Warning!
We have 15 years of archives. Links older than a year may have been updated to point to similar cars available to bid on eBay.
The W210 E-class was not so much a huge step forward in technology as it was styling for Mercedes-Benz. The four headlamp motif became a fixture in the lineup for years after this car’s introduction. Now in an era when the company seems to have gone off the deep end in terms of aesthetics, this 2001 E320 for sale in Texas looks positively conservative in comparison. Finished in Bordeaux Red Metallic, this example has yet to cross the 20,000 mile mark, a rarity with such a cooking variety E-class of the era.
They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But I think few would have trouble seeing the beauty in any vintage Mercedes SL Roadster. I’m certainly not the first to say it, but there is something about these cars that transcends basic automotive design. They almost move into the realm of fashion becoming the ultimate accessory, but even for those who may not care about the adoring looks of others I think we can sense just what is so captivating about these cars. Like an E-Type Jag the design seems perfected from the start and all later variations continue to pay homage to that design, even if those later variants are never quite as pretty. They are complex, but also beautifully simple. The example we see here is a beautiful Burgundy Metallic 1971 Mercedes-Benz 280SL, located in Las Vegas, with a stated 11,116 miles on it, though that may be the mileage since its restoration.
It would be easy to assume that AMG didn’t breath on the R107 chassis, instead focusing on the coupes and sedans that made them famous. The feel of the roadster is decidedly different and more cruiser than the Autobahn destroyers that the company produced. But AMG did produce parts for the SL – it’s just that not many were modified in the same vein as their stablemates. When properly presented, though, they do manage to channel AMG’s best qualities well. Subtle upgrades all around led to a more aggressive aesthetic, but not one that was ever over the top. And the SL remained one of the few premium convertibles you could buy in the 1980s, so unless you undertook an expensive conversion to a coupe, the topless R107 was a natural choice for the well-to-do who also loved wind in their hair. Yet most of these SLs ended up primarily as appearance packages – but they still make a statement:
While on a business trip to The Netherlands last month, I happened upon a very clean Mercedes-Benz 560SEL parked on the edge of one of the famous canals of Amsterdam. This car, like much of the older metal tooling around this capitol city, was in quite mint condition. The dedication of the Dutch to classic vehicles is quite impressive and warms my heart, as I find little out there on the new car market these days that I’m interested in. The W126 is one of those cars I wished they still produced to this day, as it just has a timeless air about it. I highly doubt that years from now, the last three generations of S-classes will age quite as graceful as this car has. It was one of Bruno Sacco’s best designs, in my opinion. If you missed your chance at a new 560SEL, this example for sale in New Jersey has covered just over 14,000 miles, making it one of the lowest mileage examples on the marque. It comes, however, with a stiff price tag.
Following on to the AMG E-class estate goodness we just saw earlier today, here’s a very nice example of one of the last of those famous Mercedes-Benz/Porsche collaborations, the E500. We’ve waxed poetic about this car many times, but a variation some might not be aware of was that a Limited model appeared towards the end of the E500s lifecycle. These E500 Limited models included different trim, inclusive of some rather avant garde upholstery and Evo II wheels. As if this performance special wasn’t limited enough, feast your eyes on this silver beauty for sale in the United Kingdom at 4Star Classics.
