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There is a good chance you have no idea who Viktor Knvas is. Don’t worry – I didn’t either until researching this car. There is probably also a good chance you might be hearing a little more about Mr. Knvas when his son-in-law is inaugurated into the White House in next month. Yes, this car was owned by the father of the future First Lady of the United States, Melania Trump. So, if you find obscure political memorabilia appealing (or just like a really nice W111 coupe) let’s check out this 1962 220SE.
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.
The W111 coupe is a hell of a design. But it’s one thing just to be a good design. Lots of cars over the years have looked great but when it comes to putting the rubber to the road, well, it’s better off sitting quietly in the Denny’s parking lot on Friday night ‘Cruise Nights’ in small town, USA. Not true of the W111 coupe, and especially not the 3.5. Launched in 1970 to wrap up production of the W111 and make way for the R107/C107, the 280SE 3.5 coupe was the 230 horsepower V8 version to the regular 280SE with the straight-6 M130. Strikingly handsome in almost any color combo, 3.5 coupe values have more than doubled in the last few years. This 1970 located in New York City checks all the boxes if you are looking for the almost perfect classic Mercedes coupe.
Walking down the street this week I came across a rather uncanny site, a 1970 Mercedes-Benz 280SE 3.5 Coupe. Sitting nonchalantly on a city street amongst dreary modern day machinery, it brought a smile to my face to know someone is intrepid enough to use such a majestic automobile in an urban environment. The car scene is pretty dead around the Washington, DC area, which is part of the reason I’m looking to get out of here as soon as I can. Everyone here is so fixated on politics and their job that it can be hard finding fellow petrolheads to connect with. Nevertheless, you do see some classics wandering about on the roads from time to time. Sadly I didn’t get a chance to chat the owner up in this case.
This 1970 280SE we see here for sale in California isn’t of the V8 variety, but shares the low grille look of the aforementioned 3.5 with a striking two tone blue and white color combination over a sumptuous blue leather interior. These W111 coupes were some of the last hand-built Mercedes-Benzes to leave the factory and considering what you spend for similar vintage W113 SLs these days, these six-cylinder coupes represent a bit of a relative bargain for the collector.
The Mercedes-Benz Fintails of the 1950s and 1960s was a rather daring design for a company noted for its adherence to traditional design. This styling hallmark would live on through the late 1960s and could be considered the grandfather to the modern day E-class sedan. The 230S we see here was one of the later expressions of the W111 design and one that found its way into my father’s garage in the 1970s. This black example for sale in New York is almost identical to my father’s car, save for the fact that his was a ’67 with a 4-speed manual on the floor and was equipped with a saddle tan MB-Tex interior.
