Greetings Automotive Enthusiasts! Welcome to another Tales from the Trip! Our legendary 1979 Mercedes 450SLC 5.0 is purchased by a special builder for a special purpose. It is going to be turned into an exact 1979 450SLC 5.0 WRC Rally race car! This gentleman is the son of one of the original founding members of AMG and his dad was on the building team and driver of the famous Red Pig! Wait till you hear some of his amazing stories. Enjoy! Have a great day and happy motoring!
I sell a LEGENDARY car to a LEGENDARY customer! THIS Mercedes 450SLC 5.0 is to become a RACE CAR!!
When a German buyer touched down in Kansas at 9 AM, he wasn’t simply picking up a car. He was retrieving a piece of history for his Mexican workshop team and setting the stage for a modern reinterpretation of classic Mercedes-AMG heritage. The buyer’s father was one of the original drivers of the iconic 1971 Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.8 “Red Pig.”
The buyer, Matthias Heyer, owner and founder of Euro Latino Racing Services in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, didn’t waste time. By 4 PM, the 1979 Mercedes Benz 450 SLC 5.0 coupe was on its way to Mexico, bound for a full transformation into a track ready machine.
Heyer flew in for this exact purpose. Bob, a U.S. based car enthusiast and broker, picked him up from the airport, loaded the SLC, made sure it was in ship ready condition, and by afternoon, the handoff was complete.
He showed up in the company of a four legged companion. Yoho, his service dog, sits quietly in the backseat, calmly observing the traffic while Matthias and Bob talk cars. He seems used to lending a helping hand paw whenever Matthias inspects a model.
Bob knew the Benz would attract attention from the moment he laid eyes on it, and he was right. The 450 SLC, with its big V8, automatic transmission, and refined coupe lines, isn’t just rare. It has the potential to become a modern classic in racecar form.
After the tragedy at the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans, where a Mercedes Benz 300 SLR crashed, killing driver Pierre Levegh and 83 spectators, injuring over 120 more, Mercedes withdrew from factory racing at the end of that season.
In 1979, a Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC 5.0 secured a historic 1-2-3-4 finish at the Bandama Rally Côte d’Ivoire, after a notable victory in the grueling 30,000 km South American Rally in 1978.
Fast forward to the 450 SLC: the choice by Heyer makes perfect sense. The SLC series (R107) carried the big V8, balanced coupe dynamics with grand touring comfort, and built in Mercedes engineering depth.
The 450 SLC 5.0 version in particular, with aluminum hood, trunk, and doors, was the lightweight homologation version, making it a logical place to start when building a race ready classic. The fact that Heyer and his team chose to base a race car on one signals they’re serious. They want that genuine blend of original Mercedes cues with true track intent.
The German gentleman is the son of Hans Heyer, the legendary driver who famously co-drove the Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.8 “Red Pig” at the 24 Hours of Spa in 1971.
Growing up with that motorsport legacy, Matthias inherited not just the name but the driving ethos. After all, he was the teenager who used to drive E500 “Hammers” during his high school years.
The “Hammer” is the nickname for the Mercedes-Benz 500 E (also known as the E500 in the U.S.), built in collaboration with AMG. Built on the W124 chassis, it was introduced in 1990 as a high-performance sedan, although development had begun in the late 1980s. AMG took the standard Mercedes E-Class and turned it into a street‐legal super sedan.
It was dubbed the “Hammer” because it literally hammered the competition, delivering performance that left rivals scrambling. Early models packed around 322 horsepower (326 metric horsepower) and 354 pound-feet (480 Newton meters) of torque, coming out of a 5.0 liter V8, propelling the mid size sedan from 0 to 60 mph (0 to 97 kph) in roughly 5.5 seconds. That was blisteringly fast for its class at the time.
In the meantime, his dad was working on the legendary “Red Pig.” The luxury sedan modified by AMG defied conventional wisdom at Spa. It weighed nearly two tons and, with AMG’s enhancements, enlarging the 6.3 liter M100 V8 to 6.8 liters and pushing output past 422 horsepower (428 metric horsepower) and 457 pound-feet of torque (620 Newton meters), shocked the field.
It was too long, too heavy, too everything to be called a rac car. People laughed, clapped ironically, then fell silent. At the 1971 Spa endurance race, it did what no one expected: a class win and second overall after 308 laps, driven by Matthias’ dad, Hans Heyer, and Clemens Schickentanz. Most of the engine work had been carried out by AMG co founder Erhard Melcher.
Back in the present, the 1979 450 SLC sits ready for its own chapter. In stock form, it has the M117 4.5 liter V8 and a three speed automatic transmission, a combo known more for smooth cruise than full tilt track assault.
The SLC in question is painted in rare Manganese Brown Metallic (paint code 480), and although it retains the plush velour interior and comfort options, such as power steering, automatic climate control, electric seats, and cruise control, the plan is to strip it down, refashion it for racing, and outfit it in full livery.
The velour might go. The brown paint will for sure be covered in a racing livery. What remains is the coupe’s sharp roofline, wide stance, and the solid Mercedes engineering beneath.
Heyer’s team at Euro Latino Racing Services is not massive. He says they build around two race cars a year. Everything gets redone from the frame up. Fifteen people currently work in the shop, and he’s actively recruiting five more.
The work involves full rebuilds, fabrication, roll cages, race spec suspensions, big brake kits, and vintage style with modern reliability. When he inspected the 450 SLC before buying, he said: “It’s nearly perfect!” and the handoff happened shortly thereafter.
The destination from Bob’s U.S. broker desk to Mexico is more than a shipping route. It is a blueprint of automotive culture: German heritage, Mexican craftsmanship, classic Mercedes road car turned racing machine.
Mattias Heyer also has his eye on another project: a Volvo PV544 from the late 1950s, spotted in Mexico, aimed to become a race car. The global connectivity of vintage car restoration and race conversion is alive and well.
When the brown coupe rolls out of Mexico with full livery and roll cage, it won’t be just another track toy. It will be Mercedes-Benz racing history 2.0. The German buyer’s lineage, the car brokered by Bob, the Mexican team prepping it, each piece fits together into what seems to have become a global vintage motorsport network.
The 1979 Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC’s journey from Kansas pickup to Mexican rebuild bench underscores that. With the son of the legendary Red Pig driver behind the build, the original “Red Pig” legacy echoes in steel and chrome.
This story is still in mid chapter. A stock 450 SLC is already en route to Mexico. The velour may go. The brown paint will disappear under the racing livery, but the heart of the machine, bolted with Mercedes engineering and driven by a team steeped in performance history, remains.
