Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
The 1979 Mercedes-Benz 280CE Convertible we featured yesterday afternoon got me thinking about what other models I wish the company would have contemplated. High up on my list is this tribute that we see here, a 1991 E500 Estate. Technically, we should call it a 500E Estate as the nomenclature change didn’t take hold until the 1994 model year. Regardless of the name, this beefy, modified W124 T-model for sale south of Hamburg has stealth written all over it.
The year was 1976. Cadillac proclaimed it’s Eldorado Convertible would be the “last American convertible.” Safety concerns had put the idea of open roofed vehicles on the ropes. This concern would be short lived, as a few drop tops began appearing in the 1980s, including an Eldorado Convertible for 1983. This prompted some 1976 Eldorado owners to take legal action against Cadillac, to no avail.
Mercedes stayed the course with their 450SL roadster, however, a four-seat convertible would not reappear until the 1990s with the W124 E-class. This left the gates wide open for coach builders to chop the roofs off a number of SEC Coupes. An even more rare conversion is this car we see here, a W123 Convertible for sale in Georgia. Converted by a firm in New York, this 280CE Convertible makes one wonder why Mercedes didn’t try their hand at al fresco motoring via the W123 chassis.
If you’ve been following Formula 1 this year, you’ve been watching something pretty special occurring. Mercedes-Benz has finally produced a race-winning car, and one that appears to be dominant over the rest of the field for the foreseeable future. A few years ago, the origins of the Mercedes-Benz team – Brawn F1 – also got the jump on the competition but didn’t have the money to remain thoroughly dominant for the season. However, with Mercedes-Benz’s substantial coffers behind the team effort, there exists the possibility that Mercedes-Benz could have a perfect F1 season – winning every race on the calendar (edit: well, that isn’t going to occur – but they’re still the best poised to take the championship!) That would create a new Silver Arrow legend – the historic name given to the Mercedes-Benz racers since 1934 and their first era of dominance. To celebrate some of the silver legends before the current F1 effort got underway, Mercedes-Benz produced a special swan-song for the R129 SL; available in either top-spec SL600 or more common SL500 was the “Silver Arrow Edition”:
Only recently have we seen the market for the Mercedes-Benz 190SL and certain R107 SLs trend upward, but for as long as I can remember, the W113 SL, otherwise known as the “Pagoda†has been the hands down favorite of collectors. I’d almost consider it the air-cooled 911 of the Mercedes set, given where values have been hovering for the last couple of years. This 1971 280SL for sale in Texas represents the last year for the Pagoda. This one was restored by noted specialist Bud’s Benz in Georgia in an uncommon Seafoam Green.
With the discontinuation of Maybach, the S class once again becomes the flagship of the Mercedes-Benz lineup. There has been talk of an über S-class of sorts, but nothing yet has materialized. Back in the early 1960s, however, Mercedes was toying with the idea of going up against the world’s best with the 600, available in short and long wheelbase forms, as well as Landaulet version with a rear convertible roof. There’s a few 600s floating around the auctions this week, beginning with this short wheelbase (SWB) example for sale in Miami.