Posts tagged with ‘Mercedes’

There it was, parked under a tree. Three years of rain, snow, leaves, and dirt shrouded what was once a beautiful example of a 1973 Mercedes Benz 450SE, but instead, it sat with 3 inches of standing water inside of it, along with an abundance of mold and resident spiders, living lavishly by most measures. “All it needs is a fuel pump,” Jose Torres was told by his brother in law, the second owner of the car, feeding a line familiar to Craigslist conquistadors like you and I.

There’s something rather difficult to express about the pillarless coupe as a whole. There have been a few examples brought to market, most of which seemingly get remembered as staples in their lineup: unique bits of design that stand out from the crowd. From BMW’s E9 and E31 8-series to a slew of Muscle Cars from the ’60s  and ’70s, such as the 1965 Impala Coupe… all heralded for their superior design over their counterparts.

Rob Dern’s infatuation with Mercedes’s C126 platform began early: through movies and pop culture, the 560 SEC rose quickly to prominence as an end-all in automotive prowess through the ’80s and ’90s. Gangsters and rockstars alike turned to the massive coupe as a catchall for performance and poise, and understandably, Rob’s attention was fixed on the coupe for years and years to come.

It’s hard to imagine that a car like Robert Redlich’s 1958 Mercedes 190SL is merely “making due,” a stop-gap of sorts. Believe it or not, it’s “settling,” but that’s only because one of the most iconic Mercedes Benz chassis of all time — the W198 300SL Gullwing — brings in a million bucks on a bad day. On a good one? Two, maybe more.

In Tauriq Ajam’s eyes, there’s an inexplicable charm to the W114 and W115 Mercedes Benz chassis. From the iconic Mercedes grille and the stacked glass headlamps that make for an unforgettable front end, to the soft, swept body lines that still reveal a somewhat boxy shape, there’s an exuded air of confidence and old money that comes with such a machine. It’s impossible not to feel a bit like an integral part of organized crime – a mobster – behind the wheel.