Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
I’ve been featuring a lot of Pagodas of late so I planned on laying off them for awhile, but I ran across one that deserves an immediate look. Usually these things are winners in totally stock form and any kind of aftermarket modification detracts greatly from it’s appeal and not to mention its value. But what we have today is something I didn’t even think was possible. So let’s check out what’s so special about this Pagoda for sale at the authority for W113s outside of Boston.
A few weeks ago Craig featured a 1991 Mercedes-Benz 300SL that caught our eye. Everything he said about the R129 I agree with. It is a quintessential Mercedes design which remains attractive today; sporty and taut yet elegant and handsome. Today we feature a R129 300SL that’s every bit as handsome — along with some other goodies.
You spend a billion dollars on developing a car, it better be damn good. That’s what Mercedes-Benz was faced with when debuting the W140 S-Class. It had to every bit as good as the legendary W126 it was replacing and more. When it launched in 1991, opinions were mixed. Some say it was the last great over-engineered Mercedes that was built without cost in mind. Others say it wasn’t attractive with it’s body panels that look like slabs. Either way, 25 years later these cars still have me amazed at what it took to get this car — along with all of it’s advancements — into the hands of buyers who were willing to pay over 25% more than the W126 it replaced.
The R129 has always been my favorite iteration of the SL roadster. Softer and more modern than the classic R107 that it replaced, but still sufficiently angular that it doesn’t succumb to the awful jelly bean aesthetic of the late 80s and early 90s, the quintessentially Mercedes design remains attractive today; sporty and taut yet elegant and handsome. While most US buyers opted for the V8 500SL or the range topping and magnificent V12 in the 600SL, the car could also be had with an entry level 3.0 liter straight six, as found in this 300SL version. Already a relatively uncommon spec, this car features the especially rare manual gearbox, available only on six cylinder R129s.
So much attention is levied upon the V8 and widebody models AMG produced in the late 1980s and early 1990s that it’s easy to overlook the “lesser” examples from Affalterbach. One such model is the 3.4E, based on the W124 chassis and available in sedan, coupe or wagon versions the M104 was beefed up in typical AMG fashion. Displacing 3.4 liters (clever naming scheme, that!) and producing nearly 270 horsepower it was certainly no slouch. However, its relative obscurity and lower power output means it plays second (or third) fiddle to the 6.0 V8 models and even Mercedes-Benz’s own 500E. While those cars put out substantially more power and raise more eyebrows than the inline-6 will at any German car meetup, the 3.4E is nevertheless a potent package that offers enthusiasts a taste of classic AMG performance on a more reasonable budget:
