Just What Is The Difference Between a Mercedes-Benz 450SEL and 450SEL 6.9?
Gotta love Road & Track‘s vehicular diagrams.
The question of torque surfaced after I had made the (ludicrous) assertion (or is it?) that Mercedes might introduce a “retrofit 450SEL Duck-amphibious-vehicle.”
Zarba suggested the 6.9′s was the engine that one would need to turn the vehicle’s truck tyres through serious mud (see the previous post > and you’ll get the joke).
I had never previously been clear on the specific difference entre les deux.
I am now.
Here it is >>>
– Performance Test Results from Road & Track –
U.S. Spec 450SE*
- Engine: 4.5 liter, SOCH V8
- Displacement: 4520cc
- Horsepower (70′s rating): 190 bhp @ 4750 rpm
- Torque: 240 lbs-ft @ 3000 rpm
- Curb weight: 4,030 lbs
- 0-50 mph: 8.0 seconds
- 0-60 mph: 10.6 seconds
- 0-100 mph: 28.8 seconds
- Engine: 6.9 liter, SOCH V8
- Displacement: 6834cc (!)
- Horsepower (70′s rating): 250 bhp @ 4000 rpm
- Torque: 360 lbs-ft @ 2500 rpm (!)
- Curb weight: 4,270 lbs
- 0-50 mph: 6.3 seconds
- 0-60 mph: 8.2 seconds
- 0-100 mph: 21.1 seconds
The 450SEL 6.9′s advantage
- Engine: 2.4 more liters
- Displacement: 2314cc larger engine
- Horsepower (70′s rating): 60 more horsepower
- Torque: 120 more pounds per feet of torque available 500 rpm sooner
- Curb weight: n/a
- 0-50 mph: 1.7 seconds faster
- 0-60 mph: 2.4 seconds faster
- 0-100 mph: 7.7 seconds faster
I included the standstill to 50 mph figures to give you an idea of how quickly both Benzes were moving before 60 mph (today’s standard acceleration gauge point). Both sedans’ sub-sixty times place the 70s Benzes into 90s era performance standards.
Initially, I reasoned that the significant time difference between 50 to 60 mph was likely due to both sedans’ slow shifting three-speed autos. On further investigation, however, this proved only half true. The gear change was a factor for the 450SE, it wasn’t the case for the 6.9.
According to the test data, the 450SE’s gearbox swapped first for second at 59 mph; bellowing at 5500 rpm. The 6.9′s automatic waited until 66 mph came at 5200 rpm and then charged to 100 mph before up-shifting again to final gear.
Fascinating to note that while there is an enormous difference in terms of raw power, this technical disparity really translates in performance only when the 6.9 surges to triple digit velocity. This is when a serious vacuum of time and space opens between the two Teutonic titans.
And there lies the difference.
Oh, and to give you some contemporary perspective on just how mighty the 6.9 engine truly is, here’s how it compares with that of the 2007 BMW M5.
6.9 Engine: 6.9 liter, SOCH V8
’07 M5 Engine: 5.0 liter, DOCH V10
6.9 Displacement: 6834cc
’07 M5 Displacement: 4999cc
6.9 Horsepower: 250 bhp @ 4000 rpm
’07 M5 Horsepower: 500 bhp @ 7750 rpm
6.9 Torque:
360 lbs-ft @ 2500 rpm’07 M5 Torque: 383 lbs-ft @ 6100 rpm
[Sources: BMWUSA.com, Road & Track: 6/73 Road Test Mercedes-Benz 450SE; 9/75 Road Test 450SEL 6.9]
NOTE *: There was no power differentiation between standard and long wheelbase models (SE v. SEL); near negligible weight difference when considering the affect of said difference on performance times.
About the Author: Gunnar Heinrich is publisher of Automobiles De Luxe online and is executive producer of the Automobiles De Luxe Television series on PBS member station CPTV.
steane | Oct 17, 2007 | Reply
Ah yes…as we say in Australia,”There is nothing quite like a V8!”
Isn’t the old MB 6.9 a stump puller!
Australians still prefer their engines with low down pulling power but the trend these days is for smaller capacities and higher revs. Still, that can be fun as well.
Gunnar Heinrich | Oct 17, 2007 | Reply
Got any stumps in your back yard to pull? That’s the car to do the job!
Zarba | Oct 17, 2007 | Reply
Gunnar:
Thanks for the shout-out and the comaprison. You might also compare the 6.9 with today’s AMG 6.3 litre engine.
It’s amazing how technology has advanced in the intervening decades, so we now have double the horsepower and yet achieve higher fuel efficiency.
My ’72 280 SE 4.5 (107 chassis) uses this engine, and shile it’s not a spowerful as the 3.5 it replaced, it does improve on torque.
What I can say is that the 4.5 is a real gas hog; I regularly get 10-12 mpg in around town driving.
The new 6.3 (really 6.2, but rounded up for historical refence to the legendary 6.3 in the 300 SEL 6.3 and 600 Grosser) acheives bette rfuel efficiency and over 500 bhp.
Now that 500 bhp today would be the equivalent of nearly 600 SAE gross horsepower back then.
Thanks to ever-tightening emissions standards, automakers now have the technology to extrract maximum horsepower and efficiency from a given engine.
So, due to the Law of Unintended Consequences, we’re living in what will one day be referred to as a golden age of horsepower.
Gunnar Heinrich | Oct 18, 2007 | Reply
Zarba >
This is the golden age of hp, you’re right. I really do like the look of those 107 Benzes…
E-mail me at Gunnar_Heinrich@yahoo.com
when you have a moment.
Jim | Aug 6, 2008 | Reply
Steane, we love torque here in the US also, though far too many confuse torque with horsepower.
I’d love to drive one of those 400ft/lb BMW diesels on a twisty road.