Just when I thought I’ve seen it all! What we are looking at is a 1977 Mercedes-Benz 300D that somehow was transformed into a strangely proportioned coupe. According to the seller, the body was modified by removing the rear doors, moving fuel tank and fuel door two feet forward, and extended the trunk lid two feet. Try to wrap your head around that. On top of that, this car already exists and Mercedes made of ton of them! Unless this car was modified right in 1977 when it came out, it made no sense why someone would do this. But here it is, in all its mis-proportioned glory. Just to make it even stranger, it is powered by a 1983 OM617 Turbodiesel engine. Let’s take a look:
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There are luxury cars, then there are luxury cars that are literally a luxury. The Mercedes-Benz 300d Adenauer is exactly that. It isn’t a car you are driving to work every once in a while because the weather is nice that day. This car is an event. You make plans to drive this car. While this presents itself as a big, stately car, it isn’t as long as you think. It measures 195 inches, which is almost two feet shorter than a standard Mercedes W100 600. Still, driving one of these anywhere makes you stick out from the masses. The best part about these cars is that the buy-in isn’t as costly as you might have guessed by looking at one of them. Compared to its only rival, the Rolls Royce Silver Cloud, it is almost half the price. This 1960 Adenauer up for sale in California is exactly that. Best part about it, it sure looks like a turn-key example.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1960 Mercedes-Benz 300d Adenauer on eBay
2 CommentsUpdate 12/23/18: This 300D sold for $14,600.
The 1977–1981 Mercedes-Benz W123 with the naturally-aspirated OM617 5-cylinder doesn’t get enough appreciation in my eyes. Everyone loves the 1982-1985 OM617A, which is the turbocharged version, and rightfully so. Although, if you told me to pick one of the engine solely based on simplicity, I would probably pick the naturally-aspirated version. Yes, it barely has enough power to keep up with modern traffic with 115 lbâ‹…ft of torque, but no W123 is winning any races in 2018, no matter what the engine. There is a caveat however. In the 1977-1981 W123 with the OM617, you were cursed with the Chrysler automatic climate control system which has the same functionality as a pair of roller skates on a lake. When Mercedes updated the W123 in 1982, they realized their mistake and replaced it with a manual climate control system that, surprise surpise, still works flawlessly some 30 years later. You can’t have it all, I guess.
Today, I have an absolutely pristine 1979 300D up for sale in Poughkeepsie, New York with a hair under 53,000 miles. Painted in Topaz Brown over Parchment MB-Tex, this is one of the finest W123s I’ve come across recently and it has the story to back it up. Judging by the already fast and furious bidding, it is not going to go cheap.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1979 Mercedes-Benz 300D on eBay
Comments closedUpdate 11/20/18: This 300D sold for $13,700.
On Saturday, I will say goodbye to my 1983 240D that I’ve rehabbed and cared for the past two years. It was a classic Craigslist love story of everything looking great in the photos, but after traveling a long distance to go buy it, the car wasn’t nearly as cherry as the photos showed or the seller described. Funny how that happens. Still, I reluctantly took it home after negotiating a whopping $100 off the asking price. The past two years have been fun as it seems like everyone loves the thing, except my passengers who had to be on time somewhere as 67 horsepower is no match for moms in their 300 horsepower minivans and the concept of time in general. I wouldn’t have bought the car if it wasn’t for the Labrador Blue paint and matching hubcaps, and that is probably why it sold to its new owner. I think the W123 chassis is still brilliant and feels so damn good even after 35 years, but it just can’t keep up with the war that is daily traffic. My W116 300SD is a far better car for that, hence why I chose to keep that one even though it isn’t nearly as handsome. Not a knock of the W123, but the W116 S-Class was made to be the best sedan in the world and at the time it was pretty damn close to being that, even compared to the much more expensive cars from Bentley and Rolls-Royce. I’m not the only one who feels that way.
Today’s car, as you might have noticed, also has a pretty great color. This European-spec Pea Green 1979 300D shows just a hair under 25,000 miles on the odometer and should be a pretty mint example. I was super excited to dig into it to see a time-capsule car, but unfortunately, this falls just a little bit short. Let me explain why.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1979 Mercedes-Benz 300D on eBay
5 CommentsAbout a month ago I checked out a 1968 Mercedes-Benz 600 that is the crème de la crème when it comes to flagship Mercedes. It gets all the press, all the attention and rightfully so. But often overlooked is the predecessor of the 600, the 300d Adenauer. I’ve checked these cars out in the past and they don’t come up for sale to the public all that often thanks to their age and rarity. Personally, I think they are one of the coolest Mercedes ever made thanks to their distinctive style with the great waterfall grille and pillar-less profile. This is a car with presence. You don’t blend in with the pack with this car. When an Adenauer drives down the road, you see it coming. The best part about this car? It’s not as expensive as you would think.