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It's a conversion, but it's hardly the convertible it started out as.
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Films:
1968 Mercedes-Benz 280SE: The Blau Coupe
Petrolicious filming jaunts to the UK are all too rare, unfortunatley. It is therefore something of a treat to see a car as tasteful as this shot in London, making a striking AND refreshing contrast to the ubiquitous modern supercars crying out for attention here.
I do believe I saw Mr. Patel promenading in a last months London Classic Car Show in A 964 RUF – another very desirable car.
Hi Michael, thanks for your comments – I’m with you on this…wish we would see a lot more classic cars driving around in central London. This includes ‘modern classics’, which I fear we will see very few of when the Mayor’s grand plans kick in…..anyway…..must have been my better looking brother at the London Classic Car show…….
Great film and car. Love the association with the city. I am also a fan of the big white steering wheel. As a teenager, my older brother went through a succession of Ponton 219, 220s and 220se – , that big white wheel is a part of all those memories. This body style will always be one of Mercedes top achievements.
Reply to Paul Varjak – Hi Paul, glad that you like the car. As mentioned in the film, I was surprised about the history too, so I investigated it thoroughly. You will be pleased to know that its all correct. Not only are there two files packed full of documentation from Daimler-Benz, but the Mercedes-Benz Club UK were able to confirm with MB Stuttgart that they also have records on file stating the RHD drive car was indeed ordered by their experimental division for the purpose of trialing the ‘low-grille’ design and the new M116 3.5 engine. The design change was also carried out on the six-cylinder cars at that time. This is a 1968 car, thats why its a ‘pre-production’ example. Have a look at Classic Cars Magazine (April 2019 edition) it features the car with great research. We think that there must also have been a LHD pro-production car. Anyway, thanks for watching the film.
The car is the kind of special machine that brings a chil to the spine and shortness of breath, like a beautiful woman.
The owner is sincere and real. This is the quality of video that petrolicious is famous for. Unfortunately the Porsche speedster video is stained by a woman who is not sincere. She, and by association the speedster were not real.
Back to this Mercedes, pure magic
No doubt it’s a beautiful car, but I’m quite skeptical that it’s a ‘pre-production’ model. Why would they make a pre-production model in RHD as a test bed for the low grille and V8? And the ‘low-grille’ appeared on the 6-cylinder just before the V8. So maybe it’s a ‘pre-production’ car to test RHD production, but that’s probably it.
