Basketball star Michael Jordan’s generously appointed Mercedes S600 coupé recently sold for more than 170,000 euros at an auction – despite a rather high mileage. In addition to the celebrity bonus, the luxury car from 1996 features several extras from Sportservice Lorinser.
The German vehicle tuner explains the “accessories” that top athletes, successful actors and industrialists were able to order for the top-of-the-range Mercedes and the corresponding W140 sedan at the time. Four different alloy wheel designs were offered for these vehicles by the Mercedes specialist, who has now been in the business for 90 years. The D 93 installed on Jordan’s Mercedes offered the largest range for the S-Class and its coupé spin-off. “It started with 16 inches, which makes us think more of a compact car these days,” Managing Director Marcus Lorinser remembers with a smile.
A 1.98 meters tall basketball player, however, preferred the maximum possible 20-inch rims even then. Some media had listed 18-inch wheels when reporting on the auction, which is soon proven incorrect, though, with a look at the tire sidewalls. Another special feature of the cool celebrity ride is the chrome finish of the rims, for which the catalog at the time listed “silver” as the standard color. The images also show that Sportservice Lorinser even offered the matching bodykit for the flagship coupé in the 1990s. The C140 incidentally was the first Mercedes model available with ESP. A screen navigation system and adjustable shocks were also available as optional extras, depending on the model year.
But back to spoilers and such: In addition to the mighty rear wing, which was available with or without a third brake light, Lorinser installed bumper spoilers with fog lights, a corresponding rear apron and side panels with SL slots on the front fenders. The latter are styled in chrome on the Jordan coupé to match the rims. Other optional “catalog items” featuring the high-gloss material are door sill panels, tailgate trims and air intake trims for the hood. Everything is standard under the hood, though. But with a V12 with 394 HP (290 kW) and 570 Nm, that is just fine. Especially as the sound modulated by the Lorinser exhaust system is sure to raise goosebumps when cruising the streets.