As some of you know, I have a serious love for the W126 Mercedes S-Class. Can you blame me? It’s just the best in engineering and nigh-on invulnerability that a Mercedes-Benz at the top of its game could do. In my mind the only way that you could improve it in my eyes was to make a station wagon out of it, and….here it is! I love you, Wagon Week.
It turns out some coachbuilders decided that since Mercedes itself was already making a coupe and a convertible in addition to their sedans, it was only sensible to do the one variant that wasn’t available. And thank the coachbuilders for that.
The best documented and recent of the conversions is the 560TEL that appears above this text. Made by Caro International, a coachbuilding company in Hamburg, this was a spare-no-expense project overseen by the CEO (A classic Mercedes fan) himself. The objective: take a 1990 560SEL and make it the most luxurious of wagons. The engine and drivetrain are unchanged from a standard 560SEL, but the body has seen substantial alterations from the B-pillar back. The doors have been elongated and custom glass has been added to better fit the new shape (and avoid the Volvo Amazon look).
In the back, tall taillights out of an S124 wagon have been fitted to replace the longer ones of the 126 and allow for a larger rear door. Currently Caro is working on a second wagon, this time built on a 1991 model. Price: Very expensive, I’d say.
While the TEL seems like the newest and best done wagon based of the W126, the idea in itself is nothing new; in the 1980s, Zender built this 560 ZEL.
And if you Google around you’ll find pictures of a slew of custom jobs that go from the very well done…
To the done…
To the ‘What have you done?’
I’ll no longer say that any W126 wagon is a good wagon, but the fact that someone actually went ahead with the idea of making a wagon out of the S-Class is amazing in and of itself. Now to check every couch in the nation for change–I’m sure Caro doesn’t accept organs as payment.
Absolutely gorgeous, what a shame I can’t have one. The combination of luxury, utility, durability and speed is irresistible.
That Caro model does seem to be the best finished, but some of the others have their merits too. Bringing back memories of the 80’s though, with names like Zender and Styling Garage. The S-class was a popular vehicle for conversions in general–I have an old book somewhere around the house that also features a W126 convertible created from de-roofing one of the coupes.
That red one is beyond wild. The crazy flares/strakes/air dam are very typical of the time though. Koenig perhaps?
AUSFAHRT
Gesundheit!
Somehow, even the best one just… Doesn’t look right. I can’t put my finger on it.
The conversions are well done, but they all look a bit too stretched. Some sort of W124 T Limo.
The price for the Caro is 42000 USD in case some of y’all wondered.
I think I’d prefer an SE/SD model with a modern diesel powertrain for it to be my daily driver. Not that it’s gonna happen.
Does this mean it’s for sale to the public??? At that price, I’m sure there would be plenty of buyers here in the U.S. Cheaper than any new German wagon and about 1,000 times classier.
Wow, that is some Panzerwagen! Why is it that there are few non-living things as satisfying to gaze at as really well done custom coachwork?
I’ll take a wagon version of the ’77 690SEL.
W116 450 SEL 6.9 wagon. Two of them were built, by coachbuilder Pollmann.
http://karakullake.blogspot.nl/2008/09/mercedes-w116-450sel-69-wagon.html
Nice Benz duo !
That is the ultimate lottery winner setup. Or near enough!
If you really win the lottery…
….as long as you don’t win the lottery these extremely well detailed and high-quality CMC 1:18 diecast models will do, for the time being…
I just can’t get this one sentence to make sense. Am I reading it wrong?
Did you mean:
?
Oh, very nice catch. Fixed. Apologies.
That red wagon looks like what you would get if you grafted a M-B front clip to a late model Dodge Magnum…then “pimped it out”.
There was a hatchback version of the W126.
I prefer my Mazda 3.
Now that’s just wild. Looks like they modified the nose too, as well as the c-pillar and hatch?
I’m seeing echoes of C111 around that tail/hatch area for some reason.
Yep, it was a W126-based concept called the Auto 2000
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/mercedes-auto-2000-trying-to-predict-the-future-in-1981/
For me , a Mercedes Dieselhead , the W-126 is simply too much Mercedes .
That being said , the non – pimp Wagons above do look pretty nice .
Especially the first , European Version white one .
-Nate
I’m not sure I understand the Volvo Amazon reference. I’m not sure how a W126 wagon conversion could be made to resemble an Amazon (122S) roof extension, which is quite different than the sedan its based on.
In my opinion the 145/245 with its non-matching sedan rear door profile is more of a hack. Is that what you meant, Gerardo?
If you love the 126 wagon…what do you think of this 126 Hatch?
Looks kind of like an overgrown Ford Sierra from this angle. Probably not bad from front 3/4 view though.
I’d still want one though
.I really like it.