- See Mercedes-Benz S-Class
The Mercedes-Benz S-Class is a series of the largest sedans produced by Mercedes-Benz, a division of Daimler AG. The S-Class, a product of nine lines of Mercedes-Benz models dating since the mid-1950s, has ranked as the world's best-selling luxury flagship sedan...
for a complete overview of all S-Class models.
The
Mercedes-Benz W108/W109 model series was a large luxury car line built by
Mercedes-BenzMercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of luxury automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. It is currently a division of the parent company, Daimler AG , after previously being owned by Daimler-Benz...
from 1965 through 1972. The W108/W109 was a replacement for the higher end of the "Fintail" sedan range, with
three-box stylingThe design of car bodies following the Second World War progressed along a series of having their fenders and running-boards seemingly melted into the car body...
similar to the W111/
W112The Mercedes-Benz W112 was the top model in the line of six-cylinder luxury cars built in the mid-1960s. Three models were produced by Mercedes-Benz: the 300SE sedan, coupé, and cabriolet from 1961, all using the same 170 PS three liter injected engine made of aluminium. The long wheelbase...
coupes. The somewhat controversial fins of the so-called earlier W111 "Heckflosse" were eliminated by designer
Paul BracqPaul Bracq is one of the world's leading automotive designers as well as one of the world's leading automotive artists...
.
The Range
The initial lineup featured three Straight 6 engined
W108 (short-wheelbase, coil-sprung suspension) models: the 250S, 250SE and 300SE. The long-wheelbase
W109 featured initially just one model, the 300SEL, which was equipped with
self-levellingSelf-levelling refers to an automobile suspension system that maintains a constant ride height of the vehicle above the road, regardless of load....
air suspensionAir suspension is a type of vehicle suspension powered by an engine driven or electric air pump or compressor. This pump pressurizes the air, using compressed air as a spring. Air suspension replaces conventional steel springs. If the engine is left off for an extended period, the car will settle...
.
In 1967, the 250S and 250SE were replaced by the 280S and 280SE. The 300SE was deleted and the 300SEL received the 280's new 2.8-litre engine.
The 300SEL 6.3 was the most exclusive and extravagant Mercedes money could buy, except for the 600. The 6.3 engined V8 300SEL was launched in March, 1968: it used the engine first seen in the
600The Mercedes-Benz 600 was a large luxury automobile, intended to represent the absolute pinnacle of automotive engineering. When introduced in September, 1963, it had few competitors, except Rolls-Royce and stretched limousines produced by Cadillac and Lincoln...
model, which equipped the lighter bodied W109 for a claimed headline grabbing 0-60 mph (0–96 km/h) time of 6.3 seconds. US market detoxification requirements sapped the performance a little west of the
AtlanticThe Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres , it covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface and about one-quarter of its water surface area. The first part of its name refers to the Atlas of Greek...
, but the 300 SEL 6.3 was nonetheless the flagship model in the Mercedes line-up. It was deemed by many the world's best car and fastest production saloon, and held this title for many years.
By 1970 the absence of a more mainstream V8 engined version was seen as a handicap in the US market, and this gap was plugged in the W108 and W109 versions with the introduction of a 3.5 litre V8 engines, to be joined a year later by a 4.5 litre V8 destined at this stage only for the US market. By this time development of the
Mercedes-Benz W116The Mercedes-Benz W116 was a series of flagship vehicles produced from 1972 through 1980. The W116 automobiles were the first Mercedes-Benz models to be officially called S-Class, although earlier sedan models had already unofficially been designated with the letter 'S' - for Sonderklasse or...
was well advanced, and the V8 engined W108s were differentiated from the forthcoming models by retaining the 280 and 300 designations. Thus the first Mercedes Benz 350 SE would be the W116, appearing only in 1972. The short wheel base version of the W108, when fitted with the 3.5 engine, was badged as the 280 SE 3.5.
Note: The picture on the right is a W111 Cabriolet. Styling of W108 models were based on the W111/2 Coupe and cabriolet models.
Improvements
The W108/W109 vehicles carried over many of the basic engineering principles from previous models, but had many refinements to make them some of the most well equipped cars of the era. The 300SE and 300SEL were especially well appointed, featuring burled walnut dashboards, automatic transmission and power windows. The 300SEL 4.5 featured a sophisticated and advanced 4.5L V8 petrol engine, which was carried over to the W116 S-class and R107 SL roadster, as was the smaller 3.5L unit.
Transmission
The standard transmission for Europe was a four-speed manual gearbox. A four-speed automatic option was also available. Unusually among mainstream European auto-makers of the time, Mercedes developed and built their own automatic transmission system. For the six-cylinder models only, a five-speed manual gearbox was also offered, from 1969, though few customers opted for it.
When the V8-engined cars were introduced in 1970, the default transmission was the four-speed automatic box, driven via a fluid flywheel rather than the more usual torque converter. Buyers could still opt for a four-speed manual box, however, and benefitted from a price reduction if they did so. The 4.5 litre version offered from 1971 but only in the USA, was fitted with a three-speed automatic box with a torque converter. This engine/transmission combination became more widely available when incorporated in the
successorThe Mercedes-Benz W116 was a series of flagship vehicles produced from 1972 through 1980. The W116 automobiles were the first Mercedes-Benz models to be officially called S-Class, although earlier sedan models had already unofficially been designated with the letter 'S' - for Sonderklasse or...
model.
W108
Note: The cabriolet and Coupe models looking so similar to a W108 are W111 and W112 (Air suspension models). They are often mistaken for W108's, but look similar as the W108 design was based on the earlier W111/2 Coupe/cabriolet models.
| Chassis code |
Years |
Model |
Engine |
| W108.012 |
1965–1969 |
250S |
2.5 L M108 I6The straight-six engine or inline-six engine is a six cylinder internal combustion engine with all six cylinders mounted in a straight line along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft...
|
| W108.014 |
1965–1968 |
250SE |
2.5 L M129 I6The straight-six engine or inline-six engine is a six cylinder internal combustion engine with all six cylinders mounted in a straight line along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft...
|
| W108.015 |
1965–1967 |
300SEb |
3.0 L M189 I6The straight-six engine or inline-six engine is a six cylinder internal combustion engine with all six cylinders mounted in a straight line along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft...
|
| W108.016 |
1967–1972 |
280S |
2.8 L M130 The Mercedes Benz M130 Engine was the last and largest of the ‘mid-sized’ Single Over Head Camshaft straight-6 cylinder engines produced by Mercedes Benz. The ‘mid-sized six’ started life as the 2.2 litre M180 which was unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor show in September 1951 alongside the new...
I6The straight-six engine or inline-six engine is a six cylinder internal combustion engine with all six cylinders mounted in a straight line along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft...
|
| W108.018 |
1967–1972 |
280SE |
2.8 L M130 The Mercedes Benz M130 Engine was the last and largest of the ‘mid-sized’ Single Over Head Camshaft straight-6 cylinder engines produced by Mercedes Benz. The ‘mid-sized six’ started life as the 2.2 litre M180 which was unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor show in September 1951 alongside the new...
I6The straight-six engine or inline-six engine is a six cylinder internal combustion engine with all six cylinders mounted in a straight line along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft...
|
| W108.019 |
1968–1971 |
280SEL |
2.8 L M130 The Mercedes Benz M130 Engine was the last and largest of the ‘mid-sized’ Single Over Head Camshaft straight-6 cylinder engines produced by Mercedes Benz. The ‘mid-sized six’ started life as the 2.2 litre M180 which was unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor show in September 1951 alongside the new...
I6The straight-six engine or inline-six engine is a six cylinder internal combustion engine with all six cylinders mounted in a straight line along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft...
|
| W108.057 |
1970–1972 |
280SE 3.5 |
3.5 L M116 V8A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....
|
| W108.058 |
1970–1972 |
280SEL 3.5 |
3.5 L M116 V8A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....
|
| W108.067 |
1971–1972 |
280SE 4.5 |
4.5 L M117 The Mercedes-Benz M117 engine family is an OHC design with 2 valves per cylinder V8 automobile engine made by Mercedes-Benz between 1969 and 1992.- Technical details :- Applications :...
V8A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....
|
| W108.068 |
1971–1972 |
280SEL 4.5 |
4.5 L M117 The Mercedes-Benz M117 engine family is an OHC design with 2 valves per cylinder V8 automobile engine made by Mercedes-Benz between 1969 and 1992.- Technical details :- Applications :...
V8A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....
|
W109
| Chassis code |
Years |
Model |
Engine |
| W109.015 |
1965–1967 |
300SEL |
3.0 L M189 I6The straight-six engine or inline-six engine is a six cylinder internal combustion engine with all six cylinders mounted in a straight line along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft...
|
| W109.016 |
1967–1970 |
300SEL |
2.8 L M130 The Mercedes Benz M130 Engine was the last and largest of the ‘mid-sized’ Single Over Head Camshaft straight-6 cylinder engines produced by Mercedes Benz. The ‘mid-sized six’ started life as the 2.2 litre M180 which was unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor show in September 1951 alongside the new...
I6The straight-six engine or inline-six engine is a six cylinder internal combustion engine with all six cylinders mounted in a straight line along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft...
|
| W109.018 |
1967–1972 |
300SEL 6.3 |
6.3 L M100The Mercedes-Benz M100 Engine was introduced in the 1963 Mercedes-Benz 600 with 6.3 litres, and later also used in the Mercedes-Benz 300SEL 6.3 from 1968 onwards, and even larger, in the 1970s Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9....
V8A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....
|
| W109.056 |
1969–1972 |
300SEL 3.5 |
3.5 L M116 V8A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....
|
| W109.057 |
1971–1972 |
300SEL 4.5 |
4.5 L M117 The Mercedes-Benz M117 engine family is an OHC design with 2 valves per cylinder V8 automobile engine made by Mercedes-Benz between 1969 and 1992.- Technical details :- Applications :...
V8A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....
|
(W108 E28)
! width="11%"|280 SEL
(W108 E28)
! width="11%"|280 SE 3.5 (W108 E35)†
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| Produced: || align="center" |1965 - 1969 || align="center" |1965 - 1968 || align="center" |1965 - 1967 || colspan="2" align="center" |1968 - 1972 || align="center" |1968 - 1971 || align="center" |1971 - 1972
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| Engine: || colspan="6" align="center" |6-cylinder-inline engine (four-stroke), front-mounted || align="center" | 90° 8-cylinder-V engine (four-stroke), front-mounted
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| Bore x Stroke: || colspan="2" align="center" |82 mm x 78.8 mm || align="center" |85 mm x 88 mm || colspan="3" align="center" |86.5 mm x 78.8 mm || align="center" |92 mm x 65.8 mm
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| Displacement: || colspan="2" align="center" |2496 cc || align="center" |2996 cc || colspan="3" align="center" |2778 cc || align="center" |3499 cc
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| Max. Power @ rpm: || align="center" | @ 5400 || align="center" | @ 5500 || align="center" | @ 5400 || align="center" | @ 4200 || align="center" | @ 5500 || align="center" | @ 5500 || align="center" | @ 5800
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| Max. Torque @ rpm: || align="center" | @ 4000 || align="center" | @ 4200 || align="center" | @ 4000 || align="center" | @ 3600 || align="center" | @ 4250 || align="center" | @ 4250 || align="center" | @ 4000
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| Compression Ratio: || align="center" |9.0: 1 || align="center" |9.5: 1 || align="center" |8.8: 1 || align="center" |9.0: 1 || align="center" |9.5: 1 || align="center" |9.5: 1 || align="center" |9.5: 1
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| Fuel feed: || align="center" | Two 1-bbl Zenith 35/40 || colspan="2" align="center" | Bosch injection || align="center" | Two 1-bbl Zenith 35/40 || colspan="2" align="center" | Bosch injection || align="center" | Electronic Bosch injection
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| Fuel tank capacity: || colspan="7" align="center" |
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| Valvetrain: || colspan="7" align="center" | SOHC, duplex chain
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| Cooling: || colspan="7" align="center" |Water
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| Gearbox: || colspan="7" align="center" | 4-speed manual w/ column or floor shifter or 4-speed automatic
rear wheel drive, standard axle ratio 3.92:1 or 3.69:1 (V8: 3.46:1)
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| Electrical system: || colspan="7" align="center" | 12 volt
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| Front suspension: || colspan="7" align="center" | Double wishbones, coil springs, stabilising bar
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| Rear suspension:: || colspan="7" align="center" | Swing axle, radius arms, coil springs
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| Brakes: || colspan="7" align="center" | Disc brakes (Ø 273 mm front, 279 mm rear), power assisted
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| Steering: || colspan="7" align="center" | Recirculating ball steering, manual or servo-assisted
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| Body structure: || colspan="7" align="center" | Sheet steel, monocoque (unibody) construction
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| || colspan="7" align="center" |
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| || colspan="7" align="center" |
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| Dry weight: || align="center" | || align="center" | || align="center" | || align="center" | || align="center" | || align="center" | || align="center" |
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| Loaded weight: || align="center" | || align="center" | || align="center" | || align="center" | || align="center" | || align="center" | || align="center" |
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| || colspan="7" align="center" |
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| Track front/
rear: || colspan="7" align="center" | /
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| Wheelbase: || colspan="7" align="center" | S/SE:
SEL:
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| || colspan="7" align="center" |
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| Length: || colspan="7" align="center" | S/SE:
SEL:
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| Width: || colspan="7" align="center" |
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| Height: || colspan="7" align="center" |
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| || colspan="7" align="center" |
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| || colspan="7" align="center" |
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| Tyre/Tire sizes: || colspan="6" align="center" | 7.35 H14 or 185 H 14 || align="center" | 185 V 14
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| || colspan="7" align="center" |
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| || colspan="7" align="center" |
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| Top speed: || align="center" | || align="center" ||| align="center" | || align="center" | || align="center" | || align="center" | || align="center" |
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| Fuel Consumption (estimate): || colspan="2" align="center" | || align="center" | || colspan="2" align="center" | || align="center" | || align="center" |
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| Price Germany
USA: || align="center" | DM 15,300
$ 5,747 || align="center" | DM 16,850
$ 6,385 || align="center" | DM 21,500
$ 8,048 || align="center" | DM 17,000
$ 5,897 || align="center" | DM 18,600
$ 6,222 || align="center" | DM NA
$ 6,622 || align="center" | DM 24,920
$ 10,076
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
| Notes: || colspan="7" | † North American version (280 SE 4.5/280 SEL 4.5) with 4.5 liter V8, 230 hp/278 lbs ft
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
|}