Mercedes-Benz 280SE 3.5 Saloon

Click Here for Full Screen Image - Click Here to Download Image

Launched in 1965, the W108 series S-Class saloon was the-top-of-the-range Mercedes of the late 1960s and early ‘70s.

Hailed by contemporary motoring journalists as the finest luxury car in the world, it was built to a standard that other manufacturers could only gawp at, setting a benchmark of engineering excellence that has not been surpassed to this day.

Tailor-made for the well-heeled elite of the Swinging Sixties, the mix of chrome, wood and leather oozed a cigars and champagne class that is all the more enjoyable than the plastic Mercs of today. Initially available with a straight-six 2.8-litre engine (hence the 280 boot badge), this was soon deemed a little underpowered and for 1970 a 200bhp 3.5-litre V8 version was launched that gave it the go to match the show. Driving through a four-speed automatic gearbox, it could cruise at three-figure speeds all day.

This example offers a rare opportunity to restore a genuine 3.5 V8 280SE that’s been in the same ownership for the last 27 years. Prior to this it was owned by a father and son in Reading where it was very well looked after, winning prizes at Mercedes-Benz Owner’s Club events including First Place at the Concours d’Elegance Beaulieu Rally 1990.

Although an enthusiast with every intention of keeping the car in such fine order, our vendor was posted abroad to a job in Qatar and the car ended up sitting in storage for around 20 years, hence the deterioration evident today. The interior looks to be in surprisingly good shape but the car has not been started for some time and is now ripe for a thorough overhaul.

The history file includes the original Mercedes manuals and service book showing 10 stamps, the first eight from the ‘70s and then two from 1991 and 1992. The vendor states the car has been waxoiled and we understand there are invoices for works carried out but these could not readily be located at the time of cataloguing.

With prices of 280SE V8 coupes and cabriolets now in the stratosphere, it is surely only a matter of time before the rare saloons follow suit, so at this ‘come and get me’ estimate, we’d suggest this is one to buy, restore and hold on to!