1983 Mercedes-Benz 280 SE

Lot details
Registration No: A886DMO
Chassis No: WDB1260222A007712
Mot Expiry: Feb 2013

As the successor to the W116 range, the Bruno Sacco-designed W126 Series was the second generation of flagship vehicles to bear the S-Class name, which stood for 'sonderklasse' or, in English, 'special class'. The initial Saloon versions were launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 1979, and offered the choice of straight-six or V8 petrol engines and a straight-five diesel unit, and either standard or long wheelbase bodies. The newcomer was notably more capacious than its predecessor and also heralded a number of safety innovations including: airbags, seatbelt pretensioners and traction control - technology we take for granted even on lesser marques of car these days, but were truly pioneering at the time. Safety features carried over from the W116 were anti-lock brakes, crumple zones and fluted tail lights. The fuel crises of the early and mid-'70s had awoken manufacturers to the urgent need for lighter, generally more efficient car designs; the W126 duly featured extensive use of lightweight materials and benefited from exhaustive testing in the wind tunnel - the result was an altogether sleeker, more aerodynamic (it boasted a drag coefficient of 0.36) vehicle than the W116, that consumed 10 percent less fuel. Rather than traditional chrome bumpers, the W126 featured deformable polyurethane ones that visually aligned with the body panels. The 280SE variant was powered by a straight-six engine of 2746cc that produced 182bhp and 177lbft of torque - sufficient for the big Saloon to be able to sprint to 60mph in around 10 seconds dead, and waft onwards to a very creditable top speed of 130mph.

The right-hand drive 280SE Saloon offered is a time warp example that is finished in Light Blue allied to a matching cloth interior. Manufactured in 1983 it has reportedly covered just 1,394 miles from new and is unsurprisingly considered by its vendor to have "excellent" bodywork, paintwork, interior trim, engine and automatic gearbox. 'A886 DMO' is being sold complete with a fresh MOT. Bearing in mind how this period of Mercedes-Benz motorcars was built to last, there is no obvious reason why this apparently 'near new' example could not - if properly maintained - rack up at least 100,000 miles before needing much attention or expenditure.