.
Base models included the 140.050, 140.051, 140.057 and now add the 140.076, with the additional V12 power option. The S600L 6.0 and S600C 6.0 are now available, with the same displacement 5,987 cc as the original M120 but increased power to 324 kW and 600 Nm. The extra displacement in the name indicating better performance. Only the tuned engine is avaiable for the coupé.
As the last pre-facelift model year, base vehicle produced in Sindelfingen between June 1993 and March 1994. The V8 models are not as popular as the V12s, only 5 of S500L and 6 of S500 6.0 imported. For comparison, there are 33 S600L and S600L 6.0, and 19 S600C 6.0.
MY1995
Mercedes released facelift for the 140 sedan in Genf 1994, but AMG did not. The reason for this was that Mercedes was no longer devoted to the AMG S-Klasse after 1992, so the facelift development on the AMG side was not carried out in parallel with Mercedes. Now, Mercedes considered the pre-facelift AMG body kit to be unsuitable for the facelift S-Klasse, so SA code 772 was removed from the dealer options list by Mercedes.
But AMG JAPAN still sells complete AMG S-Klasse, thus all facelift 140 sedan must be equipped with pre-facelift body kit, launched as MY1995 in July 1994. AMG made corresponding modifications to the new interior at the first time, but the body kit takes longer to complete. Before AMG’s complete facelift was ready, all 1995 S-Klasse in AMG JAPAN had a body kit that was not approved by Mercedes.
A new model on special request S600L 7.2 launched in late 1994, although displacement of the new engine M120 E72 was enlarged to 7,055 cc, with a maximum output 386 kW and a torque of 740 Nm.
MY1995 1/2
In July 1995, the AMG facelift body kit of sedan was finally ready and it reappeared on the options list of European dealers. Meanwhile made its way to Japan along with other improvements. The new front bumper is now available with a Japanese-sized license plate bracket as well.
Overall the MY1995 was a long model year, from March 1994 to December 1995. The most cars ever produced. 12 of S500L, 26 of S500 6.0, 69 of V12 sedans and 31 of coupés.
MY1996
From MY1996, all V8 models were discontinued, only V12 models available. In addition to the 6.0, new models S600L 7.0 and CL600 7.0 were officially introduced to replace the previous 7.2. The earlist MY1996 7.0s were still equipped with the M120 E72, the later model equipped new M120 E70 with reduced output to 365 kW and 720 Nm. Since MY1996, Parktronic, CNS and multi-contour rear seats have become standard. The disc wheels were now unified into the updated Design 3, the 7.0 fit larger 255/40ZR19 tyre.
Since MY1996, most AMG JAPAN cars no longer receive the special treatment of Sindelfingen, meaning they are regular Japanese-spec cars in the Mercedes factory.The first orders were placed to Sindelfingen in October 1995, the last in May 1996. Losing the V8 did not benefit V12 sales, 48 sedans and 23 coupés imported.
MY1997
The coupé got a new name, the CL. So the S600C 6.0 turns to CL600 6.0. Mercedes realeased facelift coupé for MY1997, but for the similar reason that AMG can’t follow up the update in time, from MY1997 Mercedes stopped offering AMG body kits for the coupé, while AMG JAPAN continued to use the old body kits like what they did on sedan in early MY1995.
Parktronic is standard on all coupé models worldwide since MY1997, but AMG’s pre-facelift front bumper is not suitable. Additional holes had to be drilled in the front bumper to retrofit the Parktronic at AMG. Deliveries from Sindelfingen to AMG began in May 1996 and ended in March 1997. In this model year, AMG JAPAN sales showed a decline, with only 41 sedans and 21 coupés.
MY1998
Apart from minor changes to the base model, there were no changes from AMG for MY1998 compared to MY1997. In the final model year MY1998, BOSE audio system became standard on the sedan and remained optional on the coupé. For the coupé, AMG did not abandon the development of the body kit, but due to the suspension of Mercedes sourcing, it was not put into production, so AMG JAPAN cars continued to use the pre-facelift body kit until the end of production.
The last AMG JAPAN 140 was a CL600 7.0, which was completed at Sindelfingen in September 1998. The number of sedans decreased to 33 compared to last year, while the number of coupés increased to 26.
The End
1) There are many difficulties in investigating AMG cars, one reason is that AMG is stingy about introducing the history of these cars, and another reason is that AMG itself had management problems before the merger, which led to contradictory information being released all the time. Just to give an example: here is a 1995 S500 6.0 nameplate from AMG JAPAN, it is stamped with engine number 119970 12 008942.
The serial number 008942 of this engine means that it is a fairly early 119.970, usually this only means that AMG rebuilt an old 1991 engine and installed it in a 1995 car, which is not uncommon. But in this case, this engine number belongs to a 1992 500 SEL first sold to the US, A035614, which was produced in October 1991, first registered in January 1992. Lived in Pennsylvania, USA until recently, until it was totalled in a traffic accident in June 2017.
There is no record of the engine replacement on A035614. Actually CARFAX shows it only had 18,207 miles until January 1996, and that AMG S500 6.0 was already built in May 1995. It’s more like a typo resulting in two different 140s sharing one same engine number.
How likely is it that a US car with less than 20k miles needed an engine replacement, and the old engine was passed to the AMG factory, tuned, and sold to Japan?
2) There are several conflicting information like this, even if the information is recorded by Mercedes Benz through AMG JAPAN, that this article removes all uncertainties and is therefore not as informative as it could be. A few years ago, we also noticed that counterfeit AMG JAPAN cars appeared on the market. These cars are either AMG JAPAN, or they are not. If they are, then it is a more supreier model fabricated by dealers, which can be distinguished by obviously fabricated nameplate information. For example, in the example below, an S600L 6.0 is fabricated as a 7.0 with a homemade nameplate with almost no authentic information.
Fortunately, the counterfeiters obviously have limited knowledge of these cars. For example, there is a rumor that only 18 copies of the 7.0 were produced, so they made up a description like 07/18. In addition, they filled in almost all the information incorrectly. Therefore, in order to protect this market and not give more opportunities to more and more counterfeiters, this article does not have a VIN list and does not explain the content of the nameplate.
3) Due to the different lengths of model years, the shortest model year may only have half the number of months as the longest model year, and counting production/sales by model year does not reflect sales over an average period of time. Therefore, additional statistics are made based on calendar year sales. It is actually more accurate to count sales by calendar year rather than model year, because orders are always placed before production starts, and model years overlap due to necessary production delays. The order placement year is absolutely accurate and indicates which models and how many were ordered to be built in each calendar year, and Sindelfingen received these orders as soon as possible, without having to worry about when AMG shall completed them.
Special thanks to Bram Corts from 1000sel.com for helping with the images.
All history are based on limited information, please email me if you have doubts about the veracity of this article. If you want to quote the content of this article, please contact me in advance, please do not use my text for any commercial purposes.