Lest anyone forget, in 1973, Mercedes was still a few years away from releasing its first production estate (unless one counts the W110 Universal made by Belgian firm IMA). If the amount of custom coachbuilt wagons on the market was any indication, Stuttgart deferred making its decision to offer any of its sedans in longroof form until it was clear there would be a solid demand for one.
It was at that time that this custom W116 wagon was made; just the ticket for the wealthy family who would only carry their brood around in the best car available. The best Mercedes sedan of the era, with a 6.9 liter dry-sump V8 and full hydropneumatic suspension, still coddled its occupants with manual seats and manual side view mirrors. So it’s no surprise that this slightly less opulent car comes with MB-Tex vinyl seats and without a sunroof.
Given that the bulk of W114/W115 production was devoted to four-cylinder and diesel cars, the larger sonderklasse cars were the preferred (though not exclusive) basis for wagon conversion, at least at the high end of the market in 1973. This car, with its more conventional 4.5 liter V8, makes for a much more pleasant way to carry five passengers and their luggage than a 220D would, but don’t expect genuine speed.
Like a lot of what-ifs, this 450 SE estate looks just a little bit wonky, but it’s actually one of the better conversion jobs out there. Built in Bremen by Norddeutsche Karosserrefabrik, a pretty decent job was done of integrating the side window with the rest of the car’s profile, with the drip rail continued and the belt line remaining uninterrupted over the length of the car.
Compared to the more popular (if you can use such a word) Crayford conversion, illustrated by this burgundy long-wheelbase car, our metallic champagne example represents a somewhat more natural extension of the sedan’s shape.
In the case of the German coachbuilder, it looks as though the fuel tank was moved to the spare tire well, since it’s not in its traditional location behind the rear seatback and the extra wheel is evidently stored on the left side of the cargo area.
The spare tire well, however, has been maintained and has fuel lines coming out of it. Even without the Detroit big block V8s common in other big wagons of the day, these aren’t especially efficient cars and needed all the fuel they could get. I would love to know just how many gallons can fit in the custom tank, and how many times a driver would have to fill up on a round trip from Jacksonville, Florida, where this car was shipped in 1974, to Miami or Disney World.
This unique car is currently located in the Atlanta area and one hopes it’s spent its entire life down south. Its current bid is set at $9,800, though the reserve has not been met. I really don’t think it’s worth that much, but with its small bumpers and unique bodywork, it does a great job of standing out from the other W116 sedans. And until one of us comes across a Shelby Dynasty, it will have to do.
Related reading: What If? Mercedes W116 Minivan, 1973 Mercedes 450 SE – Hello Darlin’; It’s Nice To See You
Very handsome for conversion cars, but for the price presumably charged, they had to be.
Even if the front seats are way back, there is still a rear seat legroom problem that would have left me cold as a buyer in that era. Bring on the Town & Country or the Custom Cruiser.
The front seats must be all the way back. I’ve never sat in a W116, but the back seat of my short wheel base W126 has adequate leg room. Due to the upright seating position even fairly tall people don’t usually have to move the front seat all the way back. These cars were built for big healthy nordic types after all.
But yeah, for a car to convert into a wagon we would use the long wheel base car to start with. But in Europe maybe it’s a different story with tighter parking and size-based taxes.
That rear seat legroom looks strange. I am familiar with sedans of this model and they are not short of legroom. Another factor, Mercedes puts in deep squabs on the rear seats and do not do the common trick of putting in a short squab/cushion, which gives the illusion of more leg room in the bag than there actually is. I actually thing that the seat cushion/squab is not fitted correctly and it forward – you can see a gap between the cushion and the seatback near the open door.
I once red that the tailgate on the Crayford versions of this wagon came from a Ford Granada!
That’s probably true.
Its seems that Crayford cut the tailgate off a Granada station wagon and “pasted” it on a Benz.
At least, I pretty sure the side windows – and maybe the rear windshield – came from a Granada.
Yes, Crayford used the Granada side windows and part of the tailgate for their conversion. Part or all of the rear roof too I imagine. It’d be interesting to know whose parts Norddeutsche Karosserrefabrik used for their conversion.
It’s too bad that Mercedes-Benz didn’t create a production wagon version of the Mercedes 450SE. Some improvements would probably have to be made to the rear seat leg room, and to the cargo compartment. But had the station wagon were produced, the W123T series would at least have company in the station wagon field.
Is that some serious liftover height or am I missing something?
Nope, not missing anything. That’s where the trunk lid would have sat. They basically just boxed in the trunk and added a glass hatch. The lower rear quarters, tail lights, bumper, etc. look stock. It’s a pretty slick conversion for how much of the factory car they kept, but it rather sacrifices utility. No room for a third row seat, small awkward rear hatch, etc. I guess this is why making a good wagon out of a sedan isn’t quite as easy as it looks.
More of a big hatchback. These wagons were very expensive, and their owners most likely used them to haul saddles or rifles. It’s not like they were going to haul 4×8 sheets of sheetrock.
A compromised wagon is likely still head and shoulders more useful than the best sedan for utility. Just sayin.
I agree. I’ve always liked station wagons. Because of its extended roof, there’s more room than a similarly sized sedan.
Not any worse than an AMC Hornet Sportabout would’ve had.
True, but the Sportabout is essentially the same job done in-house, i.e. take an existing sedan and make it into a wagonish vehicle, rather than design a wagon from the ground-up. And the Benz must have cost enough to buy 4 or 5 Sportabouts, at least.
Neat Estate, I like the variations between the two companies and I need to find a video so I can see how those wipers work.
A very nicely done conversion. Styling works quite well as a wagon.
but don’t expect genuine speed
I guess 130 mph isn’t genuine speed for some folks 🙂 The 450SE was one of the fastest sedans of its time, and even if there were faster ones, few would feel as rock solid at triple-digit speeds.
By that definition (a more continental understanding, I must say), you’re definitely right. Perhaps I should’ve said “acceleration.”
But considering a 0-60 time in the nine second range, the way Mercedes geared their transmissions (which favored sparkling high-speed performance low cruising rpm), and our modern understanding of power, I’d say it’s not an especially fast car. My understanding of “fast,” which was cemented in the ’90s, would require a car like this to get to sixty in less than 8.5 to be considered quick, and even it’s outdated.
Mercedes-Benz W116 Jagd Kombinationskraftwagen Heck. Eat your heart out, plebeian Shooting Brake.
I want this. I want this very much.
Me too. I absolutely love it.
It has a hearse conversion look to it with over sized load bay proportions, I think the Crayford version pulls it off better, I cant work out why you think its not capable of genuine speed the sedans are fairly quick this is unlikely to be much slower.
I turned down a W116 Crayford about ten years ago. Condition was not within my budget, but I never really liked the Granada rear side windows. This is an absolute beauty, thanks for bringing it to CC, Perry.
i came here today looking for some unique content. instead i see the same exact car as featured recently on BaT
I suppose a ’61 Buick still in daily use isn’t unique, then.
I absolutely love aftermarket what-if body conversions. Thanks for posting Perry, love it!
How about another conversion? Don’t let your only ride in a Mercedes be your last!
W116 450 SEL 6.9 Pollmann Kombi. (So I’ve read)
Initially I thought it was Pullman, but it actually is Pollmann from Bremen, Germany.
Their cor(ps)e business is building hearses.
More info about this Kombi here, straight from Germany (in English):
http://karakullake.blogspot.nl/2008/09/mercedes-w116-450sel-69-wagon.html
That would’ve been cool to have. An autobahn burner in station wagon form. 🙂
These days Germany is actually loaded with Autobahn burners in Audi-BMW-Mercedes station wagon form. Both gasoline and diesel. The latter makes it an Autobahn oil burner.
That’d be neat, to have a bahn oil burner. It’d probably get better fuel economy than a gasoline version would. 🙂
These seem to be tastefully done, but was there a market for private wagons this size in Europe? I think Mercedes went in the right direction when they used the W123 as their first factory built estate, and the other German luxury car makers followed suit.
There probably wouldn’t have had a market in Europe, but why not North America?
I’m no fan of the W-116 series but this is a nice conversion .
The rear seat squab is clearly not properly fitted , they’re easy to pop out for cleaning underneath .
I’d much rather have a Binz / Universal and recently missed out on a Universal combination Ambulance/Hearse rig cheaply , dammit .
I was looking at a W-123 Diesel hearse but it’s A. a 240 (underpowered even for me) and B. rusted beyond repair from the firewall forward in spite of still being drivable .
Maybe a Ponton ‘ Bakkie ‘ ! .
-Nate
Reserve not met? If it were a diesel, the hipsters would be all over it…
It’s too bad it was never offered with a diesel engine. The 300SD was offered with a 3.0 litre turbo diesel.