{"id":10770,"date":"2019-12-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-05T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.secret-classics.com\/mercedes-benz-280-se-3-5-cabriolet-2\/"},"modified":"2020-10-08T14:45:20","modified_gmt":"2020-10-08T14:45:20","slug":"mercedes-benz-280-se-3-5-cabriolet-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.secret-classics.com\/en\/mercedes-benz-280-se-3-5-cabriolet-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Mercedes-Benz 280 SE 3.5 Cabriolet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In 1959, the W 111 series made its debut at Mercedes-Benz, today classified as one of the forerunners of the S-Class in the luxury automobile class. In addition to the classic sedan, there was the ‘Universal’ station wagon built by I.M.A. in Belgium in 1966 and ’67 on behalf of the factory, as well as the Coup\u00e9 from spring 1961 and the Cabriolet from autumn 1961. Both were based on the sedan’s unshortened platform and therefore offered more then enough space for four passengers. Optically, they were based on the four-door model, but had completely independent bodyworks without the use of identical parts. Instead, the vast majority of exterior parts were produced by time-consuming manual labour, which significantly increased the production time compared to the sedan. As a result, prices were almost doubled. Apart from the 600 (W 100), the Coup\u00e9s and Cabriolets of the W 111 and W 112 series (the latter with air suspension) were the last models from Mercedes-Benz to be made predominantly by hand.

From 1961 to 1965, both two-door models were available exclusively with a 2.2-liter inline six-cylinder engine with Bosch injection system and 88 kW\/120 hp under unusual official sales designation 220 SE(b)\/C. These abbreviations were abandoned in 1965 with the introduction of the 110 kW\/150 hp strong 250 SE. At the end of 1967, the 280 SE with 118 kW\/160 hp followed and from 1969 Mercedes-Benz offered the new top model 280 SE 3.5 with a 3.5 liter V8 engine and 147 kW\/200 hp. It was the first post-war Mercedes model with a displacement of more than three liters. Compared to the smaller engine, this model had a flatter and wider radiator grille (also introduced on the 280 SE at the same time), which led to the unofficial name ‘Flachk\u00fchler’ (flat radiator) in Germany. Until the end of 1967 the 300 SE with air suspension, additional chrome parts, power steering and finally up to 125 kW\/170 hp thanks to a six-piston injection pump was placed above those versions in the model series W 112. A total of 28,918 Coup\u00e9s and 7,013 Cabriolets of the W 111 series left the production in Sindelfingen until 1971. While the Cabriolets originally were only about ten percent more expensive than the Coup\u00e9s, today they are many times more valuable due to their rarity. It took Mercedes-Benz more than 20 years before they again included a four-seater convertible in their model range.<\/p>\n\n\n

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