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33-605: These high-end cars were fitted with the 3.0 litre fuel-injected M189 big-block six-cylinder engine, at the time of the model's introduction the company's largest. They were finished with a higher level of wood and leather trim than the W111, and had standard luxury features such as power steering , automatic transmission , and pneumatic self-levelling suspension , an enhancement of the Mercedes-Benz 300d Adenauer's dashboard activated mechanical torsion bar based system. The sedan

66-502: A 60 mm lower ride and 15 mm wider doors. The result was a visibly newer-looking, sleeker car with an open and spacious interior. Due to the success of long wheelbase 300 SE Lang (W112) , which was intended as an interim car between 300 "Adenauer" (W189) and "Grosser Mercedes" 600 (W100) , Mercedes-Benz continued to offer two wheelbase lengths for W108/W109. Initially, the wheelbase lengths denoted W108 (standard) and W109 (long). For 1968 model year, this distinction changed with

99-411: A decade of great success throughout the 1950s, the aging Mercedes-Benz W189 flagship, the 300d Adenauer limousine, needed a replacement. Until the Mercedes-Benz 600 Grosser could be developed a stopgap would have to do. The W112 300SE was the result. The previous generation of Mercedes models had featured three types of chassis: those mass-produced on a unibody Ponton chassis, which included

132-550: A long-wheelbase 300SE sedan made its debut in March 1963 - which, however, arrived without an L added for "Lang" ("long" in German), a designation which did not appear in model name or trunk emblem until the subsequent W108 and W109 models. While the W112 was always a very exclusive automobile, its low production numbers reflect a combination of a very high price and limited demand, as it lacked both

165-470: A massive 6.3 L Mercedes-Benz M100 V8 from the company's flagship 600 (W100) into a W109 chassis, creating the first Q-car from Mercedes-Benz. Full-scale production of 300 SEL 6.3 began in December 1967. 300 SEL 6.3 could reach 100 km/h (62 mph) in 6.5 seconds and the top speed of 220 km/h (137 mph), making it the quickest production sedan, a title it held for many years. To coincide with

198-492: A somewhat elevated status through their model runs. Upscale versions of the W111 220SE coupe and convertible that had debuted in 1961, their more modern and elegant Paul Bracq designed bodywork lacked the badly dating upwardly-raked and pointed fintails of the sedan, and aged better. Sales disparity between the W111 and W112 specialty models was substantial. For example, five 220SE cabriolets sold to every equivalent 300SE. Two-door W111/W112 production continued after 1965 with

231-481: The Mercedes-Benz W111 (1959–71) and W112 (1961–67), helped Mercedes-Benz develop greater sales and achieve economy of scale production, reducing both manufacture time and cost. Throughout the 1950s, Mercedes-Benz had been producing the coachwork 300 S and 300 SL and all but hand-built 300 Adenauers alongside conveyor assembled Pontons (190, 190 SL and 220) etc. Unifying the entire Mercedes-Benz range into

264-514: The fintail ( German : Heckflosse ) reduced production onto a single automobile platform . However, fashion trends in the early 1960s changed rapidly. By the time the Paul Bracq -designed 2-door coupé and cabriolet W111s were launched, the predecessor W111 sedan's fins lost their chrome trim and sharp appearance. The arrival of the W113 'Pagoda' coupé and cabriolet in 1963 saw them further buried into

297-403: The fuel-injected W128 220SE "Ponton" was introduced. The new generation of 220/220S/200SE W111 "Fintail" sedans was introduced in 1959. These were joined in 1961 by the 220SE W111 coupe and convertible, as well as the four-cylinder W110 190 and 190D. With the debut of the clean sheet, top-of-the-range W100 600 still several years off, Mercedes turned to its largest platform, the W111, added

330-469: The self-levelling air suspension . The W108/W109 premiered at the Frankfurt Auto Show in 1965. The initial model range consisted of three W108s (250 S, 250 SE, and 300 SEb) and a sole W109 (300 SEL). The inline-six engines were carried over from the previous generation with mechanical refinements. The 2.2-litre M180 engine was enlarged to 2.5 litres while the fuel-injected 3-litre M189 version

363-675: The United States where many passenger vehicles, especially the American luxury marques, were fitted with V8 engines. The new 147 kW (200 PS; 197 bhp) V8 engine was first fitted to W109 in August 1969 as 300 SEL 3.5 then to W108 in July 1970 as 280 SE/SEL 3.5. The 3.5-litre V8 engine was bored out to 4,520 cc (4.5 litres) as to compensate for the loss of power following the changes in emission control regulations and due to lower fuel octane rating in

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396-466: The United States. The larger V8 engine was designated as M117 and had the same output figures as 3.5-litre V8 engine. It was initially exclusive for the United States, introduced in the spring of 1971, as the 280 SE/SEL 4.5 and the 300 SEL 4.5, until the new, 1973 model year W116, MB's first generation of distinct S-Class platform 450 SE/SEL models, which went on sale worldwide in September 1972, alongside

429-602: The V8 powered 350/450 SL (R107) 2-seat cabrios and the 350/450 SLC (C107) 4-seat luxury coupes. The 300 SEL 2.8 was dropped in January 1970 since the 300 SEL 3.5 was selling better and had better performance. The production of 280 SEL ended in April 1971, leaving 280 S and 280 SE as sole models with six-cylinder inline engines until the end of W108/W109 production in 1972, following the introduction of W116 . The standard transmission for Europe

462-462: The coming of the W108/109 series, the sedan W112 was dropped in 1965, with a total of 6,748 300SEs in standard and long wheelbase built over its five-year run. In addition to the 300SE sedan, the early 1960s top-of-the-range Mercedes-Benz W112 line was expanded in 1962 with an even more exclusive cabriolet and coupe. With no equal or superior of their type made by the company, the pair of 2-doors enjoyed

495-534: The coming of the new generation W108/W109 sedans. However, in November 1967, the aging M186-based M189 engine was replaced by a new 2.8 litre straight-6 used in the W111 280SE. At least one 300SE Convertible, with M189 engine, was produced for the Frankfurt Auto show with updated equipment and styling for the 1968 standards but the line was discontinued before the new year for all 2 door W112 autos. The 300SE sedan

528-589: The entry-level 4-cylinder 180/190 series, mid-range 220 series of sedan, coupe, and convertible, and 190SL sports coupe and roadster; a luxury range of coachwork-built 300 series sedan, coupe, convertible, and roadster, hand-crafted on a pre-war X- frame chassis; and the exotic 300SL coupe/roadster, built on a unique tubular frame. In the late 1950s, Daimler-Benz AG began plans to unify its entire model range on one platform to take advantage of economies of scale . Assembly of all 2-door body-on-frame (W187) 300S ended in 1955, and (W188) 300Sc in 1958. That year

561-408: The fuel-injected 3-litre six-cylinder M189 engine from the 300d , and supplemented it with luxury features and detailing, to create the W112. Externally the W112 displayed substantially more chrome , and luxury features such as power steering , air suspension , and automatic transmission were standard (though a manual transmission would return as an option). The car cost almost twice the price of

594-434: The introduction of 280 SEL that retained W108, rather than W109, chassis designation. The larger 3-litre six-cylinder inline engine (300 SEL) were exclusive to W109 with odd exception of standard wheelbase 300 SEb (1965–1967), which was designated as W108. The smaller six-cylinder inline engines (250 S/SE and 280 S/SE/SEL) were assigned to W108 only. Both eventually received the V8 engines in 1967 (W109) and 1970 (W108). W109

627-466: The launch of new cheaper executive, W114/115 "/8" (Stroke Eight) models , slotted below MB's W108 and W109, the inline six engine range was revised in 1967. The 2.5-litre engine was enlarged to 2,778 cc (2.8 litres) and renamed as M130 for both carburetted (103 kW (140 PS; 138 bhp)) and fuel injected 118 kW (160 PS; 158 bhp) versions. 250 S and 250 SE were renamed as 280 S and 280 SE in November 1967 while 250 S

660-419: The same engine as 250 S except for fuel injection system and different engine designation (M129) . With increased engine output of 110 kW (150 PS; 148 bhp) at 5,500 rpm, 250 SE was one second faster to 100 km/h than 250 S and had higher top speed of 193 km/h (120 mph) for both manual and automatic versions. Both 300 SEb and 300 SEL were fitted with 2,966 cc M189 engine . The engine

693-439: The size and overwhelming luxury and cachet of the top of the range 300d and 600 limousines which bracketed it. In 1962, for every W112 sedan 24 W111s rolled off the production line, while by 1964, this ratio was almost 1:40. In the end, the W112 sedan turned out to be very short-lived. With the company's top niche filled by the 600, demand for the W112 plummeted. In 1962 a total of 2,769 were built, which fell to 1,382 in 1963. With

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726-605: The top W111 model, the 220SE. The 300SE's performance was the top of the Mercedes sedan line, with the M189 six-cylinder engine producing 160 hp (170 after 1964) and giving a top speed of 180 km/h (190 after 1964, both figures 175 and 185 for automatic transmission respectively). The W112 was much smaller than either the grand 300 "Adenauer" (W189) that preceded it, or the imposing Mercedes-Benz 600 Grosser Mercedes (W100) that first appeared in late 1963. To help fill this gap,

759-443: The top speed of 200 km/h (124 mph) (195 km/h (121 mph) with automatic transmission). The production figures for the first series from 1965 to 1967 showed 129,858 of 250 S/250 SE and 5,106 of 300 SEb/300 SEL. The tiny production figure of 300 SEb/300 SEL reflected the higher sales price with luxurious appointments, exclusivity, and smaller global market share. In 1966, company engineer Erich Waxenberger transplanted

792-508: The trunk's contour. Finally, they disappeared completely on the W100 600 in 1963. The evolution of the W111 began under the leadership of Bracq in 1961 and ended in 1963. Although the fins' departure was the most visible change, the W108 had a lower body waist line and increased glass area - the windscreen alone was 17% larger than W111's - prominent enough to be referred to as a "greenhouse". The cars had

825-403: Was a four-speed manual gearbox . A four-speed automatic option was also available. Unusual among mainstream European automakers of the time, Mercedes developed and built their own automatic transmission system. A five-speed manual gearbox was offered for six-cylinder inline engines only from 1969 to 1972, though a few customers opted for it. When the 3.5-litre V8 engine was introduced in 1969,

858-488: Was an updated version of M186 , originally developed in 1951 for Type 300 "Adenauer" , with Bosch mechanical fuel-injection system that calibrated the optimal fuel mixture automatically based on throttle pedal position and movement, engine speed, atmospheric pressure, water temperature, and driving conditions. The engine's output was 125 kW (170 PS; 168 bhp) at 5,400 rpm, and 300 SEb and 300 SEL could accelerate to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 12 seconds and reach

891-699: Was an upgrade of the Mercedes-Benz W114/W115 , to succeed the W111 and W112 fintail sedans. The cars were successful in West Germany and in export markets including North America and Southeast Asia. During the seven-year run, a total of 383,361 units were manufactured. Since the W108 and W109 were only available as 4-door models, similarly squarish 2-door W111 and W112 coupés and cabriolets, without pronounced tailfins, filled those niches and are frequently mistaken for W108/109 two-doors. The car's predecessors,

924-594: Was based on the Mercedes-Benz W111 Fintail sedan chassis and coachwork. The 300SE coupe/convertible was introduced in February 1962, and - somewhat confusingly - shared its more restrained and elegant Paul Bracq designed bodywork with the Mercedes-Benz W111 220SE coupe/convertible. The sedan-based stretched wheelbase 300SE " Lang " appeared in March 1963, redesignated the 300SEL in 1964. After nearly

957-416: Was carried over from "300 Adenauer". The 250 S was fitted with 2,496 cc M108 engine with dual two-barrel downdraft carburettors producing 96 kW (131 PS; 129 bhp) at 5,400 rpm. It could accelerate to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 13 seconds for manual and 14 for automatic. The top speed was 182 km/h (113 mph) for manual and 177 km/h (110 mph) for automatic. The 250 SE had

990-637: Was dropped while 300 SEL 2.8 obtained 2.8-litre engine with higher output 125 kW (170 PS; 168 bhp), replacing the M186 engine. The acceleration to 100 km/h (62 mph) was 10.5 seconds, and the top speed was 200 km/h (124 mph). Following the strong reception of limited production V8-powered 300 SEL 6.3 in 1967, Mercedes-Benz offered the all-new 3.5-litre M116 V8 engine with new Bosch D-Jetronic electronic fuel injection in 1969. The V8 engine would move W108/W109 further upmarket in many export markets and allow them to be more competitive in

1023-728: Was entered in international and European Touring Car Challenge and won several rallies . Mercedes-Benz M186 engine#M189 Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.236 via cp1112 cp1112, Varnish XID 366402638 Upstream caches: cp1112 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Fri, 29 Nov 2024 05:38:21 GMT Mercedes-Benz W108 The Mercedes-Benz W108 and W109 are luxury cars produced by Mercedes-Benz from 1965 through to 1972 (or 1973 in North America). The line

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1056-436: Was more luxuriously appointed than W108, featuring burled walnut dashboards, automatic transmission, and power windows along with optional air conditioning system. Most obvious distinction from the W108 were door window frames and a-pillars fully finished with polished metal bright trim. The W108 and W109 had different types of suspension systems: W108 retained the steel coil springs and oil-filled shock absorbers while W109 used

1089-530: Was still offered in some export markets until March 1969. In January 1968, a long wheelbase variation, 280 SEL, was introduced for the first time. The 280 S could reach 100 km/h (62 mph) in 12.5 seconds and top speed of 185 km/h (115 mph), or 180 km/h (112 mph) with automatic transmission. The 280 SE and 280 SEL accelerated to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 10.5 seconds with top speed of 193 km/h (120 mph) and 190 km/h (118 mph) respectively. The standard wheelbase 300 SEb

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