Mercedes-Benz 123 W 123 for Sale

The Mercedes-Benz W123 is the name given by luxury German car manufacturer, Mercedes, for a range of premium executive cars. The models were in production from 1976 until 1985. Cars that were in the W123 class became the company's most successful, and 2.7 million were bought. The Mercedes-Benz W123 was superseded by the Mercedes-Benz W124.

The history of the Mercedes-Benz W123

The four-door W123 was introduced by Mercedes in 1976. There were several similarities between this new range and the previous W114, but the W123 badge had a bigger wheelbase and exterior. The new models were updated from the cars that they replaced and given round headlights. The only new engine developed for the W123 was an inline-six 2,525 cc. Apart from this; all the other engines were retained from previous models.

In the early spring of 1976, the coupé was put in the showrooms, which had a shorter wheelbase than the saloon version. The W123 became an instant hit, and at the 1977 Frankfurt Motor show the W123T was revealed. This was an estate, and the T stood for 'Touring and Transport'.

The 300 TD was introduced into the W123 series in 1979, which was the first turbo diesel in the range.

From early autumn in 1982, all of the Mercedes-Benz W123 cars were given some design tweaking, and the rectangular front lights that had only been fitted to some of the cars were made standard. It was in this year that power steering was also standardised across W123 models. At the beginning of 1982, customers were given the choice to opt for a five-speed manual gearbox.

The final year for the Mercedes W123 was 1986. In the period that they were produced, the most popular cars were the W123 230E (442,000 sold), the W123 240D (455,000 sold) and the W123 200D (378,000 sold).

Innovations in the Mercedes-Benz W123 range

In the period that the W123 was produced, there were a number of innovations that were used in the cars. In 1980 ABS was introduced. A retractable steering system and driver airbag became optional for customers after 1982. Other improvements included central locking that was vacuum powered, back-facing seating, self-locking differential, climate control, heating for seats, and in the US market, a catalytic converter.

Trivia about the Mercedes-Benz W123

The vehicle used by Porky Pig in the cartoon, The Loony Tunes show, was a W123. The W123 is also featured in the cult video game Grand Theft Auto. The car has been featured in several television and film programmes that include Top Gear (Botswana Special), Citizen Khan and Mad Max.