Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
Fresh off the craziest Porsche 911 color combo I’ve ever seen, today we have a Mercedes-Benz that is ready to join the party. This 1993 600SL looks innocent enough on the outside, but once you open those doors, the 1990s slap you right in the face. The dealer in Germany is claiming this is a one-off pre-merger AMG and while I’m normally skeptical of any dealer claim, I think I am buying this story. Although that is the only thing I’m buying once you see the asking price. Hold on.
I’ll put almost any Mercedes-Benz from the golden era of the 1960s up against other car from that time period and say it was better. There is a very distinct feeling when you open the doors to one of these cars and it usually says to you “this feels different.” Everything is heavier, thicker, and more robust. Plastic? Very little if any. This is a car made of wood, leather, and steel. You pilot them as much as you drive them. Chances are, it is going to outlast you if cared for properly. Today, we have one of those cars.
This is a 1964 Mercedes-Benz 220SEb coupe. That unofficial lowercase ‘b’ is very important as it signifies this is a fuel-injected inline-six car rather than a twin-carb of the standard 220SE. Not that the dual carbs are bad, but rather the fuel-injection system is much easier to live with and of course much smoother. This car in Chicago is finished in a wonderful shade of red with the matching hubcaps, a black leather cabin, and that all-important wood instrument cluster binnacle. Just to add some more goodness, it’s a sunroof example as well and has a four-speed manual gearbox. What isn’t to like?
One thing about Mercedes-Benz brand is that if a vehicle segment exists, they probably make something in it. As a result of that, you can basically buy everything from a GT1 homologation car all the way to a cement trunk. Falling in one of those segments is basic vans that no one bats an eye at in Europe, though they are a real novelty if you see one running around in North America. Today, we have of those with a little twist.
This is a 1984 Mercedes-Benz 207D that was probably built new as a box truck. Somewhere along the line, someone took off the box and added a pair of transporter ramps that you would think would make a great little car hauler truck. You would think. However, I am here to tell you that this cool little truck isn’t hauling anything.
Just in under the wire, we might have one of my most favorite cars of the year. It isn’t the rarest or even the most exciting car to drive, but it is one I would be totally happy driving 365 days a year in 2022. This is a 2015 Mercedes-Benz S550 4MATIC Coupe finished in Emerald Green Metallic over a Designo brown leather interior. I like to describe it as a torpedo of luxury. This is a car that hangs in the class of Bentley Continental GT and Rolls-Royce Wraith for a fraction of the price, while looking like it totally belongs. It is hard to to believe this car is already seven years old, but that just means it isn’t $150,000 anymore. Even better, it’s got just 6,300 miles.
Andrew talked about the R129 quite recently with his SL600, but I’ve also had my eye on these.
My particulate favorites are the pre-facelift early R129s. Whether they’re 300SLs or 500SLs, I really like the two-tone chunky bodywork and the simplicity of the early design. Perhaps it’s because I remember walking around one in a showroom when it was new, but the early R129s have always held a special fascination for me. As a bonus, early cars tend to be more affordable if you can find a decent one. In fact, they’re some of the most affordable “classic” Mercedes-Benz products out there. So let’s take a look at this lovely ’91:
