Michael Schumacher’s Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG Wagon Up for Sale

At more than $130K, it’s likely to remain listed for a while.

byBen Keeshin|
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Spending more than $133,000 on a used-up, two-decade old Mercedes station wagon with around 123,000 miles on it might seem ridiculous. Then again, most Mercedes wagons aren't Michael Schumacher's 1998 Mercedes E55 AMG.

dealer in Berlin, Germany is hoping the Formula One driver's famous name will allow them to sell the wagon for more than ten times the normal price of a late-Nineties, W210 Mercedes E55 AMG. So is a title signed by a storied F1 driver enough to turn an old workhorse—albeit a 355-horsepower one—into a collector’s item priced like a new Mercedes-AMG GT S?

Let’s start with the car itself. In its favor, Michael Schumacher’s Mercedess E55 AMG is about as special as they come. It has the full AMG upgrade, meaning a stiffer suspension, 5.5-liter V8 with 355-horsepower and the classic Monoblock rims. It’s also full of circa-1998 tech: voice-guided navigation, car phone, and old-school memory seats. The interior, specially ordered through Mercedes's design division, features silvery walnut trim and black-and-white leather.

So, it’s a nice older luxury car with decent power. But then you have to add in the subjective premium lent by Schumacher’s alleged ownership. (Calls to the dealership in Germany were unanswered, perhaps because it currently is evening in Europe.) In the dealership's defense, the E55's dashboard does bear two Scuderia Ferrari stickers, hinting at its purported provenance. Short of further evidence, then, each sticker effectively adds $55K to the car’s value.

If the car really is Schumacher’s, it would be a deal—that is, relative to the other ex-Schumi AMGs that have come up for sale in the last few years. Recently, Classic Driver listed his 1986 Mercedes SL AMG, with a 6.0-liter V8 and color-matching AMG Monoblocks, for a little less than $330,000. If you’re a millionaire Schumacher fan, go for it. Otherwise, those of us content to show our fandom via commemorative hats can head to Craigslist for an $8,000 version of the Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG.

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