Before AMG was a household name, it was a scrappy little tuning outfit founded by two ex-Mercedes engineers with a big engine and something to prove. That origin story crystallized in 1971, when their 300 SEL 6.8 — a bloated luxury sedan rebuilt into an endurance racer — crossed the line second overall at the 24 Hours of Spa. Now, over 50 years on, former Mercedes Chief Design Officer Gorden Wagener has pulled back the curtain on a previously unseen concept that reimagines the original “Red Pig” for the present day. It’s not coming to a dealership near you, but it’s one of the more exciting design renderings we’ve seen in a while.
The Legend Behind the Livery
The original “Rote Sau” — German for “Red Pig” or “Red Sow” — wasn’t supposed to be an icon. AMG, still years away from any official Mercedes affiliation, took a damaged W109 300 SEL shell and essentially rebuilt it from scratch: a bored-out 6.8-liter M100 V8 producing 428 hp, a racing five-speed manual, and widened arches. It topped out near 165 mph and weighed 3,600 lbs. It was absurd, in the best possible way.
Driven by Hans Heyer and Clemens Schickentanz, it finished second overall and won its class at Spa — a result that absolutely no one saw coming and that essentially put AMG on the global motorsport map. The car was later sold to French aerospace firm Matra, used as a test rig for aircraft landing gear, and eventually scrapped. The Red Pig that exists today (showcased at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany) is a meticulously built replica from the mid-2000s, guided by the original blueprints Mercedes managed to recover.
Wagener’s Vault Opens
Gorden Wagener spent 29 years at Mercedes, formalized the brand’s “sensual purity” design language, and oversaw everything from the SLS AMG to the current S-Class. He stepped down as Chief Design Officer at the end of last month, and in the weeks surrounding his exit, he revealed this concept via Instagram — describing it only as the “unseen Showcar” from his book Iconic Design, published in November 2025. The concept appears to have been a private rendering, now made public.
Retro-Futurism Done Right
The concept wears the original Red Pig’s livery with a simplified modern interpretation — the Cardinal Red and racing numbers are all present. Up front, a massive chrome grille echoes the design language Wagener had been moving toward on recent production models like the GLC EV, flanked by vertically stacked LED headlights that incorporate the three-pointed star in their light signature — a trick also seen on the current S-Class and CLA. Circular LED rings replace the auxiliary driving lights of the original, and the five-spoke alloy wheels are a clear nod to the 1971 car’s rollers. The wide-shouldered, muscular bodywork is a theoretical evolution of what the Red Pig might look like if it rolled out of Affalterbach today. The rear is where things get a bit murky — the taillights are conspicuously absent from the published images, which is odd for any fully realized concept.
Spec Sheet
Model: 2026 Mercedes-Benz Red Pig Concept
Inspiration: 1971 Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.8 AMG “Rote Sau”
Original Engine: 6.8-liter naturally aspirated V8
Original Power: 428 hp
Original Top Speed: 165 mph
Designer: Gorden Wagener (former Mercedes CDO)
Status: Design concept — not for production
Featured In: Iconic Design by Gorden Wagener (Delius Klasing, Nov 2025)
Pricing & Availability
This one’s a vault piece — revealed through Wagener’s book Iconic Design and his own Instagram, with no production intent attached. There’s no price, no order page, no limited edition run.
Recap
Gorden Wagener 2025 Mercedes Red Pig Reimagined Concept
Gorden Wagener, Mercedes’ recently retired design chief, dropped a never-before-seen concept reimagining the legendary 1971 “Red Pig” — AMG’s scrappy, oversized endurance racer that put the brand on the map at Spa. It’s not going into production, but it’s one of the finest renderings we’ve seen in a while.
