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Mercedes-Benz 600 SEL (W140) - a ship is coming

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Created on October 15, 2020

Text:

Sven Jürisch

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Daimler AG

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Leon Wiedenhoff

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Daimler AG

50

Leon Wiedenhoff

19

Mercedes-Benz 600 SEL (1992) - Business as usual. The W 140 was often the means of transportation for board members of large companies

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Mercedes-Benz 600 SEL (1992) - The smooth bumper was redesigned in 1995 for a more harmonious look

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Mercedes-Benz 600 SEL (1992) - A ship is coming. The S-Class was big and powerful

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Mercedes-Benz 600 SEL (1992) - A high loss in value meant that the saloon in particular quickly slipped into a dubious milieu

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Mercedes-Benz 600 SEL (1992) - The numerous chrome struts on the grille set the 600 apart from the other models

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Mercedes-Benz 600 SEL (1992) - Great cinema. When the 600 appeared, it was not unusual for a celebrity to be on board and the motoring press sensed their chance

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Mercedes-Benz 600 SEL (1992) - As the successor to the W 126, the S-Class of the 1990s was completely redesigned.

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Mercedes-Benz 600 SEL (1992) - length runs. The SEL was a joy for rear passengers. You had space

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Mercedes-Benz 600 SEL (1992) - Leather seats were not standard even in a 500. But only a few customers ordered the S-Class with velour

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Mercedes-Benz 600 SEL (1992) - Classic round instruments and a homely interior were intended to appeal to conservative customers

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Mercedes-Benz 600 SEL (1992) - A first-class ambience greeted the customer in the rear of a fully equipped S-Class

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Mercedes-Benz 600 SEL (1992) - No back pain. The W 140 has seats in a class of their own

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Mercedes-Benz 600 SEL (1992) - Until 1995, the famous dipsticks were extended at the rear to guide the driver

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Mercedes-Benz 600 SEL (1992) - The small 16-inch wheels are not very advantageous. Later there were larger rims and the car looked more harmonious

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Mercedes-Benz 600 SEL (1992) - top technology at a top price. A fully equipped 600 SEL cost DM 200,000 in 1993

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Mercedes-Benz 600 SEL (1992) - Every S-Class of the W140 model series had double glazing as standard

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Mercedes-Benz 600 SEL (1992) - A tidy affair. The chrome-plated tailgate handle extends discreetly on request.

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Mercedes-Benz 500 SE (1991) - A design study for the later S-Class

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Mercedes-Benz 500 SE (1991) - Testing in the wind tunnel

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Mercedes-Benz 500 SE (1991) - Stately car in front of an imposing staircase

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Mercedes-Benz 600 SEL (1991) - Swooshes by

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Mercedes-Benz 600 SEL (1991) - A 600 on the country road

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Mercedes-Benz 500 SEL (1991) - The couple is probably waiting for the chauffeur.

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Mercedes-Benz 500 SEC (1994) - On a test drive for the FDR driving dynamics control system developed with Bosch, which was introduced a year later as ESP

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Mercedes-Benz 500 SEL (1991) - The tall one by the lake

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Mercedes-Benz 600 SEC (1992) - The Coupe offered just as much luxury as the saloon, but only for two people

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Mercedes-Benz 600 SEC (1992) - With only two doors, but just as much luxury as the Lange

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Mercedes-Benz 500 SEL (1991) - Transports its occupants through the snow in style

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Mercedes-Benz 500 SEL (1991) - Would perhaps also qualify as the world's most luxurious snowplow

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Mercedes-Benz 600 SEL (1992) - To relieve the strain on the spine, Daimler came up with the seat belt reminder. This was already available in the predecessor coupé.

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Mercedes-Benz 500 SEL (1992) - The interior with lots of wood

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Mercedes-Benz 500 SEL (1992) - Comfortable seats, as you would expect from an S-Class

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Mercedes-Benz 600 SEC (1992) - Enjoy the view of the sea

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Mercedes-Benz 600 SEC (1992) - The new meets the original

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Mercedes-Benz S-Class (1992) - A design drawing

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Mercedes-Benz 600 SEC (1992) - Details of the design are discussed

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Mercedes-Benz S-Class (1992) - Two designers discuss the new S-Class

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Mercedes-Benz 500 SEC (1992) - A normal sight, an S-Class in front of a luxury hotel

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Mercedes-Benz 500 SEC (1992) - This too must have happened often. The S-Class driver climbs into the helicopter

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Mercedes-Benz 600 SEC (1992) - An S-Class Coupe enjoys the view

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Mercedes-Benz 600 SEC (1992) - The porter carries the luggage of Mr. and Mrs. S-Class driver.

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Mercedes-Benz 600 SEC (1992) - Also popular with golfers

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Mercedes-Benz 600 SEC (1992) - The V12 lettering indicates the top-of-the-range model

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Mercedes-Benz 600 SEC (1991) - The two top models 500 and 600 SEC

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Mercedes-Benz 600 SEC (1991) - Top coupes in front of a luxury villa

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Mercedes-Benz 300 SD (1992) - Somewhat smaller engines but they cut just as handsome a figure as their more powerful brothers

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Mercedes-Benz 500 SEL (1991) - Trailing arm axle

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Mercedes-Benz S-Class (1991) - Interior

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Mercedes-Benz S-Class (1991) - Production robots during production

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Mercedes-Benz S-Class (1991) - On the production line

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Mercedes-Benz S-Class (1991) - Luxurious all-rounder

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Mercedes-Benz S-Class (1994) - Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupé, safety window regulator. (Window stops when resistance is felt)

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Mercedes-Benz S-Class (1995) - On a frozen lake in the Arctic Circle near the Swedish town of Arjeplog

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Mercedes-Benz 500 SEL (1992) - As the successor to the W 126, the S-Class of the 1990s was completely redesigned.

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Mercedes-Benz 600 SEC (1992) - The design also benefited from new colors and an accentuation of the side line

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Mercedes-Benz 500 SEC (1992) - The V8 engine was the smallest engine version in the Coupé.

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Mercedes-Benz 500 SEC (1992) - German workmanship. Instead of foil, Mercedes used real wood for the trim parts

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Mercedes-Benz 500 SEC (1992) - The number of cylinders under the mighty front flap cannot be seen from the outside. Pure understatement

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Mercedes-Benz 500 SE (1992) - The S-Class of the 90s was the first mass-produced car to be equipped with a CAN bus system

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Mercedes-Benz 500 SE (1992) - The W 140 models were even available with xenon headlights shortly before the end of production.

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Mercedes-Benz 600 SEC (1992) - The initially fitted 16-inch eight-hole rims look like emergency wheels on the mighty car.

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Mercedes-Benz 600 SEC (1992) - A fax machine was the epitome of luxury in the early 90s. Even more so in a car.

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Mercedes-Benz 600 SEC (1992) - Daimler set standards with a sophisticated air conditioning system that could even include a rear air conditioning system

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Mercedes-Benz 500 SEC (1992) - Killer bee was the nickname of the Coupe. The reason for this was the facetted headlights, which were complex to manufacture

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Mercedes-Benz 500 SEC (1992) - After the model update in 1995, the Coupe appeared somewhat more elegant. The wheels became significantly larger

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Mercedes-Benz 500 SEC (1992) - S-Class with everything. The layout of the center console reflects the financial strength of the first buyer.

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Mercedes-Benz 500 SEC (1992) - Instead of dipsticks, Daimler installed an optical parking distance from the facelift onwards

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Mercedes-Benz 500 SEC (1992) - The W 140 Coupe looks downright modest against this backdrop

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Summary

Hardly any other car was as polarizing in the 1990s as the Mercedes-Benz S-Class W140 series. Too big, too ostentatious, that was the criticism. This criticism has since been silenced, because a W 140 is no bigger than a current Passat. Only much more sophisticated. But how does the top saloon, the 600 SEL from back then, feel today? This driving report focuses on the twelve-cylinder version of the Mercedes-Benz W140 series and portrays it in current and historical pictures.

This article contains the following chapters

Size counts
First class
Derivatives for more sales
Sacco out of fashion
Newly designed successor with new problems

Estimated reading time: 7min

Preview (beginning of the article)

When you think of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class of the 1990s, the story of the Autozug or the association with Helmut Kohl automatically comes to mind. Yes, it is true that the car train to Sylt was a bit cramped for the battleship of Mr. Mercedes alias Werner Niefer and yes, the lavish interior was an ideal travel and work space for the Chancellor of Unity. Malicious tongues claimed that the chancellor was consulted when the keel of the S-Class was laid in 1982, so ideally did the two merge over the years. And when Kohl left in 1998, the W 140 was also history. Schröder drove an Audi. But what made the W 140 S-Class the special class and legitimate heir to the best saloon in the world? For the target group, mostly gray-skinned managers or well-off senior citizens, the car was initially a shock after the staid W 126, as it broke with all the virtues of elegant restraint for which they had remained loyal to the now baroque-looking luxury liner.

Welcome to Zwischengas!

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