Secret Mercedes-Benz Red Pig concept revealed

By Lizzie Pope

| 19 Feb 2026

Classic & Sports Car – Secret Mercedes-Benz Red Pig concept revealed

The Mercedes-Benz 300SEL 6.8 AMG ‘Rote Sau’ (Red Pig) is one of the marque’s best-known touring cars and this week the brand’s former design chief has shared his 21st-century reimagining of this famous racer for the first time.

Gorden Wagener describes it as an ‘unseen showcar’ [sic] on his Instagram page, inspired by the 1971 109-series SEL, but brought up to date by employing several recent Mercedes design cues.

AMG’s 300SEL 6.8 finished second at Spa in July 1971

These include a chrome version of the ‘Iconic Grille’, introduced in October 2025 with the Vision Iconic concept and the new GLC, plus the three-pointed stars in the headlights.

The car’s overall more rounded shape than its ’70s predecessor immediately lends it a contemporary feel, while there’s a hint of the earlier Ponton in the treatment of the rear wheelarches.

Three-pointed stars in the headlights echo 21st-century products

The AMG-prepared original claimed the tuner’s first major motorsport success, at 1971’s 24-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium.

At the time, AMG was still an independent company so without factory backing it transformed the S-Class limo into a formidable racer.

Despite being 195kg (430lb) lighter than the production car, the 300SEL 6.8 was still 1635kg (3605lb), so needed every bit of the 422bhp and 457lb ft torque from its modified, 6835cc V8 engine.

AMG was a relative unknown before the Red Pig’s podium finish

The car, driven at Spa on 24-25 July 1971 by Hans Heyer and Clemens Schickentanz, claimed an unexpected fifth place in qualifying and went on to finish the round-the-clock race second, behind the winning Ford Capri RS of Dieter Glemser and Alex Soler-Roig, despite the Mercedes’ prodigious thirst for fuel and appetite for tyres.

Its distinctive livery has been reinterpreted for this concept.

And there might be fewer sponsors, but there are also humorous touches, such as swapping the Castrol branding for ‘Carlsbad’, a reference to the Californian city that’s home to Mercedes’ advanced design studio.

Thoughtful and light-hearted changes to the livery show the attention to detail

Wagener was chief design officer at Mercedes-Benz until 31 January this year and left, at his own request and by mutual agreement, after 28 years with the marque.

His work to revive the spirit of the 1971 Red Pig was only ever intended as a tribute to AMG’s history and does not point towards any future Mercedes models.

These images, plus other unseen work, feature in Wagener’s book Iconic Design, published last November.

Images: Gorden Wagener/Mercedes-Benz

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