RE: SOTW: Mercedes S-class (W140)

[VeeFour]

williamp said:

I have one article where the writer calls the car and its air conditionned glovebox "silly".

Unbelievable. I've had 4 Passats in recent years - all had air-con in the glovebox, and the B6 can have it in the centre bin under the front arm-rest, too.

Fantastic invention - keeps your lunch / drinks cool.

[Schermerhorn]

mark seeker said:

A Top Gear clip from 1991 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgfsL3_Pw0o&fea...

That 600 SEL V12 had no leather interior. £85,000 + and leather was an option?

The best bit was that they got away with it

[esvcg]

Was looking around at these on google, then stumbled on some w140 interior prototypes which i find pretty cool.

[SuperHangOn]

Shame they didn't fit a diesel to the W140

[SuperHangOn]

williamp said:

Magnificent cars. There is another factor which may account for dissappointing sales: at the time, testers and writers felt the W140 was a very 80s cars- the ultimate expression of 80s excess. Which would have been fine in the 80s, but it was launched in the "caring/sharing" 90s, where it was seen as too big, too excessive, too much of a pleutocrat. I have one article where the writer calls the car and its air conditionned glovebox "silly".

Apparently shock of how darn good the Lexus LS400 was slowed down the launch by a few years, the W140 suddenly had to be made ridiculously over the top to keep its place.

[pSyCoSiS]

SuperHangOn said:

Shame they didn't fit a diesel to the W140

They did do a W140 '300 SD' model Turbo Diesel, but was only availbe in the continent.

I think it waa the same engine as fitted to the W210 E300 TD models?

[Pingman]

Anyone bought this yet?

[sim16v]

urquattro said:

Also the fact that Lady D etc were killed in one (no seat belts in use?) dented the cars reputation as much as the slab sided looks.

Here's something to ponder regarding the death of Lady Di.

The car that crashed wasn't the normal hotel chauffeur driven W140 500 S Class, it was one of the hotel's spare W140 320 S Class cars.

If she was in the normal W140 500, it had air bags for the rear seat passengers fitted in to the rear of the front seats, whereas the poverty model 320 didn't have them.

So, would/could she have survived if she was in a 500?

[BigBen]

sim16v said:

urquattro said:

Also the fact that Lady D etc were killed in one (no seat belts in use?) dented the cars reputation as much as the slab sided looks.

Here's something to ponder regarding the death of Lady Di.

The car that crashed wasn't the normal hotel chauffeur driven W140 500 S Class, it was one of the hotel's spare W140 320 S Class cars.

If she was in the normal W140 500, it had air bags for the rear seat passengers fitted in to the rear of the front seats, whereas the poverty model 320 didn't have them.

So, would/could she have survived if she was in a 500?

I always argued that if she was in a 500 they would have outrun any chasing Fiat Unos and mopeds miles before the accident so could have gone a bit slower through the tunnel.

Ben

[Strawman]

sim16v said:

So, would/could she have survived if she was in a 500?

Not wearing a seatbelt so probably not. The only survivor, the bodyguard in the front passenger seat, was wearing his belt and there is a front passenger airbag yet he still suffered head injuries. So no belt and with an airbag in the back very doubtful IMO.

[Ecurie Ecosse]

IIRC the car that Diana was in had been in a shunt before and had been repaired.

[rogerhudson]

The economics of old cars is completely bonkers, i can't get a half decent Citroen 2CV for the price of this S Class. An S class drivers seat has more power than a whole 2CV.Quite bonkers.

[niggtv]

When I click on the advert link it shows "This advert has been rejected by PistonHeads. View the latest PistonHeads fraud warnings here"

[Patrick Bateman]

£650? That's insane.

[VeeFour]

Looks like it has had a rear-end shut, though.

[AUDIHenry]

Schermerhorn said:

That 600 SEL V12 had no leather interior. £85,000 + and leather was an option?

The best bit was that they got away with it

My guess here, but I' not sure, is that MB Tex is preferred by many for its long life. I don't know if that was offered on the W140, but I would take it over leather.

[AUDIHenry]

BigBen said:

sim16v said:

urquattro said:

Also the fact that Lady D etc were killed in one (no seat belts in use?) dented the cars reputation as much as the slab sided looks.

Here's something to ponder regarding the death of Lady Di.

The car that crashed wasn't the normal hotel chauffeur driven W140 500 S Class, it was one of the hotel's spare W140 320 S Class cars.

If she was in the normal W140 500, it had air bags for the rear seat passengers fitted in to the rear of the front seats, whereas the poverty model 320 didn't have them.

So, would/could she have survived if she was in a 500?

I always argued that if she was in a 500 they would have outrun any chasing Fiat Unos and mopeds miles before the accident so could have gone a bit slower through the tunnel.

Ben

No car would save your life if you are not wearing seat belts.

[CampDavid]

A lex said:

You mean the shut line on the boot? I thought that too - I think its more a case of the boot needs adjusting on the stops. Its completely HPI clear and poking around under carpets in the boot and spare wheel well doesnt show up any accident repair. Everything else on the car seems to be straight and original too.

Worst car scenario = rear-end shunt = it was only 650 quid and it drives fine

I'd suggest that lid isn't original more by the paint, it's a slightly different shade.

As you say though, who cares? You'd get about £300 for it as scrap so if it dies tomorrow you're only down 10p a mile in depreciation. Of course it won't blow up and it'll last a fair while longer. Silly, silly cheap

[VeeFour]

AUDIHenry said:

My guess here, but I' not sure, is that MB Tex is preferred by many for its long life. I don't know if that was offered on the W140, but I would take it over leather.

You'd have an £85k car with plastic seats?

Pervert.

[CampDavid]

MB Tex is ideal for the suit wearer, it was designed to cause minimal wear to your Hugo Boss trousers (this may be rumour, an ex Merc salesman told me)