1970 Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL Sedan

The Mercedes-Benz 300SEL 6.3 is a luxury touring sedan built from 1968 to 1972. If there ever were a perfect definition of a 'sleeper' (Q-car in British parlance) this would be it. With a body and styling much like the famous (but slightly smaller) 240D Stuttgart taxis of the era, this was anything but: it was capable of 0-60 times just over six seconds, a standing quarter mile of 14.2 seconds, and a top speed of over 142 MPH. No wonder it was the fastest sedan in the world until 1980!

The 6.3 concept was the vision of company engineer Erich Waxenberger in 1966. His belief was simple: take the potent 6.3 L V8 M100 engine from the luxurious 600 limousine, and fit it to an unpretentious sedan, the W109. The W109 itself was offered with only six -cylinder engines at that time, and was a slightly longer and better equipped model than its companion W108. The result was a nearly 4,000 pound sedan with performance rivaling most dedicated sports cars of the era. When chief engineer Rudolf Uhlenhaut test-drove the prototype it wasn't long before he opened the hood to see how Waxenberger had fit that engine and supporting equipment in the bay.

The car was introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in March of 1968. What makes this car so unique is that it could cruise at over 120 MPH with five adults in complete comfort. The body was styled by Paul Bracq, and features an air suspension which contributes to its astounding ride quality. This particular car was delivered new in Detroit in 1970 and sold by Woods Motors.

By Daniel Vaughan | Aug 2014