“Automotive royalty” is an appropriate term for the W112. We haven’t had too many of them on CC, but then they are a rare thing – this was probably the first one I’ve ever seen. Although given how similar they are to their far more common W111 stablemates, it’s not possible to really know. When I found this one last Sunday, the first properly hot day of the year, my temperature rose. Strangely enough, this august Mercedes’ finless behind was also defying gravity.
I’m sure we’re all more or less aware of the long and complex history of the Fintail Benz, which graced this planet with its presence in 1959 and whose direct (yet finless) two-door derivatives lasted all the way to the early ‘70s. The W112 saloon was the finest and rarest of the Fintails, but it still shared its bodyshell (and many components besides) with the rest of the Heckflosse clan. Likewise, the W112 two-door is related to the W111 coupe/cabriolet, albeit with extra gingerbread, air springs and the 3-litre engine.
Simply put, the Fintails’ pecking order was, from cheapest to dearest, W110, W111 and W112. I’ve used these tables before, but I reckon they could be re-used here. The W110 was the base/fleet model, with little chrome and Ponton-like round headlights. For its part, the W111 was the standard-issue 6-cyl. luxury Benz, with coupé and cabriolet variants and all mod cons available on the options list.
The W112, however, had the same 3-litre fuel-injected engine as the Adenauer limo (and the 300SL), as much chrome as it was possible to add, pneumatic suspension and a special LWB saloon that was probably ordered by folks who wanted something a bit less ostentatious than a 600. But the production numbers speak for themselves: unlike its serially-produced sisters, the W112 was more or less handmade, or at least hand-finished. The Sindelfingen special works’ happy ending…
Our feature car is a 1965 model – the last year of the W112 saloons, but the two-door variants were kept on for another couple of seasons. Price-wise, a two-door W112 was worth three W110s or two 220SE saloons. Dear oh dear!
How do I know it’s a ’65? Well, I just found the above video as I was writing this post. Trying my usual kitchen sink approach, I typed “Mercedes W112” into Youtube and unearthed this short (and silent) 12-year-old clip that clearly features the very same car. I mean, how many burgundy 300 SE coupés with a red leather interior, a column shifter and fugly turn signals can there be in this country?
Speaking of the interior, let’s take a good look at it, as it’s where quite a lot of the substantial added value is located. That dash is an unadulterated delight, a real piece of wood carving artisanship. I’m a total sucker for those white bakelite steering wheel as well!
The rear seat looks a bit on the tight side, legroom-wise. But if you really want to park yourself at the back of a W112, the four-door was the one to get. No point in getting a snazzy two-door hardtop if you’re not planning to grasp that big white wheel and drive the damn thing.
Our CC du jour may be exclusive, but it’s not a complete unknown. Mercedes have been exported to all corners of the globe, perhaps more than any other marque. So when something is amiss, even a small detail, it’s easy to pick it up. In the first place, we have the additional turn signals to ponder about. The standard Euro-spec W111/W112s (and their W108/109 successors) have their turn signals as part of the famous Lichteinheiten, the composite “lighting units” our feature car also has.
This should have sufficed, but obviously someone thought that a pair of supplementary mini-Dagmar indicator lights, placed in-board so that they could only be visible from the front, were a necessary and well-thought-out addition to the W112’s front end. Turns out this was done by M-B themselves: Our Editor informs me that these turn signals are standard US-spec items, which means this car may have originally worn the US-style quads and was retrofitted with the Euro lights. So odds are this car was sold new in North America and migrated to Japan late in life.
The other elephant in the room is the invisible one that appears to be sat on the front end of this poor W112. This high-rear stance is hard to explain, for those of us who have no experience with the Benz pneumatic suspension. I assume it has to do with that, just possibly perhaps maybe, though I could be completely off-piston (har har).
Since the lady was showing me her knickers, I took a quick pic of the undercarriage. I’m not sure if this is all standard-issue W112 down there, but the source of the stance issue may not be visible anyway. The rear wheels are stood partially on those cement parking lot thingamajigs (seriously, what do you call those?), which may have played a part in forcing the air cushions to be acting up in this way.
I dearly hope that this awesome machine’s complex pneumatic suspension is not on the fritz. Either way, it seems like we caught this sophisticated aristocrat on an off day, so we’ll close this post here, discreetly and politely. Auf wiedersehen, Frau W112. Keep your end up!
Related posts:
Automotive & Design History: Mercedes-Benz W110/111/112 Fintails – Béla Barényi And The Elusive Pluckenheckflosse, by Don Andreina
Curbside Classic: Mercedes 300SEL (W109) – Trying To Make Sense Of The Magic Number “300”, by Don Andreina
Being a MB novice, I finally can make some sense of model and series designations. Great article.
One of my favorite Mercs. Beautiful.
I can’t conclusively speak to the pneumatic system in this particular Benz but the newer ones such as the one we had could absolutely lose one or two of its “charges”, in our case by pinhole leaks in the air bladders. Initially it would take days to a week to leak down, but then became more frequent/quicker with replacement of the bladder the only option, on the newer ones it’s not overly expensive or difficult to fix. What IS expensive is neglecting to correct the issue as then eventually the compressor will fail due to the much heavier load now needed to constantly refill the system. In this case it could be that the fronts are linked to each other or simply that both fronts are in need of individual repair. It may not even be noticeable on a daily basis, just sinking over a longer period of inactivity.
The rear seems okay from here, just a little higher rake since the front is low but I’m sitting in a comfy low chair thousands of miles from you and the patient.
The rear does not look ok to me. In the second picture, the positive camber of the rear wheels is not normal. And if you compare it to the factory shots in the post, much more of its rear tire is showing.
I have no familiarity as to how this first generation MB air suspension works. I can see why leaks in the front would make that droop, but why the rear is high at the same time is a question. The primary purpose of the system was to be self-leveling, so undoubtedly there are sensors at the front and rear that are key components, and it seems they are kaput.
It is clearly a Mercedes donk. I suspect that the owner was bouncing the front and the back to the beat of some funky music when he got called into the house for some reason. Seriously, I have no idea what’s wrong with the car, but it looks like an attitude sensor is telling the system that the front is up and the rear is down and the car is trying to compensate.
I keep forgetting how rare these are – these are among my favorite M-Bs of the 60s. But I think I would prefer one a little lower down the ladder for simplicity’s sake if I were to spend my lottery winnings on one.
Those dagmar indicators stem from Audi NSU. It’s on the tip of my tongue which one it is, if only I knew how this model was called…it really gives me a headache…
You mean like these, on this Prinz?
They might be the same unit, undoubtedly from the same supplier, if so. It’s not the kind of thing a car maker build themselves. U see they’re on some of the Prinz Sports too. I wouldn’t be surprised if some other German cars used them too.
Yep, the ones on the Mercedes are US-spec park/turn signal lights, made by Bosch. They do not appear to bear an E-mark (ECE homologation for Europe). They are marked SAE DP 62, which means they were designed to conform to the American SAE technical standards current as of 1962 for the parking light (“P”) and turn signal (“D”) functions. The two functions are provided by dint of a 2-filament bulb.
The NSU Prinz items are similar, but not exactly the same. Single-filament bulb to provide only the turn signal function, because amber parking lights not allowed in Europe, and I think the lens shape is a little different. But yes, it was very common for suppliers to build up libraries of numerous variants of any given lamp, especially in designs of simple shape (round) and mounting (vertical panel).
Ah!
“auto union 1000 sp coupe”
now I have it and need no longer think about it. Thx.
Sorry for not uploading a pic, but somehow this doesn’t work at CC from my cellphone.
One of these…
Although expensive to keep up and fix, this car (maroon 2 dr with the white wall tires) is IMO one of the best looking MB to ever be produced. Just a fantastic color combo and love the design. Classy with just a touch of American flair.
My memory connects this model with the Mercedes my dad’s rich cousin bought new. Her surgeon husband took it hunting and broke an axle. I believe the car had to be sent to Atlanta for repair, and they had to wait for parts or tools from Germany or something. I guess MB wasn’t yet popular in Houston and Dallas.
I last saw one of these during a pilgrimage back to Castine, Maine, parked outside the small cluster of shops a block in from Bar Harbor. That one had a vertical speedometer rather than the twin round gauges this car has. Does that make it a W111 rather than W112, or was it just an earlier (or later, or different) model? A quick search online didn’t tell me when or where the thermometer-glass speedos were used.
Anyway, what a beauty!
If it had a vertical speedometer, it was fintail sedan. The coupes and cabrios all had the twin round large instruments.
I must be conflating two different cars then (very possible, this was long ago), my memory can get blurry with time. The car I saw in Castine was definitely a coupe though, so I saw the vertical speedometer on another old Benz and mixed them up.
I agree with you that the bulet-nosed ones on the front face are a little unfortunate—not the worst example of this kind of thing, but not the cleanest, either.
Those side turn signal repeaters are one of the neater installs I’ve seen on a Mercedes of this vintage. Factory equipment on cars sent to Italy and Japan was usually a round item similar to those used on many Italian cars of the time.
I was working at a VW/German repair shop as a gofer, briefly, but not briefly enough, back in the 70s and a MB 300 came in. Seems like it was 2 door, might have been a convertible, details are fuzzy. A fledgling car guy I knew a bit about MB and their numbering sequence, and it didn’t seem like any big deal, by the trunk badge. But the guys in the shop, half of whom were German, were all over it and practically drooling. This one?
This car looks like one a neighbor had when we were kids. Sadly, one Sunday morning as we were leaving Mass we saw him and the car in the middle of an intersection, where he had just been T-boned. The next time my Dad saw him he remarked “Well, Max, that’s the way the Mercedes bends.”
Class. Pure, unadulterated, dignified, class.
This is one of those few cars whose styling transcends the years and still looks great.
Paul Braq at his best!