Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
There is something really satisfyingly to me about about a car finished in a great shade of green. It is easily my favorite color if I have the choice, so when a great classic Mercedes-Benz shows up in a unique shade, you take a closer look. This 1983 380SEC is finished in Cypress Green Metallic over a very period-correct Brazil Beige cloth interior. It shows just 65,000 miles and thankfully looks every bit the part. However, this one comes with price tag more fit for a 560SEC.
Though the E3 had offered a sizeable sedan, the replacement E23 really stretched BMW’s platforms. The new 7-seres was 6 inches longer overall, most of which fell in a longer wheelbase versus the E3. It was also wider by a few inches and lower, too. Paul Bracq again provided the styling and it was nothing surprising; it carried the torch of many of the design elements of the 3-, 5- and 6-series cars, and that certainly wasn’t a bad thing. But what BMW hoped would help to set it apart from the competition was technology and performance, along with a high-level of material quality in the cabin. Options included Buffalo leather, an on-board computer system, anti-lock brakes, heated and reclining power seats front and rear, and even an airbag late in the run; standard fare today, but way ahead of the curve in the late 1970s and early 1980s. BMW matched this technology with a thoroughly modern driver-oriented cockpit which made the W116 Mercedes-Benz competition feel immediately antiquated.
E23s are hard to come by today but generally affordable, certainly in the context of current 80s BMW pricing. And though only a 733i, this one has some uniqueness to help it stand apart, too:
