Most Popular W126 Benz

By Gunnar Heinrich

280SE is not a model we typically associate with an 80′s S-Class – Stateside.

Europe being even more gas starved than America in the late 70s had a more urgent need to run on less dino-juice for longer stretches of kilometers. While interior space and luxury mattered, acceleration wasn’t a top priority.

Hence the strong desire in the first production years (1979 -1985) for the 2.8 liter, 12 valve, straight-six that powered the 280SE – a model that was sold worldwide save for these United States.

Manufacturing two versions, one using a carburetor and another featuring fuel injection, the 280′s engine made 154 and 185 1980s horsepower, respectively, and would haul the big Benz to 60 mph in a casual 11 and 10 seconds.

Amazingly, given enough time and tarmac the engines were good for pushing on to 124 and 130 mph, out running BMW’s 177 hp 733i.

In total Mercedes-Benz built 133,955 units of the 280SE. That’s more than 20,000 units over the next most popular W126 model which we in America did receive – the 300SE (105,422 units). By contrast, Stuttgart manufactured just 78,725 300SD turbodiesels

[Source: Oswald, Werner (2001). Deutsche Autos 1945-1990, vol.4. Stuttgart: Motorbuch Verlag, 112-113 via Wikipedia | IMG via Ian Dunross' S-Class Page]