1971 | Mercedes-Benz 280 SE 3,5

When Janis Joplin entered the stage at Woodstock in 1969 and sang her little anthem to wishful dreams, these were the cars she was singing about. The big coupes and convertibles of Mercedes Benz. Today, any car that has survived 40 years in one piece has the right to label itself with the title of ‘classic’. However, some cars are more worthy of that title than others, and there is no doubt that the w111 models from Mercedes qualify. When these cars were new, they were the best cars that money could buy – as long as you had enough. The price tag equals the same as 10 VW Beetles or 6 Volvo 142s. It tells you a thing or two how expensive they were. They had style and quality and they had a price tag to match.

In 1969, Mercedes Benz felt compelled to update the model. The big market for this type of car was the USA, and over there a car with “only” 6 cylinders was considered a mid-range car. That didn’t go hand in hand for a Mercedes’ top model, so a brand new V8 engine was developed, with the internal engine designation M116. It would later prove to be a great success for Mercedes, as the design lived on until 1991. In addition to the cultivated V8 engine culture, it came with electric injection, and combined with Mercedes’ own 4-speed automatic gearbox, it gave quite impressive performance for such a large car, with a 0-100 kph done in 9.5 seconds and a top speed of more than 200 kph. Compared to the competitors, it was actually a fast car, although it was often seen driven the gentlemanly way. The engine suited the new 280 SE Coupe – with the designation 3.5 for engine volume – exceptionally well. In the European versions, the engine had 200 bhp, making it the most powerful version of the entire w111 series.

The elegant 280 SE Coupe 3.5 is probably the best representative of the exclusivity that characterized Mercedes in those years. In the short production time 1969 to 1971, only 3270 examples of this distinguished car were built. And it would take many years before it got a worthy successor.

This car is a genuine European car, delivered new in Germany. The original registration certificate is still available and come with the car. The car has been 100% restored during a 3 year process, with complete disassembly of the body, sandblasting to bare metal, and then meticulously rebuilt. No detail has been to small for attention, everything has been reviewed and restored. This goes for the body, chrome parts, engine, gearbox, interior, electronics, instruments – in short everything. And it is all documented by photos – 100s. The cabin is made with the best avaible German leather, all the wood part has been carefully restored by a carpenter. A few nice updates was added – the headliner is made in genuine Alcantara, a hidden stereo system has been fitted, and even a tailor-made luggage set was added. All put together, it contributes to a feeling of the utmost luxury. We are hardly offending anyone by claiming that this is a car for the slightly more experienced classic car collector or investor, as well as the connoisseur of the good life, and hardly for the beginner in the classic car world.

Driving and experiencing the car is an exquisite pleasure, to drive effortlessly and comfortably through today’s traffic and in sublime calm and dignity experience the world on the other side of the radiator with the famous star. So Oh’ Lord…