1983 Mercedes-Benz 500SEL

To Be OFFERED AT AUCTION at RM Sothebys Sealed February event, 2 - 18 FEBRUARY 2026.
$150,000 - $200,000 USD

• Offered from the collection of AMG North America founder Richard Buxbaum
• Finished in Orient Red over a Gemballa palomino leather interior; featured in the 1984 AMG catalogue
• Known ownership chain from factory; just five owners since new
• Originally built for William Wild Bill Witz, a close friend of Hans Werner Aufrecht
• Extensively upgraded between 1986-1992 for AMG super-client, J. Paul Fingold
• Powered by a 6.0-liter V-8 engine; other features include a re-valved four-speed transmission, limited-slip differential, auxiliary fuel tank, complete Gen-II cosmetic conversion, upgraded front brakes, and AMG sport suspension
• Benefits from over $50k of recent mechanical and cosmetic recommissioning since August 2024
• Currently indicates 41,200 miles at cataloguing time

Birth of the Red Baron (1983)
This one-off AMG S-Class was built for William Wild Bill Witz of Skokie, Illinois, a larger-than-life figure with an equally outsized presence in AMGs early American story. A significant shareholder in Richard Buxbaums AMG distributorship, and close friend of AMG boss Hans Werner Aufrecht, Wild Bill best understood the desires and service expectations of the brands customers because he was one.

In March 1983, Wild Bill placed an order to Affalterbach for this 500 SEL. The specification sheet read like a manifesto against restraint; Witz family photographs confirm that the result was exactly the opposite of unassuming.

Clad in a distinctive Orient Red exterior that inspired its nickname, the Red Barons original suite of aesthetic delights included a full AMG aero kit, color-matched 16-inch Penta wheels, AMG-Bilstein computerized sport suspension system, and monochrome trim package painted in body color. AMG partner Gemballa tailored the Red Barons interior with extended palomino leather upholstery, bespoke red piping, contrast stitching, rear curtains, and custom door cards. A Clarion G80 stack fitted to the center console controlled an AMG-stalled sound system, while an integrated phone guaranteed that Witz could organize a table at his favorite nightclub, en route.

To excite Witzs lead foot, the original 5.0-liter V-8 engine was supplied with an AMG tuning kit and complete sports exhaust system. Photographed professionally for the AMG catalogue prior to shipment, this SEL arrived in Chicago on 2 June 1983 and was delivered to Witz on 6 September 1983 following federalization.

For a man whose automotive appetite was legendarily insatiable, the fact that Witz kept the Red Baron for three whole years constituted something approaching fidelity.

The Fingold Era (1986-1992)
On 25 November 1986, Witz traded the car back to AMG North America. With a single phone call, Buxbaum sold it to AMG super-client, Canadian industrialist J. Paul Fingold for $63,449 (approximately $187,000 in 2026 dollars).

Fingold maintained an interesting arrangement with his automobiles. He registered them in Ontario, stored them in Palm Beach, and moved them with regularity between various properties scattered across the United States and Canada.

Here the documentary evidence becomes frustratingly sparse.

Buxbaums meticulous business records on the car conclude with that November 1986 transaction. What transpired thereafter, how the Red Baron evolved from Witzs specification into its present form, who performed the work and when, remained obscure for nearly four decades. That the transformation occurred in period is not in question, yet documentation is presently missing, and many more accurate to say some? of those who may have played a role have since passed.

Three establishments possessed both the capability and the connection to Fingold. AMG Canada maintained operations in Toronto. AMG North America continued in Chicago. And by 1989, Hartmut Feyhl had established his own practice in Florida. Feyhl brought impeccable credentials to the matter: development engineer at AMG, and former Chief Technical Officer under Buxbaum at AMG North America.

Ask any of them today what they remember doing for Fingold and you get vague recollections at best, most often due to the sheer volume and frequency of cars within the mans international coterie of customized automobiles.

Even Buxbaum and other former AMG NA employees couldnt piece it together reliably. However, recent evidence has rescued some of the story from oblivion.

The Transformation
As was Fingolds habit, the Red Baron was immediately sent to Ontario. While there, Eddy Lai of AMG Canada is believed to have been responsible for subsequently servicing the car and applying several updates such as removing the original rear curtains, adding a Clifford alarm system (since deactivated), modifying and reinstalling the original AMG color-matched metric gauge suite, which Buxbaums team removed during federalization in 1983. Importantly, the odometer and speedometer do still measure in miles (indicating Fingolds intentions for road use in Florida and Canada).

During this period, Lais team would have executed a complete conversion to the USA-homologated Gen-II AMG styling package which the Red Baron still wears today. The quality of the work remains outstanding despite the passage of time, and of note is the extremely rare, USA-only, SEC-type front spoiler.

Evidence suggests that sometime in late 1987, Fingold returned this car to Chicago and demanded an engine upgrade. Tracing the serial number of the engine which served as the basis for this upgrade has revealed it to be a US-spec unit sourced from an Illinois-registered 560 SEL that crashed during December 1986 at just 2,300 miles. Consistent with this, one might reason that the engine would have been modified not in Canada, Florida, or Germany but in Chicago at AMG NA. The most likely culprit, however, is actually a bit more interesting.

Several details point to the involvement of legendary mechanic John Hadjuk at Motorkraft in Noblesville, Indiana, in the undertaking of the substantial engine work. From 1986 until 1992, Hadjuk served as AMG North Americas principal supplier for what the organization diplomatically termed special wishes components. Although Buxbaums outfit almost exclusively used complete engines sent by Affalterbach, occasionally, certain commissions required Hadjuks involvement for bottom-end work. This engine would have been a very likely candidate for his involvement.

In any case, the engine was bored to 6.0 liters and fitted with rebalanced internals, while AMG NA technicians ported-and-polished the cylinder heads while retaining the stock valvetrain and camshafts. AMG NA technicians also carried over all requisite electronics and accessory systems (with tuning) for the 117.968 unit, including Bosch KE fuel injection, EZL relays, and a re-valved 772.313 transmission taken from a 560 SL donor car. They also fabricated a new sports exhaust system which feeds the original AMG muffler. Large-diameter aluminum intake pipes significantly increased the engine airflow over stock.

Following this drivetrain conversion, the Red Baron was returned to Florida. Fehyl continued to service the car from early 1989 until March 1991, when Fingold returned it to Canada for the remainder of his ownership tenure.

Interestingly, it remains unknown whether Lai or Feyhl is responsible for the Red Barons most novel party trick a hidden auxiliary fuel tank with the sender unit ingeniously modified so the fuel gauge accurately displays the many gallons of additional capacity.

The Quiet Years (1992-2023)
Paperwork indicates that Fingold kept the Red Baron until 25 June 1992, when he sold it to his jeweler, Harvey Hauer of Gormley, Ontario. Lai maintained the car for Hauer during his ownership, which only lasted until 23 November 1994. At that point, Hauer sold the Red Baron (with 27,958 miles on it) to Gordon Weaver of Carson City, Nevada. Weaver paid an importer based in Virginia to get the car stateside, after which he registered it in his home state.

The Red Baron remained Weavers weekend fun car, driven sparingly but always enjoyed until 2002 when he moved to California and put the car in storage. Amazingly, this fascinating SEL remained off the road until June 2023, when it was pulled out of storage by the Weaver family with just 39,750 miles on the odometer! Unfortunately, any remaining AMG Canada, AMG NA, or RENNtech paperwork was lost amidst Weavers move from Nevada to California during the early 2000s.

Resurrection and Reunion (2024-2026)
After a mutual party connected Buxbaum and Wild Bill Witz with the Weaver family, the Red Barons initial history was reconstructed from November 1986 all the way back to March 1983.

Despite significant uncertainty about the cars evident specification, source, and build quality, Buxbaum and Witz together purchased the Red Baron with the intent to restore it, while discovering as much as they could about the cars life under Fingolds ownership. Only through many months of research and correspondence has this much of the Red Barons story been pieced back together.

To carry out the Red Barons resurrection, Buxbaum assembled two of Chicagolands finest restoration specialists and gave them full freedom to complete the job, without concern for cost or time, as long as they adhered to the pre