1971 Mercedes-Benz 280SE 3.5 Coupe Manual

Details

Following the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, Europe’s car industry was decimated. In Germany both Daimler and Benz went back to producing cars post-war, however, times were tough. A merger between Daimler and Benz would ensure that both companies survived and following a technical co-operation agreement in 1924, the companies formally merged on the 1st July 1926. Mercedes-Benz was born!

Subsequently, Mercedes-Benz went on to build some of the greatest cars of all time. The cars from Stuttgart bearing the three-pointed star all had one thing in common . . . they were renowned for their technical innovation, build quality, luxury and performance.

In 1951 Mercedes-Benz introduced the Type W187 220 Series cars, which was the first model to be powered by a six cylinder engine post World War II. This model was a great success and built in relatively big numbers.

In the 1950’s Mercedes-Benz produced one of the greatest cars of all time – the iconic 300SL Gullwing and 300SL Roadster. Whilst fabulous sporting cars, they were very expensive and generally sold to the rich and famous. The Type W186 and Type W189 300 series four door luxury tourers were built alongside the Type W198 300SL Gullwing and Roadster and they were indeed fabulous cars in their own right, though still very expensive.  Mercedes-Benz wanted to build full sized luxury cars that were ‘more affordable’ than the Type W186 and Type W189 300 series cars, so the Ponton range of cars (Type W120/W121/W105/W180/W128) filled that void nicely. In 1959 Mercedes-Benz introduced the Type W111 as a successor to the very successful Ponton. The Type W111 was built as a sedan, coupe and convertible with many different engine configurations. The sedans were sold in big numbers all over the world, however, as has been the tradition with Mercedes-Benz the two door and convertible cars were built in far smaller numbers and carried a significant price premium.  The majority of the Type W111 models were powered by a 6 cylinder engine of varying capacity, ranging from 2195cc (220 series) through to 2778cc (280 series). In 1969 Mercedes-Benz introduced a new 3499cc V8 engine which they fitted to the Type W111 coupes and cabriolets.

The Mercedes-Benz  280SE 3.5 Coupe and Mercedes-Benz  280SE 3.5 Cabriolet were the two flagship models of the range back in the day and only 3270 coupes and 1232 cabriolets were built, the majority of which were left hand drive. We understand that only 245 factory right hand drive Mercedes-Benz 280SE 3.5 Coupes were built. The majority of these cars were sold new in the UK and only a small number found their way to Australia.

Today these cars are highly sought after by enthusiasts and collectors.

Oldtimer Australia is delighted to confirm the private sale of this 1971 Mercedes-Benz 280SE 3.5 Coupe.

This car is a true ‘unicorn’, being an Australian delivered, factory right hand drive example with a manual gearbox. It is a highly optioned car with a factory sunroof, BEHR air conditioning and power windows.

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