Yeah, the price difference is too much in my opinion, too.
I think most buyers also felt the same way, as 7,000 300E 2.8's were sold vs. 5,500 300E (3.2)'s sold.
My guess is that all 300E 3.2's were sold with leather and a sunroof, as I've never seen one without. You'd think paying $49,900 would deserve leather and a sunroof.
My car came standard with the 15 hole wheels, but I replaced them with the original equipment 8 hole wheels that I purchased from Hi-Power's '95 E420.
I posted the thread about refinishing these wheels in the wheels and tires section under "refinishing eight hole wheels".