“If you feel compelled to ask the price, not only will you never understand anything about this car, but you have just shown that you are incapable of appreciating its qualities, even if you were offered one. - Car & Driver about the Mercedes-Benz 280 SE 3.5 liter.
The fact that Car & Driver felt compelled to point out the price of the 280 SE is best understood when you consider that at $13,500 in 1970, it was not only $3,500 more than the equivalent sedan, but also more than twice that of a Cadillac Deville coupe! The very luxurious 280 SE coupé/cabriolet (and the 300 SEL saloon) had been chosen by Mercedes-Benz to unveil its magnificent new 3.5-litre V8 in 1969. Supersquare with an aluminum alloy cylinder head and block, equipped with With a single overhead camshaft, this all-new state-of-the-art engine developed 200 hp, thanks to Bosch electronic injection and transistorized ignition. Thus equipped, the coupé/cabriolet reached a good 200 km/h with the 0 to 100 km/h in 9.5 seconds, a substantial improvement over the performance of the six-cylinder version. Although the equivalent SEL saloon used the "next generation" bodywork, both coupe and convertible retained the elegant bodywork that debuted in 1959 on the 220 SE and, as a luxury top model, received automatic transmission, air conditioning, electric windows and a stereophonic audio system as standard. The 280 SE was to be the last model to receive this much-loved elegant bodywork and these last great classics of the line are highly sought after by discerning Mercedes-Benz enthusiasts today.
This Mercedes-Benz 280 SE 3.5 liter coupé was delivered new in France to the famous actor Lino Ventura who was its first owner.
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