Let us once more pay homage to one of the more classic curbside classics. There are certain cars that inevitably float up into that vaunted category: Volvo 200 Series, GM B/C Box Bodies, Mercedes W116 and W126, certain Panthers and Foxes, and a few others. But the W123 is right up there, at or near the top. And its successor, the W124 belongs there too, but they seem to rather suddenly have flown the coop. Do they not have the inherent perma-life qualities of the W123?
And the finest of these is of course the coupe, which in the US was almost invariably the 300CD, in either naturally aspirated or much preferably in turbocharged form. There was a W123 280CE offered, but they were rather rare birds. A clattering throbbing diesel five in an elegant coupe is something of an oxymoron, but that’s also part of what gives them their unique character. And long life, as these engines were cannonball-proof.
I’m not sure of the exact year of this one, but in 1981 they started at right around $30k. That’s a very lofty $85k in today’s dollars. But they were the hot thing at the time, if you could afford it. The diesel Tesla of their times.
The interior of this is showing its age much more obviously than its exterior. Did it get a repaint? But that old-school Mercedes genuine leather wore like iron, despite the cracks, unlike the “leather” in our 7 year old TSX that’s falling apart in a few places. Wasn’t the original idea of leather to be an extra-durable surface for convertibles and such?
It’s nice to see this still wearing its original “Bundt” 14″ alloys, as so many have been changed to the 15 inchers from the W124 or other aftermarket wheels. These just suit so much better than flush aerodynamic style wheels.
During my brief infatuation with German cars I really wanted one of these. Then I discovered how much they cost, and that a 5 cyl diesel was the only powerplant offered. I had no doubt that it was durable, but I lacked the desire to live the diesel life. By 1985 a gasoline inline six with a manual transmission in a low trim version was a thing of the past in a Mercedes, at least in the US.
These hardtop coupes always struck a chord with me and I would feel a twinge of desire every time I saw one. It still happens, actually.
Thankfully, you can peruse autoscout24.de and mobile.de for the creampuff 280 CE with manual gearbox in Germany. The cherry on the top is 25-year exemption rule for importing and registering the non-compliant vehicles in the United States.
Interesting point about leather upholstery, and it’s too bad yours has it since Honda cloth, at least from the ’90s/00s, wears like an anvil.
I’m quite disappointed with some of the interior bits in my 2nd generation Fit. With less than 70,000 miles, the steering wheel fake leather, or whatever it is, has worn completely off, Shift boot is also starting to come apart as well, carpet and seat cloth, while not worn out, are kind of wrinkled and I fear wont last much longer. I love the Honda overall, but Toyota and even Chevy interiors are far more durable. 300,000 on the Camry, that was replaced with a Civic, interior also less durable.
Wow! We are off to the races today: first a 77 Chevy, and now a W123, two iconic cars that I really like! What’s next? A Scirocco perhaps?
If I had was to get a Mercedes, I would want a W123 sedan, because to me, that car, more than any other, conveys “quality”, despite the car’s shortfalls (didn’t drive as well as a BMW 5, not terribly quick, even in 280E form).
I think the coupe was a good-looking car–by FAR, better than it’s coupe predecessor, or the Volvo coupe.
One thing–as I was reading the superb CC recently that basically extolled the virtues of his newly acquired Tesla, it dawned on my that Tesla today is what Mercedes advertised (and was) in the 1970s:
“Engineered like no other car in the world” and “One day all cars will be built this way”
So, with all respect to our esteemed editor, I would say that “Tesla has become the Mercedes-Benz of our times”. M-B was first.
While I’m not ever entirely sure that the W123 coupe is a great looker as opposed to a very decent one, I couldn’t agree more that it beats the predecessor. Those looked far too much like a Ranchero or El Camino with a steel lid over the bed.
I do agree entirely about the superiority thing of Teslas today being like the Benz thing back then, but would add that it’s probably even more so. The highly-engineered oddities of those Benz’s – the hard seats, the road noise, the somewhat vague steering, the strangely dead automatic and the long-travel accelerator, for just some examples – were all dead-ends, and eventually went. The Tesla tech, however, IS the future, whether old car nuts like me like it or not, and in that way, they truly are engineered like no other car.
The last really good M-B.
Great piece of engineering. I remember that the MSRP on the 1979 with Diesel power was $21,000.00. WHEW!
The absolutely perfect color for this car, which along with the original alloy wheels, would stop me dead in my tracks if I saw it parked curbside. My grandfather’s last car was a 4-door W123 sedan in this very color, so I have always had very warm associations with this generation of MBs even before learning of the inherent goodness of the design. And I agree with the observation above that there still seem to be more of these on the ground today than the generation which followed.
We’re looking to replace my wife’s trusty Camry commuter with a “nice” car, and a current gen E class coupe has floated to the top of the list. The interiors and the hardtop look (spoiled slightly by the tiny rear quarter window) are incredible. Lightly used/certified, they ring up a stout $42-45k to get a specific option package she’s fallen in love with (the massaging “Active multicontour seats). New we’re talking $70k+ which may as well be on another planet. Until I considered that these W123s were $85k in today’s dollars, within that context the new ones are a downright bargain. Although I really doubt the current E class Coupe’s twin turbo V6 will run as long or be as easy to maintain/repair as one of the sturdy old diesels.
These and the Volvo Bertones were always my favorite European coupes. Classy yet sensible.
Hooray! My favorite car for obvious reasons… This coupe is a wonderful color on both the outside and the inside, I forgot how well the leather held up in general. My current and former w123 had the venerable MB Tex interiors, but I feel the leather was still the better option. Also Bundt lyfe for me as well…
A friend of mine owned one of these, a non turbo, auto trans model. It was the slowest car I have ever ridden in. A pedestrian could cross the intersection faster than his car could when the traffic light turned green. But it ran forever, owning coming to its demise when plowed into by a big truck.
Isn’t this the car pictured on Jackson Browne’s 1983 classic “Lawyers in Love” album?
Just a very lovely design. This only happens occasionally. It hasn’t happened in a very long time.
That the Mercedes leather of the time wore like iron is apt, as it covered seats that were cast from the latter.
In case I am misunderstood, I am saying that the W123 seats were horrible things, harder than pre-stressed concrete until they “broke in” at 60k miles, after which they became concrete-surfaced trampolines. They were supposedly orthopaedic, which, for the use they most resembled – the chair of a dentist – I’m sure they were. Mercedes of those peak years could do just about anything, but that didn’t include dentistry at 70mph.
I have never been so struck by the sharpness that the fable of the Emporer’s New Clothes might represent until the day I sat in, and later drove for some time, a brand spanker W123 280E. I was only a kid, but I could see very quickly people were simply deluded in telling me this car was comfortable.
All that said, I’m as fascinated by the W123 as the next car nerd, and it is connected to that very well-put expression by Proff Dr Dr Mr N.,PhDhD here – “perma-life”. There is a lot of appeal in that quality alone.
I must add that, without wishing to offend the Doc, I gotta say that W124’s will never have the 123 allure (and not because the first series has those same damn seats as late W123’s). The later car – a wholly better thing – is, I’m afraid, a bit clinical for such permanent love. Perhaps it ‘s just a bit too effective at everything it set out to do.
Nice find but my personal choice would be a 280TE.
One wonders how hefty a five-popper Diesel plus transmission is; and how tough it would be to drop a Chevy 350/383/400 with aluminum heads, and Turbo-Hydramatic 350C or perhaps a 700R-4 into that thing.
Kick the Diesel to the curb where it belongs, and quadruple or more horsepower all at the same time.