can break your bones...
Thanks deuce for the kind defense, I personally didn't feel the need to dignify a crass insult with a response.
There is another school of thought I have seen elsewhere, perhaps even on this site, that the term Hammer was originally used to describe the AMG modified 5.6 or 6.0 M117 engine with the 32V head and not any specific "car."
It would then make sense that the term affectionately stuck to the W124 M117 when first unleashed by AMG in 1986, since it was so much more of an stretch to shoehorn it (and the 560 diff and trans) into the 124, and the result in the lighter chassis was so much more dynamic.
The following is taken from RennTech's website:
"THE HISTORY OF RENNTech
RENNTech, Inc. is owned and managed by Hartmut Feyhl - widely recognized as the nation's foremost expert on Mercedes-Benz high performance. Born in Affalterbach, Germany, he spent twelve years at AMG Germany before being appointed Technical Director of AMG North America. During his time at AMG, he was instrumental in the development of the famous four valve "Hammer" engine, and also AMG's four cylinder racing engines. In 1989, he left AMG to form RENNTech, a high-performance tuner of Mercedes-Benz vehicles."
Moving the cart back in front of the horse is the following list of AMG technical milestones from the AMG owners club website:
http://www.amg-owners-club.org/info/history.htm
"The most important technical milestones in the history of AMG:
1971: The Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.3 AMG developing 206 kW/280 hp and 542 Nm of torque, and boasting an optimised chassis and more powerful baking system.
The mid-to-late 1970s: uprated AMG engines, modifications to the chassis and brakes, AMG light-alloy wheels and wide-base tyres sharpen the edge of numerous Mercedes-Benz cars.
1982: In-car video for the Mercedes-Benz S-Class.
1983: The Mercedes-Benz 280 CE 5.0 AMG with eight-cylinder engine developing 203 kW/276 hp and 408 Nm torque.
1984: The Mercedes-Benz 500 SEC AMG with eight-cylinder engine featuring newly developed four-valve technology, output of 250 kW/340 hp and a top speed of 260 km/h.
1984: The Mercedes-Benz 300 E 5.0 AMG with eight-cylinder engine featuring newly developed four-valve technology, output of 250 kW/340 hp and a top speed of 280km/h.
1985: New metal catalytic converter for unrivalled emissions control.
1986: The Mercedes-Benz 300 E 5.6 AMG with eight-cylinder engine boasting 5.6-l displacement, four-valve technology, 265 kW/360 hp, 510 Nm torque and a top speed of 300 km/h. The first time that sports-car performance had been combined with the day-to-day qualities of a Mercedes. American fans christen the powerful AMG model “The hammer”.
1987: The Mercedes-Benz 300 E AMG and 190 E AMG with 3.2-l six-cylinder engine and 180 kW/245 hp.
1988: The Mercedes-Benz 300 E 6.0 AMG, eight-cylinder engine with 6-l displacement, four-valve technology, 283 kW/385 hp and 566 Nm torque.
1989: The Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution AMG, four-cylinder engine with 165 kW/225 hp and 240 Nm torque.
1990: The Mercedes-Benz 300 E-24 3.4 AMG, six-cylinder engine with 200 kW/272 hp and 335 Nm torque.
1993: The Mercedes-Benz C 36 AMG with six-cylinder engine, 206 kW/280 hp and 385 Nm torque. The first vehicle jointly produced under the cooperation agreement between Daimler-Benz and AMG. "
Only an AMG historian can say for sure, something I'm certainly not. Well documented is that AMG offered a smorgasbord of tasty special order tuning options, including the "Hammer" engine long before the 124 chassis was developed.
Chriss, if you are ever in the USA, you are welcome to stop by and drive the Hammer Wagon- you'll find it to be a wonderfully therapeutic form of anger management.