Reviews

“built hastily of shoddy materials,” 1856, in a Liverpool context, from jerry “bad, defective,” probably a pejorative use of the male nickname Jerry (a popular form of Jeremy; compare Jerry-sneak “sneaking fellow, a hen-pecked husband” [OED], name of a character in Foote’s “The Mayor of Garret,” 1764).

Or from or influenced by nautical slang jury (adj.) “temporary,” which came to be used of all sorts of makeshift and inferior objects.

Buying Guides

Please note the information listed here is vey much the Authors opinion and I accept no responsibility for the accuracy or veracity of the same.

Other makes will be added here…

History of V8 engine.

BMW VANOS

Cross Plane or Flat Plane (V8s)?

Mercedes M113

A V8 has two banks of four cylinders arranged in a “V”, driving one crankshaft. Its compactness, smooth power delivery and potential for high output made it important in cars, aircraft, boats, racing and heavy vehicles.

French engineer Léon Levavasseur patented the V8 in 1902, he developed the engine for speedboats and early aircraft. It is generally regarded as the first V8 design.

He called it the Antoinette after the young daughter of his financial backer, and from 1904 had installed this engine in a number of competition speedboats and early aircraft.

Some other notable V8 Events:

1905–1910 – Early cars: Rolls-Royce briefly produced a V8-powered car, while De Dion-Bouton developed an early V8 produced in relatively significant quantities.

1932 – Ford Flathead: Ford’s inexpensive 3.6-litre flathead V8 brought eight-cylinder performance to the mass market. It became hugely influential in American cars, hot-rodding and early custom culture.

1967 onward – European performance V8s: Rover adapted an all-aluminium Buick V8 into the long-lived Rover V8, used in Range Rovers, Land Rovers, TVRs and numerous specialist cars. Rolls-Royce and Bentley also introduced their L-series V8 in 1959.

1980s–1990s – Electronics and efficiency: Fuel injection, computer engine management, aluminium construction and four-valve cylinder heads made V8s more powerful, cleaner and more economical. Notable examples include Mercedes-Benz’s performance V8s and BMW’s M60/M62 engines.

Origins (Late 1980s)

By the late 1980s, Mercedes-Benz wanted a high-performance version of its W124 E-Class that could compete with BMW’s M5. Instead of developing it entirely in-house, Mercedes partnered with Porsche—a collaboration that would become legendary.

Mercedes–Porsche Collaboration (1990–1995)

• Design & Engineering: Mercedes designed the car conceptually, but Porsche handled major engineering tasks including modifying the W124 chassis to fit the 5.0-liter V8 from the 500SL.
• Production: The car’s widened body and complex assembly required Porsche’s expertise.
  • Mercedes built the basic body.
  • Porsche modified and assembled the cars in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen.
  • Final inspection happened back at Mercedes.

This “shuttle production” between factories meant each car took 18 days to complete.

Technical Highlights

• Engine: 5.0-liter M119 V8
  • ~326 hp (varied slightly by market and model year)
  • 0–100 km/h in about 5.5 seconds
• Chassis: Wider track, flared fenders, upgraded brakes and suspension.
• Appearance: Subtle and understated—deceptively ordinary except for its wider stance.

Launch and Reception

• Debuted in 1990, sold from 1991–1995.
• Known for combining supercar performance with luxury-sedan comfort.
• Nicknamed “The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing.”
• Extremely expensive new, making it rare even today (around 10,479 units produced).

Legacy

• Considered one of the greatest Mercedes performance sedans ever.
• Marked a high point of old-school, over-engineered Mercedes craftsmanship.
• The collaboration helped Porsche through a financially difficult period.
• Today, the 500E/E500 is a sought-after modern classic.

M113 V8 in an SL55

Acknowledge: By The Car Spy – Mercedes Benz SL55 AMG, CC BY 2.0

The Authors C63

I covered over 120,000 miles in this, almost faultless.

Mercedes V8 Hall of Fame

Engine	Capacity	Character	Reliability	BetterBangers
M100	6.3/6.9L	Monumental	★★★★☆	8/10
M119	4.2/5.0L	Sophisticated	★★★★☆	9/10
M113	4.3/5.0L	Smooth & durable	★★★★★	9/10
M113K	5.4L	Supercharged monster	★★★★☆	9.5/10
M156	6.2L	Naturally aspirated lunacy	★★★☆☆	9/10
M157	5.5L	Twin-turbo brute	★★★☆☆	8/10
M273	4.7/5.5L	Refined	★★★☆☆	7.5/10
M278	4.7L	Fast & sophisticated	★★★☆☆	7/10

Wikipedia

I have always been a fan of this source of information and when asked to contribute to the running and maintenance have willingly donated.

Bruno Sacco

Chief designer of Mercedes responsible for many models

Bruno Sacco (12 November 1933 – 19 September 2024) was an Italian-German automobile designer and chief engineer, who served as the head of styling at the Daimler-Benz AG, the German manufacturer of Mercedes-Benz automobiles and trucks, from 1975 to 1999. Since Bruno Sacco was hired as a Mercedes-Benz stylist in 1958, his career and contributions to their vehicles’ industrial design spanned more than four decades.

VANOS has been used on these engines by BMW:

• M50
• M52
• M62

Double VANOS:

• M52TU
• M54
• M56
• M62TU
• S54
• N52
• N62

Engine Code	Cylinders	Models
M50	Inline – 6	E34, E36, early Z3
M52	Inline – 6	E36, E39, Z3, E38
M62	V8	E39, E38, E31 8 series, E53(X5)
M52TU	Inline – 6	E36/7 Z3, E46, E39, E38
M54	Inline – 6	E36, E49, E65, E53, Z3/Z4
M56	Inline – 6	Z3 (USA only)
M62TU	V8	E39, E38, E31, E53
S54	Inline – 6	E46, Z3 M, Z4 M
N52	Inline – 6	E90, E60, E63, E65, E83, Z4
N62	V8	E60, E65, E63, X5, X6