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I often wonder what comes of the W140 Mercedes-Benz coupe. They certainly aren’t as striking or stately as the previous generations, but they are extremely high quality and can still be used as a daily driver without issue. Production numbers went down as the generation aged, and trying to find a V12 example in the later years is extremely tough. Still, you can find a V8-powered car without too much work and judging by recent results, not too much money. Today’s example, a 1995 S500 coupe in Virginia is finished in the wonderful shade of Emerald Pearl, gets you into what seems to be a clean car without too many miles.
If you are feeling déjà vu, you are on to something. Last month I checked out a 1998 Mercedes-Benz S600 7.0 AMG and now a month later, we have the brother 1998 CL600 7.0 AMG. It is probably safe to assume these both came out of the same collection, and believe it or not, this one checks in with over 100,000 kilometers on the odometer. Long live the M120!
About a month ago I took a look at a 2003 Mercedes-Benz CLK55 AMG that you wouldn’t think to be all that rare, but was actually just one of about 750 cars for the model year. Keeping with the rare Mercedes-Benz coupe thing, I wanted to rewind the clock back to the mid-1990s and check out a car that is even rarer — the S600 Coupe. Towards the end of the W140 run, Mercedes really cut down production on the V12 cars for North America much more than you would think. This 1997 up for sale in Georgia is just one of 348 for the model year. The lesser S500 Coupe was nearly triple that number with 933 cars imported, while 3,510 S500 sedans were sold in 1997. Now that these are reaching full-on classic status, demand for them is high and so are prices for the low-mile cars.
I still think the C140 Mercedes-Benz hasn’t had its day yet. They are coming around for sure, but full blown “collector cars” they are not. I also think their time is coming and this example up for sale in The Netherlands is a good reason why. This 1997 CL420, an engine combo we didn’t get in the US, wears the rare Ruby Metallic paint job and the always cool 18″ Eltanin wheels that we also didn’t get. Inside, black leather with burl wood everywhere. Despite looking so good, this one has a surprising 92,000 miles on it. Doesn’t mean it is going to be cheap however.
As the years go on, the W140 Mercedes-Benz coupe is looking more and more appealing to me. The European version, at least. I say that half joking, but it is true. Why? Some very small changes that seem to make all the difference to me. Slightly shorter bumpers and different 18″ wheels as we see here, along with amazing colors like Viola Metallic. As luck would have it, that is what we have with this 1997 CL600 for sale up in Stuttgart, Germany.
