For every 1938 Bugatti Type 57C Atalante Coupe that Wayne Carini finds in barn, there are hundreds of other cars sitting in barns — usually for…
3 CommentsTag: 280SE
The other day, Carter wrote up a gray-market, Signal Red 280SE. The Euro options and unusual color made for an attractive proposition, but that particular car had some mechanical needs making it a light project. This car, on the other hand, appears to be in need of no such work. Available in Europe but not sold in the US, the 280SE paired the 2.8 liter, six cylinder M110 gasoline engine with the short wheelbase version of the W126 chassis. While that might seem a small motor for such a large car, it made about 185 hp in Euro guise, a perfectly adequate, though certainly not blistering, amount of power. Like the US-spec 300SE/SEL, it might need a bit of shove at the low end, but once up to highway speeds it should cruise around capably.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1985 Mercedes-Benz 280SE on eBay
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While Andrew and Craig have been the typical purveyors of all-things Mercedes-Benz over the past few months, I’m always drawn to the clean, simple and classic look of the 70s and 80s MB products offered in the rest of the world. Today’s 1982 280SE is a perfect example of this. A W126.026, this European specification S-Class is powered by the M110 double-overhead cam inline-6 which was never offered to U.S. customers. Admittedly, the engine looks a bit lost in the bay you’re used to seeing V8s in, but it’s a proven unit with adequate power – 185 raging ponies, to be exact. However, the 280SE is the short wheelbase model and with European bumpers and missing some of the heavy luxuries, performance should be on par with some of the U.S. spec early V8s, if not better. Even if buying the short wheel base, six-cylinder model may sound a bit ego-deflating, these Euro-spec cars always get my attention:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1982 Mercedes-Benz 280SE on eBay
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In the last few years, the Mercedes-Benz lineup has grown substantially. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any bigger, along comes the S-class Cabriolet. While the myriad of SUVs that Mercedes sells are responses to growing trends in the marketplace, the S-class Cabriolet is a revival of an old theme, the car you see here: the 280SE Cabriolet. The 280SE Coupe and Cabriolet were the swan song of the W111 chassis, with production of the 3.5 V8 variant lasting through the summer of 1971. This restored 1970 280SE Cabriolet for sale in Chicago is fitted with a 4-speed manual gearbox, an option not often seen on these grand tourers.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1970 Mercedes-Benz 280SE Cabriolet on eBay
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As my family moves on to its ninth Mercedes-Benz, I was reminded the other day of my grandfather’s 1972 280SE. This was a rather unusual car for the day in Philadelphia, but reflected a bit of his taste as a diplomat for the Portuguese government. These were stately cars that compromised little. I’ve always preferred the look of the W108/W109 as opposed to the befinned W111 that preceded it and this late model 280SE 4.5 is no different. The W108 would only be sold in the US market for 1973, as the rest of the world had already moved on to the W116 S-class. For sale in New York, this isn’t the most perfect W108, but it certainly holds a lot of promise.