The beauty of the Mercedes-Benz lifestyle lies in its diversity. Whether your passion is for open-top roadsters, luxury sedans, motorsports, or even the intersection of automobiles and fashion, there is always something to connect us. The world was deeply shaken by the passing of Giorgio Armani, a man whose influence reached far beyond the realm of clothing. His legacy in fashion and culture is undeniable, tied indelibly to American Gigolo... a film often referenced by R 107 owners and enthusiasts. Armani’s minimalist philosophy of “less is more” resonates with many of the same principles found in Mercedes-Benz design. That connection became tangible in 2003, when Mercedes-Benz collaborated with Armani on a special project: the CLK Designo by Giorgio Armani. Limited to just 100 cars, this collaboration brought Armani’s understated elegance into automotive form. “We very quickly found a common language,” Armani recalled. “It was fascinating to see how Mercedes-Benz turned my design ideas into reality with such attention to detail. I think the result speaks for itself.”
The cover of this issue of The Star is dedicated to that very car; a rare meeting of haute couture and automotive engineering. In other news, I am proud to share that MBCA has launched a new and improved web platform, complete with the longawaited return of forums. I have spent time organizing the initial discussion categories by chassis to give us a strong foundation for sharing knowledge and stories. Forums have always been dear to me; for many of us, they were our first digital gathering places as Mercedes-Benz enthusiasts. As always, thank you for your continued membership and support. I hope you enjoy this issue, which pays tribute not only to the icons who shaped our world but also to the timeless spirit of Mercedes-Benz that unites us all.
Happy reading,
RUBIN HOWARD Editor-in-Chief
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Welcome to the latest issue of The Star®! In this issue, we honor Bob Hartmann, President of the MBCA Central Florida Chapter, who recently passed away. Karl Ludvigsen wrote on the 12-year evolution and technical prowess of the 1914-1925 Mercedes 28/95. Axel Catton guides us through the evolution of the S-Class into modern times. You’ll find Buyer’s Guides for the W 108/W 109, the predecessor to the W 116 S-Class introduced 60 years ago, and the W 210/S 210 E-Class Sedan/ Wagon, which will celebrate 30 years in 2026.
The year 2025 marked the first full year with a new editorial team at The Star®, and we achieved several milestones. We published Buyer’s Guides in every issue for the first time since 2020, with two in each issue. Thanks to all our dedicated members and contributors for sharing stories, history, and lived experiences no one else can tell; we couldn’t have done it without you! This year, we also included an MBCA Workshop
STAFF
KATIE CARRUTH
Publisher
RUBIN HOWARD
Editor-in-Chief
editor@mbca.org
DAVID WOMMER
Associate Editor
Copy Editor
MATTEO DE SANCTIS
Design Director
ILKO NECHEV
Advertising Director
PIERRE HEDARY
Technical Editor
NICHOLAS PATTI
Contributing Editor
AXEL E. CATTON
Contributing Editor
KARL LUDVIGSEN
European Editor
BEN EVEREST
Market Expert
article by Pierre Hedary in every issue for the first time in over a decade. Thank you for your expertise and guidance, Pierre! We’ve added a directory of the 2025 Buyer’s Guides and MBCA Workshops in this issue as a handy reference.
In 2026, we will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Benz & Cie. and Daimler Motors Corporation’s merger (June 28, 1926), as well as the 70th anniversary of MBCA.
As the holidays approach, many of us are thinking about gifts for friends and family. I recommend a gift subscription to MBCA! It’s a meaningful gift that saves time, frustration, and money, thanks to the generosity of members passing down knowledge, skills, and abilities. We are also working on an upcoming digital library. It’s a gift that truly keeps on giving. See you in 2026!
DAVID WOMMER Associate Editor
EDITORIAL SUBMISSIONS
Please send submissions to: Rubin Howard, Editor-in-Chief editor@mbca.org
Please query The Star® first regarding possible editorial interest. We regret that we cannot always acknowledge or return materials submitted for consideration.
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Please contact: thestar@mbca.org
The Star® is the official magazine of the Mercedes-Benz Club of America Inc. (MBCA).
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Dear Editor,
I want to congratulate you and the editorial team on this latest issue. The layout is much improved, and the articles seem to be getting back to more car-based topics, which I think is of greater interest to members, and especially to attracting and keeping younger members. I think people want to know the history of the marque, how the cars work, how to maintain them, and how to have fun driving them. As the excellent article by Jim Roberts mentions, “… isn’t that what a car club is all about: enjoying cars”. Please, more of the how to enjoy driving your car-type of articles. I think the letter to the editor from Pierre Hedary raises pertinent points, and I also liked his workshop article on crashed cars. Many people may not work on their cars themselves, although they like to have some knowledge about their workings, how to maintain them properly, and how to find the right specialists to help them achieve that. I think these are the main reasons people look to join car clubs.
Keep evolving and keep up the good work.
Regards,
RICHARD BANKS
Elizabeth Bay NSW Australia
Dear Editor,
Having been fortunate enough to own a 500 E for these past 22 years, I was of course delighted by issue 2025.5 of The Star. The photo on pages 40-41, of the Porsche team with a 500 E, might possibly be my car, and I wondered whether any identification of the specific car was on the back of the original photo or otherwise available. The car in the photo is the correct color and has USA headlights; my car is very early production (11/30/1991, VIN ending in 42). Today, my car has done 101,xxx miles and is as great as ever; it’s the best car I’ve ever owned.
Many thanks,
RUSS
Response by the Editor:
Dear Richard,
Thank you very much for the kind regards. I continually seek ways to bridge the gap between technology and inspiration. Access to information and knowledge as to the engineering philosophies behind a Mercedes-Benz is a crucial element towards appreciating it; so is being able to explore the unknown behind the wheel of your car. We develop relationships and bonds with these vehicles, which ultimately become part of how we experience life. Our goals at The Star are not only to elevate your ownership experience and help you appreciate your star, but to unite the car and the enthusiast.
Onwards and upwards,
RUBIN HOWARD Editor-In-Chief
Response by the Editor:
Dear Russ,
After 22 years, your 500 E clearly chose the right owner! Unfortunately, there is no way to determine whether it is the same car or not, since our records do not highlight the vehicle's VIN in our images. Whether or not your 124.036 is a secret celebrity, the resemblance is uncanny. I am always glad to hear from another enthusiastic Porsche Owner (just kidding).
RUBIN HOWARD Editor-In-Chief
Dear Editor,
I want to alert you to a misstatement. In the 2025.5 issue, there is an article on the history and origins of the 500 E, as well as the Mercedes-Benz partnership with Porsche AG to produce it.
On page 39, the very last sentence in the last paragraph reads as follows:
“After 1993, Daimler-Benz took over the manufacturing and assembly of the 500 E.”
All 500 and E 500 models of the W 124 chassis were assembled by Porsche in Zuffenhausen. The facelifted E 500 models, which were produced as of July/August 1993, continued the pattern of the previous 500 E cars in being hand-assembled by Porsche.
Sincerely,
GERRY VAN ZANDT
Response by the Contributing Editor:
Dear Editor,
I’m writing to correct an error that appeared in our last issue. I refer to the statement in my story about the 500 E Mercedes-Benz that “After 1993 Daimler-Benz took over the manufacturing and assembly of the 500 E.” This was incorrect. Porsche continued producing this great automobile until the end of its manufacturing run, which finished in July or August 1995.
I have the honor of being contacted and corrected in this matter by Gerry Van Zandt, who has been running the 500 E Board since November 2008 with over 14,000 members. Owners and enthusiasts of the 500 E are encouraged to visit the group at 500Eboard.com. I am sure they will value its extensive knowledge about these cars.
As examples of the guidance available on the website, Mr. Van Zandt added the following: “We have tracked all VIN numbers for all 500 E/E500 models produced, and all photographs of cars listed for sale or auction over the past 25 years have been carefully preserved on the site. This serves as a resource for buyers, as all VIN numbers of cars sold in the past can be found on the site with a simple Google search.”
Regarding my article on these cars, Mr. Van Zandt mentioned that it “was actually nicely done overall.” He thoughtfully added some information that will be of interest, as follows:
All non-U.S. and non-Japan 500 E/E 500 models came with oil coolers from the factory. The facelift models featured larger brakes—both front and rear—compared to the original 500 E. Non-U.S. E 500 facelift models had even larger rear brakes than the U.S. models. Other improvements to the facelift cars made them a bit easier to live with: a revised and simpler serpentine belt-tensioner design, improved headlights for U.S. models, and the addition of cabin air filters.
The 1992 500 E models produced slightly more horsepower (322 as stated) before Mercedes-Benz removed wide-open throttle enrichment for the 1993 and 1994 models for emissions reasons. This adjustment lowered the horsepower to 317. It’s common for owners of later cars to replace their LH-Jetronic ECU with one from a 1992 model for a few extra horsepower at full acceleration.
I will end by quoting Gerry Van Zandt’s thanks: “for giving the 500 E/E 500 some love, and especially a cover story. The publicity for the model is much appreciated, and the quality of your article is very high.”
Yours with regards,
KARL LUDVIGSEN
Every season brings new energy to the Mercedes-Benz Club of America, but this autumn feels especially meaningful. As I reflect on what’s happening now, and what’s just around the corner, I’m filled with gratitude for the passion and dedication of our members. You are the heart of MBCA, and because of you, we are moving into one of the most exciting chapters in our history.
For many months, our team has been working to launch a new website that is not just modern and polished, but also more useful and enjoyable for you. We’ve listened to feedback and focused on a platform that makes it easier to find events, connect with others, and take advantage of your membership benefits. The website is more than just a facelift — it’s a tool for strengthening our community and making MBCA more accessible to members of every generation. We’re eager for you to see it, and I think you’ll agree it was worth the wait.
We are also engaged in a fundamental activity that will shape the future of our club: the 2025 Board of Directors election. By now, you should have received your personalized voting link from ElectionBuddy.com in an email.
This is your opportunity to make a difference. If you want change, you must vote for it. And in the future, if you’re looking for new ideas and leadership, you must also step up and run for the Board yourself. Impactful voices only come from members who step forward.
Voting is open until October 15, 2025. Please take a few minutes to cast your ballot — your vote is the most direct way to influence MBCA’s future direction. If you need a ballot, email mbca@electionbuddy.com.
Of course, October also brings one of our most anticipated traditions, the MBCA Raffle with your chance to win a 2026 AMG CLE 53 Cabriolet! Beyond the thrill of possibly driving away in this spectacular car, your raffle participation directly supports the club, helping fund programs and initiatives. It’s a fun way to celebrate our shared passion for Mercedes-Benz while ensuring MBCA remains strong for the future. You will find an envelope in this magazine where you may mail a check, or visit https://mbca.chance2win.org
Looking beyond autumn, we are nearing a milestone that fills me with pride and anticipation. 2026 will mark the 70th anniversary of MBCA! For seven decades, this club has brought together enthusiasts, collectors, and everyday drivers who share a love for the three-pointed star. Our story is one of camaraderie, community, and countless memories made on the road and at events. Even more meaningful is that our anniversary coincides with a major milestone for Mercedes-Benz itself: the 140th anniversary of Carl Benz’s patent and the birth of the automobile, and the 100th anniversary of Daimler-Benz AG (now Mercedes-Benz Group AG). Celebrating alongside the brand that inspires us will be truly extraordinary.
I also want to share a brief update on our 70th Anniversary Oral History Project with Publishing Concepts. While progress has taken longer than expected, I sincerely thank you for your patience. They have assured us the books and merchandise will be shipped before the end of the year. Ultimately, we believe the project will bring lasting benefits to members, and we are working diligently to make sure it meets expectations.
So, as we step into fall, we do so with excitement: a new website ready to connect us more fully, an election that will shape our future, a raffle that brings joy and support to our club, and the promise of an extraordinary anniversary year ahead.
See you on the road,
KATIE CARRUTH Chief Executive Officer
Mercedes-Benz 124.036 500 E Feature at Legends of the Autobahn
photographs Abraham Ruffi story David Abarr
Seven 500 E/E 500s enjoying each other's company. The eighth 500 E is not shown.
Car week once again returned to the picturesque Monterey Peninsula. Our premier event of the year, Legends of the Autobahn,” sharing the field with BMW Car Club of America and Audi Club North America, was front and center on Thursday, August 14, 2025. The variety and depth of this year’s “The Best or Nothing” have never been better.
From perfectly maintained original examples to bespoke modified cars, it was absolutely stunning to walk the field. These owners have raised the bar of what Legends of the Autobahn (LOTA) is today. This isn’t just another car show.
A Mercedes-Benz once again took home the Best in-Show award with a perfectly restored 1956 300 SL, black over red, featuring the iconic Rudge wheels, owned by John Sarkisyan of S-Klub LA. The People’s Choice Award went to a one-off recent build of a 1991 560 SEC wide body AMG Shooting Brake in white over a turquoise interior. This was the showstopper of a car. Spotted throughout Monterey Car Week, it was undoubtedly the most photographed car. Owned and created by brothers Shant and Tavit Meshefedjian of CMS Motorsports, it truly was the highlight of the week. This was also my choice for the Bruno Sacco Award, capturing the aesthetic and era that epitomizes Sacco. My Chairman’s Award went to Eric Bergstedt’s 1992 500 E. Eric’s car underwent a full nut-and-bolt rotisserie restoration and had attended LOTA many years ago before being restored. It is a time capsule, reminiscent of walking into a dealer in the early ‘90s. Eric drove the car up from Orange County, giving it a chance to stretch its legs. The 500 E really is happiest at 80 MPH on the freeway, as it hums along.
This year’s feature was the 500 E 124.036 chassis, celebrating the bond between Mercedes-Benz and Porsche. Attendees saw over 10 examples of this true autobahn legend. The number of modified and AMG cars showcased each year keeps increasing, and as we see how the car hobby has evolved, passion and enthusiasm are at an all-time high. The passion for Mercedes-Benz continues to grow, attracting a younger and more diverse group of enthusiasts.
Modern interpretations of the classics continue to grow, as personalization to the owner’s taste constantly evolves. The judging team, led by long-time Chief Judge Jon Bernardi, faces challenges from the diverse array of cars beyond our usual scope. This was supported by marque experts Blakley Leonard and Ben Everest of The MB Market, a Mercedes-Benz auction service. I would like to personally thank everyone who contributed to a very successful year at car week, too numerous to name. MBCA was well represented and stirred the car community at large. I walk away this year feeling ambitious, elated, and grateful.
A match at the Cincinnati Open unfolds with the grace and precision of a Mercedes-Benz in motion. Mastery under pressure,
performance at the highest level, and leaving a lasting impression
author ’s note
Mercedes-Benz is not a sponsor nor partner of the Cincinnati Open. The mention of Mercedes-Benz is offered as an editorial reference only, complementing the brand’s long-standing association with luxury, performance, and design excellence.
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Heated and cooled seats are not just an option in your Mercedes-Benz.
Similar to a Mercedes-Benz, the Cincinnati Open isn’t just about performance; it’s about elevating all aspects of the experience. Where it could be colloquially described as a quality tennis tournament, it now offers an experience that combines sport, culture, and travel, and in terms of size and atmosphere, it now feels more than ever like a Grand Slam. It’s therefore perfectly suited to a Mercedes-Benz audience, where value isn’t solely about performance and design on the road, but extends far beyond. Several of the sport’s biggest names, such as Ben Shelton, Aryna Sabalenka, Jessica Pegula, and Coco Gauff, have had the privilege of driving a Mercedes-Benz in the past. Their affinity for the brand reflects the same passion for excellence they display on the court, a parallel that highlights why tennis and the Cincinnati Open, in particular, appeal so much to our audience. Where Mercedes-Benz engineers turn driving into artistry, Cincinnati transforms competition into a performance, marrying precision with comfort and passion.
The Cincinnati Open has always hosted the world’s top tennis players, but in 2025, it also offers a high-end, elite lifestyle experience for attendees. By increasing the draw size to 96 from 56, the campus development is about more than just space — it’s about luxury. Tennis fans now enter a park-like grounds that hosts a Masters 1000 tennis event, featuring roofed lawns, interactive spaces, and fine dining. “We wanted to be good hosts,” Media Director for the tournament Pete Holtermann explains. “Our fans are here for six to eight hours a day, so we designed an experience that feels premium every step of the way.”
That two hundred and sixty million switch is experienced both on and off the court. The 2025 Cincinnati Open winner, Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, spoke about why Cincinnati is special: “I love the atmosphere, obviously. But you have to be ready for the challenge of playing Cincinnati, because the conditions are extreme.”
For Italian Jasmine Paolini, her opponent in the Cincinnati Open final, Poland’s Iga Swiatek, found that those conditions became a hidden advantage: “You know, the first days I wasn’t that good, because the ball is really, really fast, because of the courts too. It’s not easy to play with, and it’s always like that. The ball feels like it’s flying. But once you win one or two matches, you feel good. I think these conditions
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can enhance my serve, and even when I don’t make many mistakes, my ball still goes quick.”
World No. 1 Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka embraced the new mix of challenge and enjoyment: “I enjoyed, enjoyed those struggles I had here, some great matches before going to the U.S. Open. Also, the new location is quite different and nice. I really enjoyed here.” Italy’s 2025 Cincinnati Open runner-up Jasmine Paolini shared her thoughts on the Cincinnati crowd’s mood: “I think the atmosphere here is … energetic … I loved it. I love the crowd here. Even today was really, really good … even in the toughest moments, I was smiling because they cheered me up.” For Poland’s Iga Swiatek, the 2025 Cincinnati Open champion, “Honestly, the best memories, I would say, are kind of off the court, because we also have great friends here, and every year we come back, and it’s always really like a relaxed tournament, especially before New York.”
For fans who insist on the best seat in the house, Cincinnati offers an industry-first feature in North American sports: climate-controlled seating. Located on the baseline, these seats use chilled air to blow through them, a luxury reminiscent of ventilated seating technology found in some Mercedes-Benz vehicles. While the two are unrelated, this comparison highlights how innovative engineering can elevate the spectator experience to match that of the driving experience. This year, the Cincinnati Open introduced The Garden Club and Suites, a brand-new ultra-premium hospitality experience. With upgraded facilities, the dining options have also been enhanced. Chef Justin Carlisle, part of the Jet Tila and Levy team managing the food program, stated: “With the new facility, obviously everything has been upgraded. We are fortunate to have Chef Jett Tila.” When asked what fans are
The Linder Family Tennis Center, a cutting edge facility located in Mason, OH.
naturally drawn to in the region, Carlisle noted Southeast Asian cuisine. They enjoy poke bowls and Korean sliders.
Between matches, visitors can enjoy interactive grass-covered areas with cooking demonstrations, autograph signings, and Q&A sessions with tennis legends Tracy Austin and John Isner. Kids can test their serve speed, and lifestyle brands like Lululemon and Peter Millar have booth space inside The Cincinnati Shop.
Some fan comments include, “We drove nine hours to get here!” “I believe the best thing I like best at this place is greens and also flower arrangements are just beautiful,” and “The best players in the world are here.” The Cincinnati Open also goes the extra mile to provide for families and give back to the community. Each summer, it hosts a Kids Day celebration filled with interactive tennis activities, autograph signings, and live shows.Kids 12 and under receive half-price admission for certain sessions. Outside of the court, the tournament launched the Aces for Kids campaign, donating to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital for every ace tossed by a player during the tournament.
2025 Doubles Champion Rajeev Ram and his doubles partner Nikola Mektic shared their thoughts: “Yeah, it’s wonderful — it’s like playing in a country club in a sense. We were here for an incredibly long period of time, but the amenities and the welcome make it so much better, so much easier to be here for such a long period of time,” and “For me, it’s especially cool. This was probably one of the first tournaments that I ever played pro, so to get to see where it was and where it is now, and probably where it’s going to go, it’s really neat.” With sixty percent of the United States within a day’s travel, Cincinnati makes for a convenient summer vacation destination. “Two-thirds of the fans come from outside the region, so it is both world-class and accessible,” Media Director Pete Holtermann stated. For those who are taking an extended vacation, the grounds are next to Kings Island Amusement Park and Soak City Water Park, and downtown Cincinnati is a quick drive from there, with The Reds hosting baseball, Football Club Cincinnati matches, and music festivals.
Carlos Alcaraz, the winner of the Cincinnati Open Singles, was awarded a special Cincinnati Reds jersey on August 15, 2025, during the tournament, demonstrating how the event is deeply rooted in the city’s culture. Just as Mercedes-Benz engineers aim to improve every part of the driving experience, Cincinnati has also renovated its grounds to make each fan’s experience more than exceptional. That same attention to detail carries through to the event’s symbols itself. The Cincinnati Open trophy is designed by Rookwood Pottery, an artisanal, locally based firm with heritage tied to the tournament dating back 126 years. For young fans, that connection turns the trophy into more than just a prize; it becomes a history and cultural lesson about Cincinnati’s heritage.
All of these elements, from the intense on-court battles to the thoughtful fan experiences off the court, demonstrate how the Cincinnati Open has redefined what a 100 Masters tennis tournament can be. The Cincinnati Open is not just a professional tennis event; it has become an ultra-luxury summer lifestyle experience. From climatecontrolled viewing stands to its renovation and enhancement, it evokes comparison to Mercedes-Benz, where performance and luxury merge under the philosophy “The best, or nothing.”
A Tribute to Robert Hartmann
David Wommer, Former Southeast RD/Central Florida Member
Jon Douglas, MBCA Central Florida Former VP Bob Rolle, MBCA Central Florida Historian
Bob Hartmann, proudly wearing his AMG Private Lounge attire at a Central Florida event in February 2018.
The members of MBCA mourn the loss of President Robert “Bob” Eric Hartmann Jr. of Oviedo, Florida. Born in March 1956, Bob was the son of German immigrant and entrepreneur Robert Hartmann Sr. Bob registered his AMG in the Classic Motorsport Magazine’s Amelia Kickoff in both 2024 and 2025! He was selected to participate in the Cars & Community event at The Amelia in 2024, as well as the Lake Mirror Concours and Car Show, most recently in 2024, among several other events.
Bob Hartmann contributed to The Star. His latest piece was in issue 2024.3, pages 68-75, “The Italian Job,” where he recalled his and his wife’s journey through Tuscany during a trip with Nostalgic Driving Experiences. He described how much he enjoyed seeing multiple generations of classic SLs on their trip and reflected on where the marque has been and where it is today. Bob started the article with “Finding our roots is a universal passion. Whether it’s an art object or family heirloom, we are interested in its history. With our families, it’s the twists and turns that they have taken to bring us to where we are today.” Bob often shared his 2008 SL 55 AMG at many events in Florida over the years, one of just 25 in Majestic Black (a bluish-black) with Black Nappa leather.
According to Central Florida Chapter Historian F. Robert Rolle, PhD, the chapter historian, the chapter was founded in October 1976. The first president served for 21 years, and the fourth president, David Gray, served for 14 years. Bob Hartmann became the chapter’s sixth president in 2017 and served for just under eight years. In the fall of 2017, Dan Cabrera, Southeast Regional Director, called a meeting of members who had contacted him about revitalizing MBCA Central Florida. After much discussion, Bob Hartmann was elected as the sixth section president. He quickly assembled a management team to plan energizing activities. The January/February 2018 edition of the Around the Benz newsletter was 18 pages long.
Bob earned an MBA from the Rollins College Crummer Graduate School of Business, where he also taught, served on the Board of Directors of the Alumni Association, and was Board President from 2011 to 2014. Most recently, he worked as Vice President of Business Development for Soft-Link International, Inc., and he retired in 2020.
He was an avid soccer fan, played in local leagues, and enjoyed many rounds of golf. His warm and jovial personality earned him a large circle of friends who remained close until his final hour. He is survived by his wife Peggy and daughter Alyssa. He will be deeply missed.
70th Anniversary MBCA European Tours
story Katie Carruth
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photographs Arturo Rivas, Kristy Jane Russell, Claudio Schwarz
Lavender field in the Luberon Valley in Provence.
opposite
Imagine traveling through France in an elegant W 113 SL Pagoda or a glamorous R 107 SL?
Nostalgic and Mercedes-Benz Classic Car Travel are now partnering with MBCA for international travel experiences. With their proven expertise and deep understanding of Mercedes-Benz, we’re thrilled to join forces with a team that values camaraderie, conversation, and family spirit as much as the miles we drive.
During our 70th Anniversary Year, MBCA will launch three specially curated, members-only journeys created just for our community. These itineraries are designed to elevate the club experience, strengthen connections, and make MBCA membership more rewarding than ever, while helping our community grow, together.
You’ll be behind the wheel of beautifully maintained MercedesBenz classics, with an expert team leading the way to the best scenic byways, cafés, and viewpoints. And because it’s exclusively for MBCA members, the real magic is in the camaraderie—small groups, shared passions, and plenty of time to connect.
• Members-only, exclusive to MBCA. Travel with like-minded enthusiasts in a small, convivial setting.
• Relaxed stages, reliable roadbooks, bilingual tour staff; built-in networking and camaraderie.
Effortlessly elegant, unhurried, and unforgettable.
GRAND TOUR FRANCE:
Provence to the Riviera — Exclusively for MBCA Members Imagine a road trip straight out of a storybook — except this one’s real. The MBCA Signature Drive “Grand Tour France 2026” takes you from the quiet plains of Provence to the sparkle of the Côte d’Azur. Think Saint-Rémy, Avignon, and Arles; winding, château-lined roads through the Luberon; the fragrance-filled streets of Grasse; and a grand finale from Nice to Monaco and Cap-Ferrat.
Your first step into Italy — right beside the shores of Lake Maggiore, the tour opens in the gentlest possible way.
GRAND TOUR THE NORTHERN ITALY: Lake Maggiore to Milan: Your MBCA Grand Tour 2026
A journey where alpine panoramas meet lakeside charm. The MBCA Signature Drive “Grand Tour The Lakes 2026” starts along the peaceful shores of Lake Maggiore, welcoming you to Italy at its most inviting. From there, enjoy sweeping climbs over Monte Mottarone, the Riviera flair of Ascona, and leisurely drives past medieval castles and sparkling bays. Milan provides the grand finale: historic landmarks, world-class fashion, and a chance to see “The Last Supper”.
You’ll be behind the wheel of impeccably maintained MercedesBenz classics, guided by experts who know the best roads, cafés, and viewpoints. Exclusively for MBCA members, this tour combines breathtaking drives with genuine club camaraderie, small groups, shared passions, and friendships that last. Effortlessly elegant, unhurried, and unforgettable.
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Arrive in England, settle in, and then dive into two full days at the Goodwood Festival of Speed — where legends take the Hillclimb and the newest icons steal the spotlight.
GOODWOOD FESTIVAL OF SPEED, Made Effortless—Secure
Your Seat with GRRC Members-Only
Access
Goodwood, made easy. Grab your individual seat on a carefully curated tour to the world’s most thrilling celebration of speed and style. Arrive in England, settle in, and then dive into two full days at the Goodwood Festival of Speed — where legends take the Hillclimb and the newest icons steal the spotlight.
You’ll enjoy the comfort and views of the Kinrara Enclosure, plus exclusive access to the Goodwood Road Racing Club’s members-only hospitality, a rare chance to connect with fellow enthusiasts who share your passion. Come solo or bring a friend, share the excitement with a small group and the GRRC community, and leave with stories (and friendships) that last for years.
Seats are limited, reserve yours today!
coming in the next issue: Katie Carruth takes us along on her unforgettable South of France adventure in July with Nostalgic: sun-soaked roads, stunning scenery, all behind the wheels of beautiful W113 and R109 SLs!
AMG GT3, IMSA, and Formula One
story Nicholas Patti
School is back in session, football is underway, and that means our global motorsports series are nearing the home stretch of their championships, with Mercedes-AMG in contention in almost all of them. Since our last update, the summer break has ended in F1, IMSA has two races left on their schedule, and WEC has three rounds remaining, with Lone Star Le Mans in Austin, Texas. In DTM and other various GT championships in Europe, Mercedes-AMG customer teams are racking up wins and podium finishes across some of the most historic tracks on the continent.
above 2 Seas Motorsport crossing the line at the Nurburgring.
photographs Mercedes-AMG
Our Boldest Adventure Yet
Limited Edition: Make it yours before it’s gone
Introducing the Interstate 19X LE Outland Edition, a rugged and refined touring coach built for those who crave the edge of the map. With only 30 units ever to be crafted, this Limited Edition van is a rare breed, engineered with exclusive features found nowhere else in Airstream’s motorized lineup. From its bold design to its trail-ready performance, the Outland Edition brings you closer to the action than ever before. Whether you’re chasing sunsets or searching for unchartered territory, this is the adventure van that dares to go further, with style that turns heads and grit that gets you there.
Starting with Formula 1, the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team visited Belgium, Hungary, and the Netherlands. Throughout the European leg of the season, George has been, as he always is, Mr. Consistency. George navigated a competitive and tense field at Spa to bring his AMG home in 5th, while Kimi struggled to find his rhythm with his Mercedes in the Ardennes. F1’s return to Hungary for the 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix saw George make it back to the podium after a relatively lonely race with occasional battles against rivals and mixed conditions, but it also saw Antonelli finish in 10th, giving the team a much-needed double points finish and a boost to Kimi’s side of the garage. The 2025 Dutch GP marks the end of Formula 1 in the Netherlands, as Zandvoort will not be on the calendar in 2026. George did well to navigate a race filled with contact and yellow flags, bringing his AMG home in 4th, narrowly missing out on the podium, with 3rd place going to a well-deserving Isaack Hadjar. Kimi fought hard in a competitive midfield, but after an optimistic overtaking attempt on Charles Leclerc that resulted in contact and penalties, he finished 16th in the final classification.
With nine races left on the Formula 1 calendar, we visit Monza, Azerbaijan and Singapore next with Goerge in 4th in the drivers standings and Kimi 7th in points, while the team sits 3rd.
Turning our focus to Mercedes-AMG’s customer racing efforts, let’s review our current IMSA standings after a tense GT-only race at Virginia International Raceway. VIR is somewhat unique on the IMSA calendar since it hosts only a GTD Pro and GTD race, meaning there are no prototypes, LMP2, or GTP. After a race at Road America that involved a lot of contact and frankly, poor driving standards, the IMSA stewards changed the rules regarding overtaking and on-track battles, which significantly affected the racing here at VIR. Winward demonstrated pace all day in the GT3 Evo, but after contact mid-race and stewards’ decisions, they lost points relative to their championship rivals. Going into the weekend, Winward Racing still led the championship but by a smaller margin than before due to penalties from Road America. After a solid stint by Russell Ward, Philip Ellis took over and maintained a front-running pace through all the restarts and challenges. Their victory at VIR extended their lead in the GTD standings, with only Indianapolis and Road Atlanta remaining.
Shifting the sports car focus overseas, Mercedes-AMG has racked up wins in DTM, GT Open, GT World Challenge, and GT Europe over the last several weekends at tracks like Paul Ricard, the Nurburgring, and more. As a result, Mercedes-Benz finds itself leading the GT World Challenge standings as the final few rounds of the championship approach.
The World Endurance Championship has been absent for a few weeks but is set to return to Circuit of the Americas for the Lone Star Le Mans on the first weekend of September. Following success in the European Le Mans Series at Imola with a podium finish, Iron Lynx and Mercedes-AMG aim for better results in endurance racing. WEC has two remaining races on its calendar after COTA, with events at Fuji International Speedway in Japan and the season finale in Bahrain, both of which are likely to favor the AMG. The two Iron Lynx MercedesAMGs currently occupy the last two positions in the championship, but there’s still ample time left for them to make some inroads.
above George navigating the Dutch dunes on his way to 4th.
On top of everything else, we recently saw a teaser a few weeks ago of a new GT car from Mercedes-AMG, heavily camouflaged and shown in close-up shots, disguising the major features of the car, but with the AMG GT now nearing six years as a GT3 platform, we’re eager to see what Mercedes-AMG motorsports will introduce next with a new platform down the road. If the new GT uses the same powertrain as the GT63, it could be the first AMG GT3 to have turbos in a category filled with turbocharged cars, or it might feature a unique, competition-focused naturally aspirated V8 like its predecessors. Either way, it’s bound to shake up the competition.
Mercedes-Benz owners and fans have plenty to look forward to, as the next two to three months will see AMG drivers score more wins and possibly multiple championships worldwide across various categories, with pros and amateurs behind the wheel of the threepointed star. Here in the U.S., you can catch all the F1 action on F1TV or ESPN, IMSA on Peacock, WEC on HBO, and other GT championships for free on YouTube every weekend.
The Winward Mercedes-AMG hitting its marks on its way to P2.
From Humble Beginnings to a Thriving Global Community
SOCIETY
story and photographs
Deiter “Doc” Hertling
In the drizzly embrace of the Pacific Northwest, a modest dream took root — a dream that would unite thousands of individuals worldwide through a shared passion for one of the most versatile vehicles ever made: the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van. That dream became the Sprinter Owners Group, founded in 2020 by van enthusiast and 4x4 Sprinter owner Dieter “Doc” Hertling. What began as a small online gathering of local adventurers has evolved into an expansive community, spanning borders and forging bonds that transcend the road.
A SpARk OF INSpIRATION
Doc’s original vision was simple: a small, local Facebook group where Sprinter van enthusiasts in the Pacific Northwest could connect for meetups, share tips, and maybe plan a weekend trip or two.
“I just thought it would be fun to have a group of people to swap ideas about van builds, special campsites, talk about maintenance, and share stories from the road,” Doc reminisces. “Honestly, I expected maybe 50, 100 members tops.”
Instead, the group grew beyond Doc’s wildest expectations. Fueled by the universal appeal of van life and the power of social media, the Sprinter Owners Group quickly expanded. By 2024, the group had amassed more than 6,000 members from across the United States, Europe, Canada, and beyond. It wasn’t just a club anymore — it was a movement.
A DIGITAL GARAGE FOR VAN ENThUSIASTS
At the heart of the Sprinter Owners Group lies its bustling Facebook page, a digital hub where members exchange ideas, showcase their custom van builds, and share unforgettable travel stories. The page is a treasure trove for both new and experienced van owners, offering answers to technical questions, advice on upgrades, and inspiration for life on the road.
Posts range from detailed tutorials on solar panel installations to panoramic photos of vans perched on the edges of scenic overlooks. Members like Lisa Hernandez from Oregon praise the group for its
Exploring the unknown using the world's most versatile vehicle, the Sprinter Van.
A row of modified Sprinter Vans travelling through the Pacific Northwest.
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welcoming spirit. “It’s like having thousands of neighbors who know exactly what you’re going through.” she says.
The page is moderated by a dedicated team that ensures discussions remain positive and productive. From Doc’s hands-on guidance to contributions by seasoned mechanics and engineers, van builders and equipment suppliers, the collective expertise available in the group makes it an invaluable resource for anyone navigating the challenges and joys of Sprinter van ownership.
ThE MAGIc OF REAL- wORLD cONNEcTION
While the Facebook group serves as the community’s digital backbone, its real-world events are what truly bring members together. The annual North Cascades Sprinter Rally, held in the majestic North Cascades Mountains of Washington State, is the highlight of the year, attracting participants for a weekend of camaraderie, workshops, and adventure.
“It’s not just about the vans — it’s about the people,” Doc emphasizes. “We’ve seen lifelong friendships, business partnerships, and even a few romantic connections blossom at these rallies.”
Smaller gatherings take place year-round. From caravan trips along Washington’s coastline to rugged mountain jaunts in the Cascades, these events provide opportunities for members to bond over shared experiences while exploring some of the most breathtaking landscapes in the world.
Aerial view of the Annual North Cascades Sprinter Rally held in the North Cascades Mountains of Washington State.
BE yOND BORDERS: A GLOBAL phENOMENON
Though its roots are firmly planted in the Pacific Northwest, the Sprinter Owners Group has grown into a global community. Members from as far as Germany, Australia, and South Africa actively participate, sharing their unique van builds, travel itineraries, and cultural perspectives.
For members like Jake Simmons, the group’s global reach is one of its most inspiring aspects. “I never thought I’d be trading van upgrade tips with someone from Europe, but here we are. It’s incredible how a shared passion can connect us across continents.”
ThE ROAD AhEAD: BUILDING A BRIGhTER FUTURE
As the Sprinter Owners Group continues to expand, Doc remains focused on creating value for its members. Plans for the future include:
1. A Dedicated Website: A comprehensive platform featuring detailed guides, exclusive content, and an online store offering discounted parts and accessories.
2. National Rally Events: A cross-country caravan culminating in a national gathering, with activities ranging from hands-on workshops to live music and vendor expos.
3. Mentorship Programs: Pairing experienced van builders with newcomers to foster collaboration and learning.
Despite the rapid growth, Doc is committed to preserving the group’s core mission: fostering meaningful connections. “It’s never been about the number of members,” he says. “It’s about the quality of the relationships we build and the shared experiences we create.”
ADVENTURES ON whEELS: SIGNATURE EVENTS
The Sprinter Owners Group has curated a series of signature events that reflect its members’ adventurous spirit and desire for connection. Some of the standout events include:
1. The Recovery Training Rally: Held in Washington, this hands-on workshop equips participants with essential skills for off-road challenges, including tire changes, winch operation, and trail navigation.
2. The Oktoberfest Campout: Taking over the Bavarian-themed village of Leavenworth, Washington, this festive event combines scenic camping with lively celebrations of beer, bratwurst, and music.
3. North Cascades Highway Caravan: A picturesque journey through one of America’s most scenic highways, featuring stops at hidden campsites and iconic overlooks. These events not only bring members together but also empower them to fully embrace the adventure van lifestyle.
A cULTURE OF cOLLABORATION
Partnerships with industry leaders have played a significant role in the group’s success. Vendors like Mercedes-Benz of Lynnwood (WA) regularly participate in rallies, offering expert advice, exclusive discounts, and coveted raffle prizes. These collaborations ensure members have access to high-quality resources for customizing and maintaining their vans.
below Though its roots are firmly planted in the Pacific Northwest, the Sprinter Owners Group has grown into a global community. Members from as far as Germany, Australia, and South Africa actively participate, sharing their unique van builds, travel itineraries, and cultural perspectives.
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All-terrain tires and 4x4 Sprinters offer a very capable, versatile platform for adventurers seeking van life.
ThE SpRINTER LIFE: MORE ThAN A VEhIcLE
For many members, their Sprinter van represents more than just a mode of transportation — it’s a gateway to freedom, creativity, and self-discovery. Whether it’s a meticulously crafted mobile office or a minimalist camper built for off-grid living, every van tells a story.
“Van life is about more than travel,” Doc says. “It’s about living intentionally, connecting with others, and appreciating the journey as much as the destination.”
DRIVING INTO ThE FUTURE
With its unique blend of online resources, real-world events, and a global network of passionate members, the Sprinter Owners Group has become a shining example of what’s possible when people come together around a shared love of adventure. For Doc Hertling and his 6,000-strong community, the journey is far from over — it’s just getting started.
So, the next time you see a convoy of Sprinter vans on the highway, don’t just wave. Join them. The open road is calling, and the Sprinter Owners Group is leading the way.
INTERESTED
IN jOINING ThE SpRINTER OwNERS GROUp?
Search for them on Facebook and start your next great adventure today.
S-CLASS
story
Axel E. Catton
EVOLUTION
Mercedes-Benz Classic
After our recent experience with the Mercedes-Benz 250 SE, a car Mercedes-Benz does not officially classify as an S-Class, featured in The Star issue 2025.5, we became interested in the history and evolution of the S-Class.
"If seven is heaven, six point nine is divine!"
Compared to the W 108/W 109 generation of sedans, the W 116s, designed by Friedrich Geiger based on sketches by Paul Bracq, represented perhaps the biggest departure from any range-topping Mercedes-Benz. While the predecessors were deeply rooted in tradition with instrument binnacles which looked like they were placed on top of wooden dashboards, along with vent windows and upright A and C pillars, the W 116 generation clearly looked toward a distant future. At our meeting on the Mercedes-Benz test track in Immendingen, Mercedes-Benz brought out the “granddaddy” of W 116s, a 1978 450 SEL 6.9. They say “if seven is heaven, six point nine is divine,” and there’s some truth there.
I personally would have loved to see a more everyday version like a 350 or even the six-cylinder 280 SE, but on its own, the 6.9 liter is a car everyone should have driven at least once in their lives. 417 cubic inches, V-8, 286 hp at 4,250 rpm, and 405 lb-ft of torque at a modest 3,000 rpm. What more could you ask for? Other than perhaps more gears, because in the 1970s, the Über-S had to settle for just a three-speed automatic.
When launched over 50 years ago, the W 116 showed the world what a luxury sedan would have to look like inside — which remains true to this day. Instrument binnacle with three analog instruments under a glare-protecting hood, center console with all relevant switches and operations, centrally mounted radio, large center armrests, mirrors controlled from the inside, and headrests all around. Of course, it feels old(er) but not dated. The W 116 was also
The entire S-Class lineage. W 116, W 126, W 140, W 220, W 221, W 222, W 223.
the first-ever S-Class to receive a diesel engine, in the U.S. marketonly, the 300 SD five-cylinder.
Driving the 6.9 V-8 offers an experience almost unlike any other. Power steering, power brakes, and automatic transmission make it very easy to maneuver out of its space at the Emmendingen track and swiftly into traffic on the open road. While we easily keep up with cars around us, the 6.9, which was only available in LWB form, doesn’t break a sweat. But once we’re on the open road, it’s ready to pounce, Dr. Jekyll turning into Mr. Hyde. Despite being fitted with hydropneumatic suspension as standard (unlike its predecessor in spirit, the 300 SEL 6.3 which was air sprung, the 450 lifts its nose noticeably, rear down, and gets to work. The whisper turns into a growl more raucous than you’d expect. Handling the big ship is a handful — you multiply weight by tire size by the lack of ABS or ESP; and you’re halfway there. Did it impress me as much as the 6.3? Probably not, simply because its base, the 450 SE/L, is so much more sophisticated, and the effort needed to upstage it is even greater.
In 1980, the world was introduced to a Mercedes-Benz design by Italian Bruno Sacco. For many, including myself, Sacco’s W 126, successor to the W 116, is perhaps the pinnacle of timeless MercedesBenz design. A late 1991 W 126 with 15-inch Gullideckel aluminum wheels still cuts a socially impressive figure today. Unlike the W 116, which was a clear revolution, the 1980s W 126 is perhaps the most timeless automobile Stuttgart has ever manufactured, including the Porsche 911. Power seat controls moved to the door near the inside handle, where they would stay for the next 40 years. The seats are massive, and the driving position is nearly perfect. Nothing in the interior suggests the development of the W 126 began in the mid-1970s.
Once again, Mercedes-Benz offered us the top-of-the-line 560 SEL. Originally designed for the U.S., it was made available worldwide during the W 126’s remarkably long 12-year production run. Starting from the 1985 model year, customers could choose the 338 cu. in. (5.5 L) V-8 engine with 279 hp, making the W 126 the most powerful Mercedes-Benz passenger car. The W 126 also saw the introduction of driver and passenger airbags, traction control, and the extremely beautiful C 126 Coupe.
Without wanting to spoil too much, driving the W 126 was perhaps the strongest confirmation of Mercedes-Benz engineering excellence among the seven generations we tested. The 1991 sedan we were in, still 34 years old, felt remarkably modern in many ways. Its lower weight and improved drag coefficient of drag (Cd) of 0.36 bring it much closer to what we expect from a modern sedan in handling and performance. Not in fuel consumption, though, but today was not our day to fill up.
In 1991, the controversial W 140 sedan, launched worldwide, speaking of weight and fuel consumption. I am old enough to remember the introduction and all the fallout clearly. After 12 years of W 126 elegance, the W 140 seemed like a step back in time. It was controversial because the elegance was gone, as were the proportions which made the W 126 timeless. At launch, the W 140 (and its equally sizable coupe sibling, the C 140) were state-of-the-art vehicles introducing a fully connected CAN bus electrical system
The iconic W 126, perhaps one of the most timeless automobiles ever manufactured in Stuttgart.
and double-glazed windows — and, for the first time, a 6.0 L V-12. Several years earlier, German rival BMW had launched their 750i V-12, which achieved something Mercedes-Benz wasn’t used to: the BMW outperformed the outgoing W 126 in comparisons.
The V-12 was available in W 140 shortwheelbase and V 140 long-wheelbase 600 SEL models, delivering 408 hp. Top torque of 420 lb-ft. came in at 3,800 rpm, which was impressive, but compare it to the 6.9 a decade and a half earlier. Despite its hefty appearance, Cd was reduced to an impressive 0.30. In my very personal opinion, the light elegance of the 140’s predecessor was gone, the greenhouse too high, and the overall feel was off — something its own designer reportedly agreed to in later years. To help navigate the large rear end when reversing, Mercedes-Benz originally added small rods on top of the rear fenders for the driver to see. In 1995, they replaced them with electronic Parktronic sensors. However, the W 140 generation has its devoted followers for its solidity, quietness, and serenity. On the road, the W 140 clearly shows its width, and while the V-12 in our 600 SEL powers the car impressively, I can’t shake the feeling the 140 has aged worse than the 126. Sorry, folks.
It’s 1998 now, and the W 140 is replaced after only seven years on the market by the W 220. At the time, in the late 1990s, I worked for one of the Mercedes-Benz competitors and clearly remember how much we viewed the sleek W 220 (Cd 0.27) as a threat to our own model. Lighter, more modern-looking, and packed with technology, the 220 marked a huge departure from the 1990s Mercedes-Benz design. For the first time, the front broke from the square headlight tradition of the previous 20 years. Additionally, air suspension became standard on all models except AMG variants and the V-12 600, while 4MATIC all-wheel drive became available for the first time. Inside, COMAND introduced color navigation screens and extensive steering wheel controls. However, the 220 generation was not without its critics, as the use of lower-quality steel and a drop in production quality took their toll on the Mercedes-Benz reputation. Driving the 220 feels less impressive than the 140, despite its weight and size. To me, the 220 feels like an aging used car, caught between the younger used cars for daily driving and the classic models. The W 221, introduced in 2005, was produced until 2013 with over half a million examples. Compared to the W 220, the dimensions were similar, but the 221 is clearly more modern and
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The hefty W 140 generation has its devoted followers for its solidity, quietness, and serenity.
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Lighter, more modern-looking, and packed with technology, the 220 marked a huge departure from the 1990s Mercedes-Benz design.
appears more mature. Sculpted wheel arches give it a muscular look. This generation was the first to feature a variety of electronic assistants as we know them today, including the electronic operating system COMAND, Brake Assist, and Attention Assist, all standard features. It also offered radar-operated cruise control Distronic, High Beam Assist with adaptive lighting, and, for the first time, traffic sign recognition. For our quick drive around the area, Mercedes-Benz provided an S 500 L at hand: 4,663 cm³ (285 cu. in.) V-8 engine with 435 hp at 5,250 rpm and torque of 258 lb-ft. from 3,000 rpm. The W 221 is the first S-Class which truly drives like any modern Mercedes-Benz, which demonstrates the high level of engineering of a car launched 20 years ago.
The W 222 is the final of the lot of “classics” for us today. Technically, the W 222 used the platform of the W 221, making it, in theory, a variant of the W 221 generation. However, it introduced a wide range of new technology, making it a new car in its own right. The S 500 was the first S-Class with a gasoline engine utilizing a particulate filter, while the S 400 Hybrid, based on the S 350, was the first gas-electric model in an S-Class. Later on, the S 500 e plug-in hybrid became available with the M 276 3 L V-6.
Our last drive of the day was a 4.0 L Bi-Turbo V-8 S 560 L with DISTRONIC plus, ROAD SURFACE SCAN, detecting bumps in advance and countering them with MAGIC BODY CONTROL. 469 hp and no less than 516 lb.ft. of torque from super low 2000 rpm catapulted this rocket in 4.6 seconds to 62 mph. The fact you could do all this while massaging your backside with a half dozen massage settings, was only the added extra. Most impressive for me on this last ride before getting back into our 2025 S was how agile, how responsive, how surefooted a 2020 two-ton sedan could be. At no point did this last of the “older generation S-Classes” lose grip or make us feel like we overdid it. A result of all the electronic assistance systems, no doubt, but also Stuttgart engineering.
As I return to the ranch, we all talk about the thing every car enthusiast wants to discuss. “With all the keys in the bowl, which ones would we like to take home now?” And I think it was clear from the start. As much as I love the granddaddy, the 450 SEL 6.9, it has to be the W 126 for me. Elegance, engineering, sophistication, safety. This would actually make a great S-Class slogan for the last 53 years.
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The W 221 is the first S-Class which truly drives like any Mercedes-Benz, which demonstrates the high level of engineering of a car launched 20 years ago.
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The W 222, a beautiful evolution of the W 221.
THE DESIGNER AND THE STAR:
Armani’s Lasting Automotive Legacy
story Arya Kani
photographs Mercedes-Benz Classic
Giorgio Armani, 1934-2025, leaves a legacy that extends far beyond the runways of Milan and red carpets worldwide. He transformed the way we think about elegance, style, and how clothing tells a story. But perhaps less talked about is his connection to the car — what happens when fashion intersects with auto engineering, when fabric and leather, color and finish, and craftsmanship are asked to communicate a common language. Armani’s collaboration with Mercedes-Benz stands out as one of the rare moments when two very different design houses came together to create something timeless, unique, and collectible.
FROM LEAThER TO METAL : ARMANI AND ThE AUTOMOTIVE wORLD
Fashion and automobiles share many qualities: form, style, identity, and desire are just a few. Armani understood this well. He wasn’t just a man who dressed people beautifully; he believed in how things look, how materials feel, how colors work, even in motion. His rise to fame in pop culture is closely tied to his role in “American Gigolo” (1980). When Julian Kay cruises through Los Angeles in a Mercedes-Benz R 107 SL roadster, dressed in Armani suits, it was more than just fashion — it was about the car, the suits, the light, and the lifestyle, all shaping an image people wanted to emulate. Armani’s work in that film set a new standard for men's fashion: relaxed tailoring, lighter colors, and the use of linen and silk. It remained elegant but marked a shift from the stiff tailoring of the past. While the film could have focused on crime, glamour, or alienation, many remember how he looked, how he moved, and how his presence in that car transformed a prop into an icon.
Armani also personally owned Mercedes-Benz. His private vehicles included G-Class and S-Class Coupe models. These weren’t just modes of transportation; they were symbols of style and identity. Armani understood that a car isn’t just about speed or comfort; it's a way for someone to showcase themselves to the world.
Giorgio
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Armani alongside the CLK Designo by Giorgio Armani.
editor ’s note
Thank you to Lauren Latorre @mercedesmodernclassic for helping source photos.
above A bird's eye view of a very special CLK Designo by Giorgio Armani. The vehicle exterior is painted in an Armani-trademark designo Magno Sabbia (Italian Sand) color, with discreet green shading.
above Cuoio, a prized saddle leather, was utilized in this design, united with high-tech sportswear textiles.
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The soft top, the color of which was carefully chosen to complement the vehicle body, was developed exclusively for this high-class limited-edition series.
MERcEDES - BENz AND “cLk DESIGNO By
GIORGIO ARMANI”
A significant part of Armani’s automotive story is his first collaboration in the early 2000s. The car Armani and MercedesBenz made together was the CLK 500 designo Giorgio Armani, revealed in fall 2003 at Milan Fashion Week and released in 2005 as a very limited series of 100 cars.
Developed at the Mercedes-Benz former interior design studio near Lake Como, this special project was led by Verena C. Kloos. She managed every detail of color, material, and finish, working closely with Armani and his team to bring this unique collaboration to life. To embody this vision, the concept included specific details for both exterior and interior designs.
The exterior wass finished in designo Magno Sabbia paint (Italian "sand"), a warm, sandy matte tone drawn straight from Armani’s signature color world. Today, matte paint is everywhere, but back then, this was radical; few companies even had the technology to produce it.
Instead of bright chrome, the metal accents were deliberately muted with an aged patina, avoiding glare and giving the surfaces the same quiet sophistication that Armani preferred in tailoring. Even the AMG wheels were painted to match the body, in Sand Dune metallic, creating a seamless flow between sportiness and elegance.
The interior was equally stylish, featuring a distinctive two-tone design with brown and beige designo leather, Alcantara, and quilted
textiles, paired with fabrics borrowed from Armani’s sportswear lines, breathable and soft to the touch, reminiscent of a finely tailored suit.
Nothing shouted; everything was restrained, balanced, luxurious in an understated way. Armani himself said of the project, “This is a car that blends classic with the cutting edge. A car which is elegant yet at the same time extremely dynamic.”
What always distinguished Armani was that he saw design not as art for art’s sake but as something that forms identity. He once said, in reference to the CLK project, “We very quickly found a common language. It was fascinating to see how MercedesBenz turned my design ideas into reality with such attention to detail. I think the result speaks for itself.” His collaboration with Verena C. Kloos was more than contractual; it was creative. Kloos, speaking of the project, stressed that “the approach to our work was characterized by the highest levels of professionalism and aesthetic aspiration.
Perhaps unfamiliar to those of us here in America, this CLK was never available in the U.S. and was only exclusive to the European and Asian markets. With only 100 of these cars ever built, their scarcity has made them highly sought after by collectors. Originally offered as a kind of rolling couture for nearly 87,000 EUR in 2005 ($102,350 in 2005, which is approximately $173,880 in 2025), they are now commonly seen trading in six-figure ranges. They are appreciated not only for their rarity but also for what they represent: a point in time when Mercedes-Benz partnered with one of fashion’s greatest names and set a trend that would influence the entire industry.
LOOkING BAck , MOVING FORwARD
With Armani gone, this project stands as a key moment when fashion and automotive design icons truly intersected. Not just for show, but for the craftsmanship, honesty of materials, and taste. The CLK designo by Giorgio Armani serves as a reminder that cars can be more than just transportation; they can be a form of art in motion.
In remembering Giorgio Armani, we recall not just the seamless cuts or the soft glow of his runway shows, but also how he appreciated the elegance of structured forms in motion. The steering wheel, the grain in a leather seat, the way matte paint can shift shadows and reflections. These were parts of his world. And thanks to a collaboration with Mercedes-Benz, we have physical works that continue to speak.
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The exterior wass finished in designo Magno Sabbia paint (Italian "sand"), a warm, sandy matte tone drawn straight from Armani’s signature color world. Today, matte paint is everywhere, but back then, this was radical; few companies even had the technology to produce it.
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A certificate of authenticity came with each CLK Designo by Giorgio Armani.
story Karl Ludvigsen
Mercedes 28/95: Kaiserpreis to Targa Florio
Bridging World War 1, the Mercedes 28/95 starts as a prize aero engine, races in 1913, misses out at Indy, inspires a Rolls-Royce V-12, is produced in 1914, revived and improved in 1918, wins its Targa class in 1921, and is manufactured to 1925.
images Mercedes-Benz Archives
Daimler-built engines were used in the air as early as 1899 for airship propulsion. Initially, the Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft (DMG) provided four-cylinder engines to several experimenters working on lighter-than-air craft, including Count Zeppelin. Therefore, it made sense for them to be the engine maker for the winged aircraft that Europe began to take seriously after the Wright brothers demonstrated their flyer at Le Mans in the summer of 1908.
Work started that year at the DMG in Cannstatt on a 60-bhp aircraft engine. An inline four-cylinder with pushrod-operated overhead valves, it was boosted to 70 bhp in 1911. Paul Daimler’s team also developed an inline six-cylinder aircraft engine with a single overhead camshaft driven by a vertical shaft. Meanwhile, other European companies had begun to legitimize the overheadcamshaft concept, which was once controversial. Small cars made by Gaggenau used this design as early as 1906. Two marques, Clement Bayard from France and Weigel from England, introduced overhead camshafts in the 1908 French Grand Prix.
During these experimental years, the placement of the camshaft overhead complemented innovative and compact valve arrangements. With two valves per cylinder, inclined at a 30-degree included angle, the first Mercedes aircraft engine used partially enclosed rocker arms in individual housings. However, since the cylinders were cast from iron, its power-to-weight ratio was inadequate for successful aeronautical applications.
The DMG and other engine makers were encouraged to develop better aircraft power units on January 27, 1912 — the Kaiser’s birthday — when it was announced that a “Kaiserpreis,” under the patronage of Prince Henry of Prussia (the Kaiser’s brother), would be awarded on January 27, 1913, for the best German aero engine. Offering a top prize of 50,000 gold marks, the competition would be evaluated based on low fuel consumption and high power relative to light weight. An observer later noted that this event “can be designated as the approximate beginning of the fantastic upswing of the German air-engine industry.”
The results of tests on 44 engines from 26 builders showed that the Benz Type FX, a pushrod overhead-valve four-cylinder, won but later proved less successful in the air. Daimler engines took second and fourth places. The second-place Daimler engine, which earned 30,000 gold marks, was a six-cylinder—the only one of its kind to bump fours out of the top five. It first ran in October 1912, and its six-cylinder engine was built with an exceptionally strong yet lightweight cylinder design, weighing only 388 pounds. An earlier Daimler six with larger bore and cast cylinders, weighed 150 pounds more and produced only 14 1/2 more horsepower.
Cylinders for the new Daimler aero engine were fabricated around a lathe-turned steel-cylinder wall and chamber, into which intake and exhaust ports were welded. A water jacket of thin steel sheet was oxyacetylene-welded around each pair of cylinders. This helped keep the construction light, with each bare pair of cylinders weighing only 22 pounds. The innovation was more in the use of a steel cylinder than in the attached sheet-metal water jacket. For example, the “Kaiserpreis” Benz engine featured jackets around cast-iron cylinders, but DMG successfully implemented the method.
Paul Daimler’s designers realized that cast cylinders could not contain the higher brake mean effective pressure they aimed to develop. They chose steel cylinders for their high strength and lightweight nature, a benefit confirmed during tests in mid-1911. Using a single overhead camshaft operating two 50 mm valves per cylinder through rocker arms let them reduce the size and weight of the cylinder needed to produce a given amount of power.
Known as the Type F10546 during development, this 105 x 140 mm engine for a 7,250 cc six-cylinder was redesigned for production as the Type DF80 (DF for Daimler Flugmotor, 80 for nominal power). Initially delivering 90 1/2 bhp at 1,400 rpm, it weighed 313 pounds. (The Kaiserpreis tests showed 90 PS at 1,387 rpm and 344 pounds). Daimler quoted a price of £485 ($653.52) in 1913, for the engine in February 1913 ($21,543 in 2025 dollars).
“The German army air service preferred the Mercedes,” wrote engineer Derek Taulbut, “and it was the prototype from which a range of derivatives of steadily increasing power was developed and built in large quantities over the following six years.” The aviation authorities ordered their first nine engines from DMG for trials and installed some in the widely used Etrich-Rumpler Taube. Soon, performance was proven through flights lasting more than 14 hours in a Pfeil biplane, 18 1/2 hours in a Rumpler biplane, and over 24 hours in an Albatros biplane. Aviator Oelerich used one to reach more than 26,500 feet in altitude.
The DF80’s novelty lay in its “upperworks,” which featured forged and machined steel cylinders with two opposed overhead valves, each with a 50 mm head diameter at a 30 degrees all-included angle. These valves were seated directly in an integral head, operated by rocker arms with rollers at the cam end, from a single overhead camshaft driven by shaft and bevel gears at the opposite end from the propeller. Inlet and exhaust ports for crossflow, along with paired sheet-steel water-cooling jackets, were welded to the cylinders. Although this construction was lighter for a given strength compared to the cast iron typically used, it was prohibitively costly for most other makers.
Of the classical three-throw design, the crankshaft was supported by four bearings and had no counterbalancing. Pistons featured forged-steel crowns screwed and welded into cast-iron skirts, compatible with steel cylinders. Forged steel connecting rods had an H-section with open sides facing the front and rear. With a compression ratio of 4.5:1 to match the available gasoline and a dual-choke carburetor drawing warm air from a crankcase
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With fenders for their drive of the brand-new sixes from the factory to the track, Christian Lautenschlager, left, and Otto Salzer were the DMG team’s best pilots.
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As prepared for the Kaiserpreis judges this was the Type F10546 six that came second in the 1912 competition. Shown are its large valves and oil pumps in the sump.
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Limned with more elaboration, the F10546 is shown with a dipstick. A section shows that the crankshaft is none too large. Successor designs were larger diameter.
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A side view of the DMG F10546 reveals its siamesed cylinder pairs and oil delivery to the bearing nearest the propeller. Water-pump delivery is shown.
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With fenders for their drive of the brand-new sixes from the factory to the track, Christian Lautenschlager, left, and Otto Salzer were the DMG team’s best pilots.
chamber, the DF80 was equipped with twin spark plugs per cylinder controlled by an adjustable distributor for advance from the cockpit.
We now shift to the world of Grand Prix racing. The third French-backed Grand Prix was held in 1908. Its result was a disaster for French automakers after German cars — led by Mercedes winner Christian Lautenschlager — took the first seven spots, with only one French car in the top seven. It wasn’t until 1912 that the French motoring club attempted another such race. Only one German car (an Opel) entered and failed on its first lap. Planning for the 1913 Grand Prix at Daimler included entries, but on a semi-official basis: new cars were to be built and entered by its Belgian representative, racing driver Theodore Pilette.
The Mercedes team was denied entry to the main race at Dieppe in June because their paperwork listed Pilette’s business instead of the manufacturer. The DMG rearranged its available equipment to send four cars to the 10-lap, 366-mile race on the triangular course at Le Mans, where the Grand Prix de France took place on August 5. Leon Elskamp drove a car with a chassis from the 1908 Grand Prix, powered by a tuned 37/90 production engine. This was the only car with a flat-fronted radiator.
The other three Le Mans entries featured sharply pointed V-shaped radiators at the front of an entirely new chassis. The new frame’s side members were raised only at the front, and moderately so, to allow for axle clearance. Instead of having side rails that run nearly parallel from front to back, the three new frames tapered sharply inward toward the front, which was clearly visible. Front axles had a flatter profile, with a reduced dip in the center. With their “V” radiators and sharply edged hood lines extending back along the body to the cockpit, these new Mercedes presented a crisp and aggressive look. The wheelbase of the new chassis measured 107 inches.
Two of the new cars were powered by the six-cylinder airplane engine, identified as the Type Dd6F. Designed for the easiest installation, this engine had its shaft drive connected to the overhead camshaft and its auxiliary drives at the opposite end from the output shaft, which was at the front of the engine block as mounted in the racing chassis. The exhaust outlets of each cylinder pair were joined together in a manifold “Y” inside the hood, merging into three separate outside pipes leading to a cylindrical collector.
The fourth car, Pilette’s, was equipped with another aircraft engine, the 9.5-liter G4F developed by Eugen Link from the existing four-cylinder series, now featuring a shaft-driven overhead camshaft. Large tanks filling half the cowl met the oil demands of these powerful engines. On the misty Le Mans circuit, Pilette drove his car into second place but dropped to third at the finish behind two Delages after stopping to change a tire.
Otto Salzer and Christian Lautenschlager finished fourth and sixth with their six-cylinder engines. According to historian Robert Dick, the Dd6F was allowed up to 2,000 rpm, at which it produced 120 bhp. They could hardly have achieved their respectable positions, just a few minutes behind after a 4 1/2-hour race, without such power. However, Dick added, “On the long straights, at top speed, Lautenschlager and Salzer were hardly able to hold their
steering wheels because of the vibrations of the six-cylinders.” Said Motor Age, “By reason of vibration the spare wheel on the side of Lautenschlager’s car broke away and was lost on the road. The effort of holding the fast car on the road was so great that when Lautenschlager finished the grind his hands were one big broken blister from wrists to finger tips but the German made light of it.”
When revved higher on the road than the 1,400 rpm limit they had in the air, the Dd6F sixes vibrated unpleasantly. This resonance became unbearable at the consistently higher speeds encountered at Indianapolis. Nevertheless, Salzer’s six-cylinder engine from Le Mans was entered at the Speedway on March 21, 1914, by Elmore C. Patterson for Ralph de Palma, who was the actual buyer of the car for $4,000.
De Palma’s new six-cylinder Mercedes is one of the speediestlooking cars in the race,” raved Motor Age, “being shaped like the hull of a speed boat with a reverse curve to throw the wind out. Wind resistance is cared for even in to pointing the starting crank.” In pre-race trials, de Palma and Eddie Pullen, who also tested it, found the vibration so severe that it shook off its fuel tank on the bumpy Indiana track. The Mercedes was “officially excused” from competition by the Speedway technical committee.
De Palma took his Dd6F-powered Mercedes to the experimental labs of Packard, for whom he was a consultant. One report stated that Packard helped resolve the issue and that the car later competed successfully, although not at Indianapolis. The second Dd6F-powered racer was sold on July 13, 1914, for a total of £1,086 ($1,461.31) to Rolls-Royce. It is said that Royce made his first visit to the Rolls-Royce Derby works since his 1911 illness to view the German engine, likely in August, soon after its delivery.
Mention of Rolls-Royce calls for a brief detour. Although Henry Royce was not manufacturing aircraft engines at that time and had little desire to do so, the military situation in 1914 started to push him in that direction. With a target of 200 bhp in mind, Royce considered the V-12 option. The fact that Mercedes was producing an inline overhead-valve six-cylinder engine nearing 100 bhp was of interest, because Royce admired their work, and a six-cylinder was a step toward a V-12. Many features of the German engine were adopted, especially its overhead camshaft and valve arrangement. The Rolls-Royce V-12 Eagle engine first flew in December 1915, producing 225 bhp at 1,600 rpm. By 1928, a total of 4,681 Eagle engines had been built.
An important decision had been made earlier at a management board meeting on September 9, 1913, in Cannstatt, five weeks after the debut Mercedes showing at Le Mans. Chairman Ernst Berge took the floor to recommend launching three new six-cylinder products. Two of them were improvements to its pair of Mercedes-Knight sleevevalve engines. Regarding the third novelty, Berge said: “The 75/85 HP 6-cylinder steel aero engine should be produced on our 16/45 HP Knight chassis. The engine will produce about 100 HP. The chassis features a V-shaped radiator and short, light, open coachwork.”
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A triangular course at Le Mans tested the 1913 Grand Prix entrants, here with Otto Salzer in his Mercedes Type Dd6F. He placed fourth, best of the German sixes.
This was a recipe for an exciting new Mercedes. The resulting chassis would match its width with the donor 16/45 Knight and be five inches longer to fit the lengthy six. To handle the increased weight — 2,780 pounds instead of 2,090 — its tires measured 895 x 135 instead of 820 x 120. The “steel aero engine” would be rated at 90 bhp at 1,800 rpm; insiders spoke of 99 or even 110 bhp.
“Although often referred to as such,” wrote Werner Oswald, “the Dd6F six was never used as an aircraft engine. Only a few units were built during the war, but immediately afterward, it served for years as the powerplant for Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft’s flagship model. The Mercedes 28/95 was the first of its kind to feature the pointed radiator and external exhaust pipes as standard. Both were available for other Mercedes cars as early as 1913, but only on request and at additional cost.
“The 28/95 was the first in the illustrious line of big Mercedes automobiles,” added Oswald. “It still looks impressive and convincing today. However, it was more of a sports car than an exhibition car. Driving it required a great deal of strength, courage, and skill. It couldn’t be driven as effortlessly as today’s large Mercedes cars. There’s a difference that’s two worlds apart.”
The first 25 production examples of the road-going 28/95 were delivered in 1914-15. Afterwards, DMG shifted focus to developing the six-cylinder engine through Types DI, DII, and DIII, producing progressively larger six-cylinder engines for bombers below
Max Sailer was at the wheel of a short-wheelbase 28/95 Sport whose engine was well-prepared. He and a mechanic drove to Sicily to race in the 1921 Targa Florio.
and interceptors. Production of power-driven ploughs became the priority at the new Sindelfingen factory after the Armistice in November 1918. A Knight-engined passenger car became the first civilian model to be produced, followed by a revival of the 28/95 in 1920.
The pre-war 28/95s had exposed rocker arms and valve springs, along with foot-operated total-loss lubrication. In 1918, the M10546, as the engine was called, was updated to be more production-friendly. Still built in pairs, the cylinders were now cast and enclosed by a welded-on water jacket. Each cylinder pair had its own aluminum rocker cover. Two updraft Pallas carburetors were installed, now connected by a balance pipe between the two three-branch inlet manifolds. The vertical-shaft drive to the cam and the cross shaft to the magneto and water pump remained at the front of the engine.
With only four main bearings and an undernourished crankshaft, the 28/95 rarely exceeded the resonance-limited revolution rates of its predecessor. Peak power on gasoline was 99 bhp at 1,800 rpm. Its torque curve was nearly flat at 315 lb-ft up to 1,400 rpm. Maximum output on benzol was slightly lower: 93 bhp at 1,800 rpm.
While these chassis were being produced for ceremonial sedans and tourers of the perpendicular school of design, Paul Daimler and his chassis man Karl Schnaitmann engineered a sports version of the 28/95. They shortened the wheelbase from 132.7 to 120.6 inches. Its radiator was lower, positioned behind a new droppedframe crossmember similar to that of the 1914 G.P. car, and was closer to the engine thanks to a smaller-diameter cooling fan that fit more deeply into the V-radiator. Aside from this, and the use of new Mercedes-built carburetors, the engine remained unchanged. A lower driving position for the Sport edition was facilitated by a more raked column and shorter control levers. Four-wheel mechanical brakes were installed. They didn’t appear on the longwheelbase 28/95 until 1924. The brakes could be operated either by the hand lever or by a pedal, based on the driver’s preference, who also had a second pedal for the transmission brake.
It speaks volumes for Max Sailer’s initiative that he managed to prepare the Mercedes 28/95 Sport for racing in time to compete in the production-car category at Sicily’s Targa Florio on May 29, 1921. Conditions in Europe were far from ideal, especially for Germans trying to travel abroad. The white two-seater, with its flared fenders and spare tires stacked at the back, was driven to Sicily over roads that were as challenging as the Medium Madonie Circuit itself.
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An early 28/95 without front brakes.
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When four-wheel brakes were introduced for the 28/95 the DMG issued a new chassis portrait showing the pivoting shaft at the pedal that allocated force to front and rear.
Max Sailer was at the wheel
short-wheelbase 28/95 Sport whose engine was well-prepared. He and a mechanic drove to Sicily to race in the 1921 Targa Florio.
above Pictured at the Targa finish on May 29, 1921, the Sailer-crewed 28/95 Sport kept its right-hand fender to ward off rocks from the rough roadway.
Sailer, described by W. F. Bradley as “the most daring, skilled, and even reckless driver Germany could produce at that time,” led the first of four long laps. Giulio Masetti led the second and third laps in his Grand Prix Fiat 451, but the Mercedes — running in the production-car class — was less than a minute behind as they embarked on the final lap. Masetti managed to add to that lead over a road so challenging that the record average speed of his victory was only 36.2 mph after a race almost 7 1/2 hours long.
Max Sailer’s impressive second place — winning his class and setting a new lap record — was as uplifting as a clear victory for the tired spirits of the men at Untertürkheim and Sindelfingen. The knowledge they gained would energize two more Sicilian campaigns, both of which would succeed.
Meanwhile, 28/95 Mercedes cars were produced for the wealthy elite, showcasing their impressive road-going capabilities. In total, 590 were built by 1925. The character of the formidable 28/95 and the driving conditions of its era are reflected in this later account by Bender from Auto Motor und Sport.
“I had the dubious pleasure of being my father’s student driver in his 28/95 Mercedes, built in 1924. Anyone who drove such a car could rightfully call themselves a sportsman. Below 40 mph the car was almost impossible to drive in fourth gear. Above 55 mph, you had to grip the steering wheel to keep the car moving. Top speed was over 95 mph. Operating the clutch and transmission required more sensitivity and strength than today’s heavy trucks.
“The tires were run at 5-6 bar and, of course, inflated by hand. They lasted an average of 1,200 miles. Driving in winter was a particular pleasure. Since there was no antifreeze, the water had to be drained every evening. In the morning, two buckets of boiling water were poured into the radiator. The carburetors and intake pipes were wrapped with rags and also poured over with hot water.
“As a good student driver I also had to maintain the car. The factory supplied a tool kit that could be used to disassemble and reassemble the entire car. It included a blowtorch, chisels and hammers of various types and sizes, among other things. The factory supplied spare parts including a complete piston, piston rings, valves, valve springs, spring pins, bolts and nuts of all sizes, spare bulbs, binding wire, insulating tape, cotter pins, and much more.
“For the high-top speed, the roadholding was impossible by today’s standards. The heavy machine laid low in front but the rear of the car bounced so violently that its cushions and floorboards frequently flew out, despite being well secured. Those sitting in the back had to cling to strong handles. It also happened that people in the back lost the cushions they were sitting on.
“A 10-liter reserve oil tank was available,” Bender concluded. “The fuel-tank capacity was 120 liters, and four 25-liter canisters were strapped to the running boards, as there were hardly any gas stations at the time. The car was needed for business trips, but otherwise it was just pure sport, combined with a lot of work and driving.”
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An appreciative crowd welcomed Max Sailer on his return home to Untertürkheim. Because the 28/95 Sport was a standard model, second-placing Sailer won his class.
Restoration Speedbumps
story and photographs
Pierre Hedary
Pierre Hedary is our MBCA Workshop Technical Advisor, a former MBCA Regional Director, and the owner of Pierre Hedary and Company, a classic Mercedes-Benz independent shop and restoration facility in Titusville, FL, since 2006. Pierre also has a YouTube channel, “Mercedes Classics with Pierre Hedary,” which has been educating Classic Mercedes-Benz owners and enthusiasts since 2013.
A wise mechanic once told me that “The cost of goods and services is often underestimated by the general public.” In the context of automotive restoration, truer words have not been spoken. The issue with restoring a car arises from two different problems besides the cost: the first one is an often-unrealistic expectation of perfection by the customer, and the second is the often-crippling battle against complexity, intensity of labor, and the struggle of finishing the entire project that the restorer must fight on their own.
We will look at real-world issues that come up during the restoration of most classic Mercedes-Benz cars and explore potential solutions to solve the entire problem.
BUDGETING FOR ThE ENTIRE pROjEcT
The biggest mistake that many restorers make is not putting together a budget for the customer. I made this mistake for years and did not really know how to fix it, because in order to make a budget you must perform the same operation several times before you know how long it takes, what parts and sublet fees will cost and, most importantly, what can go wrong. This often leads to a contentious relationship between the restorer and the vehicle owner, as well as irritation about finances, timeframe, and perceived lack of transparency.
A good restoration shop will provide an estimate for the cost of any job, regardless of its size. The unknowns must still be estimated. Many shops will tell the customer that “Some jobs are simply time and materials” and cannot be estimated. If you are the customer, it is in your best interest to obtain a clear estimate, as time and materials simply means it will be very expensive.
Personally, I sometimes struggle with the embarrassment of telling customers how expensive a project will be. If you are in the restoration business, I understand this is a real fear, as well as the fear of missing out on a potentially lucrative or exciting project. But there is nothing I fear more than the relationship with the customer breaking down due to undisclosed costs.
pROjEcT FATIGUE — whEN FINIShING BEcOMES IMpOSSIBLE
Project fatigue is also not unique to the automotive restoration world. The Titan submersible is a well-known example of project fatigue, where the person responsible for performing reliability testing on said submersible failed to create a finished product that worked under real-world conditions. This lackluster approach to the fine details, reliability testing, and real-world operation can be observed in the difficulties of automotive restoration. We call this “the last ten percent”, and it can take as much effort as the first ninety percent, but with only a fraction of the pay. This is because a good chunk of the last ten percent involves revising the work performed during the previous ninety percent.
If you are a restorer or mechanic, assuming everything is going to go right the first time is arrogant. You must check your own work and scrutinize the result before the customer does it for you.
whEN ShOULD yOU RESTORE yOUR MERcEDES - BENz?
The criteria for restoring a classic Mercedes-Benz is highly subjective. While we tend to appreciate original cars more so now than before, the idea of restoring any classic car must make sense. Some people have different reasons for this, one might restore their car so it wins at a concours. Others might do so because they were persuaded by a shop that needs to make a little more money. Finally, some people are perfectionists who think that everything must be touched for it to be “right.” In my opinion, none of these are good reasons.
First, if said car is no longer able to be used without a complete and thorough restoration due to concerns about structural integrity, it should be taken apart down to a bare shell so the rust can be repaired. While uncommon among Mercedes-Benz coupes and cabriolets, Porsche 356s are a great example of this. These cars were overwhelmingly rust-prone and may have been repaired badly over the years. The only way to ensure that examples with unknown history are safe is to completely disassemble the car and dip it in acid to eat away any rust, Bondo, or fiberglass. Only then can they be fixed correctly. The default assumption with any used, undocumented 356 Porsche is that the car must be restored. Among Mercedes-Benz, you might see this issue with 190 SLs, but rarely to this extent on other models. The exception would be a car that has been wrecked and repaired improperly.
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The rear structural member of a W 108 or W 111; the starting point for many restorations.
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M189 Inline-6
Second, if all parts of the car have been damaged by human error and its value is justified, a restoration will be necessary to bring the car back to its authentic state. The best example might be a valuable car like a 280 SE 3.5 cabriolet that has had its interior and exterior colors changed, has a major engine problem, and requires extensive repairs. These repairs should be numerous and spread throughout the vehicle.
The underlying assumption is that the car will never be as good as new, which is impossible (more about that later), but it will be significantly better than before. There are quite a few of these cars out there. My mind wanders to restorers of W 113s who like to do this sort of thing to make the cars more visually appealing, but with subpar workmanship.
Finally, one must ask the question of when you shouldn’t restore your classic Mercedes-Benz.
This is a little easier to answer. If you are doing it because you can, or because you are obsessive about every detail on the car, don’t do it, lest you be humbled by the scope of the project. If you are uncertain whether you can afford it, don’t do it. If you have a great, usable, functional car, don’t do it. And if you are concerned about the car’s market value vs. the restoration cost, don’t do it. The reason you are concerned is that there is no financial upside when a restoration is carried out properly.
IS “BETTER ThAN NE w ” pOSSIBLE?
How many times have shops pitched the expression “better than new” to validate their work? It seems highly unlikely that a shop with limited time, space, and financial resources can outperform the ruthless technical approach of the Mercedes-Benz factory. The lesson here is this: no restoration on one of these cars is going to be superior to the original product. An original, unrestored car is better in all aspects; the materials are better, the workmanship is more accurate, the harmony of all the mechanical parts is superior, and the presentation of the car is more pleasing. We restore cars to make them functional again and to attempt to recapture their elegance when they were new. We do it to rectify the consequences of human negligence and error, often caused by previous owners who took them for granted. You should never restore a Mercedes-Benz with the objective of outperforming the factory. As soon as a single non-German part has been installed on the car (including a bolt or a nut), is the product really superior? Each detail of these cars was accounted for so exhaustively that, unlike many other cars from the era, Mercedes-Benz was attempting to build the most durable passenger cars ever made. Once we understand this, we can enjoy these cars for what they are, instead of what we think they should be.
above bad rust repairs on a W 109 that were covered up during a restoration.
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Keenan Eugenio photographs
Mercedes-Benz Archives
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The chrometrimmed, sculpted taillights of the 1969-1971 2.5 L V-8
As the afterburners of the Jet Age aesthetics began to cool, lead designer Paul Bracq and Mercedes-Benz set their sights on the future of the company’s design. The world had shifted from being fin-obsessed in the ‘50s and early ‘60s to styling sleek, bullet-like designs that remain some of the most beautiful car design language the world has ever seen. As the W 111 sedan production cycle was ending, Mr. Bracq started designing the next generation of large sedans between 1961 and 1963 and revealed the new body to the world at the Frankfurt Auto Show in September 1965, the same year Audi made its debut. Just twenty years after WWII, Mercedes-Benz was a vanguard of the automotive sphere and was about to produce the best sedan in the world with the debut of the 300 SEL 6.3.
The exterior of the W108/9 underwent major changes from the W 111 sedan. The fins were removed as Bracq introduced a sleeker design, featuring a lower belt line with larger windows that created an enormous greenhouse, including a windshield that is 17% larger. The car also sits roughly 2.5 inches lower and has wider doors. Inside, the dashboard was redesigned with sweeping lines and a remodeled instrument cluster, laying the groundwork for the modern MercedesBenz dashboard design still in use today.
The W 108 and W 109 were commercial successes, setting the standard for the rest of the world in building modern family sedans. Their performance, high-speed stability, low noise, vibration and harshness (NVH), safety, and cornering capabilities made all other four-door family cars look inferior.
Mercedes-Benz continued using its rear swing axle design but redesigned the old high-pivot swing axle to a new version that improved cornering stability and eliminated the dangerous snap-oversteer and lift-off oversteer traits from earlier models. Mercedes-Benz sold 359,522 W 108s and 23,550 W 109s, including the 6.3, during the eight-year production run. With the 300 SEL 6.3 marking a major shift in the brand’s image, we will save the world’s first super sedan for its own buyer’s guide. Now, let’s dive into the details of the W 108/109 cars.
whAT ’S ThE DIFFERENcE BET wEEN A w 108 AND w 109?
Let’s be honest, the difference between a W 108 and a W 109 can be confusing even to enthusiasts, so let’s clarify that. It all comes down to the air suspension. A W 108 never had self-leveling air suspension, while the W 109 always featured air suspension. That’s the key difference between the two models.
Wheelbase can be confusing too. The W 108 was available in both a short wheelbase (108.3 inches) and a long wheelbase (112.2 inches). This measurement is the distance between the center point of the front wheel and the center point of the back wheel. Long wheelbase models had stretched floor pans, which provided more rear legroom. W 109 cars were always made in long wheelbase versions.
The W 109 was typically optioned with leather instead of MB-Tex. It also had more chrome interior details and featured higher-end wood trims like burl walnut and ebony macassar, which were used throughout more of the interior.
All W 108s used conventional steel springs for suspension, while the W 109 replaced them with air bags. This change reduces NVH at speed, provides a more comfortable ride, decreases body roll
TEchNIcAL SpEcIFIcATIONS
W108 — 250 S (1965-69)
• M108 2.5-liter inline six, Dual Zenith Downdraft Carburetors (128 hp and 143 ft lb)
• K4A 025 four-speed auto floor or column shifter
• Four-speed manual
W108 — 250 SE (1965-67)
• M129 2.5-liter inline six, Bosch 6 Point Fuel Injection (148 hp and 159 ft lb)
• K4A 025 four-speed auto floor or column shifter
• Four-speed manual
W108 — 280S (1968-71)
• M130 2.8-liter inline six, Dual Zenith Downdraft Carburetors (138 hp and 165 ft lb)
• K4A 025 four-speed auto floor or column shifter
• Four and five-speed manual
below The design language of an early 280 SE sedan exudes modern sophistication, even several decades after production.
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3.5-Liter V-8 M116 E 35 116.981 motor.
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Passenger cars of the 108 series on the entrance track in Untertürkheim, 1967. The banked slope at the test site is designed so that each bank of the curve is assigned a specific freehand speed. The maximum freehand speed is 150 km/h (over 93 mph).
during performance driving, improves energy absorption during emergency maneuvers, and enhances safety and control. The car can also maintain an ideal axle height when carrying five passengers with luggage or driving over rough terrain. The driver can adjust the height using a lever inside the vehicle. At the time, this was cuttingedge, and Mercedes-Benz was inspired by Tatra, which was the first to use air suspension.
EARLy cARS
These can be defined as the years 1965 through the winter of 1967. Mercedes-Benz tends to carry over engines into their new chassis from the old with engineering revisions for modernization — the W 108/9 range is no different. It was launched with the 250 S, 250 SE, and the W 109 300 SEL/SEb with a revised engine from the legendary Adenauer. These cars came equipped with either a four-speed manual transmission as standard, the K4A 025 fluid coupling four-speed automatic, or a rare five-speed manual. The automatics were an additional option when new, but in the current collector market, enthusiasts tend to lean towards the manual transmissions.
Mercedes-Benz began introducing the updated W108/9 cars in November 1967, adding a new range of engines to compete in the American market. The early inline-six engines were struggling with horsepower and fuel efficiency, so Mercedes-Benz improved them with the M130 inline-six engines. These were a bored-out version of the M129 with an added crank journal, revised cooling passages in the block, a different intake plenum, better oil cooling, and an increased redline by 300 rpm to 5,800 rpm The M130.981 in the W109 300SEL had a different cam profile for the camshaft, adding 10 horsepower over the M130.980 seen in the 280SE and similar to the engine in the W113. Mercedes-Benz also upgraded the fuel injection pumps from the previous R20Y to the new R24Y to meet changing emissions regulations, which also improved performance at higher elevations and resistance to moisture in the air. Most importantly, Mercedes-Benz expanded its engine lineup by adding three V-8 options to compete with the oversized Jaguar XK engines and stay competitive in the American market, where the V-8 engine was as revered as baseball, or going to church on Sunday.
W108 — 280 SE (1968-72)
• M130 2.8-liter inline six, Bosch 6 Point Fuel Injection (158 hp and 177 ft lb)
• K4A 025 four-speed auto floor or column shifter
• Four and five-speed manual
W108 — 280 SE 4.5 (1971-73)
• M117 4.5-liter V-8, Bosch D-Jetronic (195 hp and 264 ft lb)
• 722.0 three-speed automatic floor or column shift
W108 — 280 SEL (1968-71)
• M130 2.8-liter inline six, Bosch 6 Point Fuel Injection (158 hp and 177 ft lb)
• K4A 025 four-speed auto floor and column shifter
• Four and five-speed manual
W108 — 280 SEL 4.5 (1971-73)
• M117 4.5-liter V-8, Bosch D-Jetronic (195 hp and 264 ft lb)
• 722.0 three-speed automatic floor or column shift
W109 — 300 SEL (1965-67)
• M189 3.0-liter inline six, Bosch 6 Point Fuel Injection (168hp and 184 ft lb)
• K4A 025 four-speed auto floor or column shifter
• Four and five-speed manual
W109 — 300 SEL (1967-70)
• M130 2.8-liter inline six, Bosch 6 Point Fuel Injection (168 hp and 177 ft lb)
• K4A 025 four-speed auto floor or column shifter
• Four and five-speed manual
W109 — 300 SEL 3.5 (1969-71)
• M116 3.5-liter V-8, Bosch D-Jetronic (197 hp and 211 ft lb)
• K4A 040 four-speed auto floor or column shift
W109 — 300 SEL 4.5 (1972-73)
• M117 4.5-liter V-8, Bosch D-Jetronic (195 hp and 264 ft lb)
• 722.0 three-speed automatic floor or column shift
W109 — 300 SEL 6.3 (1967-71)
• M100 6.3-liter V-8, Bosch 8 Point Mechanical Fuel Injection (247 hp and 369 ft lb)
• K4B 050 four-speed auto floor shift
LATE cARS
ThE V- 8 ENGINES
More is better in the U.S., and we wanted V-8s, especially as the 1967 launch of Waxenburger’s psychotic 300 SEL 6.3 set a new benchmark for the W108/9. Mercedes-Benz listened to the American market and gave us what we wanted with their new generation of V-8s that would last until the early ‘90s. The M116 came first in 1969 in the W109 300 SEL 3.5 (and also put into the coupes and cabriolets of the W 111). These early V-8s are absolutely wonderful and have more of a sporting intent than the long-stroked M117 that came two years later. These engines scream at the top of the rev range and love to be flogged. Mercedes-Benz built these to be wrung out at redline for hours at a time with five passengers in the car on the Autobahn, and it was the first V-8 to not need major service in the first 50,000 miles. These were downright revolutionary engines.
The M117 debuted in 1971 for the 280 SE 4.5, 280 SEL 4.5, and 300 SEL 4.5. With horsepower similar to the delicately balanced, high-compression M116, the M117 had a hidden advantage —264 foot-pounds of torque and a top speed of 127 mph — in a family sedan. Many misunderstand that the M117 was a stroker M116; in fact, they share few parts. Its new V-8 technology highlighted Mercedes-Benz’s strengths, using an iron block for durability and noise reduction, while aluminum heads and an oil pump helped produce an engine weighing only 29 pounds more than the M130 inline six. It was also one of the first production sedans to use sodium-filled exhaust valves for improved cooling and heat distribution. This was the same technology Ferrari used in their Colombo V-12 engines.
The W108 280 SE 4.5 was built for the North American market and launched in 1971, showcasing the M117 engine and its Bosch D-Jetronic ignition systems. This engine was also featured in the W109 300 SEL 4.5 and then extensively used in the upcoming R 107 and W 116. The 4.5 L cars were equipped with the 722.0 three-speed automatic transmission, a first for the company. This transmission used a torque converter, smoothing out the harsh one-to-two shifts that earlier K4A 040 four-speed automatics had, which Americans complained about in early reviews. By losing one forward gear and gaining room inside the case, Mercedes-Benz was able to strengthen the internals, making these transmissions reliable and able to handle the additional torque of the M117.
INTERIOR
The sleek, streamlined exterior design was also reflected inside. The interior layout wasn’t just for visual appeal; it was rooted in safety innovations. Three-point seat belts were standard. The dash looked like finely crafted mid-century furniture, but its main purpose was to protect the driver and passengers, and it was well-padded. Crumple zones and a collapsible steering column were introduced to help prevent injury in a front-end collision. Details like recessed door handles were designed with safety in mind. The orange backlighting of the instrument cluster, footwell, radio, and climate control panels was warm, inviting, and sophisticated. A power sunroof, comparable in size to a retractable Tectonic plate, and air conditioning were available.
below
INSIDER BUyING TIpS
• Late model M130 cars are more affordable for nice examples and can sound fabulous with a little bit of exhaust work.
• 280 SE 4.5s tend to pop up in good condition regularly and can be found in the high teens for good examples. The M117 is tough, powerful, and you don’t have to deal with air suspension.
• The M116 engine is rev-happy with a short stroke and big bore, meaning it’s got a motorsports zing and is excellent on the highway. Just because the M117 is bigger and more powerful doesn’t mean it’s better.
• A rare five-speed manual was optional on M130 and the M189 cars and is sought after.
• Interior wood is expensive to replace, especially the piece bordering the bottom of the windshield. Water may leak through the windshield or a clogged sunroof drain, causing the wood to delaminate.
• Most of the Bakelite steering wheels have cracks. Uncracked examples go for exorbitant money.
• While MB-Tex is tough, the untreated padding is not and will turn to dust over time.
chEckpOINTS
• Rust is the biggest factor when buying a W108/9. Do a full inspection of the body and chassis of the car. Do not be spooked by prior rust repair, especially in the rear trunk wells and bottoms of the doors. Just make sure it is quality work.
• Inspect for transmission leaks, power steering leaks, motor mounts, flex disc condition, shifter bushings, transmission cooler lines, and the radiator. Many of these cars have been neglected from sitting and a lack of mechanics willing to work on them.
• On the V-8s, check for cam lobe wear, replace the plastic cam oilers, and inspect for external head gasket leaks on the rear of the cylinder heads.
• Inline-six engines run hot with air conditioning, so check for head gasket leaks. Warning: M108, M129, and M130 engines were prone to corrosion with older-style anti-freeze. Sometimes they are irreparable if you pull off a head and find corrosion issues.
• An out-of-tune D-Jetronic can be a nightmare to dial in. Make sure the fuel system is refreshed, as many of these vehicles have sat for a long time, and the fuel has gone bad, causing rusted-out tanks.
• Points ignition systems can wear out, making an EFI conversion the only solution if you don’t have a mechanic knowledgeable in points systems nearby.
REASONS TO BUy
• Low entry price point for inline-six cars. It’s one of the more affordable ‘60s European classics to start with on a budget.
• Aesthetically attractive cars that turn heads wherever you go.
• A reliable classic you can drive every day.
• Ideal for modern traffic because of its strong power, smoothness, and ease of use.
• It’s fun to drive, with a mechanical sensation.
• Good parts availability and easy for the home mechanic to work on.
REASONS NOT TO BUy
• The W 109 with air suspension can have eye-watering repairs. These are not for the faint of heart.
• If you’re inexperienced with a wrench and lack an experienced classic Mercedes-Benz technician nearby, a W 108/9 isn’t an ideal choice for a classic car.
• They enjoy being driven. If you want one as a collector’s item to drive once a year, the car will retaliate at the turn the key because they dislike sitting still. These cars need to be driven.
The minimalist chrome mirror completed the side profile gracefully.
Nitrogen Accumulator Replacement
story and photographs
Gary Edwards
about the author
Gary Edwards is a past president of the Peachtree Chapter and a retired submarine captain. He chairs the Concours Committee. He owns many Mercedes-Benz vehicles, which he maintains himself.
below
A nitrogen accumulator. It functions by using a flexible bladder filled with pre-charged nitrogen gas, which is compressed when hydraulic fluid from the suspension system enters the accumulator. This compressed nitrogen acts as a spring, storing energy and releasing it to provide smooth suspension action and absorb shocks when system pressure drops, improving ride comfort.
opposite Special flare nut vise grips are very useful for this job.
I recently replaced the nitrogen accumulators in the rear suspension of my 1997 S 500 (W 140) Coupe, and I thought it might be helpful to discuss this relatively simple procedure. The Mercedes Workshop Information System (WIS) refers to these spheres as “hydraulic suspension pressure accumulators” and “spring actuators,” and they are used in many different Mercedes-Benz chassis. They are metal spheres with a rubber diaphragm dividing it into two chambers. The upper chamber contains high-pressure nitrogen, and the lower chamber (where the hydraulic lines attach) contains hydraulic oil. If you have an older Mercedes-Benz with SLS (Self Leveling System), you probably have two of these; they are used on the SLS in the 123, 126, 201, 124, 202, 203, 208, and 140 models, and R 129s with ADS have four of them. My discussion will be based on the 140 chassis, and the connections and mountings may be different on some of the other cars, though the basic points are similar.
Unlike some other topics I’ve written about, this one’s pretty straightforward as long as everything goes smoothly; of course, with any automotive job, if things don’t go well, it can quickly become complicated. I’ll point out areas of concern with this job, and I encourage you to do it yourself — just pay close attention to the sticky points.
First, why was I replacing these accumulators? To understand this, it’s necessary to explain their function. The nitrogen bladders are a vital part of the suspension system on any cars with SLS, and they are used at the rear of vehicles with the Adaptive Damping System (ADS) (and at the front on the R 129s with ADS). On these cars, the rear component that looks like a shock absorber is actually a hydraulic strut used to control rear ride height, preventing the rear from sagging when carrying passengers and luggage. There is a rear level control valve with a sensing arm that detects additional weight at the back of the car and opens a valve, allowing extra high-pressure hydraulic oil into the rear struts. This raises the rear to nearly its original ride height. If that were all there was to the system, the essentially incompressible hydraulic fluid in the strut would make it almost rigid, resulting in a rough ride, and the impact loads on the suspension parts could cause early failure. These nitrogen accumulators act as a compressible gas volume, absorbing road motions without damaging the suspension and providing a smoother, more comfortable ride. They operate somewhat like the air spring in an air suspension vehicle (though these vehicles also have springs).
Over time, the nitrogen charge in these accumulators can leak out, decreasing the gas volume and leading to stiffer and choppier rear ride motions. If the diaphragm ruptures, there will be no gas volume to absorb these motions, making the rear suspension nearly rigid. Without gas volume to absorb these road motions, hydraulic pressure can spike dramatically, speeding up the failure of the rear struts. If you can find them, the rear struts are much more costly than the nitrogen accumulators, so it’s wise to replace the accumulators before they fail. Cameron Davis of DC Motorwerks in Alpharetta, Georgia, suggests a replacement interval of five to seven years, and recommends not exceeding 10 years for these accumulators. In my case, I knew the car had received minimal maintenance besides oil changes over the last 25 years, and since the rear ride didn’t feel quite right, I replaced the accumulators shortly after acquiring the car.
Replacing these accumulators is usually straightforward, with access being the main challenge. On this 1997 S 500, access to the right nitrogen bladder is relatively easy, although space to swing a wrench is limited; I found metric flare nut crows foot tools helpful. Access to the left one is more difficult because it sits above the exhaust, so I lowered the rear exhaust to get better access.
Some cautions are necessary here. First, the system is highly pressurized, and pressurized hydraulic oil helps the springs hold up the car. There is a risk of high-pressure hydraulic fluid spray; you should be cautious and wear eye protection when releasing system pressure. Also, as you release the pressure, the car will settle, probably all the way to the lower bump stops, so support the car beforehand. This isn’t a problem if you’re doing it with the car on jack stands or a two-post lift, but I do this job using a four-post lift, and I place jacks under the car’s lifting points to unload the rear suspension. Additionally, like all hydraulic systems, cleanliness is important, and the open ends of the hydraulic lines should have cleanliness plugs or covers installed when disconnected. It’s also helpful to thoroughly clean the area before removing the lines to reduce the risk of contamination.
The Mercedes-Benz WIS includes a procedure to depressurize the system. It instructs you to attach a hose to the bleeder on the level control valve and then open the bleeder. I did not follow this method; instead, I gently opened one of the hydraulic lines and waited for the pressure to bleed off. I am generally hesitant to unnecessarily touch a component on a 25-plus-year-old car because I fear stripping or breaking it. The WIS also recommends refilling the system by disconnecting the linkage rod from the level control valve, moving the level control valve to the fill position (all the way up), and running the engine for 60 seconds, then shutting off the engine and putting the level control valve in the down position (the drain position) for another 60 seconds before reconnecting the level control valve linkage. I did not do this either because my linkage rod was in poor condition and I did not want to touch it until I could replace it; I will do this procedure once I have the new linkage rod. The WIS notes that the system is self-venting. I refilled it by first ensuring there was enough fluid in the hydraulic tank, starting the car, and checking for leaks while slowly lowering the jacks to confirm the system was supporting the vehicle’s weight. Afterwards, I rechecked the hydraulic reservoir level, test drove the car and then rechecked the level. You should never let the hydraulic pump run without fluid — make sure the reservoir always has enough fluid.
Another concern I have is rounding off the nuts on the hydraulic lines. If you round off one of these nuts, the job shifts from fairly easy to awful because you’ll likely need to replace a hydraulic line, and on some of these cars, access to the hydraulic line is poor or impossible without removing major components. Therefore, it’s crucial to take extreme care to avoid rounding off any of these nuts. By extreme measures, I mean using high-quality penetrating oil like Kroil or an equivalent (not WD-40) daily, if possible, for some time before attempting to remove them. Use flare nut wrenches to loosen initially. I also use special flare nut vice grips if they don’t loosen easily with reasonable force. When properly fitted and tightened, you will not strip hydraulic line nuts using these vice grips. The job sequence is basically to lift the car and
The left side accumulator is above the exhaust; lowering the rear exhaust as shown here aides access.
support it so it won’t fall on you when you release the pressure, loosen the lines up enough to release the pressure, loosen and remove the hydraulic lines from the accumulator, remove the mounting bolts, and take out the accumulator. Installation is the reverse of this process, but another thing to watch out for is cross-threading the hydraulic fittings when reattaching them to the new accumulator. It is a good idea to leave the accumulator loose in its mounts while attaching the lines so you can move it around enough to ensure correct fitting alignment. I’ll also caution you that when tightening these hydraulic line nuts, do it by hand, not with a wrench. It is very easy to cross-thread without realizing it if you try to tighten them initially with a wrench.
The first car I did this job on was a 1987 300 TD, and unlike the 140, the large hydraulic line connects with a banjo bolt and a copper sealing ring. I hadn’t bought new copper seals — I tried to reuse the old ones, but I found a leak that no amount of tightening could stop. If you’re doing this on a car that uses these seal rings, remember to order the sealing rings when you order the accumulators. Also, for any of these cars, you’ll definitely need hydraulic fluid, either Mercedes-Benz-branded or ZH-M hydraulic fluid.
In summary, this job is usually straightforward, but there are exceptions. You can help make it easier by applying penetrating oil early, taking precautions to avoid rounding off the hydraulic line nuts, carefully reinserting the lines to prevent stripping threads, and ensuring the hydraulic reservoir never runs dry. Replacing these nitrogen accumulators should be done before they fail to avoid costly hydraulic strut damage. This can definitely be done at a home garage if you have the necessary facilities, preparation, the right tools, and some patience.
W 210 /S 210 E-Class (1996–2003)
Keenan Eugenio photographs Mercedes-Benz Archives
hISTORy AND BAckGROUND
Mercedes-Benz shocked the world by unveiling its Coupe Concept at the 1993 Geneva Motor Show, which introduced a new design direction under Steven Mattin’s leadership, with Bruno Sacco overseeing. This aesthetic broke from the traditional block-style glass headlamps previously used in many Mercedes-Benz vehicles and instead featured circular lamps to welcome a new generation and the new millennium. This would soon serve as the inspiration for the W 210 coupe and sedan, as well as the S 210 wagon. The collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War sent the world into joyful hysteria, which directly influenced fashion and design. Hard lines had officially fallen out of favor as we entered the smooth, bubble-era of the mid-’90s. The four-headlight face of the Coupe Concept and its curvaceous body were what consumers could expect from the upcoming E-Class that would replace the harder-edged W 124.
Mercedes-Benz aimed to reduce the production costs of the new 210 variants by 5 percent compared to the 124 variants. During this time, the Japanese luxury car market began to boom as Acura, Infiniti, and Lexus entered North America with multiple options for consumers to consider. Mercedes-Benz had always followed the philosophy “Let the engineers build the best car in the world, and what it costs once it’s done is what it costs,” a design-first, cost-second approach often summarized as cost-plus pricing. It reflects a pure engineering philosophy that prioritizes performance, innovation, and quality over budget and market price constraints. The brand was traditionally led by engineers, not accountants. However, this was about to change. By the time production commenced, they managed to save between 18-20 percent. This was the first Mercedes-Benz built with a specific value in mind, essentially adopting value-based pricing — a more market-oriented strategy where the price is set based on what customers are willing to pay, which depends on the product’s perceived value.
The cars were mostly assembled by robotics on the production line, but much of the work was still done by hand, such as cutting the wood veneer templates, installing the seat covers, and sanding weld lines flush on the C-pillars. They aimed for a lower coefficient of drag (achieving a Cd of 0.27), reduced rolling resistance, lower emissions, and improved fuel efficiency. They also increased interior space — adding 1.7 inches of knee room and 1.4 inches of shoulder room in the rear — and decided to keep the weight similar to the outgoing model. Mercedes-Benz stated that the car would have weighed about 88 pounds more had they not used new engineering and production techniques. If you compare a W 124 and a W 210 parked side by side, there’s a noticeable size difference, as the W 210’s wheelbase grew by 1.3 inches and the overall length increased by 2.5 inches.
Early reviews of the car were mostly excellent. Keen auto journalists praised the new rack-and-pinion steering that replaced the recirculating ball system. This decision was made for weight savings and to lower production costs; however, enthusiasts saw this change as a positive result of cost-cutting. On-center steering was sharp and direct, unlike the rather sluggish characteristics of the W 124 and other recent Mercedes-Benz models.
The W 210 won over 70 awards during its seven-year lifespan, including the Roter Punkt Design Award and Motor Trend’s Import Car
of the Year. It is an impressive feat of engineering given the constraints. It’s as if a skilled studio producer kept an auteur director in check to craft a tighter, more focused film without esoteric filler and B-roll. The W 210 is a theatrical cut of the E-Class that won an Oscar for editing and production design.
TEchNOLOGy
Mercedes-Benz has always been an innovator in automotive technology, and nothing changed with this E-Class. The W 210 was the first Mercedes-Benz production car to offer Bi-Xenon headlights. PARKTRONIC, a sonar parking sensor system, was a rare option available for front and rear parking assistance. Ventilated seats were also among the rare options introduced on the W 140, which made their way into the E-Class. The mono wiper, an extending, articulating wiper first used on the W 124, continued on the W 210, covering over 85 percent of the windshield and utilizing an infrared sensor on the windshield to detect moisture and automatically adjust wiper speed. Auto-dimming glass was common for many exterior and interior rearview mirrors. The Cockpit Management and Data (COMAND) system head units were introduced in 2000 as trickle-down technology from the S-Class, along with LCD center displays in instrument clusters with multifunction buttons on the steering wheel.
The factory successfully improved safety over the previous model by adding larger crumple zones and a detachable front subframe that allows the engine and transmission to slide underneath the car in severe accidents. The safety cage was reinforced to prevent the front tires from deforming the passenger compartments. It was the first production car to introduce in-door side airbags, innovative belt force limiters, Electronic Traction System (ETS), and Brake Assist (BAS), which detects emergency braking situations and primes the braking system to reduce pedal travel and increase clamping pressure higher in the pedal. Throughout the W 210’s lifecycle, there were over thirty innovations. Mercedes-Benz continually developed and enhanced safety features to better protect its customers in life-threatening situations. This commitment to safety has always been a hallmark of the brand.
ENGINES, TRANSMISSIONS, AND DRIVETRAINS
The great thing about the W 210 is the engine choices available to buyers. Early production models used carryover engines from the W 124, such as the DOHC 3.2-liter M104 in-line six and the DOHC 4.2 L M119, using an updated Bosch ME EFI system. If you’re looking for a mix of old-school Mercedes-Benz charm and engineering with a modern chassis, consider the 1996-1997 E 320 and E 420 models. The M104 engines were paired with the hydraulic four-speed 722.3 transmission, but the 1997 E 420 used the electronically controlled NAG 722.6, carried over from the R 129 and W 140.
The new generation of Mercedes-Benz engines was introduced in 1998 with the M112 and M113 powerplants featured in the E 320, E 430, and E 55 AMG. Equipped with alloy Alisul blocks and aluminum heads, they were 25 percent lighter than their predecessors. This marked a major departure from previous engines, as these used a twin spark design with three valves per cylinder (two for intake
and one for exhaust), and most notably, Mercedes-Benz reverted to a single overhead camshaft design, which also helped reduce costs. Journalists criticized Mercedes-Benz for lowering engine costs, since the M113 V-8 cost 50 percent less to produce than the outgoing M119 V-8. However, decades later, these engines are arguably some of the most reliable and durable Mercedes-Benz has ever manufactured. Additionally, the new 722.6 five-speed automatic transmission became standard on these models.
The U.S. received two diesel variants. Up until 1997, MercedesBenz offered a naturally aspirated, direct injection OM606.912 inline-six diesel engine, which was then replaced with the more popular OM606.962 intercooled and turbocharged version. The naturally aspirated models up to 1997 came with a four-speed automatic transmission, while those from 1997 onward featured a five-speed automatic transmission. These cars were only available as sedans in the U.S. market.
The Styr-Diamler-Puch developed 4MATIC all-wheel drive system was significantly improved over the W 124 with the addition of ETS. With the success Audi was having with their Quattro system, MercedesBenz doubled down on the importance of power to all four wheels and produced many 4MATIC cars for the North American market, now available with the M113 V-8 engine.
pERFORMANcE MODELS
With the success of the 500 E/E 500, Mercedes-Benz turned its focus to AMG to help develop higher-performance variants of the W 210. Although rare to find imported into the U.S., there are a few authentic pre-merger AMG models available, starting with the extremely rare E 36 AMG equipped with the 3.6 L M104 from the W 124 E 36 and W 202 C 36 AMG. If a highly tuned inline-six is beyond your budget, you can also find the equally rare E 50 AMG with a 5.0 L DOHC M119. During this period, MKB produced 6.0 L M119 engines for Lorinser. Meanwhile, RENNtech was modifying the 1997 E 420s into the E 60 RS, increasing the engine displacement by boring and stroking the M119 to 6.0 L, and adding sculpted widebody fenders to both the front and rear, along with numerous other upgrades.
With Mercedes-Benz partially merging with AMG in 1999, the E 55 AMG arrived in the U.S. market, equipped with a 5.4 L M113 V-8 engine that produced 349 horsepower and near-earth-shaking 391 foot-pounds of torque. It featured an AMG body kit (also used on the E 420/E 430 Sport), 18-inch staggered Aero II Monoblock wheels, larger brakes, a revised interior, and a general strengthening of components. These cars remain quick even today and are arguably the most reliable AMG you can buy.
INTERIOR
opposite
Offset frontal impact against a new type of deformable barrier. This allows the front-end structure of the new E-Class to also be adapted to smaller vehicles for higher partner protection.
above
On June 24, 1995, the completely re-developed W 210 E-Class range was shared, with more than 30 technical innovations.
Mercedes-Benz interiors from the past have held up well, and the W 210 is another example of the success of the Sacco/Mattin duo. The E-Class interior features a pleasing mix of materials. The streaks of wood on the dash and the waterfall of burl walnut on the center consoles, combined with simple shapes, have allowed this interior to age gracefully. Well-maintained high-mileage cars do not have creaks or rattles. The interiors feel solidly built, especially at highway speeds,
with cabin noise levels at 67-69 decibels at 80 mph on good tires. These cars are incredibly quiet, with significantly more passenger space in the front and rear compared to the previous model.
Significant cost-cutting and weight savings were made to the interior. Automotive journalists initially criticized that the interior was inferior to the W 124. That said, the interior of the W 210 proved to be incredibly durable, with minor weak points developing over the decades — such as cracking dashboard of pre-facelifted cars around the defrost vents and passenger air bag, poor dye quality on facelifted steering wheels (especially on tan interiors), sagging headliners, fragile cupholders, and weak LCD displays (which are repairable).
FAcELIFT
The W 210 received yearly updates, but there was a major facelift in 2000. The exterior underwent significant changes, starting with the introduction of scalloped taillights, which replaced the oval-style lights of the pre-facelift model. New wheel options were available for non-sport models, while the five-spoke Sador wheels replaced the Monoblocks on Sport models in 1999. Reshaped bumpers, rocker panels, grille, painted door handles, smoother exterior mirrors, better integration of impact strips, and subtly reshaped body panels enhanced the exterior. Mercedes-Benz also announced a revision of their waterbased paints, which had caused early cars to rust prematurely.
Nearly every part of the interior was updated, including new door panels, seats, headliner materials, steering wheels (now featuring multifunction buttons), center console amber mood lighting integrated into the revised rearview mirror, the ladder-style shifter gates transitioned to a Tiptronic style gate, and the instrument cluster now housed an LCD display showing oil levels, radio channels, settings, and more. Mercedes-Benz introduced a true E-Class platform that propelled it into the new millennium, where the pre-facelifts served as a bridge between the classic resilience of the W 124 and the next generation of cars.
Pre-facelifts also offered more interior color options (including a blue interior!) and featured a more Tuetonic exterior design compared to the swoopy facelift. They also provided a wider range of engine options and a more traditional car feel, while facelifts brought more modern technology and amenities, along with engineering updates to unseen parts of the vehicle.
The five-passenger sedan was both welcoming and safe. The W 210’s rear seat safety was advanced for its time, featuring side airbags (optional) and seat belt pretensioners.
below Safety was a priority, with standard ABS, new door-mounted side airbags (shown), and features like height-adjustable seat belts.
BUyING TIpS
• If you like older Mercedes-Benz, but want to try a W 210, buy a pre-2000 car.
• Sport variants are often get overlooked, especially pre-facelift E 420 Sports with the Aero II Monoblock wheels. These models feature AMG body kits and tuned suspension.
• AMG variants are currently in a price slump. Buy them now if you can. In 2025, E 50s often sell between $20,000 and $30,000, while sorted E 55s can be found in the mid to high teens, depending on mileage and condition.
• RWD wagons with low miles, no rust, and heated seats are hard to find and are increasing in collectability. These are relatively safe purchases.
chEckpOINTS
• On M104 cars, check for head gasket leaks at the rear left and front right corners of the engine block, and verify the mustache seal on the timing chain cover at the front of the engine.
• Performing the 60k mile service on the 722.6 five-speed automatic transmission is essential, and replacing the conductor plate is a “when, not if” repair.
• For OM606 diesel engines, replace glow plugs every 60-90k miles as they tend to fuse to the head.
• Consider a RWD variant if you do not need all-wheel drive. 4MATIC cars were often driven in salty conditions and may have suffered from worn front CV axles.
• The magnesium intake manifold will break apart. If it has a CEL for air intake leaks, prepare for a replacement.
• Original catalytic converters are likely to fail at this age. Tapping from the center of the car while idle and experiencing reduced power or a CEL from a detached cat flipping on its side are common issues.
• Inspecting for rust is important. Avoid cars from states with salted winter roads — check a Carfax or review service invoices to see where it was serviced. Check for rust in these locations:
• Sunroof.
• Fender corners where debris collects.
• Rear hatch on the wagons.
• Spring perches on RWD cars.
• Engine bays.
• Bottoms of doors.
REASONS TO BUy
• Great first cars for younger enthusiasts looking for a fairly modern car with good safety, but is old enough to have some charm and character that will stand out in a school parking lot.
• Clean examples with some options are an affordable way to get started with Mercedes-Benz. Nice examples trade for well under $10k.
• Parts are inexpensive and widely available from Mercedes-Benz, with strong aftermarket support.
• Wide array of engine options, each with a different character.
• An extremely easy car for the home mechanic to service.
• Good, clean examples are easy to find on online auction sites.
REASONS NOT TO BUy
• Mercedes-Benz faced issues with their water-based paints and rust protection chemicals. The chemicals used to dip the bodies would break down during the production week. Cars built on Thursday and Friday rust more easily than those built on Monday and Tuesday. (It’s impossible to tell which day they were built.)
• May have deferred maintenance; always check for service records.
REPORT
story
Ben Everest, The MB Market photographs RM Sotheby’s, Broad Arrow Auctions, The MB Market, Bring a Trailer
On the heels of Pebble Beach, I wager I have more Mercedes-Benz content to discuss than corporate does at this stage. We made it a point to attend every auction and get hands-on with as many Mercedes-Benz vehicles as possible from last month’s “anticipatory” Market Report. While the standout examples won’t surprise anyone, some of the sales figures are worth mentioning. Since the world does, in fact, keep turning during Monterey Car Week, some notable online sales are worth noting, including another AMG Hammer sold on The MB Market and a Track Series AMG GT on Bring a Trailer. Beyond that, Mercedes-Benz came out swinging with a new AMG concept, a limited-production Maybach, and a show display that might be one of the best we’ve seen in years, and I’d like to shine a little of my spotlight on that event in celebration.
According to our records, RM Sotheby’s wins the gold medal for the highest Mercedes-Benz sale during Car Week with their 1935 500 K Special Roadster by Sindelfingen. It sold for a whopping $5.34M and boasted a 1982 Best in Show award along with notable celebrity ownership. This Roadster perfectly embodies the kind of car sale that makes Car Week so remarkable.
Beyond the pre-war Mercedes-Benz, RM took the time to show Blakley Leonard and me around the acclaimed 1991 560 SEC AMG 6.0 Widebody. If that isn’t a mouthful, consider that this coupe also received the Carat Duchatelet treatment in-period, featuring leather, trimmings, veneer, and finishes. With the M117/9 engine, AMG work, and Carat work, this SEC is one of the most interesting examples we’ve seen. While it didn’t sell, the bidding stopped around the $550K mark, and I’d argue that if more buyers had the chance to get as hands-on as we did, it would have sold and perhaps even broken a record. That’s good news for the collectors and enthusiasts on the fence … it’s still for sale at the time of this writing.
Beyond the pre-war Mercedes-Benz, RM took the time to show Blakley Leonard and me around the acclaimed 1991 560 SEC AMG 6.0 Widebody. If that isn’t a mouthful, consider that this coupe also received the Carat Duchatelet treatment in-period, featuring leather, trimmings, veneer, and finishes. With the M117/9 engine, AMG work, and Carat work, this SEC is one of the most interesting examples we’ve seen. While it didn’t sell, the bidding stopped around the $550K mark, and I’d argue that if more buyers had the chance to get as hands-on as we did, it would have sold and perhaps even broken a record. That’s good news for the collectors and enthusiasts on the fence … it’s still for sale at the time of this writing.
1935 Mercedes-Benz 500 K Special Roadster by Sindelfingen; RM Sotheby’s
1991 Mercedes-Benz 560 SEC 6.0 AMG; RM Sotheby’s
The other car we were happy to poke and prod (gently and respectfully, of course) was the 1999 E 55 AMG with only 1,000 miles logged. It seems this car had some notoriety ahead of the sale and had become somewhat of a legend around the Pittsburgh, PA area. Several enthusiasts mentioned they heard whispers of this car sitting for years but could never confirm details before losing track of the conversation or source. It ended up selling for just over $64K with Broad Arrow auctions. There was so much to love about the condition of the car and the lore behind it, but a few overlooked details kept it from approaching the $75,000 to $100,000 estimate expected by Broad Arrow.
One of the better events at Car Week this year was the exclusive launch of the AMG GT XX, or aptly named by Mercedes-Benz, the Mercedes-Benz Stargaze Theatre. Most of us have probably seen news about this car as a comprehensive technological test bed for future AMG models, but my attention stayed on the venue layout and conceptualization of the launch.
More than a dozen iconic Mercedes-Benz models were arranged facing a multi-story video screen as though they traveled through time to witness the debut from various eras. A closer look revealed that each Mercedes-Benz on display was a proverbial movie star all on its own. The “Stargazers” were all selected from the Classic Center or Museum and included the Signal Red R 107 (from Beverly Hills Cop), the pre-production ML 320 used in Jurassic Park (complete with accessories, camo garb, and original tires from the movie), and classics like a mint 600 Pullman and a Rudge-wheel wearing 300 SL coupe in Papyrus White.
I can’t write a market report without mentioning a couple of notable online sales. Among these, I’m especially proud to highlight The MB Market for the sale of another AMG Hammer. This one showed a mere 29K miles and had barely seen the light of day in the last 20 years. We worked to bring this car to market shortly after the Club 233 gathering (something you’ll hear more about soon), with the help of Keenan Eugenio, owner of Stuttgart Steel market prep. The Hammer sold for a whopping $695K and proves that collectors aren’t cooling down on these obscure hot rods, despite the lackluster sales from Gooding & Co. at The Amelia this year.
The most recent sale that caught my attention admittedly surprised me off guard. It was an AMG GT auctioned through Bring a Trailer in August and it brought $510K. It’s not a Black Series, which are now selling for less, but a “Track Series” variant. This means MercedesBenz built this GT to commemorate the 55th anniversary of AMG, doing so by releasing a true track car designed specifically for racing. Only 55 of these cars were built and this one was #43. I’m unsure how to classify this sale or what it means for others, but it clearly shows that collectors are valuing heritage as much as innovation.
Series;
It’s officially been a year since Rubin Howard and the good folks with The Star asked me to compile what we see regularly as “The Market Report,” and I’ve aimed to keep it as diverse and informative as possible. Genuinely, I want to hear from our readers regarding feedback, suggestions for improvements, and topics you’d like covered. If I’m overly focused on one genre versus another, let’s talk about it! If the seven-figure cars aren’t relatable, let’s chat about some cheap beaters! This report works best when our readers are getting the most out of it and we aim to give you what you want. With the show season closing the market report will return to the usual layout in the next issue, and I look forward to sharing the next round of sales and auctions.
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w w w starclassics com info@artsstarclassics com https://w w w ebay com/str/artsstarclassics Pat Evans 757-217-6214 or pevans@schaubachco com above
Drive Shafts --Rear axle assemblies - Bell Housings – Sub Frames - Hydraulic System ComponentsBrake System Components – All Suspension and Air Control Valves - Wheels and Tires – ElectricalHeating and A/C - Head and Tail L amp Assemblies and Components, Front and Rear - Instruments and Gauge assemblies
Period Correct Radio Components – Body sheet metal and Chrome trim – Rubber seals – Glass front, back, and side Assorted Wood Trim - Complete Seat Frame Assemblies - Front and Rear Seat Cushions
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story
Mishelle Orrego
Jim Turpin
opposite
Jim Turpin eased into the driver’s seat of his father’s 1985 MercedesBenz 300 D Turbodiesel, and for a moment, 40 years vanished. The cool touch of the steering wheel and the gentle click of the door closing — it was all exactly as he remembered.
The smell brought him back to his father’s garage in the mid-1980s, when Jim was just 25-years-old, and the W 123 was brand-new, a symbol of engineering excellence and family pride. But this moment almost never happened. Three years earlier, the car was sold-gone, Jim thought, for good. What came next was an odyssey spanning multiple states, three owners, and thousands of miles — a story that proves some cars aren’t just machines. They’re family.
Jim grew up with unreliable American cars that constantly broke down and were always in need of repairs. His father had had enough. In 1981, he bought his first Mercedes-Benz, a W 123 300 D, and never looked back. Four years later, wanting quicker acceleration and performance, he upgraded to the 1985 300 D Turbodiesel, a car renowned for its bulletproof engineering and timeless design.
Jim remembers the pride he felt the first time he saw the MercedesBenz. He was 25 years old then, dreaming of the day he’d own one himself. That day came in 2010 when his father passed, and his Mother graciously handed him the keys. Jim cared for the car for over a decade, building a custom garage to keep it pristine. But in 2022, everything changed. At 63, Jim retired and moved from Austin, Texas, to Taos, New Mexico, a peaceful mountain town where he and his wife, Heidi, could enjoy their golden years. Downsizing was inevitable, and with limited space and few local mechanics familiar with a classic Mercedes-Benz, he made the difficult decision to sell the car.
He sold the 300 D to his real estate agent, an avid car collector, and tried to make peace with it. “At least I knew where it was,” he says. “But every time Heidi asked if I missed it, the answer was yes.” What Jim didn’t know was that Heidi never stopped thinking about the car either.
GETTING ThE 300 D TURBODIESEL BAck
In April 2025, after Jim successfully had cancer surgery, Heidi remembered how much the car meant to him and decided it was time to bring the Mercedes-Benz home. “At first, I thought, maybe I can get it back from the realtor,” Heidi says. But it wasn’t that simple. The realtor had sold it a year earlier to a buyer in Dallas, who, in turn, sold it to a mechanic in Atlanta. Most people would have given up. Not Heidi. “She watches ‘Forensic Files,’” Jim jokes. “She makes me nervous.” Heidi tracked down the Atlanta mechanic, who had just put significant work into the car. At first, he was reluctant to sell, but when he heard the story and learned about Jim’s health, he agreed. The next challenge? Getting the car home without Jim noticing. Heidi devised a clever plan: she told Jim she was visiting her sister in Salt Lake City, even deleting her sister’s number from his phone and pretending to go to a four-hour performance of “Wicked” in case he called. In reality, she flew to Atlanta, picked up the 300 D, and drove 950 miles back to Austin alone in just two days.
“I was so nervous it would fall through,” Heidi admits. But after recalling more of her “Forensic Files” knowledge, she kept her journey low-key and made it back home safely. The mechanic who had owned
Jim’s father, James L. Turpin.
Jim and his 1985 300D Turbodiesel.
the 300 D in Atlanta had kept it in pristine shape, so her 14-hour journey was smooth, yet one to remember.
IT STILL SMELLED LIkE DAD
Two days before his 66th birthday, Heidi pulled off the surprise of a lifetime. “She walked me outside, and there it was,” Jim says, his voice still thick with emotion. “I was flabbergasted. Completely speechless.” The car was better than ever. The mechanic had refreshed key components, and it ran like a dream. “And the best part?” Jim smiles. “It still smelled like Dad.”
For Jim, the Mercedes-Benz is more than just steel and leather. It’s his father’s legacy, a piece of family history, and a reminder that some things are worth holding onto. “Sentiment trumps practicality,” he says. “This car isn’t going anywhere now.”
The W 123 300 D is legendary among Mercedes-Benz enthusiasts for its durability. Built to last a million miles, it has a reputation for dependability that few cars can rival. But for Jim, its greatest strength isn’t what’s under the hood; it’s the memories it holds.
Today, the 300 D sits proudly in Jim’s Austin driveway, just like it did decades ago. When he takes it for a drive, it’s not just a trip down the road — it’s a journey through time.
“It feels great to drive it again,” Jim says. “And this time, it’s never leaving.”
CLASSIFIEDS
1972 280 SE 4.5. $19,000. ODO reads 27,000 miles, TMU. All mechanicals updated (over $6k): kingpins, repack wheel bearings, gaskets, fuel pump, fuel filter, three new calipers, brake pads, brake fluid reservoir, brake flush, power steering box, steering coupler, left rear brake line, valve covers, modulator valve. Runs well. 860.709.2120 rfeiner@feinerwolfson.com (CT)
1986 560 SL. $35,900. Arctic White, red leather, black soft top. Original paint; rust-free. Fully sorted: new tires and fuel pumps. AC, steering, transmission, and brakes serviced. First aid kit, tools, and service records. Just out of long-term ownership of 15 years. Previously owned by bestselling author Agusten Burroghs. 717.406.8015 larryt543@yahoo.com (NY)
1995 E 320 Cabriolet. $19,000. 54,564 mi. All original white/beige interior. Everything works, no rust. Runs great! (650) 455-7800 ray@rklein.com (CA)
1976 280 SLC. Euro-Spec. Automatic, power windows, power sunroof. Imported in the 80s in Seattle, locally kept. Silver over blue velour. Mechanically reliable and a true driver’s condition car.
425.435.7209 arya.kani@yahoo.com (WA)
1987 560 SL . $29,999. Price lowered. 86,360 mi. Black/Palomino interior, Two tops, new tires, new fuel injectors, replaced fuel accumulator recently. Paint and interior are in great condition. 617.908.1457 fimmyz06@gmail.com (MA)
2000 SL 500 designo Slate Blue Edition. $29,500. 68,000 miles. The airbox was autographed by my racing hero Roger Penske during the Grand Opening of Mercedes Benz of Chantilly, Virginia on Thursday, July 1, 2010. This is 1 of 129 edition. All top hydraulics replaced. LFP030207@outlook.com (NC)
1985 300 TD Turbo Diesel. $15,000. 110,000 miles. Petrol Green with tan interior. Low miles for diesel. Third row seat. Starts and runs very smoothly. Has had rust repair-some rust still visible on bottom of doors. Much appears to be original so some work is needed. Text your interest and I will call you back. 574.320.2376 cpa4iu@gmail.com (IN)
1989 560 SL . 55,647 miles. 55,647 miles. Pearl Black with Cayenne leather interior, black soft top and hard top. Runs and drives like new, cold AC. cplowmanrun@gmail.com (NC)
2008 E 350 4MATIC. $12,500. 110,000 miles. Black/beige interior. Drives and handles like new. The interior is immaculate. Always garaged. No accidents. Dealer serviced. Everything has been brought up to new condition Records and Maintenance Log available. mike.mchann@eccotek.com (TN)
Submit to classifieds@mbca.org
2012 SL 550. $26,900. 62,845 miles. Palladium Silver. Grey/dark grey interior. Burl Walnut trim. Michelin Sport tires w/3,500 miles. New accessory battery (8/25). Replaced engine and transmission mounts, ABC Front Struts (7/15/23). First-owner. Car Fax shows front end minor damage. Excellent condition, dealer maintained. Call or text. 405.823.1946. billware@mac.com (OK)
2014 ML 350 4MATIC. $16,000. 102,000 miles. Palladium silver, almond beige interior. Fully serviced/documented/window sticker. Garaged, never smoked in. Loaded, active parking assist, Keyless-Go. Heated front seats and steering wheel. Rear cargo cover and cargo mat. 20” AMG wheels, Michelin tires, and four wheels with Michelin X-Ice tires. dailbodziony@gmail.com (WY)
2020 AMG E 53 4MATIC+ Cabriolet. $50,000. 45,000 miles. Rubelite Red metallic with brown top. Nappa Saddle Brown/black leather. AMG Performance Exhaust, Parking Assist, Exterior Carbon Fiber, HUD, Soft-close doors, heated/ ventilated front seats. WeatherTech floor liners. Dealer serviced at regular intervals. Clean title. Stored winters. VIN W1K1K6BB6LF138570 kuschrichard@gmail.com (WI)
1999 E 300 TD sedan searching for part # 606-180-12-10, Oil Filter Housing. If you have this part, please contact me at: pfinie@earthlink. net and let me know the cost, plus shipping. 805. 484.8202 pfinie@earthlink.net (CA)
2015 E 350 Sport. RWD. $18,500. 51,000 miles. Black/tan MB-Tex with dark wood trim. Only maintained at dealer or Mercedes-Benz specialists. Car lived most of its life in Palm Beach, FL; I recently shipped it out to California. nickhsu@gmail.com (CA)
BEWARE OF SCAMMERS!
Online crooks can scam you. It’s best to sell to someone you know, or to confirm the transaction with a mutual friend, like a club member. Note that cashier’s checks are easily faked. Ask for a direct bankto-bank transfer and confirm receipt before releasing your car. The most common scam is when the Scammers offers more than your asking price, paying with a cashier’s check, with excess to be used by you to pay for shipping.
1975 450 SL hardtop. White. Lost our car in a fire and top was not on it. Excellent shape including upholstery. Includes storage rack and cover, also lift to remove. $400 OBO.
256.651.0995 jonabass@bellsouth.net (AL)
CLASSIFIEDS
Looking for long-term storage recommendations in the greater Clearwater area for a full-scale 1904 Simplex R replica, arriving end of this month from Europe. Has to be protected against hurricanes, floods, and theft/vandalism. Dimensions are a smidge under 15’x6’x6’. Thanks in advance.
248.425.4757 alexfromsweden@hotmail.com
Large signage Mercedes-Benz block letter sign. LED-lit 10 feet x 64 inches. Ideal for garage, condo or shop. $1,200. nordquistc@centurylink.net (MN)
Set of four AMG 19” wheels/tires. Part# A21340112000. New Goodyear 245/40R19/512 bolt pattern. Will fit E-Class/S/SL. One AMG monoblock 18”x8” 2009 like-new #A2114012102 8 8jx19/512 bolt pattern. Customer pays shipping. 419.215.9626 Chrisbenzallen@gmail.com (PA)
Large signage from remodeled dealership. 6 feet x 5 feet x 6 inches. Factory Star signage. 125 pounds. $3,700. nordquistc@centurylink.net (MN)
Literature/Books/Misc. Sales literature from 1970 to 2022. Many of the models that Mercede-Benz produced. Send me an email (no text) for a complete list with special pricing for MBCA members, before I list on eBay. I joined the club in 1967 and have many catalogs and books to place in good hands. Bill Burkhardt 913.648-1835. (Landline, no texting) wburkhardt@kc.rr.com
Large signage for sale. Signs are from remodeled dealership. 4 feet x 4 feet. Can be back lit. Approx. 20 pounds. $900. nordquistc@centurylink.net (MN)
Looking for the perfect gift for the car enthusiast in your life? Explore the MBCA Club Store and give something that celebrates passion, heritage, and the joy of the drive!
We offer hats, tote bags, windshield clings, decals, stickers, metal license plate frames, and anniversary pins for your hat or lapel, and more.
Prices include USPS shipping.
BACK ISSUES OF THE STAR®
Price: $15.00
BALL CAPS
Size: 13-1/4" H x 11-5/8" W x 5-7/8" D Visit mercedes-benz-club-of-america.square.site or scan the QR code to visit the MBCA Club Store.
The MBCA logo is embroidered on the front.
Price: $30.00
• Fabric: Brushed cotton
• Six panel construction
• Medium profile
• Structured crown
• Stitched eyelets
• Pre-curved bill with contrast trim
• Self material hook and loop strap closure
Size: One size fits most
Colors: Black or White
MBCA KOOZIE® QUILTED COOLER TOTE
The MBCA logo is embroidered on the front.
Price: $50.00
• Outer Material: 420D polyester
• Foam insulation
• Heat sealed, leak-resistant PEVA lining
• Zippered main compartment
• Zippered front vertical pocket
• Plastic D-Ring on left carry handle
• Dual 22" carry handles
• Adjustable shoulder strap
CHAPTER GUIDE
United States of America
ALABAMA
Alabama-NW Florida
Stephen Levet stephen.levet@outlook.com
ARIZONA
Chaparral
Ruth Richard Mahoney Thunderheadmorgans @hotmail.com
Desert Stars
Debbie Ichiyama dichiyama@me.com 808.282.5249
ARKANSAS
Ozark Dennis Anderson dt.anderson@cox.net 479.295.8008
CALIFORNIA
Central California
Kathryn Splivalo kaspliv@gmail.com 559.289.0578
Channel Islands
Peter Samaha psamaha@msn.com 805.890.8489
Los Angeles Brigitte Trapp brigittetrapp@me.com
Orange County
Chris Shank mbcaorangecounty @gmail.com
Sacramento David Michael demichael@gmail.com 415.939.9000
San Diego
Steve Ross jnewsx@sbcglobal.net 619.508.3925
San Francisco Bay Area
Alison Lewis divalewis@sbcglobal.net
COLORADO
Mile High
Whitlow Wong whitlowwong@comcast.net
Pikes Peak
Steve Dierks steve.dierks@gmail.com 719.659.9959
CONNECTICUT
Connecticut/Westchester
Winthrop E. Baum win@winbaum.com 203.858.6300
FLORIDA
Central Florida Contact National Vice Chair
Road Star Barry Paraizo ferrbp@bellsouth.net 561.310.8957
South Florida Contact National Vice Chair
Southern Stars Dan Renda dprenda25@gmail.com
Southwest Florida Christopher Pakietur cpakietur@gmail.com 239.287.1368
Tampa Bay Greg Watson gwatson511@verizon.net
GEORGIA
Central Georgia Thomas Couch tommycouch@live.com 478.741.9014
Peachtree
Rusty Duncan rusty@xxlerate.com 404.414.9091
HAWAII
Hawaii Joseph Figaroa josephkfigaroa corporation@gmail.com 808.855.5604
IDAHO
Idaho Robert Heath rwheath75@hotmail.com 208.599.3334
ILLINOIS
Central Illinois Bernice Haverhals bhaverhals@yahoo.com
Chicagoland Stephanie Santiago ssantiago.stock@gmail.com 224.361.6744
INDIANA
Indiana Crossroads
Roger Brummett roger@metroelevator.com 317.721.2784
Three Rivers
Kenneth Long k.long2510@yahoo.com
IOWA
Iowa Hawkeye Michael Kaldenberg kaldenberg.family.pc @gmail.com
KANSAS
Wichita Kirk Filbey rkfilbey@gmail.com
KENTUCKY
Bluegrass Stars J. Anne Gilliland mbca2023jag@yahoo.com
LOUISIANA
New Orleans
Sandy Downing sandown60@aol.com 504.813.3086
MASSACHUSETTS
Minuteman Dean Coclin mbca.minuteman @gmail.com 781.789.8686
MICHIGAN
International Stars Don MacDonald don.macdonald1 @gmail.com 248.647.8430
Western Michigan Joe Royston joe.royston@gmail.com 616.498.0457
MINNESOTA
Minnesota John Jacobson benzboy@comcast.net 651.690.5115
MISSISSIPPI
Mississippi Mike Marsh mike@marshmarketing.ms 601.946.1950
MISSOURI
Kansas City Rich Carlson rich@kcmbca.org
St. Louis Gateway Rick Siefert rick.siefert@att.net 314.435.1903
Carolinas Richard Mabie richardmabie@att.net 803.403.6602
TENNESSEE
Memphis Michael McHann mike@eccotek.com
Nashville Randy Bibb rbibb@lewisthomason.com 615.259.1349
TEXAS
Fort Worth DJ de Jesus djdejesus@charter.net 817.732.8773
Houston Erroll Hines eahines@aol.com
Lone Star Ginny Pitzen ginnypitzen@yahoo.com
North Texas Jerry Chenault jerr3111@msn.com
Texas Hill Country John Briggs johnrb2018@gmail.com
VIRGINIA
Central Virginia Todd Lusby tlusby@gmail.com
Greater Washington Rugger Smith prsmith3@msn.com 703.861.0402
Virginia Tom Dawson hdawson4@gmail.com
WASHINGTON
Seattle David Glass davidr.glass@att.net 425.869.6706
WISCONSIN
Wisconsin Bruce Hamilton n12em@sbcglobal.net 608.754.6066
NATIONAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2025
chAIRMAN
VIcE chAIRMAN Diana Quinn
Canada
BRITISH COLUMBIA
British Columbia Sean Clark elsidca@yahoo.com
Vancouver Island
Robert Watson mbca.visland@gmail.com 250.652.5667
ONTARIO
Ottawa Thomas Lang tlang1@sympatico.ca
Toronto
Contact National Vice Chair
Useful Contacts
MERCEDES-BENZ USA
Customer Assistance
800.367.6372 (U.S.)
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CLASSIC PARTS & INFO
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PAST PRESIDENTS
1955-1957 Dr. Milton Allen † 1957-1959 Dr. Ken Bartlett, Jr. † 1959-1960 L. B. Kirkendall † 1960-1961 Arthur G. Rippey † 1961-1962 Allen G. Bishop † 1962-1964 John W. Burnside † 1964-1966 Walter G. Vartan 1966-1968 Frank S. Baker † 1968-1970 Harger W. Dodge † 1970-1972 J. Chadwick Hunt † 1972-1974 Otto Saborsky † 1974-1976 Allen Funkhouser † 1976-1977 Tracy Williams † 1977-1978 Thomas Doherty † 1978-1979 Fred Lustig † 1979-1981 Phil Parrino † 1981-1982 Ferne Gardner † 1982-1984 Grant Elford † 1984-1986 Hyatt Cheek 1986-1988 Murdoch Campbell † † Deceased
1988-1990 Virginia Turner
1990-1992 Robert Beltz
1992-1994 Robert A. Martin †
1994-1996 Kathy Kennel †
1996-1998 Walt Anderson
1998-1999 W. Robert Nitske †
1999-2001 H. Peter Watson
2001-2003 Donald Leap †
2003-2005 Richard Simonds
2005-2007 Jim O’Sullivan
2007-2009 Peter Lesler
2009-2011 Rodger Van Ness
2011-2013 Steve Dierks
2013-2017 Terry Kiwala
2017-2019 Gene Jurick
2020-2022 Julie Brugger
2022-2023 Doug Geganto
2023-2024 Drew Webb
COMMITTEES
In transition, please contact Chairman, Charles Woods (charlesbwoods1@gmail.com) or Katie Carruth (katie@mbca.org) for more information.
